An Overview of New-age Location-based Apps and their Development Procedure!

Significance of Location-based Applications

Location-Based Services (LBS) are one of the most trending services nowadays. These services are utilized in countless applications like on-demand apps, travel and transportation-related apps, banking apps, social media apps, event planning apps, etc. to name a few. From Instagram to Uber, from Runtastic to Tinder, these apps have impacted millions of peoples’ lives positively. They have eased out several tasks of day-to-day life and made the customer experiences more comfortable.

Here are some top predictions about the location-based services and their applications.

• The LBS market is expected to cross $39.2 Billion by the year 2025, as projected by MarketsandMarkets!
• Another report by Fortune Business Insights forecasts that by 2026, the LBS market size will cross $66.61 Billion.

It is evident from these stunning reports that the LBS and the location-based apps are high in demand. These are being leveraged by several entrepreneurs, start-ups, and business enterprises across the globe at a fast pace.

 

Top Functions of the Location-Based Tracking Apps

• Communication: Businesses can register their address or any related places on maps. People can add reviews, leave feedback, and also refer to these reviews. Businesses can even link certain content on the map.
• Marketing: Geo-location technologies are used in incentive marketing campaigns for creating interaction mechanics with end-users.
• Information: Customers can get real-time information about the location of a person, place or a bus/train, etc.

 

Major Types of Location-Based Apps using Geolocation Technologies

On-demand Apps like Uber, Zomato, etc.

Social Networking Apps Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.

Location Tracking Apps like Google Maps, Waze, etc.

Dating Apps like OkCupid, Tinder, etc.

eCommerce Apps like Amazon, eBay, etc.

Travel and Tourism Apps like TripAdvisor, Expedia, Booking, etc.

Health and Fitness Apps like MyFitnessPal, Nike Running Club, etc.

Photo Location Finder Apps like Explorest, Google Photos, etc.

Weather Apps like Weather by Apple, Yahoo Weather, etc.

Some of the examples of the location-based apps developed by us are as below:

1. MastR: This is an eCommerce app that enables customers to do virtual shopping. The product categories displayed are based on the location of the product. It also enables scheduled pickups and deliveries.
2. BeachCaddy: This app enables end users to request assistance from beach caddies to help them carry beach items. Travel of caddies is tracked through the application.
3. Otego: It is restaurant management and a food delivery app. Orders placed by the customers can be tracked on the map.

 

After looking at these live examples of location-based applications, we are now going to discuss the mobile app development process used for creating apps using geo-location technologies. So let’s commence.

 

How to Create a New-age Location-based App?

Step 1: Thorough Market Research and Finding a Reliable Tech Partner

You should first decide which type of location-based app you want to build by studying its scope in the market. Market research is mandatory to get the answers to questions like-

• What is my target audience?
• How my app idea will benefit them?
• Who are my competitors?
• What innovation can I offer to my target audience?
• Should I develop an MVP or a full-fledged mobile app?
• How to go about the location-based app development process?
• Which are the top mobile app development companies and whom can I partner with?

 

 Step 2: Deciding the Apt Geolocation Features

It is essential to integrate some core geolocation features and functionalities in your app to make it highly beneficial to the users. These functionalities include Map view, GPS coordinates, user location detection, location history, route mapping, location-based notifications, etc.

 

Step 3: Selecting the Right Technology Stack

Selecting the right tech stack for geolocation app development is a necessity. Find below the list of a few set of tools required for location-based apps to choose from:

Web:

• HTML5 geolocation API

iOS:

• Google Places API
• Google Maps API
• Google Maps SDK
• Core Location API
• Apple MapKit

Android:

• location package
• Google Maps API
• Mapbox
• Google Location Services API
• Google Maps Directions API
• Google Distance Matrix API
• Yandex Maps
• MapView class
• Open Street Map

 

Step 4: Wire-framing, Designing the UI, and Developing the App

The next step is creating several visual prototypes of the app that match your app idea/concept. After wire-framing, design a user-friendly and responsive app UI. Now begin with the development of a feature-rich location-based application. Pay attention to detail, and get your app developed by an experienced team.

 

Step 5: Applying Safety and Security Measures

Ensuring data safety is of paramount importance, especially because location-based apps carry sensitive data. So, consider all the existing legal regulations of different countries you are going to target and strictly adhere to their safety regulations. 

Follow the below-given practices too for making your app secure:

• Using multi-factor authentication
• Using an SSL certificate
• Encrypting communications
• Using App Transport Security for iOS or Network Security Configuration for Android
• Not storing high-importance data on user devices
• Encrypting sensitive information with algorithms like RSA or AES-256

 

Step 6: Final Testing of Complete App

The last step is to carry out rigorous testing of the app. Make sure that the app meets all the code requirements. Test-driven development (TDD) is another effective approach. These will help you reduce the potential bugs, and enhance the app quality.

 

Final Thoughts

Needless to say, location-based apps are enjoying extreme popularity across diverse industries. Owing to their vast benefits, almost every mobile app development company  in the market is utilizing this functionality in some of their apps.

So, do you have a great idea for developing a location-based application? Or do you want to enhance your existing app with this amazing functionality? Reach out to the world-class location-based app development company in Texas, USA, for further assistance.

 

An Extensive Guide on Making a Modern-day Messaging App in 2021!

A few years back, sending a single text message to someone used to be charged quite a bit. But since the emergence of new-age messaging apps, chatting with anyone from any corner of the world is now free. So it is no surprise that more than 50% of all smartphone users have one or more messaging apps installed on their phones.

This niche has progressed tremendously in the last decade. With around 2 Billion users on WhatsApp and 1.3 Billion users on Facebook Messenger, it is evident that the popularity of the messaging applications is at its peak. Besides, there are a plethora of other famous apps like Snapchat, WeChat, Telegram, Skype, Viber, etc. that attract millions of users daily. No wonder why start-ups, leading entrepreneurs, and even giant enterprises are competing to create such messaging apps.

So, are you one amongst them? Do you want to create such a captivating messaging application? If yes, this post is for you.

Here we have explained how to create an appealing chat app despite the tough competition in the market. What features are to be embedded in it? What are the challenges involved? We will also shed light on the security best practices and time required to design a full-fledged chat app. So, let’s dive deeper.    

Must-have Features of a New-age Messaging Application

It is essential to pick the right feature-set for creating an impactful messaging app. The app should be user-friendly, convenient, and support multitasking. The app should easily provide the users with their chat records. Also, it should be quick in responding to them without long hold times. 

Here are some fundamental and powerful features to integrate into such an app. These will make the app appealing to the end-users and provide them a unique chatting experience.

·       Authorization of the Users to easily sign-up via phone numbers, social media, email IDs, etc.

·       Account creation, profile setting, and ability to customize their profiles on the chat app.

·       Instant messaging, message delivery status, group chats, etc.

·       Ability to import contacts so that the users can instantly connect with others in their contact list.

·       File sharing functionality to exchange files like photos, audio clips, documents, videos, and any other similar content.

·       Blocking or reporting unwanted users.

·       Push notifications

·       Geo-location tracking

·       End-to-end encryption

·       Synchronization of the app across multiple devices

A Few more Advanced Features to Consider

·       Voice and video calling

·       Ability to permanently destroy messages, statuses, stories, etc.

·       Photo editing feature

·       Public channels for users to connect with like-minded users or simply read/view the content they like through these channels

·       Entertainment elements like emoticons, gifs, animations, stickers, etc.

·       Live-streaming options

·       Chatbots- an advanced marketing tool for monetization

·       In-app games (though it is a rare feature)

Vital Steps to Architect an Engaging Messaging App

1.     Research by doing a thorough analysis of the market, best apps available, current trends, competitors, target audience, etc. Try downloading and using some of the existing apps for in-depth knowledge of messaging apps and also identify the issues in such apps.

2.     Decide on the concept of the app, its unique selling proposition, and brainstorm on how the app will befit the target audience. Ensure that you are targeting to fix some issues and gaps that the existing apps from stores have.

3.     Identify your business objectives, strategy to create the app, and app monetization techniques.

4.     Decide whether to go for messaging app's MVP or a feature-rich model.

5.     Choose the platform- whether Android or iOS or both.

6.     Pick reliable features to be embedded in the app from the aforesaid list.

7.     Identify a proven and experienced messaging app development company and partner with it for your project.

8.     Share your objectives with their team and work together to create your dream app with a seamless UX/UI design.

9.     Communicate with them from time to time during the chat app development process.

10.  Test the app thoroughly before launching it in the market and modify it if required.

11.  Implement the planned monetization strategies before the app’s release.

12.  Now publish the app on the respective stores.

13.  Collect inputs from the users, conduct surveys, etc. to get insights on how well is your app doing in the market.

14.  Keep maintaining it and improving it according to the response from the target users.

15.  Gradually add new features as you progress.

In the write-up, “What are the Key factors a Startup should Focus on While Developing a Mobile App?” you will get additional insights on this subject.

Potential Challenges in the Messaging App Development Journey

Security Threats: Users want assurance that their conversations are safe and their data does not leak out in any case. This can be challenging to implement for chat app development companies. Please read along as we have discussed in detail the best security practices in the later section.

Server Overload: As the app users start rising, servers may get overloaded, particularly during peak load times. So, the server setup should be capable of handling such loads. Also, all other probable downsides of the server you identify and the remedial measures for those issues should be considered in advance.

Unstable Internet Connections: Internet connectivity can weaken or cut off due to several unpredictable reasons. At such times, some messages sent by users could get lost. So, the apps should be designed to work in an offline mode. When the connection restores, the lost messages should be reproduced.

Issues during App Updates: It must be ensured that while updating the apps with new features and functionalities, existing data shouldn’t be lost owing to architecture configuration or server issues. Ensuring this is especially challenging in real-time chat apps.

Multiple Solutions in One App: Nowadays, users expect a chat app to be much more than a simple app that exchanges texts, calls, multimedia, etc. They expect extra facilities like in-app payments, gaming, capabilities for online marketing of their business, etc.

Security Best Practices to Employ

Messaging apps hold a monumental amount of personal, confidential, and sensitive data of the users, and hence, security must be a vital consideration in the messaging app development process.

Let us have a glance at what some of the renowned apps have done to achieve top-grade security.

WhatsApp developed an end-to-end encryption system by partnering with Open Whisper Systems, a software development group at Signal.org. This system ensures the privacy and security of all the communications happening via the app and even WhatsApp cannot decrypt the chats.

Another app Telegram makes its app secure by utilizing its in-house encryption protocol. Every week or whenever the users complete sending a pre-defined number of messages, cryptographic keys in the app are changed. Even though a single message is intercepted, all other messages remain encrypted.

So, for attaining this kind of security in your chat app, go through the below-given security practices and ensure that they are implemented in the app.

·       For any kind of client-server connection, make use of TLS/SSL protocols.

·       Utilize powerful authentications like two-factor authentication in the app.

·       Implement end-to-end encryption, private and public-key encryption, etc. for the content like text, audio/video calls, etc.

·       Ensure that your app complies with data protection and privacy requirements of GDPR i.e. General Data Protection Regulation.

·       Back up everything on the app from time to time.

·       Use biometrics for the users while accessing the app.

·       Never save sensitive data of the users in the database. You can either use hashing algorithms or encode such data.

·       For infrastructure deployment, using a private network is one of the best solutions.

·       Apply throttling and rate-limiting.

·       Users should be able to download media files only when they are active or online. To ensure this, Private File Object storage can be used for each chat with authorization and authentication.

·       Make use of an SHA-512 hashing algorithm in the apps.

·       Display privacy policies to the users and create additional functionality for them to ensure better data protection.

For gaining some more knowledge on the security of mobile apps, do read the blog- “Actionable Tips for Top-grade Security in Mobile Apps!”.

Timeline Required and Budget Considerations for Creation of a Chat App

Predicting the exact time and pricing of a chat app is not possible until the knowledge of certain factors. This includes the factors like the number of features you decide to embed and their complexity, the number of screens, the platforms you choose for messaging app development, design requirements, the technology stack that you finalize, any peculiarities of the third parties involved, country of development, etc.

Timeline and costing also depend on whether you want to have an MVP model developed first, or a full-fledged app. Based on these factors, the messaging app development services may require a minimum of 2 months and a maximum of 5 months approximately. The pricing could range from $20,000- $50,000; which may somewhat vary from vendor to vendor. Reach out to us to get an estimate for your tailored requirements.

Concluding Thoughts:

The digital world and the end-users always await the arrival of unique messaging apps having compelling concepts, despite the presence of myriad apps in the market. So, entrepreneurs across the globe are experimenting to architect such new-age chat apps. Besides, several existing apps are also being updated with the chat functionality to allure more users as well as gain a competitive edge.

So, are you also wanting to embed this vital feature in your app? Or do you have an amazing concept in mind? Biz4Solutions, an experienced messaging app development company based in Texas, can assist you through the process. Just drop us a line!

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The Advantages and Shortcomings of Serverless Applications!

Serverless App Development is the latest trend in the IT sector! Yet, several questions arise in the minds of entrepreneurs planning to execute serverless architecture for their next app development project.

What is serverless architecture?

How is the serverless model different from other prevalent cloud computing models?

What are the opportunities and obstacles of serverless applications?

Is my business going to benefit from the serverless computing model?

Well, this article answers all the aforesaid questions! So, let’s commence.

What is serverless architecture?

Serverless architecture refers to a software design pattern in which a third-party service hosts the applications; so that the developers need not engage in the task of managing the server software and hardware. This approach is also known as serverless computing as the app logic gets implemented in an eco-system wherein servers, OS, and virtual machines are not visible. This doesn’t mean that servers are not used at all. The app logic is executed on an OS that uses physical servers. But, the difference with other cloud services is that; here the service provider wholly takes up the responsibility of infrastructure management and so the mobile app developer can focus only on writing codes.

Categories of Serverless Applications:

FaaS (Function as a Service/Feature as a Service), the serverless model enables developers to build, run and manage the app functionalities; without having to create or maintain the infrastructure needed for developing and launching the app. The first FaaS service provider was AWS Lambda by Amazon, followed by several others like Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Functions, etc.

PaaS (Platform as a Service), another category of cloud computing, bears similarity with FaaS as they too hide servers from developers. But, unlike FaaS this service runs one server process continually for receiving external requests. The app is scaled by booting up more server processors, for which the developer is charged and so the scalability is visible to the developer.

BaaS (Backend as a Service), is another prominent model which addresses the cloud-computing requirements for the mobile and web app developers by offering them a unified means of connecting their apps to cloud computing services.  As such, BaaS automates the development of the backend for the web and mobile and also manages the cloud infrastructure. This enables the mobile and web app development companies to only focus on the frontend part of the application.

Serverless Applications: Advantages

Reduced Administrative and Infrastructural burden

The hassle of managing servers passes on to the vendor, resulting in the following benefits for a mobile and web app development company.

• Firms need not spend a huge amount on the hardware or hire engineers for maintaining that hardware.
• More time and resources can be dedicated to creating and improving customer-facing features.
• Developers have the flexibility of crafting and scaling the apps as required; without having to worry about the constraint of server capacity.

Cost-efficient Pricing Model

In traditional server-full architectural setups, developers have to figure out in advance the amount of server capacity needed; based on which the company purchases the capacity whether or not they end up using it. However, serverless setups follow the “pay-as-you-go” policy which means the vendor charges the company only for the amount of server space they use. The code runs whenever the serverless application needs backend functions and gets automatically scaled up whenever required. Also, provisioning is precise, dynamic, and happens in real-time. As FaaS charges a fraction of the price per request, a start-up can build an MVP at minimal cost without having to pay huge bills for lesser traffic.

Quicker Deployments and Updates

The serverless model eliminates the tasks of uploading the code to servers or engaging in any backend configuration for releasing a fully functional app. Hence, developers can speedily upload bits of code and launch a new app. As the app is a collection of functions provisioned by the service provider, rather than being a single monolithic stack; developers can either upload the entire code at one go or upload one function at a time. This ability speeds up the tasks of fixing, patching, or updating the app without any need to make changes in the entire application.

Latency Reduction

Since the app does not get hosted in the origin server, it becomes possible to run its code from anywhere. As such, the app’s functions can be run on servers that are close to the end-user depending on the vendor selected. This strategy reduces latency as the requests coming from the user need not travel a long way to reach an origin server.

Inherent Scalability

Serverless applications are capable of scaling automatically with the increase in the number of user base or usage. If a function requires to be run several times, the vendor’s servers will start, run and end them as required using separate containers. This provides the ability to handle a higher number of requests effectively as compared to a traditionally structured app.

Serverless Applications: Downsides

• As the vendor fully controls the operations, a firm has to abide by their rules. For instance, if your app is set in Lambda it’s not easy to port it to Azure. This concern applies to coding languages as well. Presently only Python and Node.js developers have the flexibility to choose between the prevalent serverless options.
• FaaS tools involve a steep learning curve despite the availability of comprehensive documentation.
• Companies need to split their monolith into microservices for painlessly migrating to a serverless model.
• Debugging and troubleshooting become challenging as serverless apps use traditional tools.
• This model is great for short real-time processes but an additional function needs to be called if the task takes longer. Traditional approaches fare better for indulging in extended duration operations.

Bottom line

Serverless computing best suits start-ups and small businesses. But, if your company has a well-established workflow, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision. For technical assistance with cloud solutions or any mobile app development services, connect to Biz4Solutions, a leading cloud service provider.

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Why Angularjs Is the First Choice of Expert Developers for Building Web Applications?

The AngularJS framework is undoubtedly one of the most popular and versatile frameworks available today. Introduced by Google in 2009, this framework has progressively proven its worth in the web development market. It helps to develop the most maintainable and stable apps. As a result, the demand for AngularJS web app development has risen from a few years in the software market. Needless to say, most enterprises prefer hiring AngularJS web app development company for executing their project.

Let us have a look at why this framework is being preferred on a large scale across the world.

What is AngularJS?

AngularJS is an open-source structured JavaScript framework that supports multiple platforms. It is being largely used for developing adaptable and robust single-page applications (SPA). It simplifies front-end development. In this framework, all the commands and functions use code templates which are written in HTML script. The primary purpose of introducing AngularJS was building SPAs and so, it has a strong list of tools that support SPA development. This framework is ideal for the websites in which the content changes dynamically, as per the behavior and preferences of the end-users. AngularJS is also used for developing enterprise web apps, and Progressive web apps (PWAs).

Growing demand for AngularJS web app development

The AngularJS framework has become a leading choice for developers. It comes with features which let the Angular app developers create the most robust and scalable web apps. Being interactive JavaScript framework, it helps in building interactive elements and components of a website. Due to its rich features and attributes, AngularJS has emerged to be a universal solution to web development. It’s difficult to imagine the development of a new-age single-page app without using AngularJS.

Why AngularJS is the best framework for web development?

Google’s support

AngularJS is developed by Google itself and is maintained by dedicated Google developers. There are highly skilled and enthusiastic engineers for assisting if any technical or maintenance issues arise. This framework has a large community support. If you want any suggestions or get stuck with some technical issues, there are many forums to solve your queries.

Two-way binding

Two-way data binding is used in AngularJS and is considered one of the best features of this framework. It supports automatic synchronization of data between the model and the view. One can develop a template with ease for binding different components and models. The modifications in the user interface will instantly impact the application objects and vice versa. For any module changes, user actions or browser events, the necessary patterns are updated immediately.

High-performance

Web developers choose AngularJS because of its robustness, high scalability and ease of maintenance, etc. It is powered by amazing features like filters, directives, content sanitization, form validation, routing, data binding, animations, API client, scope management, form validation, etc. Also, AngularJS supports many tools for providing exceptional performance and outcomes. These help in building high-performing web apps. AngularJS allows producing new elements with the framework.

Simplified Model View Controller (MVC)

AngularJS web app development uses the original MVC model which is a necessary feature for building dynamic web apps. It is a software architectural setup that maintains data, improves the code quality, reduces the complexity and makes the development faultless by dividing logic, UI and process into separate modules. MVC architecture minimizes the need for writing the code.

Better User Interface with HTML

In AngularJS, the user interfaces are built on HTML. HTML is a declarative language having shorter tags and very easy to grasp and follow. The code is lightweight and easy to read and support. The interfaces in HTML are completely well-thought, smooth, organized and structured.

POJO Model

AngularJS web app development makes use of the POJO (Plain Old JavaScript Object) model. POJO provides standard functionalities of JavaScript for object manipulation, so there is no need to add any additional getter and setter functions. The developers need to develop loops of arrays and objects and then reframe or adjust them as needed.

Real-Time Testing

The availability of in-built and real-time modules makes testing much easier for AngularJS web app developers. This is so because it supports functional and in-depth testing for every module and also enables faster testing of the web apps. 

Security and Responsiveness

Being a very flexible and robust structure, JavaScript framework allows implementing third-party libraries and packages. It helps to build responsive apps.

When there is a new update in the framework, data protection and security of the apps can affect. But AngularJS embeds strict security features and makes the apps highly secure.

Routing

Routing simply means the transition from one view to another. It is a significant feature of single page applications. All the content in a single-page application is present on one single page. So, whenever the users click on a menu, they should not be redirected to a new page. Instead, the content should be asynchronously loaded on the same page while just the URLs change, for rich user experience. AngularJS makes routing easier by making various views for different URLs.

Flexibility with filters

AngularJS is flexible with filters. Filters are used for filtering the data before it reaches the view. These are standalone functions concerned with data transformations. They involve functions like reversing the order of an array, formatting decimal places on a number, implementing pagination, filtering an array based on a parameter, etc. 

Key Takeaways:

AngularJS is a promising framework that is helping businesses to develop interactive and user-friendly web apps. It comes with many controls, services, views, models and directories. As compared to other frameworks, this multi-functional framework reduces the coding part significantly. This ultimately reduces the efforts of developers, while speeding up the development process and reducing the chances of errors. It is a highly flexible framework that enhances productivity and expediency. Using AngularJS framework is a win-win situation for both developers and enterprises.

Influence of Fast Refresh Feature in React Native 0.61 on the Developer Community!

What are the Persistent Issues in the React Native Framework?

What Features are Covered in React Native’s 0.61 Version?

How does the ‘Fast Refresh’ Feature in this Update Impact the Developer Community?

All such questions about React Native 0.61 version will be covered in this blog. We will especially elaborate on the Fast Refresh Feature in this blog. So without much delay, let’s get started.

A Bit about React Native 0.61

React Native 0.61 is quite a small update comparatively. It is an attempt to resolve several persistent issues present in the older versions. The broken hot-reloading feature was one of the biggest pain points for React Native App Developers and the Community. This new update majorly focuses on a new reloading experience called Fast Refresh. With this update, the developer community can heave a sigh of relief.

But before looking into features in this new version, let’s have a quick look at the persistent issues in React Native. Like any other technology, this technology had several shortcomings and no matter how small, but these shortcomings did affect the overall mobile app development.

Shortcomings in React Native Framework!

Hot-reloading Issue: Being one of the most popular features of React Native, the hot-reload feature got much attention from the developer community. But sadly, it didn’t go that well and especially failed to work appropriately with Stateless Functional Components (SFC). In the React Native 0.61 version, this issue has been fixed, and now, reloading any React Native code reliably is possible without reloading the complete application.

Time-consuming Updating Process: Updating React Native from an older version to a new one is tedious and needs a lot of time. This process especially becomes highly time-consuming in case the React Native Developers haven’t installed a few updates and then want to update it once for all.

Sudden App Crashes at Times: Several times, React Native apps can crash suddenly and there is not much information available to know the reason for such app crashes.

Finding Main Reason of Exception: Finding the main reason for the exception is quite challenging in the React Native framework. Stack trace in the Chrome debugger console makes the debugging process much time-consuming. In this case, component DidCatch also doesn’t seem much helpful.

Issues with Ram Bundle: The ram bundle of React Native isn’t supported by any OTA platform like CodePush. This issue is caused since React Native community is not connected widely.

So, to overcome such challenges and solve the existing bugs, React Native 0.61 was introduced. New features in this version will help the developer community to leverage an improved development process and also result in a better end-product.

Notable Features of React Native 0.61 and its Impact on the Developer Community

Better CocoaPods support: A few updates in the 0.60 version of React Native were by default made to integrate CocoaPods. But this leads to several issues in the use_frameworks! But thankfully, this issue is being worked upon and fixed in 0.61. After this update, it has become much simpler to integrate React Native into the iOS projects that are developed with dynamic frameworks.

React 16.9 Upgrade: In this version, there have been improvements to act. Also, the old names for the UNSAFE_ lifecycle methods have been deprecated.

The ‘useWindowDimensions Hook’ Feature: Hook is another fascinating feature introduced in this version that offers and subscribes to dimension updates. This feature can be used instead of the Dimensions API in several cases.

Fast Refresh: The “hot reloading” and “live reloading” features have been unified into a single feature called “Fast Refresh” for addressing the hot-reloading issue. This update is quite helpful to the developer community and every React Native App Development Company. So, let us have a quick look at what’s so impressive about this feature.

Significance of the Fast Refresh Feature

The hot-reload issue needed enhancements for a long time and in this update, it has been addressed. So, what are these enhancements, and how is these will impact the developers as well as React Native App Development services leveraging this framework? Please read along.

• The feature doesn’t exercise invasive code transformations. Thus, the code can be considered more reliable and trustworthy even if kept ON in the settings by default.
• This feature provides complete support to new-age React along with function components and Hooks completely.
• This feature helps to skilfully recover from typos and similar mistakes. Besides, whenever required, the Fast Refresh feature can be switched to full reload.

Final Views:

We have seen several features of React Native 0.61 version along with its Fast Refresh feature. About this feature, the developer community finds it much flexible to use. It works well for both functional components and class components. Though it is almost similar to the hot-reloading feature, this time, it is much more efficient and excellent in performance.

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Handy Web Development Checklists that every Team must refer to!

Developing a fully functional website for your enterprise is a herculean task as the website development process is time-consuming and loaded with complexities. It involves various stages: creating the web design, website development, website project management, testing, deployment and maintenance post-deployment. Each stage needs to be executed skillfully to avoid any glitches in the operational system. Additionally, the project has to be delivered within the set timeline. Therefore, chances of lapses are likely; particularly if your team lacks experience or is in a hurry to meet deadlines.

To fulfill these challenging website development requirements, every web development team should maintain a checklist of the essential tasks, to avoid any misses. This blog enlists the key web development checklists that your team needs to refer to; for architecting a flawless web application or website. These checklists have been created by consolidating inputs from the doyens of the software sector and will help a Web App Development Company to make sure that crucial action items are not missed.

But, before we proceed, take a glance at what kind of checklists are required.

Checks for Web Development

Every web app development project must carry out the following validations during website development. Given below are the kinds of checklists that are essential.

Design, UX and SEO checks

• Optimize your website for all kinds of devices such as mobiles, tablets, laptops and desktops.
• Eliminate irrelevant images.
• It is important to check whether the UX design has been executed as per the set standards.
• Make sure your website doesn’t contain validation errors and broken links. Broken links are the links that show an error or the “page not found” message when clicked and as such adversely affect the User Experience as well as the website’s SEO score.
• Include meta tags like title and description, as they improve the website’s ranking and boost the SEO score.

Readability checks

• Cross-check the website content for any possible spelling or grammatical errors prior to the website’s live launch.
• Ensure that your website content is unique and plagiarism-free.
• You need to adjust the font style so that that your web page is easy to read and scan; as this aspect is a game-changer in the matter of user retention.

Functionality and Performance checks

• Check the visual appearance and loading speed of your images. In case they appear blurred or are slow to load; resolve this problem by optimizing the image-size. Optimization of images boosts the performance and also improves the search engine ranking.
• Examine the loading time of your website. If the loading is more than 4 sec, get the issue resolved, otherwise, it may have adverse effects on your viewership.
• Check your website’s performance and rendering on trending browsers like Chrome, Safari, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, Opera, etc.
• Always turn on the caching of your website. The reason is caching not only optimizes the speed of a webpage but also reduces the server-load by minimizing lengthy scripts like JavaScript and CSS. A cache plugin called ‘W3 Total Cache’ can be easily installed if you are using WordPress to develop the website.
• Ensure that all the links of your web page are functional and it enables effortless navigation.

Security checks

• Secured Socket Layer (SSL): An SSL certificate is a must-have if your website collects sensitive user data such as personal details or banking/credit card particulars.
• An anti-malware Plugin: Employing anti-malware plugins helps to effectively resolve malware threats and hence protect a website from viruses as well as malware attacks.

Handy Checklists for Web Design

Here are some ready-made Web development checklists recommended for your team.

Checklists related to an app’s pre-launch and post-launch

• The Essential Pre-launch Checklist for Your Website includes functionality, design elements, cross-browser testing, content editing, and SEO.
• Website Launch Checklist by Glasgow developer provides tools for checking actions after they are completed, greys out items that are not applicable, and resets the checklist to make it ready for the next project. It includes editing content, testing links, navigation usability, validating HTML and CSS, GDPR compliance, minifying styles and scripts, infrastructure, communication, compatibility, analytics, performance, accessibility, etc.
• The Essential Launch Checklist for Web Apps and Mobile Apps by Ben Cheng allows product managers to test the security, performance level, compatibility, and broken links in applications.

Checklists on Front-end performance

• A front-end Deployment Checklist by Fred Rocha provides guidance on validating the markup; as well as checking the performance, the console for JavaScript, etc.
• The Front-end Checklist by David Dias is a useful digital interactive tool. One has to enter the project’s URL to get a full report on areas like JavaScript, HTML, CSS, head, images, web fonts, SEO, accessibility and performance. This check is an exhaustive one that classifies items based on low, medium or high priority requirements.
• Front-end Performance Checklist 2020 by Vitaly Friedman guides on How to get ready on planning and metrics, how to set realistic goals, defining the environment and assets, build and delivery optimizations, monitoring and testing, etc.

Checklists pertaining to the backend server and database security

• Back-end Best Practices offers stack-agonistic guidance on the best available practices concerning different back-end architectures like app monitoring, security, data storage solutions, server environments, etc. It also offers a responsibility checklist for organizing the web design task list for the team and a release-checklist required during the website’s launch.
• Database Testing Checklist provides checklist items regarding field validation, stored procedures, security, database integrity, constraints, transactions, etc.

Checklists on Cross-browser testing

• Cross-browser Testing Checklist Before Going Live offers testing related to element alignment, font rendering, API connections, etc.
• Cross-browser Testing Checklist offers all items required for testing on various browsers and operating systems.

Final Verdict:

Thus, every web developer as well as web development company must have comprehensive knowledge about these essential checklists for architecting a flawless and universally acceptable website. To know more on why opt for web app development, click here.

I hope this blog was helpful. Have you come across any roadblocks while developing web applications? Do share your experiences in the comments section below and let us know in case of further queries.

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The Key Factors that determine the cost of creating an Application like BookMyShow!

There was a time when people had to bear the hassles of long waits at the counters, for the simple activity of booking tickets. Thankfully, the advent of digital event-based ticket booking platforms has transformed the ticket booking experience altogether. Today, you just need to click a few times on your smartphones, from the comfort of your homes/offices, for booking tickets to watch your favorite movie, or show. No wonder, online entertainment ticket booking apps like BookMyShow have garnered unprecedented popularity.

BookMyShow, launched in 2007 is India’s most sought-after event-based ticket booking service. Using this app one can book tickets for movies, concerts, sports, events, etc., and also access the events calendar, film reviews, show times, and promotional offers. Here are some glimpses of its success stories

• The brand has established its online presence in 4 countries and over 350 cities; and has attained the loyalty of more than 16 million customers.
• The app boasts of over 30 million downloads and over 10 million ticket bookings per month.
• It bagged several titles like “The Hottest Company” for 2011-12; “The Company to watch out for” (CNBC Young Turks Award), and the “Best Omni-channel Customer Experience Brand” (OneDirect Quest Customer Experience Awards).

The aforesaid information indicates the humongous market demand for such applications. Therefore, several businesses are looking forward to architecting a ticket booking app. But, the very first question that arises in their minds is; “How much does it cost to develop a ticket booking app like book my show?”

This write-up discusses the key factors that determine the cost of creating an application like BookMyShow. But before we delve deeper, let me provide you glimpses of the trending online ticketing applications.

Top-rated Ticketing Apps

StubHub

Owned by eBay, it sells tickets for concerts, sports, and many other live entertainment events.

Ticketmaster

This is an American company that deals with the sales and distribution of tickets obtained from clients. 

SeatGeek

This is a marketplace for event tickets and an aggregator for the tickets concerning sports, concerts, and other events. The users enjoy the option of browsing through the events, viewing color-coded seat maps, and receiving electronic or printed tickets after their purchase.

Ticketplease.com

This one-stop online portal sells tickets for all sorts of events and clubs up other offers with ticket purchasing activity.

Features to include in a ticket booking app along with Price Estimate

Take a sneak peek into the basic and additional features to include in an online ticketing app.

Basic Features

For App users

•  Login/Signup/registration
• Forgot Password/Phone Validation
• Splash Screen
• Advanced search/Movies/Search Location
• Booking Movie Tickets/Seat Selection Option with Layouts
• Checkout Option along with ticket summary
• Ticket PDF/Options for payment/pay later
• Booking History
• Push Notifications regarding upcoming events
• View/Apply Coupons

Admin Panel

• Dashboard
• Login
• Manage Users
• Settings
• Manage current and forthcoming events
• Withdrawals/Wallet Management
• Order Management
• Vendor Management

The app development cost to integrate these basic features for Android as well as iOS ranges from approximately 32,000 to 35,000 USD.

Additional Features

App Users: Blogs, Support Chat, Mobile Wallet Integration, Loyalty and Rewards

Admin: Customer Analytics, dashboard Analytics, Management of Transactions, Managing offers.

Key Factors Affecting the cost of developing a Ticket-booking Application

The Choice of Platform

The two chief platforms targeted by mobile applications are iOS and Android. While both these platforms involve their specific set of features; Android app development turns out to be lesser costly than iOS. However, most businesses investing in app development target both platforms to cater to more audiences. But, platform selection entirely depends on your app development budget.

The App Design

Top-class and trending designs provide optimum customer satisfaction but are pretty more expensive to implement as compared to the ordinary ones. But, none the less, design is a crucial aspect of an application that not only affects the usability but also the UX. So, even though a high-end design incurs more expenses, it proves profitable in the long run.

The Size of the App

The integration of more tools and features increases the size of the app along with the cost. Therefore, select your features wisely. Remember, all the features offered by bestselling apps are not worthy.

The number of Features

The more features you integrate, the higher are the expenses. So, if you have budget constraints, it is advisable to conduct thorough market research and include only the key features depending on your target audience. However, you need to integrate some trending and unique features, for gaining a competitive edge over the popular applications.

Mobile Wallet Integration

The integration of a mobile wallet into your application elevates the UX by eliminating all types of hassles involved in online payments. But, this add-on will cost dearly, impacting the overall development cost.

Developer Selection

The project cost is directly proportional to the experience and expertise ofthe developers you hire. Nevertheless, it is better to choose proficient developers. Their charges might be higher than anticipated, but choosing quality over cost is necessary to sustain in this competitive market for a longer time.

The geographical location of the developers also plays a crucial role in deciding the development cost as the labor charges vary based on the location Have a look at the approximate developer rates per hour for the standard locations.

• India and some of the Asian Countries: $20-30$ per hour
• Eastern part of Europe: $40-$100
• Australia: $50-$150
• UK: $50-$180
• U.S. and Canada: $50-$250

Final Verdict

My write-up must have provided you with a basic idea and approximate cost estimate for shaping your app idea into a fully functional mobile app.

If you hail from a non-technical background, it is absolutely essential to partner with a competent mobile app development company to achieve success. Biz4Solutions, a leading mobile and web app development company would be the ideal technology partner to pick for crafting top-class ticket booking applications. Contact us today!

The core technologies we offer:

Angular app Development Company

React Native App Development Company 

Ruby on Rails (RoR) App Development

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