Key Considerations for building your dream eCommerce app!

Call them Fashionista or Shopaholic or whatever! People love to shop on-the-go! Irrespective of the time and place! At the very comfort of their homes or during the office breaks or while traveling back to their home from office! And that’s why eCommerce apps have been one of their favorites. Amazon, Flipkart, Shopify, eBay, Walmart, Groupon, Aliexpress, just name them!  They have already created their success stories.

ECommerce solutions have literally been the game-changer for both, customers as well as the business owners. It’s no surprise that businesses are increasingly investing in eCommerce mobile app development. But the question is how to go about it?

In this blog, we have outlined essential steps needed to architect an alluring eCommerce app, along with the development mistakes that can badly affect the app.

Essential Steps to Create an Amazing eCommerce App

Before knowing these steps, it is of utmost importance for the business owners to do thorough research on multiple factors that are mentioned below. Market research will help you to set better business goals, lower business risks, boost customer satisfaction, improve decision-making, outsell competitors, and ultimately make more sales.

Now, let us have a look at the crucial steps that must be followed to create an impeccable app. 

Come up with an idea

The first step in this process is to decide the idea and the goals for the app. What do you want your eCommerce app to look like, what should be the overall concept of the app? How will you measure the progress of the app? What are your KPIs? Do you first want to develop a Minimum Viable Product? Using a Business Model Canvas (BMC) can help you understand some important aspects like value prepositions, revenue, customer segments, etc. So having a well thought out idea in place is very important to avoid unnecessary expenses later.

Decide your target audience

·         For whom are you creating this app?

·         What is their average age?

·         What are their interests and preferences?

·         Which products do they like and have already bought?

·         How will they find us?

·         Is your service B2B or B2C? Accordingly, the choices of the target audience will change.

·         Look at which mobile and web eCommerce platforms are being used by your target audience.

Answers to such questions will help you to streamline your development process, shape your eCommerce app correctly and even improve the app marketing.

Also, studying the buyer persona is essential to know your ideal customers. It includes needs and preferences of the potential customers, their motivations and similar data which will influence every factor in the eCommerce mobile app development journey.

Know your Competitors

List out your competitors and do a thorough analysis. Look at their products and services and see what attracts the buyers. Study their business model. However, don’t duplicate their features, business models, etc. Competitor analysis will help you to enhance your research, navigate different challenges in the market, improve your products and services and stand out amongst them, giving a competitive advantage.

Must-have app features

The next step for an eCommerce app development company is to determine the feature requirement of your app. A few of the must-have features that you should include in your app are:

·         Product List and categorization

·         Search Bar and Filters

·         Push Notifications

·         Multiple Payment Options

·         Wishlist

·         Look-books

·         Easy Checkout

·         Social Media Integration

·         Review and Ratings

·         Business Intelligence Tool

·         Ratings and Reviews

·         Synchronization across apps and websites

Decide technology based on budget

To determine the process and the budget, ask yourself the following questions:

·         How much time and resources are you willing to invest in?

·         Do you want to create an MVP model with the least features or want a feature-packed full-fledged eCommerce mobile app?

·         Do you want to develop native apps for both Android and iOS platforms? Or want cross-platform development? Do you also want a PWA?

·         Do you want an expensive backend development with low maintenance or high maintenance third-party APIs having a comparatively low budget?

·         Are you looking for hybrid app development for better time-to-market or native app development for better sustainability?

·         Do you want to make a bespoke app by hiring a brand new team or go for a SAAS solution?

Once you decide on the above questions, there are different pricing models available to choose from. They are scope based, time-based, fixed price models, or you can opt for dedicated resource hiring.

App development

After doing the thorough research on the above enlisted points, you can now finally start the design and development of your dream eCommerce app.

Follow these tips for a good end result and unparalleled experiences to the users:

·         Ensure that the app has user-friendly navigation

·         Remove the excess clutter from the app

·         Incorporate app templates to speed up and streamline processes

·         Focus on personalizing the customer experience

·         Give a personal touch to the app with Live Chat support.

·         Use alluring images and animations for better impact

·         Avoid using contrast color combinations, fonts, layouts, etc.

Market your app

Marketing the app is equally important as its development is. After all, getting more downloads, views, purchases is the final aim of the app development. One can create buzz about the app even before the release of the app. Some of the strategies used for successful marketing of the apps are content marketing, SEO optimization, social media marketing, email marketing, paid advertisement, app marketing, etc.

Publish the app

Finally, you are all set to publish the app on different mobile app stores like AppStore and Play Store. You can go on the app stores and sign up on their accounts, pay their registration fees, write the description and privacy policy for the app, upload the screenshots of the app interface, upload the app, specify the pricing of the app and your app will be published after it meets the set standards.

Final Words

Architecting a fully functional eCommerce app out of an idea is quite challenging. It requires considerable planning, time, efforts, finances and most important of all, commitment. In the complete development journey, greater focus must be given to the target audience. Along with the incorporation of interesting features, optimal design, exhaustive testing, powerful marketing, etc. are the factors that can lead to a roaring success.

Was this blog helpful in your venture to develop your perfect eCommerce app?

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We would love to know your thoughts on this. Please feel free to comment here or mail your inquiries to us @ sales@biz4solutions.com

What are Progressive Web Apps and why are they trending in the web world?

“Google has started replacing some of its Android apps in Chrome OS with Progressive Web Apps!”

This news on the famous American Technology and Science-News brand, ‘The Verge’, has put light on why Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) have gained so much popularity recently. PWAs have gained more attention after the announcement of Apple to support Safari with the help of Service worker and Web Manifest. In the mobile technology, native apps are considered to be most sought after apps because of the experience they provide, however with the advent of digitalization, PWAs also are equally making mark and have come up as a cost effective way by providing a great web experience with native features. Google and Microsoft are also pushing PWAs for ensuring that businesses provide an improved web experience.

This article is a summary of what are Progressive Web Apps and their key benefits. Let us have a look at how they are gradually becoming a hot trend for start-ups as well as small and large enterprises.

What are Progressive Web Apps?

PWA is a web based application having look and feel like a native mobile app.  As these are web apps they can be run from anywhere on the internet making it platform independent. The PWAs have extra features than the regular web pages, due to which they provide an exemplary user experience. They are developed using modern APIs for delivering native-like capabilities and reliability. With a single codebase, these apps can reach anyone and anywhere, on any device with ease.

In some cases, PWAs are even faster and more functional than their native mobile app counterparts. They are built using HTML, CSS and JavaScript and run on top of a script named a service worker. Chrome and Firefox are the best browsers to support them.

Here is a glimpse of the giant companies using PWAs:

• AliExpress, a famous e-commerce site owned by the Alibaba Group
• Forbes, a top U.S. business magazine
• Pinterest
• Twitter Lite
• Flipkart, largest e-commerce site in India
• BookMyShow,  India’s largest ticketing company
• Lancôme, a French luxury cosmetics brand
• Settled.co.uk, a renowned real-estate firm 

Features of Progressive Web Apps

There are several features and capabilities of the Progressive Web Apps which are contributing to providing an amazing web experience to the users. These features enable the PWAs to behave in the same way as a native mobile application.

• PWAs can send push notifications like native apps.
• They can work offline as well.
• They have access to hardware features like microphone, webcam, battery status, Bluetooth, payments, biometric authentication, compass, accelerometer, gyroscope and even sensors.
• They can be shared easily via URLs.
• They can be used on full-screen mode.
• Search engine indexing is possible with PWAs.
• They have access to the file system.
• They have clipboard access.
• They have background sync support 

Key Benefits of Progressive Web Apps

Improved Performance:

They can be quickly installed and can load instantly. PWAs cache and serve images, text and other content efficiently, which enables faster working of the apps. They are highly secure and reliable for continuous use. They provide a smooth and immersive experience to the users. PWAs don’t require a ton of a space like the native apps. They don’t need much storage on the device as well. Also, they use lesser data as compared to the native apps. As a result they give a better performance.

Enhanced Security:

As PWAs work on HTTPS protocol, they provide safe data and reduces the risk of security issues. This protocol prevents tampering of content and snooping.

Custom offline page:

PWAs can seamlessly work in offline mode thereby giving a better native like experience rather than navigating the user to default offline page of browser. It runs flawlessly in poor internet connectivity conditions as well.

No updates required:

PWAs do not have to be explicitly updated unlike native apps as they get updated automatically when connected to the internet. They are updated the moment they are loaded in the browser. This also saves the data to a large extent. So, there is no need for approval from the play stores, unlike the native apps.

Enhanced market reach and SEO friendly:

Since PWAs are accessible everywhere, they can reach a wide range of audiences at once. The business owners don’t need to launch mobile apps on different platforms like Android and iOS. They can be accessed on both Android and iOS devices through a browser. PWAs help to boost the page views. They enhance the mobile traffic, increase the engagement of the users and also hike the conversion rates. They lower the bounce rates. They enhance the accessibility and search ability of the app. 

Final Thoughts:

The future of Progressive Web Apps is bright. PWAs are time-saving and cost-effective options as the developers don’t need to write three code-bases for iOS, Android and the Web separately. They eliminate the need to install or download an app from the play stores while saving the efforts of the users. They are responsive to any screen sizes.

With so many practical benefits to offer, more and more companies are moving towards progressive web apps development. There are some challenges too, but their benefits surpass these challenges.

Develop your progressive web app with Biz4Solutions, a reliable technology partner. It is a leading Texas-based web and mobile app development company having 8+ years of experience with global clients. Get in touch with us to know more.

Why Flutter is highly used for mobile app development by the businesses worldwide?

Are you planning to build a captivating and custom mobile app for your business but confused about which framework to choose? Flutter could be the best choice!

In this era of cut-throat competition, everyone is looking for new frameworks, tools, and librariesto ensure time-driven app development and top-quality product. Flutter is one such framework that simplifies the mobile app development process and keeps up with the ever-growing business requirements.

Google first introduced Flutter in the year 2015 and officially launched Flutter 1.0 in Dec 2018. Also, Flutter 1.12 was released with many enhancements in Dec 2019 by Google. Recently, Flutter has gained a lot of popularity and is being highly preferred for mobile app developmentby the enterprises worldwide.

In this article, we have outlined the potential benefits of using Flutter in mobile app development.

What is Flutter?

Flutter is an open-source SDK used for architecting native-like applications for platforms like Android, Windows, iOS, Linux, etc. It is a cross-platform toolthatuses a single code-base to develop apps for different platforms. As a result, development becomes faster and cost-effectivefor Flutter app developers. It hasa detailed documentation available for the developers with easy examples to resolve their doubts and queries, which makes it easy to learn and use for the developers.

Flutter has two major components- the SDK, a collection of tools and a framework with UI Library, a collection of reusable UI components. These components help to develop attractive and feature-rich mobile apps. Also, it uses the Dart language to build apps, which makes the programming easier.

Why Flutter is highly used for mobile app development?
Fast coding and development: It is possible for the Flutter app developers to code faster as they just need to code once for both platforms- iOS and Android. This saves their time and reduces the coding efforts to some extent.

Great Performance:As discussed earlier, Flutter is based on the Dart language, also developed by Google. It is an object-oriented language having syntax similar to Java. Its syntax is clear, beginner-friendly and easy to understand/learn. It provides support for asynchronous operations and is great for backend development. Dart can be compiled into native code, has its own widget and hence does not need to access OEM widgets. This actually contributes to improving the performance of the app and helps to start up the app pretty quickly.

Hot reload feature:Flutter supports the hot reload feature. The developers can make the changes in the code and immediately the changes are reflected in the emulators, simulators or apps without any restart. This feature allows the developers to fix bugs faster, develop UIs and develop features without any hassles.

Huge community support:Flutter is open source and hence its usage is free. Flutter is supported by a strong community that is ready to support the Flutter app developers whenever they face any issues. Developers can learn more and enhance their knowledge of the language through this community. They can take online help in case they are stuck. Also, they can share their knowledge with the community.

Exceptional UI Designs: In Flutter, UI is developed by a combination of several widgets. The widgets can also be customized to ensure an attractive look of the app. The developers have good control over how these widgets will be displayed and so, the UI can be designed exactly how one wants. Also, there are a number of widgets available for UI development. For example, Row, Column, and Container for laying out the UI, Text and Raised Button for content, etc.
Support of libraries: Flutter has many out-of-the-box features in it but when some extra features are required, it has the support of rich libraries. For instance, there are libraries available for putting ads in the app or for adding a new widget, etc. Also, one can easily develop his/her own library and share it with the members of the community.

Great for MVP: For developing a Minimum Viable Product i.e. MVP, Flutter is a perfect alternative. It enables easy development of the basic mobile apps and enables multiple changes in the code seamlessly. It has a good compatibility with Firebase and hence, a separate backend is not required while developing an MVP.

Final Thoughts:

We have seen a few leading reasons why Flutter is being highly preferred by businesses and even individual app developers for mobile app development. It enables easy integration, offers great reliability and the apps developed in it provide a seamless performance. Many developers have already fallen in love with this SDK.

If you too want to develop native-like, customizable and flawless apps using Flutter, contact Biz4Solutions, a Texas-based mobile app development company.Hire authorized and experienced Flutter app developers now! Visit us at www.biz4solutions.com.

Why Web Apps have become essential for today’s business?

In this era of the Internet, businesses are looking for effective ways to promote their products, services and their brand online. Web apps have come up as one of the most powerful tools for business promotion and many other applications. Selling products and services online, establishing contacts with local and global clients, advertising the business or providing customer support! A web app plays a significant role here and contributes to business growth in several ways. It also contributes to targeting the potential audience, converting them to customers and reach existing customers quickly and easily.

What is a web app for business?

Web apps are software programs that uses web technology and web browsers to perform tasks on the internet. These programs are stored on a server. They run on the internet with the use of browsers like Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc. Web app development for these software programs are done with the use of technologies like Java, HTML, CSS, Rails, Grails, PHP, Dot Net, etc.

The web apps are developed for various purposes by individuals or by industries depending on their requirements. Common examples of web applications are promotional websites for the companies, online forms, email programs, e-commerce shops, Google docs, etc.

Here are a few tasks that can be performed using web applications:

●       Provide information about products and services

●       Collecting and analysing important business data

●       Publishing different types of news

●       Educating the workforce of an organization and providing them tasks

●       Online sharing of calendars and artifacts

Why Web Apps are necessary for Businesses today?

Branding and Advertising:

Without a web app, it is quite difficult to grow and succeed in the market. Web apps can help businesses to reach their potential customers across the globe and advertise their products and services. It is possible to communicate effectively with the customers through a web app which makes branding and advertising easier. This leads to brand recognition and also helps in generating leads.

Competitive edge

In this era of digitalization, having a web app for your business provides a competitive advantage over your peers. It builds trust and credibility amongst your customers and also the target audience. 

Ease in expansion

Businesses keep enhancing their services, increasing their products and bringing-in interesting deals and offers. In web apps, it is quite easier to update this information and expand the business. Web apps are easily scalable as one needs to simply upgrade the infrastructure to accommodate the growing needs.

Flexibility and convenience of access:

Today, the customers browse on various devices like smartphones, laptops, desktops, etc. for any information. They are not limited to using a single medium. A web app is responsive and offers a smooth and seamless experience to users, irrespective of the device. Usually, the traditional software apps are built for particular operating systems; but, this is not the case in web apps. Web apps are developed to be accessed from different operating systems like Windows, Mac, etc.

Business utility and usability:

User-experience is the most important factor in a business transaction. It determines the success of the business. Navigating through the web apps is much easier and they are quite user-friendly. Also, a web app is available 24/7 to its users. They are always up-to-date. The latest information can be accessed easily by the users.

While using a mobile app, users need to download an app from the play stores. On the other hand, the users can directly jump on the URL and access the web app. These don’t even block-up any space on the devices, unlike mobile apps. This is a big plus for the businesses.

Easy setup and maintenance:

Web-based applications need just a few minutes for setting up a new user. A URL, username and password and the setup is done! Also, their maintenance is quite easier. There is no need for regular updating of the apps on the users’ devices. Updating and maintenance are directly done on the server and then deployed efficiently on the user’s device.

Wrap-up:

Businesses can benefits in numerous ways from web app development. Businesses can increase their online presence and promote their products using the promotional websites. Several business activities and transactions can be accomplished using web apps. They can achieve their objectives, improve the overall performance and enhance their business profits. They lead to cost-savings as well.

So, are you ready to build a new-age web for your business? Hire talented and experiences web app developers now! Biz4Solutions is a leading web app development company based in Texas providing cutting-edge development services to diverse clients. Our team is updated with the latest technologies to deliver nothing but the best services to our clients. Contact us to know more!

Healthcare mobile apps- A smart investment for a bright future of your hospital!

A report was published in 2018about the U.S. digital health market by a leading online portal for statistics, Statista. As per this report, the total market revenue in the U.S., by 2022, would be around 90 billion dollars, out of which the revenue generated by the mHealth market alone is estimated to be around 44 billion dollars. These staggering numbers show that the dependency on mobile apps for healthcare industry will increase a loT in the future.

Mobile technology has a huge potential to transform the future of this industry. Many hospitals and individual practitioners have already started using mobile technology and even healthcare IT services to the fullest.

Mobile Technology and Patient Care

The progress of any healthcare organization is directly proportional to the experience it provides to its patients.

Today, the patients expect to receive more than just the normal treatment. Many of them seek 24/7 support, access to their medical data, seamless communication with their doctors and remote help in emergencies.

Mobile technology is helpful to not only physicians, doctors, etc. but also to other healthcare service providers and the patients. Mobile technology is used in combination with wearable devices, computers, tablets and other medical equipment in hospitals to ensure a better patient care. Also, there are complete healthcare management systems that help in management of daily hospital operations as well as improving patient engagement.

An amazing example of a mobile app in healthcare is Phlex65. It helps the old patients by connecting them with caregivers from nearby areas. The old patients can get help in the daily care activities like bathing, taking medicines on time, healthy cooking, etc. from the care givers. Likewise, there are healthcare apps that keep track of patient’s heart rate, track other health conditions, remind patients of appointments, educate patients, etc.  

Key Benefits of mobile apps for healthcare

Mobile technology acts as a communication channel between the patients and the healthcare service providers. But, the advantages of this technology go beyond this. The technology ensures improved diagnostic accuracy, better coordination, and develops trust amongst the patients.

Enhanced treatment and patient care

Health apps help enhance the quality of the treatment by providing health data insights to doctors immediately. They help provide optimum care to patients by remote monitoring, communication with doctors, timely reminders, etc. They reduce the risk of wrong diagnosis as the mobile apps are used to store and share accurate reports and medical data when required. The doctors can send prescriptions in digital formats to the patients, so that the patients don’t need to visit the doctors every time.

Appointment scheduling

With mobile health apps, the patients can book appointments online and select the best physician as per their budget. They can even cancel the appointments if needed. This also helps the physicians to manage their availability accordingly. The patients can also order on-demand services from other healthcare providers using the health apps.

Supportive to doctors and medical staff

The mobile apps are useful in streamlining workloads of the hospitals. The doctors and patients can communicate to each other through the mobile apps. Doctors can remain updated about the health of patients even if the patients don’t visit them. Also, the mobile apps enable faster and secure payments in minutes, saving the time of patients as well as hospital staff.

Proactive response to patients

Advanced healthcare software solutions and equipment is used for monitoring health conditions of the patients. Their medical conditions can be observed by doctors for proactive analysis of health conditions and provide appropriate guidance using the healthcare apps. Thus, the symptoms of any chronic disorders can be tracked in advance and best treatment can be provided accordingly.

Timely reminders

Mobile apps for healthcare help the physicians by reminding of their daily schedules, appointments and meetings. They also remind the patients of their dosage or upcoming appointments. 

Conclusion:

We have seen how healthcare mobile app development has become the need of the hour. It ensures patient satisfaction as well as increases the brand value of the hospital. Today, the medical apps provide services much beyond the basic facilities. They are integrated with advanced technologies like the Internet of Things, Wearable devices, Robotic Process Automation, etc. for valuable data insights and smart decision-making.

If you want to develop a healthcare app for your hospital, then get in touch with Biz4Solutions, a leading provider of healthcare IT services and mHealth apps. We have been serving the medical industry since 9 years and have developed several HIPAA compliant apps and healthcare software solutions.

Why prefer React Native for Building a Mobile App for your Business?

If you have a unique idea for a mobile app and want to reach a wider audience in one go, then cross-platform app development could be a great alternative instead of native app development. It is comparatively a time-saving and cost-effective solution. The next question that comes in the picture is which framework to choose for mobile app development! Amongst several frameworks available in the market, React Native is one of the most preferred choices of the developers, entrepreneurs as well as app development companies.

This article covers React Native mobile app developmentand its advantages in brief.

A Brief Introduction to React Native App Development

React Native is a leading cross-platform app development framework developed by Jordan Walke, a software engineer at Facebook. He developed this framework for simple development and ensuring a better user experience in the apps. It is an open-source framework that allows creating mobile apps only with Javascript. This framework is used for building powerful native-like apps which don’t differ from the apps developed in Objective-C, Java, Swift, etc.

There are many big players in the business world that have used React Native mobile app development in their projects. A few of them are UberEats, Skype, Delivery.com, Instagram, Facebook, Vogue, Facebook, Bloomberg,Tesla, etc.

Top Reasons to select React NativeFramework

Rapid development and cost-effectiveness-React Native app development allows code re-usability i.e. the same code is used for both platforms- Android and iOS. This makes the job of developers quite easier. They don’t need to write separate code for different platforms as almost 90% of the code can be re-used. This accelerates the speed of the project and also reduces the cost of development to a great extent.

 Community Support-React Native has the support of community experts for any issue. Developers share their experience online and also, there is documentation related to React Native open for everyone in the community. Along with the GitHub community, it has the active support of Facebook. The Facebook team also works on the improvement of this framework and keeps innovating new features, libraries, etc. in it. Also, companies like Microsoft, Software Mansion, Infinite Red, Callstack, etc. have contributed their bit to this framework. Many of the components and libraries in React Native are built by community developers on sites like Native Directory and JS.coach.

Third-party plugin support- Usually, third-party plugins are not that secure to be used and so, the developers face difficulties while using them. However, React Native is a very flexible framework and allows using third-party plugins with ease. There are pragmatic interfaces in this framework that have customization options.
Simpler user-interface-React Native is more like a JavaScript library which has a simplified user interface. The user interfaces designed in React Native have lesser loading time, they are more responsive and the apps built in it have a smoother feel.

Declarative coding style-The declarative coding style in React Native makes the development understandable and flexible for the developers. It streamlines the development process. The code is easier to read and understand, simply by looking at it.

Modular architecture-React Native has a modular architecture which lets the developers segregate the functions of the program into several blocks called modules. These modules are free and interchangeable. This architecture helps to make the programming more flexible. Also, it becomes easier to upgrade apps quickly. The modules can even be reused for mobile and web APIs.

Plenty of Tools and Libraries–React Native Developers get abundant advantages in development because of the tools and libraries like NPMs, Github forks and other third party platforms. These tools provide libraries for integrating maps, standard UI controls, etc

Wrap-up:

React Native is a futuristic framework meant for cross-platform mobile app development. It is clear from the above-mentioned benefits that why so many businesses prefer to React Native app development services for their projects. It is constantly evolving and saves a lot of time and money for developers. It may not be the perfect solution for every app idea, yet it is one of the highly preferred frameworks in the development world.

Do you want to create a native-like, customizable and feature-rich mobile app for your business?Biz4Solutions is a leading React Native mobile app development company providing cutting-edge services to clients across the world. Our goal is to provide best-in-class mobile apps to our clients and ensure 100% client satisfaction. Hire experienced and talented React Native app developers now! Contact us at www.biz4solutions.com.