The average user hardly thinks of the technologies used in developing websites and several online services that they access and use. These are basically applications residing on remote servers that are accessed by users from their PCs through the web. They are much more than regular web pages! These programs can be run inside various web browsers without any hassle.

Growing popularity and usage of Web Application Development services

With time, a lot of companies are opting for web application services. When developed as per specs to meet a specific set of business objectives, it can be quite beneficial for both the companies and end users. Some of the advantages offered by web app development include:

• A single web application will work well on various OSes and platforms seamlessly
• Reaching out to millions of users and businesses becomes simpler and effective
• No need for updates, installation or downloads, it means less hassles for the users
• Accessible from anywhere, anytime, even without PC

Uses of web application development services

Web application services are predominantly used for:

• Social networking sites
• Online banking
• e-Commerce sites
• Online polls
• Chat services
• Webmail

Trends in Web Application Development services

Like each aspect of technology and computing, the trends in web app development keep changing over time. App development is offering more rich feature and thereby offering end users more possibilities.

• Native video resource- It is no longer mandatory to render video in a web application using a third party service like Vimeo or YouTube. Using HTML5 video technologies in web app development, it is now possible to provide the video natively and control its playback. More and more companies are opting for the newer method of video content distribution over the older.
• Fewer plug-ins- Compatibility is a key issue when you target web users to promote any service. This is also true of any web app development service. Depending on third party plug-ins hinder prospects and reach of such services to the end users. Not all browsers can handle flash content natively, to begin with. Then you have to reach out to users who use mobile device specific browsers. Deployment of WebRTC technologies is gaining ground. Brands want to give users more ways to avail real time communication for using their services online.
• Design changes- Responsive design in website development is not new anymore. Even the same has become true of web app development trend. With more people accessing web services and apps through mobile devices, developers are facing the task to make apps with ‘one thing fits all’ motto. They have to keep the UI interesting yet user friendly. Emergence of newer mobile devices like smart watch and smart appliances can lead to further design changes in this sector.
• Simplicity and ease of use- With users of varying acumen accessing web development services, the developers are focusing more on ease of use and simplicity. There are those college going tech savvy users accessing the services as well as grandparents who are strangers to touch screens! Functionality is now more important than sheer aesthetic appeal and sleekness in web app development services.

Let us know if you notice any other trend worth knowing about in the field of web app development.

A web application framework is used to design a web based application that can be accessed by all devices. PHP has the most extensive and popular list of PHP frameworks when it comes to web application development because it uses a very simple coding language and apps with this framework have a versatile outlook. Take for instance Facebook – Yes, it is the biggest open source web application based on this framework.

The best possible way to choose a PHP framework is to analyse the purpose of your application first. For example, there is no point picking a Ferrari supercar for an off-road event where you will have to travel in rough conditions. Yes, Ferrari offers the best and the most expensive cars in the world but they are supposed to travel on evenly laid tarmac, not through dust and stones. Similarly, you can spend millions on the most expensive framework possible but if it is not in sync with the aim of your application, it is useless. Here are a few other things that you should keep in mind while choosing a PHP framework.

Online Payments

An application with the option of online payment requires a dedicated framework in order to provide a secure and hassle-free payment mode. You need to make the users feel that their credit/debit card details will be confidential, and for that, you need to use a framework which keeps all data within it and stops unauthorised access to the database. Magento and osCommerce are the two popular frameworks along with Zend.

Noteworthy example – Flipkart, the biggest e-commerce player of India, uses Zend framework.

Number of images

If you are looking forward to build a rich web application full of graphics and images, then you should opt for Ruby on Rails framework. It is the best PHP based framework in case there are a lot of photographs with links.

Noteworthy example – Slideshare is the best example of a web app based on this framework.

Video Based

Video based app need an interactive framework and PHPmotion is the best thing currently available. The framework is used by almost every popular video sharing apps and is also popular among apps based on music, as well as, photo sharing.

Noteworthy example – Check out YouTube, built on this framework.

Content Rich

Most of the news based websites and other sites having substantial amount of content use WordPress as their default framework. It is one of the easiest frameworks from a development perspective and is popular because of its publishing system. It is also the first preference of bloggers due to its flexibility and wide choice of themes.

Mobile Based

The popularity of smartphones has forced websites to develop a distinct mobile version and a mobile app version. eyeOS is the preferred PHP based framework to be used in this case. It is popular because it adapts to smaller screens and provides a better viewing experience.

Interactive and Dashboard Enabled

Open Atrium is the latest PHP framework witnessing massive adoption. It is popular amongst content rich apps which offers a great visual experience through their dashboard feature. It is also used for providing links to Facebook, Twitter and other social media platform where the app has an official page/handle.

Ruby on Rails is one of the most versatile and dynamic high level programming language for object oriented jobs. The multi level framework makes the task easier and quicker for the programmers looking to expand the flexibility of their job irrespective of the scale and complexity of the project. This however makes it a hard fact that Ruby on Rails is not for beginners. To be a Ruby on Rails professional, one has to gain at least 5 years of experience with added software engineering skills. To make things easier, Ruby 4.2 already comes with several new features that make it the top programming language used globally. Here are some of the tools that will expand the flexibility of the language up by a notch.

1.       Action Mailer and Active Job

The Active Job is added as a ne adaptive layer that compliments commanding queuing systems including Resque, Delayed Job, Sidekiq, etc. It allows programmers to write jobs directly to the queuing systems which will run them with no changes whatsoever. On top of this, the Action Mailer enables programmers to add the “#deliver_later” tag which in turn will add an email id as a job in the queue.

2.       Adequate Record

Adequate Record has been added to Ruby 4.2 as a set of updated patches and other fixes, making the execution time almost half. Active Record has been commonly used to construct SQL strings with multiple transformations. To process scripts faster, Adequate Record separates static and dynamic data, wherein the former is sent directly to the cache process. This makes Active Record a highly functional tool to convert AST strings to SQL strings passed onto databases.

3.       Web Console

Web Console is a specialized set of debugging tool for Rails installation. In case Rails encounters errors, this interactive console helps the programmer quickly inspect and trace codes that seem to be conflicting. The console brings in added advantage for Ruby on Rails as it can even be shared with your co-developer without the need to configure a new system. The console can be operated in the browser using a command line interface.

4.       Foreign key support

Ruby on Rails is now attached with excellent support to add or remove foreign keys. Quick removal of keys just requires them to be dumped into the theschema.rb. As of now, MySQL, mysql2 and gresql have foreign key support. Further, programmers can utilize the “connection#supports_foreign_keys?” to determine whether the current adapter supports the APIs being used.

5.       HTML Sanitizer

There had been several issues with the HTML sanitizer that Ruby on Rails offered in previous versions. However, the current version offers a more robust alternative that has been built upon Loofah and Nokogiri. This makes the tool more secure and the HTML sanitization process more flexible. Also, the new algorithms make the sanitized output greatly different from pathological inputs of the past. For programmers still looking for the output that the older sanitizer version offered, you just need to add “rails-deprecated sanitizer gem” into the gemfile. This brings back the old behavior.

These new tools to Ruby on Rails will undoubtedly make the platform more robust and user friendly. Let us know which of these features you will be using in your next RoR project.

With the web constantly evolving and encompassing newer aspects of human life, those using it for professional needs find it daunting to cope with the huge changes sometimes! The constant evolution in web design have been drastic in last few years. Just to discuss an instance – for businesses, having an online presence is no longer enough; they need to understand user needs better and mould their services and products accordingly. This is where UX or user experience steps in.

Busting the key prevalent UX myths

The term UX is often misunderstood and misinterpreted at many levels. UX design emphasizes ease of access and use for the end user of a website. It is not merely about design elements and features. The aim of UX is finding the right balance between business goals of the entity, and user needs and expectations.

Below are a few common misconceptions about UX that you need to know:

Myth 1: UX is distinct from web design

A lot of business owners still have the misconception that User Experience design is same as web design. The truth is UX development doesn’t merely encompass making some changes in design of your website. UX stretches beyond entire design process. It covers web design for sure but it also deals with how and where a business connects with its clients.

Myth 2: UX is only about improving usability

This is another prevalent myth about UX! There is no denying usability is integral part of UX design but it also includes analysis of business principles and targeting users. You have to study behavioral and emotional reactions of your target customers to specific designs. Once these are analyzed and well understood, you will be able to use a design both as branding tool and weapon for revenue earning.

Myth 3: You know what your users like and need

This is one big mistake businesses make about assessing customer mindset and preferences and it extends to UX design too. It is natural that you will love your company’s products and services but that may not always be the case with your clients. Without extensive research about customers by studying market trends and analyzing changing customer expectation, decisions in UX should not be made.

Myth 4: Flawless design translates into great UX

To develop quality UX, flawless design will be required but an aesthetic looking website alone cannot guarantee revenue or increase in number of visitors. Even when your website looks superb, testing it for performance issues is mandatory. Aspects like cross browser compatibility, consistency in desktop and mobile sites and rendering anomaly should be checked in detail. UX is enhanced when you achieve a balance between design and performance.

Myth 5: UX can be enhanced by newer technology

Remember UX design is not about implementing new technology. Ultimately, it’s about what your clients want and how your business can address those needs and exceed their expectations. If implementing new technology gels seamlessly with existing methods and does not create confusions for end users, it is fine.

These were a few UX design myths that you need to protect your development expertise against. Let us know if there are any other myths that you would like to dismiss.

Mobile navigation designing offers unlimited flexibility and opportunity to designers to show their creativity. While there isn’t a select few ways to create mobile navigation design, some patterns have proved to be more user-friendly and workable than others. One should understand that the whole point in coming up with interface designs is to make it intuitive and save users the complicacy in requiring to learn the navigation. Controls need to be familiar enough but look unique and customized. Further, interface designing also needs to adhere to utmost consistency, wherever the users choose to move to. Here are some of the top picks when it comes to mobile UI patterns for mobile navigation.

1.       Sliders

Sliders have been integrated to take advantage of the ‘touch’ feature in modern smartphones. However, if viewed as a means of navigation, they have been relatively underused. Sliders seem to be perfect tools if you have a limited number of elements to browse. Complimented with gesture control, they are also fun and feel natural. Mobile designers have been using sliders to help users navigate through progressive and closely linked pages. It is a practical solution that doesn’t complicate the design yet make it feel unique.

2.       Pictorial icons

Pictorial icons to navigate are a practical solution if you are looking to save screen space. Intuitively, the picture will be self explanatory about the space it would link/take to. While these icons check the requisite of familiarity, they can even be used creatively to bring out a unique interface design. The uniqueness here would depend on the arrangement of the icons, the style of the icon and even icon animation. A great example of this UI pattern would be the ‘Circle Map’. Pictorial icons can even be integrated with the slider feature to beef up the space and make it a much more interactive process.

3.       Card grid

The Card Grid patterned interface is on the rise as its attaches more adaptability and simplicity to the design. Smart phone users will often encounter menus split into a grid of buttons wherein users will have to touch / press / select the relevant card to go to the required page. The best example would be the Microsoft Lumia screen which even integrates a vertically dropping slider to accommodate all options. Cards can be either of images or text or both. The crucial point is that they can be used to create a coherent and organized interface of available options.

4.       The Spinner Wheel

A little heavy on the coding part, spinner wheels are just like the spinning wheels in a casino. You can use gesture and touch to rotate the wheel and choose among the variety of options attached to each section of the wheel. A design advantage of the spinner wheel is the ability to attach continual repetition of option. Unlike sliders that have an end, spinner wheels are continuous and this engages the user in a more fun interaction.

The type of mobile UI pattern one chooses depends on the exact balance that he/she wants to strike between creativity and simplicity. Its best to find a mid point as excess of any is damaging too.

Over the last decade, the popularity of Ruby on Rails as a web app development solution has always been on the higher end of the graph. Knowledge in Ruby on Rails can land developers into great jobs, projects and lucrative positions in Ruby on Rails development companies. From startups to highly established app development companies, everyone agrees to the same conclusion that Ruby on Rails would be the best choice even when compared to alternatives like Java, Python and others.

So what makes Ruby on Rails so popular?

1.       Handy and versatile

In just 5 lines of code, programmers can choose to take an existing class and overwrite its behavior. While this may seem to be counter intuitive, there is risk in everything. Ruby also makes it much more versatile to draw codes. Ruby does miss out on some features available with newer languages, but all in all, it can be used as a ‘language power continuum’.

2.       Pragmatism

Ruby integrates deep pragmatism into its coding DNA. In collaboration with the other benefits, it has been producing elegant solutions since the last decade. Often referred to as ‘tent’ by programmers, Ruby on Rails doesn’t encourage any level of scripting complications. With Ruby on Rails development, it’s actually more of convention than configuration.

3.       Expressiveness

Using Ruby on Rails is just like studying English. The internal DSL of the language extends with the language’s semantics. With other languages, constructing DSL is always risky as it’s an external addition. With Ruby however, programmers don’t require external parser and yet strike an even balance with the DSL. The platform is perfect to use DSL where it makes good sense and demonstrate self-control. The bottomline of programming in Ruby on Rails is inherent usage of the high quality syntax and smart naming.

4.       The Community

Ruby on Rails is supported by an army of committed programmers who ensure that it stays in the most updated condition. With other languages, one might experience projects simmering down with age but with Ruby, the sparks are retained! A great addition to the language has in fact been its package manager, known to us as RubyGems. Though it was sidetracked for a little while RubyGems found its course and remains unified and acts as a superb resource for bright programmers. There is a provoking synergy between the cool language and its superb community and the pragmatic web framework.

5.       Maturity

When it comes to important decision making, anyone would go for tools that have a proven track record.  Ruby fits the criteria perfectly as it has been around the block for quite some time now and has established several runtimes and interpreters to make it conducive for programmers.

6.       Marketing

Lastly, compared to its younger alternatives, the Ruby site is awesome. Even in the older days, Ruby’s screen cast was breathtaking and one would totally agree to the point that when frameworks are in question, it is best to be in the crowd. Ruby is an obvious choice!

Experts say that the platform gives a perfect solution for the rapidly changing technological environment by speeding up the development processes and saving money and time in the process. These reasons show us why Ruby on Rails remains so popular even after so long.

Apple recently announced an update for its OS X. The updated OS will be called OS X El Capitan and is expected to provide a richer experience than its previous version of OS X (Yosemite). The first improvement that the company has promised with this update is speed. It claims to reduce app switching times to half of what they are now, and apps will open up 40 % quicker than in Yosemite.

Here’s a detailed insight:

Split View

The most notable change is the addition of split view. This is the first time Mac OS X has been equipped with this feature. Till now, Windows and Android had an upper hand with its split screen feature that lets you operate two apps simultaneously. You can now do the same on your Mac PC and also decide the amount of screen space the two apps share. This feature will be really helpful for people who work on certain projects that require you to note down certain points from the browser.

New Graphic Tech

Apple has opted for a new graphics technology and has named it Metal. It lets the apps connect with the graphics unit directly, which gives better rendering and seamless animations. Gaming enthusiasts and people relying on other heavy graphics app will love this feature as it gets the system to process functions quicker than the previous version.

Browser

Safari browser gets ample visual and technical changes. The company has introduced atab-pinning feature that is similar to the one on Google Chrome, and it will notify you about tabs with automatic audio playback.

Maps

“Public Transit” feature has been added in maps but is limited to select metropolitan cities only. It calculates time consumed by public transport vehicles to travel from point A to B and the transit also includes trains.

Font

El Capitan has been equipped with a new font system named “San Francisco”. The system is similar to that of Apple watch, and a new Chinese system has been added to it.

Spotlight

This has also received a major overhaul from the company. You can now include stock updates, weather and sports updates in the spotlight. Apple now also lets you resize it, but the major drawback is the absence of Siri on it.

Notes

The app has received an upgrade in the form of flexibility. You can now easily drag photos, videos and other files in the app along with the option to create a checklist. Notes app has been made similar to the one on iOS 9. Also, you can store all your data on Notes through iCloud.

Mail

You can simultaneously interact with two mailing addresses. It also gives you the option to add a contact by simply clicking on the Add button. Drag and drop feature has also been introduced which will save you from the cumbersome copy paste routine.

Do let us know which is your favorite OS update amongst these.

Ask people what they want to do, and most of them will end up using terms like ‘business’, ‘start-ups’, ‘entrepreneur’, etc. So, what exactly is required to have a profitable business, an idea? True, but just an idea isn’t sufficient. There’s a lot more that is essential including effective outreach methodologies, publicity and revenues for the organization to survive in the competitive world.

With the growing popularity of smartphones, many companies have started investing in mobile advertising by creating mobile application software (app). This technique, without a doubt, makes the app visible to a wider audience, but visibility doesn’t guarantee returns; ‘download’ is the keyword. Interestingly, only 2% of the app developers claim 54% of all app revenues. Today, we look at6smart app monetization techniques to ensure that the app remains a profitable product for your agency

1. In-app Advertising

In this kind of app monetization model, the download happens for free. The goal, here, is to create large user database, after which the information gets sorted, and app publishers pay the developer to publish targeted ads. This technique is widely used because, well, who doesn’t like things for free.

2. Freemium

This android app monetization technique offers the customer to ‘use and try’ services before selling. There’s no download cost, however, only limited features are provided on download, i.e. some features are gated. The aim is to accumulate and engage app users until they are convinced to pay for the upgrade and enjoy all features.

3. In-app purchase

The in-app purchase monetization method works like a super-market where many companies showcase their products and on any physical or virtual goods purchase, some percentage of profit is given to the app developer. The catch remains in the fact that the users save a lot of their time and easily get what they want.

4. Paid Apps

This android app monetization technique generates direct income from the user. In order to download the app, the user needs to pay the mentioned amount. However, with this technique, it is essential that the entire app experience is creatively designed to arouse the interest of people and compel them into purchasing.

5. Paywalls (Subscriptions)

Paywall is similar to the freemium model, however, here, instead of the features, the content is gated. The users are allowed to see predetermined amount of content and need to pay to get full access over the information. This iOS app monetization method allows the user to not just ‘judge the book by its cover’, but also experiment with it.

6. App Promotion and localization

App Promotion refers to using various social interfaces as a platform to sell the app, whereas localization refers to extending the app’s reach across borders and monetize international traffic by offering region-specific content. This iOS app monetization technique is rather indirect but very useful, as you can either increase the cost or the customers.

The above techniques are one of the many ways to survive in the mobile advertising world; an app developer can actually customize and use a combination of them to create a successful business. Now, that’s what we call more than just an ‘idea’!

Getting your app accepted into the Google Play Store for Android is a winning step as your business/brand/skill is now exposed to more than 81% of smart phone users across the planet. That will be equal to more than 1000 million users! However, getting your app through the selection process is not an easy job, especially now that Google has come up with tougher App Store approval standards. Before sitting down with an app development process, you need to be aware of these mandates that must be kept in mind to avoid app rejection.

Top reasons why Play Store rejects some app submissions

The Android app store guidelines set by Google for app submissions are explicit and strict. However, many developers fail to follow them and end up disappointed.

ü  Irrelevant keywording: The era of the ‘inorganic’ has long gone. Using keywords that don’t justify your app but might bring in more traffic can be highly penalizing. Misleading visitors with irrelevant keywords and tags will get you rejected.

ü  Excessive keywording: Along with the inorganic, “keyword stuffing” too has been done away with. Google’s SEO aims to provide the most relevant suggestions based upon customer reviews, quality of content/app and organic sharing. Instead of stuffing keywords, give a detailed description of the app. This would help both credibility and Play Store acceptance.

ü  Revisit Google’s Keyword Spam policies: The Play Store has a set of clearly defined policies that maintain the types of keywords allowed in content, the maximum number of repetitions, etc. Refer this before submitting your app.

ü  Get your process streamlined: Applications are meant to make the life of users easier. Consequently, Google will give more credibility to android apps that have a proper roadmap to usage. Also, you need to be well aware of the future errors and the ways to fix them.

ü  Don’t market your company: Applications aren’t meant to market brands. Though Google is a bit lenient, apps meant for business purposes go through stricter scrutiny.

ü  Demo apps are of no use: Demo applications with limited functionalities are of no use. Not only will they make the job frustrating for the end user but also be eliminated outright from the Play Store.

ü  Never copy existing apps: Don’t build apps just for the sake of entering your name into the Play Store author’s list. Play Store doesn’t allow duplicate applications to be uploaded to the platform. Build only if you have come up with a unique idea; be it in the category of a game, a utility, an information app, or anything else.

ü  Be professional: Applications allow you to connect with a customer base that is looking for convenience and professionalism. Though you need to highlight upon interactivity, a professional tone of content will get you a better credibility than lose content.

The Play Store is a great platform to showcase your coding expertise and UX creativity. The growing user base of Android only stresses on the need to be genuine and unique in your submissions.

As the world of smart devices continue to unfold and reveal layers of astonishing benefits, businessmen and executives are turning to maximize their use of these devices to boost workplace productivity. Apple too has integrated these devices with hardware and software that makes it a highly capable tool to assist both work and living. However, it needs to be supported by special apps that meet unique requirements of the business class mass. Here are 5 iPad apps that businessmen across the globe are using every day on their iPads to improve productivity.

1. OfficeTime

Perfect for freelancers and self-employed professionals, OfficeTime will help keep track of the time you have put in professional responsibilities and generate an invoice for the same. A time management solution, this has been helping professionals who bill clients by the hours they put into the project weekly or monthly. You can even use this app to allocate time slots to different projects every day. Keeping track of your time will not just be a professional requirement but also reason your earnings.

2. Pixelmator

Everyone loves to take good photos. Even if you aren’t a serious photographer, you can use Pixelmator to makes your snaps say a story. The app comes integrated with dozens of beautiful templates, frames, typography and other features to add to the images you click. Further, you can even combine images, add text, shapes and use several image editing tools that were limited to Photoshop. For the business user, this can be a valuable part of presentations.

3. Evernote

This app lets you take notes on the go, Evernote has been around in the iOS marketplace for a long time now. A fully-featured solution, the app makes it easier to enter text and will even capture information by taking images with your device camera. In fact, several other productivity apps integrate with Evernote to save content. All the documents gets automatically synced with attached devices and it is being used by professionals globally to create meeting agendas, organize invoices (after taking a picture), and even prepare travel itineraries.

4. Goodreader

Office work isn’t complete without going through some documents every day. It would be great if you can take your documents to mobile and read them at your own convenience. This is exactly what the Goodreader aims to offer. Popular as the best PDF Reader available for iPads, Goodreader even allows you to edit and use full markup capabilities. Users can even use this app to attach comments to specific lines/paragraphs of documents, add text/pictures, rearrange text, extract and conveniently email the same on the go.

5. OneNote

Developed by Microsoft, OneNote is one the best iPad apps ever developed and allows users to create notes on the go. Whatever industry you may belong to, ideas always keep running in and you need to take every opportunity to jot them down for later. OneNote doesn’t just allow you to take notes on the go but also sync the same with your computer and other attached devices. You can even do all kinds of text formatting including bold, highlighting, underlining, indenting and change font colors.