thebhwgroup.com

Mobile App Development - Complete Approach

Paul Francis — 2014-09-16T00:00:00+00:00

##Mobile App Development In my previous 2 articles, I provided an overview of both mobile websites and native mobile apps, as well as discussing the benefits and drawbacks of each. These are the two main pieces of a mobile strategy and understanding them individually is crucial to crafting an effective mobile app development plan. But, knowing how and when to combine these technologies is what sets the top mobile players apart. This article’s aim is to help guide your mobile app development approach. I will provide examples of when certain technologies are effective, required, or even discouraged and will also discuss the ultimate ideal of a complete mobile app development plan. ##The Foundation of Mobile App Development - Mobile Websites The majority of web browsing today takes place on mobile devices. Moreover, the number of mobile devices and mobile users is continuing to grow. Since most, or nearly all, desktop websites are frustrating and sub-optimal for mobile users, you need a mobile website to accommodate and acquire these mobile browsers, users, and customers. ##When are mobile websites needed? If your website is customer facing (meaning it is used by people who do not work at your company), and does not perform a task that is impossible on a mobile device, you probably fall into this category. To emphasize this point, you can look at your Google Analytics reports (which, hopefully you have setup or have something similar in place). In case you do not have yours handy, here is our website’s device overview for the past year: {% include full-blog-image.html src="Google-Analytics-last-year-mobile.png" alt="Mobile development google analytics" %} As you can see, almost 30% of our sessions occur on mobile devices. If your website is inoperable or frustrating when used on a mobile device, you are almost certainly missing out on a sizable number of potential customers. ##When are mobile websites nice to have? {% include full-blog-image.html src="Forestar_report.png" alt="Mobile app development read only" class="right"%} If your website is only used by people who work at your company, such as an internal customer management system, or offers a service that is too complicated to fully function on a smaller device, such as a day trading service, you might fall into this category. It might seem like this would put you into the “not necessary” category, but that is likely not entirely true. Often these sorts of sites could benefit from a stripped down or feature specific version that can function well on mobile. Imagine a scenario where on a full desktop web app, you can enter information about a new customer, create a sale, process payment, and fulfill an order. This might be too difficult or time consuming to do on a phone or tablet. But, if this website provided a read-only view of this order, or sales reports in a mobile friendly format, that could be hugely beneficial to users and managers. If someone is just making a mobile app, they might think that they would fall into the “not necessary” group. But this is not always true. Consider these apps that do not have any non-native app services, but still have mobile websites:

These apps have really simple single-page sites that describe their apps and provide download links in various app marketplaces. Simple, cheap, and effective. ##When are mobile websites not necessary? Some companies that just want to have a mobile app, might not need a mobile website. Here are some very successful apps that do not have (or at least do not appear to have) a mobile website: {% include full-blog-image.html src="flappy_0.gif" alt="Mobile app development - games" class="right" %}

Temple Run
Flappy Bird
Various Emoji apps

There are a few other websites that fall into this category:

Websites that are only accessible when in a certain physical location.
Websites that require a significant amount of data entry and simply require a keyboard.

##The Refinement of Mobile App Development -
Native Apps Unlike mobile websites, which offer the same or similar features as a full website, native mobile apps allow you to engage users more intimately and utilize additional information coming from the device and other apps. Because of this, for most companies these apps should be an extension of their offerings. ##When are native apps needed? It would be wrong to argue that every company needs a mobile app. In fact, I would argue that few truthfully NEED a native mobile app. The main exception are the whole host of companies whose main product is apps. This includes companies like King or Zynga. The other large group of companies that fall into this category are those with users who expect a native app. So, given that Facebook and Twitter have highly used native apps, any new social network should create an app as well. ##When are native apps nice to have? {% include full-blog-image.html src="Mobile-App-Development-Rush.png" alt="Mobile App development - Rush" class="right" %} This is probably the category that most companies fall into. There are so many scenarios where interacting with users in an app-like manner is incredibly beneficial. Being on users' devices increases your brand awareness, allows you to offer deals based on user information gathered from the device itself (such as location data), and grants you the chance to alert customers in a more effective and immediate form than email. The important thing to keep in mind here is that you do not have to simply create an app that does exactly what your website or mobile website already does. Think of these apps as extending or refining your offering, rather than simply replicating it. Maybe eventually your mobile app will be as fully-featured as your mobile website, but you definitely do not have to start there. ##When are native apps not necessary? It is important not to create a native app, just for the sake of having one. If you cannot offer your users something from an app that you can't through a mobile website and your users do not expect an app from you, maybe you do not need one at this time. But, I would encourage you to think hard and be creative before resigning yourself to this category. For example, think about a company that has a fixed or close to fixed cost, regardless of how many customers they have at a time. This would be companies like a movie theaters, amusement parks, oil and tune-up shops, or other similar service companies. Take the theater for example. If one person purchases a ticket, they have to play the movie. Every empty seat is lost revenue. Any additional patron would not cost them more. So, offering a discount to fill an additional seat is a net-gain, especially once snack and drink purchases are considered. The issue is that a theater only knows it will have excess space close to the start of the film. Traditionally, customers could not be reached in a timely and effective manner to fill these seats. But, if these potential movie-goers have the theater's app installed, the app can know what type of movies the user likes and where the user is currently located. The app can intelligently trigger discount offers based on this information and a few extra tickets can be sold. This one feature can quickly pay for itself. This is obviously a specific case, but the important thing to remember is that you should be creative with your mobile app offering and try to utilize information gained by being native. But at the end of the day, if there is not something there, there is no need to force it. ##Mobile App Development - A Complete Approach The final piece of a cohesive mobile app development approach is continuity between your mobile website, native app, and desktop website. This can include sharing an account (shopping cart, preferences, shipping info) between a website and an app. This is done by many retail companies, such as the clothing website JackThreads. It can also mean providing an experience tailored to each device that together create a complete experience. Myfitnesspal does an excellent job of this. It allows users to enter dietary, exercise, goal, and progress information through their native app. But the experience is topped-off by occasional emails containing healthy recipes or exercise routines, a website with a blog containing tips, message boards where users with similar goals can interact, and even some social network aspects that can motivate users to success and continued engagement. Some of these functions work best or only work when interacting through a specific interface, the crux of which is their native mobile app. But they have surrounded this app with various components to create a complete mobile app development approach. {% include full-blog-image.html src="Mobile-App-Development-MFP.png" alt="Mobile app development - my fitness pal" class="left"%} {% include full-blog-image.html src="Mobile-App-Development-MFP-2.png" alt="Mobile app development - my fitness pal 2" class="right"%} {% include full-blog-image.html src="MFP3.png" alt="Mobile app development - my fitness pal Desktop" %} ##Mobile App Development - Conclusion Many articles on the topic of mobile app development, as well as companies that provide mobile app development services, will try to convince all readers or clients that there is always a single answer. They might say that “a native mobile app is all you need”, “going native mobile is a waste of time”, or even “you HAVE to always have both.” This is simply not the case and is often a self serving argument. We believe and hope this series has presented a sound argument that, like in most things, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to mobile app development. I hope that this series has helped guide readers through the new and exciting space of mobile app development. If you have any comments, questions, or feedback about this series or would like to talk to us about helping your company with some mobile app development, we would love to hear from you.

Mobile Website Vs. Mobile Application

Paul Francis — 2014-08-19T00:00:00+00:00

##Mobile Website In my previous article, I discussed the benefits and shortfalls of creating a native mobile application. This installment will cover the pros and cons of making a mobile website. A mobile website differs from a native mobile application in that it is not installed directly to a phone or tablet, but is viewed in a mobile web browser. These websites also differ from websites seen when browsing on a computer, in that they are visually redesigned or reorganized to better fit a smaller screen. Given that users spend more time browsing on mobile devices than traditional computers, we need to be creating websites with this in mind. ##Why a Mobile Website Websites that are not created for mobile can still be accessed via mobile devices. They appear just as they do on a desktop, but on a much smaller screen. This forces users to interact with these sites in a very frustrating manner. It is as if they have a small window through which to view and poke at a large document. For example, take a look at Reddit when viewed on an iPhone: {% include full-blog-image.html src="reddit1.png" alt="Bad Mobile website image" class="left"%} {% include full-blog-image.html src="reddit2.png" alt="Bad mobile site 2" class="right"%} As you can see, users have to zoom in, just to see a small portion of the web page. It becomes increasingly more frustrating whenever one tries to interact with the website by entering information. Having to zoom to and click on each small text input might be enough to cause users to leave the website entirely. Fortunately for Reddit, there are plenty of great Reddit apps that better accommodate mobile users. Not only will this frustrate your visitor, but they will likely leave to find a competitor’s mobile website that is easier to use. It could even be argued that losing a mobile website user is worse than losing a non-mobile user since the mobile user could be out and about, actively looking for your product or service. Also, mobile users are responsible for more retail spending than desktop users. So, even though some might think that since their existing website can be viewed on mobile devices, they are covered. The truth is these users are so plentiful and valuable, they deserve and often demand their own experience. ##How to make a Mobile Website A mobile website can be considerably less involved and expensive than a mobile application. Any new website should be built with mobile in mind. In fact, it should probably be designed in a mobile-first manner. This means beginning with the smallest device and working your way up. This often leads to sites being built out of small and stackable sections. On mobile, these sections can be stacked vertically, so the user can scroll down and read each section. On larger screens, these sections can be expanded or rearranged to take advantage of the additional space. The important thing to keep in mind here is that this mobile website does not have to be an entirely different entity. The functionality and content can be the exact same, or at least have significant overlap. The only thing that has to change is the styling of the page. Well-designed websites have their styling code separated from the content, which can make this process fairly simple. One just has to conditionally apply styles based on the screen size. This technique can be seen by viewing this page that we did in partnership with the fantastic design team at Harman | Friday. Either open that page on both desktop and mobile or just shrink and expand your browser window, to experience the site's responsive design. Based on the size of the browser, the style changes. When viewed on a desktop, this website looks like this: {% include full-blog-image.html src="Desktop-Website_opt.png" alt="Responsive website" %} But when viewed on a phone, it looks like: {% include full-blog-image.html src="mobile-website-2.png" alt="mobile website 1" class="left"%} {% include full-blog-image.html src="mobile-website_0.png" alt="mobile website 2" class="right"%} This is known as a responsive site. Meaning it responds to the size of the browser. As you can see, the content is the same, but the navigation menu, image sizes, and layouts are different. Just by changing the styling, we can convey the same message, while creating an experience that best fits the device it is being viewed on. This article will not discuss the technical aspects of a mobile website in further depth, but feel free to let us know if that is something you would be interested in. Our mobile website approach is working quite well for us so far and we would be happy to share aspects of that in another article. Or if you are looking for help you with your mobile website, we would love to hear from you! ##Advantages of a Mobile Website over a mobile app I will try not to simply reverse my previous article, but here is a brief list of reasons why a mobile website might be the correct option for your company:

Build once – The same mobile website can be viewed with minimal changes, on any device. There is no need to create and maintain iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows phone, etc. versions.
Significantly cheaper – Due in large part to the information covered in the previous section, a mobile website is almost a feature of website, rather than an additional project itself.
Barrier to entry – Users will not have to install an application, they simply have to use their mobile browser, which should be a default app.
Rely on existing infrastructure – This website will use the same URL, benefit from existing SEO, contribute to your domain’s view counts and linkbacks, and can almost always reuse existing code.

##Disadvantages of a Mobile Website It is hard to find true downsides to a mobile website. They definitely have shortcomings, such as not being available off-line, or not being able to utilize data from the mobile device or interact with other mobile apps. But these could be considered additional features offered by mobile applications, rather than true problems with mobile websites. ##Should you have a Mobile Website? Given the relative ease of creating a mobile website, the substantial amount of money being spent by users on mobile devices, and the still increasing mobile market, you can’t afford not to have a mobile website. In many cases, it is as or even more important than having a website at all. A mobile website should stand as the foundation of your mobile approach. My final article in this series will discuss a more robust mobile approach that might be the correct fit for some companies. But, spoiler alert, a mobile website is pretty much a prerequisite.

Native mobile apps Vs. mobile-friendly websites

Paul Francis — 2014-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

Mobile is no longer the future. Mobile is here and it has arrived with a ring. Mobile is so here, in fact, that even the most entrenched old-age companies are clamoring for Android and iPhone apps. And that is fantastic! But, it is very important that companies consider all of their options before investing a moderate amount of effort and capital into a native mobile app. This article is the first in a series that will attempt to help decision makers choose between the two main methods of making their business accessible to mobile users. Those two options are native mobile apps and mobile-friendly (also known as responsive) websites. This first installment will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of electing to build a native mobile app. ##Advantages of native mobile apps {% include full-blog-image.html src="PvZ-Alerts.png" alt="Native mobile app alert" class="right"%} These are the sort of apps you grab from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. You install them directly to your phone or tablet. They can send you alerts or messages, and can tap into other parts of your device (such as the calendar or contacts apps). Also, since they are installed onto your phone, they can be used without an internet connection. Native mobile apps also tend to be quick and feel more natural to users who expect a certain amount of responsiveness from their mobile programs. Additionally, native mobile apps have the advantage of being persistent. Meaning, the app can initiate interaction, rather than the user. Traditionally, this was only possible via Email, which might not be read immediately, could be ignored, and is often a wide-net approach. Mobile apps however can alert a user when it wants their attention. This can be triggered by the user entering a certain geographical area, or be targeted to that individual based on information gathered in your app. Given the frequency with which most people check their phones, these messages can have a much more immediate impact. Native mobile apps can also effectively engrain your brand and business into your customers’ minds. Once a user has downloaded your app, they will see it frequently as they flip between their apps. Even if yours is not the one selected, each of these times can be an effective visual reminder of your company. Furthermore, bored users are much more likely to open your app (which is likely one of less than a hundred they have installed) than they are to browse to your website (which is one of literally a billion). ##Disadvantages of native mobile apps The main drawback of this approach is that mobile apps are usually built independent of your existing website and can require a fair bit of development. This development time and effort is usually increased for every operating system (iOS, Android, Windows phone, etc) you want to support. A second downside of native mobile apps is that they have a higher barrier to entry with your users. If someone is looking for your company, they are more likely to search for you on Google than they are to search for you in the app store (in most cases). In the event that a user does locate your app in the store, they will then have to download, open, and not soon delete your app. This is a bigger investment on their part than simply going to your website. Lastly, native apps can take additional work to maintain as new phones and operating systems emerge. This can be avoided to some extent by making good decisions when engineering your app, but it is safe to assume some maintenance will be needed in the future when creating a native mobile app. ##Native mobile apps - a solution But not necessarily THE solution. This approach is powerful, but is not without its drawbacks. In the next article, I will discuss creating a mobile-friendly site as an alternative option.

Do you need an expert in mobile app development? With a team of mobile app development specialists covering a wide range of skill sets and backgrounds, The BHW Group is prepared to help your company make the transformations needed to remain competitive in today’s high-tech marketplace.