Sunday, 12 June 2016

5 Things to know before developing your first Android App



We are advancing into a technological era where every other upcoming technology is more improved than the previous one. A new technology is born every second and so is the case with mobile apps. Unless and until, the app has unique features, it will not rank up in the search results in the app store. There are 5 things you should know before developing your first Android app:

Add a hint of uniqueness to your idea

The idea behind the app should be one of its kind. There are many apps launched every hour that resemble the existing apps but they do not necessarily get popular amongst the users. The essence is to address the users’ requirement through the unique concept. There are many online resources that offer exceptional ideas for developing unique Android apps.

Get app store optimised

One of the biggest challenges that app developers face is the ranking of apps in search results of the app store. With hundreds and millions of apps launching every day, the popular ones tend to stay up on the ranking while others go unnoticed. For beginners it is necessary to work out on their app store optimisation (ASO) strategies. The icon, visuals, reviews and the name of app should all be focused upon carefully. Insert suitable keywords and visuals to enhance the presentation of the app. Use other popular ASO techniques to grab the attention of your target audience instantly. 

Compare your app with the rest in your category

It is important for a developer to compare and contrast the app with all the rest in the category/genre on Google Play. This is a good way of minimising the risk of possible errors in the apps and improving the versions according to the technological advancements. Consequently this will also improve the rating and reviews of users which will enhance the app store optimisation and boost the ranking.

Choose the right time for launching your mobile app 

For beginners it is important to set a time for launching the android app. A good time for usually launching apps is either the holiday season or in summers. People are usually free during this time and busy with casual browsing. Thus it is best to launch an app during the time when people are looking for fresh apps to fulfil their needs. Developers can also take it as an advantage to upgrade their existing apps so as to attract a fresh wave of users. 

Go viral with your app

There is nothing illegal in purchasing some downloads from third-party websites to make your app go viral. If you believe in your product and think that it may expedite the process – then it may be fruitful for the long-term. All you need is to make sure that the downloads you purchase improve the quality and help you in optimising for right keywords. Furthermore, you may also need to bring in your creativity to work, design interactive ads using video, graphics and audio resources to generate hefty revenues. 

Friday, 3 June 2016

App Store Optimisation (ASO)


With over 2 million apps over major app stores finding your app in the sea of various apps is one of the biggest challenges faced by the developers. This is where mobile App Store Optimisation (ASO) becomes an important step during the app development process. For users’ accessibility your app should rank amongst the top search results through suitable keywords. Before structuring your ASO there are certain things that need improvement. Here is a comprehensive guide to making an improved app store strategy that will perform exceptional results.

Know Your Areas

Mobile app marketing has various features that play a significant role in building up the ASO strategy. These strategies includes digital marketing on social media, digital ad campaigns and content marketing including blogs and promotional content. The essential key here is to maintain a good relationship with an expert blogger so as to save time and deliver your message to your target audience.

Choice of Keywords

Better selection of words can take the mobile app on top of search engine results. However, certain keywords which are not suitable for usage so it is better to research ahead of time and carefully chose the appropriate keywords. Moreover, there are many websites that have a good collection of keywords and recommends you the suitable ones for your app genre. 

Choose Aesthetically Appealing Visuals

High quality visuals always improve the search experience, it may be for web search or a mobile app search. Images with premium quality and better resolution stop the user at your app rather than scrolling past it. Another very important aspect is the usage of correct and visually viable images for the apps. Use of unethical images will certainly generate negative user feedback and it is more probable that your app shall step down in the search result ranking.  

Change with the Transforming Marketplace

It is most necessary for a developer to upgrade his/her app according to the changing marketing techniques. Updating your app in terms of better pictures, review and icons when compared to the competitor app. updating the app according to the changing trends will increase the chances of downloading the apps. 

Off-site Factors

Not all the factors affecting the ASO depend upon the internal marketing. Certain off-site factors are controlled via external promotions. The external promotions directly correlates the search result ranking as a huge off-site factor. Thus better marketing of the app may also result in increased download which consequently result in rising search result ranking.

Rating and Reviews

Do ratings and reviews actually affect the app store optimisation? Indeed, the app store optimisation is affected by nature of ratings and reviews at large. Rating and reviews have a direct relationship with downloads of the app. Bad reviews result in a negative impact on the users while reviews that portray an enjoying experience gives an impression that is sure to welcome other downloads. 

Avoid Common Errors


Lastly, errors that can make all efforts end in vain should be omitted. Common blunders like usage of unrelated keywords and excessively using punctuation to fill the keyword space in app store should be avoided. Moreover, grammatical and spelling errors should also be omitted as it may never let your app climb up the ladder of search ranking. 

Monday, 21 December 2015

Learning a new language with Babbel

If you want to start the new year off learning a new language, apps such as Babbel provide interactive teaching that you can use on your smartphone. 

2015 has seen these kinds of apps finally reach their potential, incorporating the latest technology with well researched and developed learning techniques.






Thursday, 18 June 2015

iOS Versus Android

Every system has its own pros and cons depending on the choice of their users and the features that would work better for them as compared to others.With the advent of technology, the usage of smart phones has become excessive and over the past few years, a variety of changes have been witnessed with respect to the facilities provided by the operating systems to the user. When a user is looking to buy a smart phone, it is a tough task to determine which operating systems would be feasible to them and what they are more likely to benefit from. 
Out of a number of mobile operating systems, iOS and Android are two of the major systems that are highly in demand and are still growing as each day passes. With the introduction of iOS 9.0, in the presence of Android 5.0, these mobile operating systems are growing continuously. 
With new software operations coming up for Apple as well as Android, the debate between these two operating systems has become a heated one. Although Android has been efficient in introducing new technology and iOS has been featuring better design elements, but it all boils down to the individual choice of the users when it comes to choosing between the two. Though Apple’s iPhones and tablets have always beaten Android over market sales, Android provides its users with cheaper Apps that can be downloaded from numerous sources. Here are a few things to avoid while developing iOS apps.
Despite the amount of convenience, this makes the Android device more threatened and vulnerable.The features provided by Android are without a doubt more customised but users that have been on iOS for a couple of years may feel really addicted to Apple and may find it hard to shift. Apple not only provides a minimalist design but also an aesthetic one and we can see as new software have been coming up, how more efforts are being put into its designs for better user interaction experience. Both Android and iOS have tried their own ways of integrating multitasking in their Operating systems.
 Android has tried to follow Apples path with its latest design aesthesis, incorporated in the latest version of Android called Lollipop. Both operating systems are making improvements by making their designs finger and touch friendly.In comparison, iPhones are fairly easy to use and are user friendly. We present some other differences between iOS and Android. 

Safety
When operating an android phone, one has to be aware of the viruses and hacks that are unprotected from attack. However, all Apps created by Apple for the iPhone are rigorously tested before they are put into play. The App Store is secure and tightly controlled by the operating managers in order to avoid threats. 
Fragmentation
Where on one hand, iOS users may not even be familiar with the word ‘’fragmentation’’ Android App users have to wait for the new updates to be available on their smart phones in case their hardware manufacturers decide to make the upgrade available. 
Maps

Despite all the bugs that were pointed out for the maps that are provided by iOS, a number of fixes have been made to improve performance. However, Android makes use of Google Maps that provides directions for their users whether they are travelling by bus, a car, or even a boat.