Tag: Android App Developers

With on-demand apps flooding the smartphones, shoppers have gradually gotten accustomed to shopping everything online, including food, medicine, cosmetics, and even grocery. Among all these segments, online grocery delivery remained underpenetrated for years. However, due to COVID-19 outspread, this segment became sought-after as people are reluctant to physically going to grocery stores. 

Since customers are now comfortable with shopping grocery online, retailers are going the extra mile to deliver them the best shopping experience by creating their own grocery delivery app.

If you’re also planning to hire iOS/Android app developers to build your app, here are a few grocery delivery app features that can make your customers less willing to go back to brick and mortar stores.

Features of a Grocery Delivery App

Seamless Registration

Registration is the first step users come across when they open an app. You can facilitate this process by allowing users to directly sign up using their phone number or social media profile on Google or Facebook. It will not only save their time but also eliminate the need for remembering the password of their account. Besides, you will also get their contact info easily using which you can stay engaged with them.

Smart Search

Suppose you have a wide range of products in your online grocery store, but customers cannot find the one they need from your inventory. In such a scenario, all of these products are worthless. Integrating smart search filters into your app can help them narrow their search and quickly find the required products. Moreover, you can provide a voice-enabled search option to allow users to find a specific product using voice commands. The more convenience you provide, the more they will love your app.

Real-Time Order Tracking

Order tracking feature works wonder when it comes to enhancing customer satisfaction. It allows your customers to track the delivery agents’ real-time location once they pick up the order from your store. Besides, they also have an idea of the order arrival time, which boosts their trust in your app. 

Popular and Recommendation

Recommendations never go unnoticed as they reduce our effort. So, make sure to recommend products to users based on their search history and shopping behavior while they browse through your app products. You can also show them a list of popular products that most customers are purchasing. This feature may encourage them to buy products from the popular or recommended list, thus increasing your sales substantially.

Save For Later

Sometimes customers don’t need a product but save it for later purchase because they love it. Thus, a feature like “wishlist” or “save items” can help your customers to remember products they wish to purchase in the future. 

Special Discounts and Rewards

Discounts and rewards persuade customers to visit your app every time they look for groceries. So, integrate a loyalty program into your app to give customers points for actions like signing up and making a purchase. It will not only give them a reason to stick to your app but also encourage them to shop more frequently.

Push Notifications

Push notifications increase customer engagement and trigger app usage. Using this feature, you can notify your customers about the latest products, deals and discounts, saved products, and order status and thus stay on their minds. But make sure not to send too many notifications as it can annoy them.

Multiple Payment Options

Payment is the last step of the order placement process. Incorporating multiple payment gateways like Credit/Debit Card, Stripe, PayPal, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, Online Banking, and Cash on Delivery (COD) into your grocery delivery app allow customers to pay via the mode of their choice. In case one method doesn’t work, they will choose another but never abandon the cart. Thus, this feature significantly impacts your sales and bottom line.

Final Words

To sum up, we would say that idea of launching a grocery delivery app is quite profitable considering all the circumstances. Integrating the above-mentioned features into your app will encourage existing customers to switch to your online store and also multiply your sales. Besides, you can expand your grocery business by leveraging your application.

If you think that these grocery delivery app features can really benefit your business, invest in our iOS/Android app development services. Our experts will leave no stone unturned to deliver you an app that everyone will love.

Every mobile app in the market today requires an internet connection to a certain extent and the reason is quite obvious – exchanging data between the user and the server. However, an app that demands a constant internet connection to work seamlessly has some acute disadvantages. One of the biggest pitfalls is the app becomes useless when there is no internet connectivity.  To counteract this, you should turn to an offline-first mobile app development approach to offer a better experience to users.

What is an Offline-First Mobile App?

An offline-first app, as the name suggests, doesn’t need a constant internet connection. It downloads data from the server and stores it locally on the user’s device, which can be accessed offline. And when the internet connection is available, the app downloads updates from the server, while simultaneously uploading the changes that the user had made offline.

Why You Should Adopt Offline-First App Development Approach

Like the continuous expansion of the internet, the issues related to its connection are also widespread. Being a business person, you must know that most users are impatient. If your app loads slowly or stops working abruptly due to low or no internet connection, they can get frustrated especially when they’re in the middle of something using your app. After experiencing such issues, users might abandon your app. So, creating an offline-first app with the help of iOS/Android app developers can avert situations like this.

Besides, the offline-first approach can be beneficial if your app has a large database that enables users to search for specific information. By developing a smaller version of a database that can be downloaded to the user’s device, you not only make your app more useful but also ensure that users can access the information even if there is no internet connection.

If you think your app has some features that don’t need constant internet connectivity to function, you should definitely go for an offline-first approach. Developing an offline-first app may be more complicated than developing an app that operates entirely with the internet, but it also comes with benefits like better performance and user experience.

How to Develop an Offline-First App?

The first and foremost thing to consider while developing is an offline-first design is how your application will handle the absence of constant connection to the database. Basically, there are three ways to store, sync, and update the local data which includes caching, manual replication, and real-time data synchronization.

Caching

Caching is the easiest way to manage local data and make it accessible if the app isn’t connected to the database. This approach can do wonders only if your app is simple. However, if you want to make your app capable of editing data and applying changes to it without an internet connection, caching is not the best idea.

Manual Replication

Manual replication allows users to change the viewed data offline by marking objects as “changed”. Users can manually upload the changes and download new data when the app connects to the server. However, this approach can be unpredictable and crash because of the issues with the internet or server, leading to data conflicts or poor app performance.

Real-Time Data Synchronization

This approach is akin to manual replication but allows data to be uploaded automatically rather manually. An offline app that leverages more advanced synchronization protocols transfers the changed version of the data as well as the actions made to edit it. This enables the system to resolve data conflicts automatically and improve the overall app performance.

Things to Consider While Developing an Offline-First App

Conflicting Data

What if the server changes the database online and the user simultaneously edits the exact part of that data offline? The server will encounter two conflicting pieces of data while trying to upload the information, which can lead to unpredictable system behavior and server crashes.

This situation is comparatively easier to handle, but many other issues can result in data conflicts. To cope with these issues, you need to create an app that could resolve conflicts quickly and predictably. For instance, you can clarify which piece of data has a higher priority to deal with the conflict described in the above situation.

Offline Features

An offline-first app works in two different modes – online and offline. Developing an online mode is easier since all the mobile design guidelines apply here while managing offline mode can be quite complicated.

Besides, an offline-first app should have useful features that work while not connected to the server. These features will depend on the kind of your app and the technical aspect of your project, as there are certain limitations to what can be done offline.

Making Online and Offline Functions Clear to Users

Understanding your app’s functionalities is one thing, but making them clear to the user is completely a different challenge. Finding hard to determine which functions are available offline and which works online can trigger a confusing experience. 

Let’s understand this phenomenon with an example of a shared text editor with a document that simultaneously can be edited by two users. If one user goes offline while another continues to edit, there will be two versions of the same doc. Consequently, there will be a lot of unnecessary work and unhappy users. To avert such a situation, you can let users decide whether they want to continue editing offline or not. Also, warning them about the conflicting versions via a notification will save their time and improve their experience.

Final Words

By adopting an offline-first approach, you provide a stable user experience no matter if your app is connected to the internet or not. Developing an offline-first app for Android and iOS may be complicated, but it will take your user experience to the next level. If you’re wondering if your app can benefit from offline-first approach or planning to invest in iOS/Android app development services, feel free to contact us. We will be more than happy to answer your queries and estimate your project for free.

Every time you roll out an Android app, you have a rough idea of what it can bring to the table or yield you. These goals could be generating a certain amount of ad revenue in a year or getting high ratings on Google Play. Whatever else you want to achieve, reaching out to as many users as possible is always one of your main goals. And luckily, an Android instant app is the feature that can facilitate meeting this goal.

What is an Instant app?

An Instant app allows users who never installed your app, to test out a portion of your app without installing it on a device. It helps you to reach out to the many users and increase your app installation rate.

Necessarily, leveraging this innovation, you can separate each of your app’s features in a stand-alone module. Users can quickly load these modules by tapping on the URLs that redirect to a specific module.

Let’s take an example to understand this technology in a better manner.

Imagine a friend sends you a link to a cat video, but when you tap on it, you learn that you have to install the application to watch this video. Though you install the app not to miss out watching the best cat video, it is bad scenario users are reluctant to experience. However, most of us have installed an app just to complete a single task.

Now again, imagine the cat video scenario. However, your Android app developers place the code and resource to play video content within its own instant app function module and assign this module to a specific URL. And when you tap on the link, Google Play will identify that this URL is linked with an instant app module and retrieve the code and resources required to play this video. Consequently, you can watch this trending cat video of 20 seconds without installing the app, which also leads to a much better user experience.

Benefits of an Android Instant App

Removes Barrier Between Your App and Users

Though downloading an app isn’t a time-consuming task, it is still the biggest obstacle between your app and potential users. No matter how compelling your Google Play page is, some users always back out right before installing the app. However, an instant app overcomes this obstacle by giving them a preview of what they will get after app installation.

Enhances Opportunities to Connect with New Users

Previously, in order to connect with new users, you have to bring them to Google Play through a website, blogs, or social media platforms. However, instant apps eliminate this reliance on Google Play by allowing users to access your app from any medium that supports URLs, providing you abundant avenues to reach new users.

Ensures Referrals are the Best Compliment

A user sharing your application among friends and family is the best compliment for your app. The word-of-mouth marketing helps you to reach a new audience, so make sure to create an excellent first impression. Earlier, providing a consistent experience to users who haven’t installed your app used to be difficult, but now you can provide a seamless, native experience with instant apps to users and encourage them to spread a word about your brand.

Provides App’s Access Even if Users Have Slow Internet

With weak internet connectivity, installing an app can be tedious and frustrating. However, instant app modules are way smaller and consume only 4MB or fewer data to access them. If app installation is not possible, accessing an instant app module is still a viable option.

Increases the Appeal of Time-Sensitive Apps

An application designed for a specific event or location isn’t a new kid on the block. Most people are reluctant to install an app that they can use for a limited period or in a certain location. However, an instant app can increase the appeal of these apps by enabling users to access the key features of your application at the tap of a URL.

Final Words

An instant app can help you to reach more users to try your app and expand your user base. Developing and offering an instant app to your target market gives you the best of both worlds – your users and business. Besides, they are comparatively easier to build. Android app developers can create an instant app right from scratch or transform an existing app using Android Studio.

If you want to develop an instant app and unleash new opportunities to connect with new users, we suggest you invest in Android app development services of Beyond Root.

Social media apps have taken a significant part of our lives. From individuals to businesses, everyone has a purpose of staying active on social media platforms. These apps not only provide personal networking opportunities but also serve as robust business tools. So, we can say that social media is all over the place, and its scope is unimaginable, unavoidable, and incredible.

From a business perspective, the niche of social media has become one of the most promising markets. And the businesses are investing heavily in iOS/Android app development services to create a social media app and leverage the opportunities offered by this market.

However, there are several essential aspects you need to consider, such as key features before embarking on a social media app development journey. Integrating effective features into your social media app can make a matchless impact on your business growth and yield you impressive outcomes.

Top Features of a Social Media App

Currently, there are various types of social media apps, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter, and more. Each of these apps has its own unique features. Before deciding the features, you must first determine the type of social media app that suits your business. Below, we are revealing basic yet powerful features that can be incorporated into all kinds of social media apps and pave your grounds for success.

User Profile Customization

On social media platforms, users are always eager to create an impressive profile as per their state of mind, interests, and status. They want to feel unique and show the world how creative and extraordinary they are. So, you can allow them to customize their profile with their favorite display picture, preferred username, a short bio, and so on. It will give them complete control over their profile and a feeling of satisfaction.

Easy Network Building

A social networking application is of no use if it can’t help users to build a network.  Connecting and interacting with new people is the prime concept of social media. Thus, enabling users to create a social network by adding or following people easily will give them a reason to stay active on your app.

News Feed and Content Sharing

The reason why social media apps like Instagram and Facebook have managed to stand out is their ability to show engaging content on the users’ news feed. For users, a social media app is a platform to express their views, thoughts, and showcase their talent or achievements. So, you can allow them to view and share content in the form of stories, photos, videos, and audios. It will help them to improve interaction with the people through likes, comments, or shares, and thus grow their network.

In-App Chat and Calling

No matter how much users enjoy public conversation in comments, they will always wish to have a private chat with their favorite ones. Enabling them to message or call them through your app will help them strengthen their connections with each other. You can also give them a provision to create a group of people in their network and communicate with all of them simultaneously.

Live Video Streaming

Live video streaming has taken the social media world by storm since its inception. Using your app, users can stream live video to celebrate an occasion, exchange ideas, and more with their network. Hence, they will be able to create moments of joy and spend quality time with their online family.

Push Notifications

Real-time push updates about content through push notifications can make your social networking application more appealing. This functionality also informs users whenever an interaction takes place on their profile. Thus, sending push notifications will prompt your users to open your app and give them little happiness time after time.

Privacy and Security

Providing an advanced level of privacy and security to users’ data is paramount for the success of your social media app. It will ensure that the users can securely access your application, and their personal details are devoid of vulnerabilities. In this way, you will be able to gain their trust and establish a long-term relationship with them.

Bottom Line

A social media application can be the most significant investment for your business growth. A habit-forming or compelling app will have all the above features as they keep users engaged for a long period. Also, they can help you generate high revenue and gain popularity in the market. So, if you are looking forward to creating a social media app reinforced with robust features, approach the iOS/Android app developers of our company.

Developing an application for a single platform is a rational decision for most businesses, especially if they are exploring new client acquisition channels or have limited resources. Sadly, it also results in losing potential users hanging out on the other platform or operating system (OS). So, businesses tend to port their iOS app to Android or vice versa in case the first app yields them intended results. Porting also helps them to unleash new opportunities for user acquisition, access new markets, and generate more revenue.

As a business owner, you should understand the ins and outs of converting an app from one platform to another before investing in iOS/Android app development services. So, we have created a guide on porting an Android app to iOS or vice versa, along with the challenges you must consider for this purpose.

How to Convert Android App to iOS and Vice Versa

Firstly, the best option to convert an app is to collaborate with a reliable mobile app development company. In this scenario, you have to provide the source code, documentation, and media resources like icons and illustrations to your partner.

Secondly, never use any kind of app converting platforms because they only result in an unstable, non-functioning app with lots of bugs. Businesses prefer to count on iOS/Android app developers to plan the development process and ensure accurate conversion on each layer.

Moreover, you must also understand that porting an app is a time-consuming process as developers have to create an app from scratch. For example, Airbnb took 14 months to convert its iOS app to Android.  

Tech Challenges of Porting an App

Since we have already covered how to convert an app, let’s jump on the challenges you may encounter during this process.

Different Program Languages –

Mobile app developers use different programming languages for creating apps for Android and iOS platforms. For instance:

Android – Java/Kotlin

iOS – Objective-C/Swift

Applications can also be built using other programming languages, but the above ones are official and most widely used for mobile app development.

Again, translating the code written in one language to another language is not an easy task. It demands a lot of time and effort from developers to make it work. Additionally, every programming language has its own syntax, and the time required to develop the same feature using different languages may differ to a large extent. So, iOS and Android app developers work in tandem to convert applications with no compromise on the quality.

Adaptation for Various OS Versions –

Since Android and iOS versions are updated every year, many users don’t update the latest OS version willingly or unwillingly. So, your app should operate at least on the most popular versions of the operating system.

If you want to convert an Android app into iOS, the situation is more likely to be in your favor since most of the iOS users use its latest version.

However, if you want to port an iOS app to Android, you need to research updated statistics regarding the adoption of the Android OS version. In this case, the situation is a bit complicated since the user count of Android’s latest version is relatively lesser than the previous version. Besides, a significant amount of users are still sticked to earlier versions of Android, like Oreo, Pie, and Nougat.

Anyway, you don’t have to worry about this aspect as your iOS/Android app developers will take care of this. You just have to name the OS versions your target audience uses, and they will overcome this challenge easily.

A Variety of Screen Sizes and Resolutions –

To convert an Android app to iOS, mobile app developers have to adapt the application’s layout to various screen sizes as well as resolutions. In this case, the list of screen sizes is shorter. However, we can’t say the same while converting from iOS to Android, as there are hundreds of Android devices having different resolutions and screen sizes.

But you will be glad to know that Android allows developers to support multiple screen densities by adjusting the app for several resolutions. Subsequently, the application will be automatically adjusted to other screens.

UI/UX Challenges of Porting an App

Like tech, UI/UX challenges are also worth minding while porting. After all, iOS and Android both have different design languages – Material and Flat. So, the development team should also consider the design guidelines provided by Google and Apple to ensure excellent user experience.

Let’s take a look at a few differences between designing applications for iOS and Android.

Fonts –

Android and iOS have a standard typeface i.e., Roboto and San Francisco, respectively. The guidelines of both operating systems specify different use cases for their system fonts by means of various weights, sizes, and letter spacings. This makes the fonts look more natural within a system.

Icons –

The app icons of both systems are also slightly different. Developers must know that all iOS icons have the same shape – a square with rounded corners – and they can’t have a transparent background. However, Android icons can have a transparent background and any shape that fits the icon area.

Apart from these differences, many other factors are considered to convert an app preserving a good user experience. Some of them are bottom navigation/tab bars, navigation drawers, and app bars/navigations bars.

Testing

Testing will determine whether porting an app from one platform to another passes or not. There can be too many possible bugs to overlook this phase. So, make sure your mobile app development ally has skilled QA engineers to plan a comprehensive testing strategy that covers code testing, UX testing, and more.

Final Words

Whether you’re converting an Android app to iOS or vice versa, you will have to plan meticulously and execute the process right. Porting demands a profound understanding of logic and coding, so we suggest investing in iOS/Android app development services to overcome the challenges and get results that might exceed your expectations.

People love to read new things – be it a geopolitical situation or technology updates. But in this fast-paced world, who has got time to stay updated with the latest news? This is where the demand for news app comes into view.

News apps offer easy access to every kind of information. Instead of buying a newspaper and adding to the clutter in your bag or on your office desk, it is way easier to open a news app in your smartphone and scroll news on the screen. Besides, news apps save trees.

For businesses that publish news, the benefits of a mobile application are enormous. Adapting a mobile-driven approach considerably enhances your audience reach, especially the younger generation. Besides, news apps also make older people more mobile-centered. The larger the audience base, the more the revenue.

So, if you want to fuel your business with a news app, investing in iOS/Android app development services would be the best idea.

But before embarking on an app development journey, let’s explore a few features that can make your news application stand out.

Convenient News Viewing

A news app allows users to read location-based news. For instance, a user from the USA would get news updates related to the people living there. Additionally, people who don’t have time to read detailed articles can browse over the headlines to stay abreast of the happenings around the world. If they find a headline matching their interest, they can read the whole article in depth. You can also add images, GIFs, or videos to make articles more interesting and appealing.

Breaking news

Plenty of historical and political events take place across the globe daily. It is a known fact that some news is more vital than others. Users should be able to distinguish such essential information.

This is why a news app pins breaking news at the top of other news. You can also send push notifications to inform them about the breaking and latest news using your app. Besides, you can display these notifications on the lock screen of their mobile devices to improve their experience.

Smart View

Most news apps work online, and articles can only be viewed if the device has internet connectivity. However, with the SmartView feature, you can allow your users to consume news offline without any hassle. This feature was built into the news API for Japanese users commuting in the Tokyo subway. In this feature, the web view is removed, which reduces data consumption.

Categories

Using this feature, users can browse news through various categories such as Top, Tech, Sport, Science, Social, Entertainment, Lifestyle, and more. Since each user has unique interests, an AI-based news app provides them with an option to tap and remove a category they’re not interested in.

Discover and Add Channels

The users can customize their newsfeed by searching the name of publishers and news channels they want to follow. After discovering, they can add channels that publish news articles related to their interest. Integrating this feature will make your news app a notch better than your competitors.

Share and Report

It is our tendency to share stuff we find interesting or useful with our mates. Allowing users to share articles via platforms like Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Gmail, etc. will help you improve your app installation rate through word-of-mouth. Additionally, they can also report their concerns over any news or articles they find inappropriate.

For Publishers

While devising a news app, make sure that even news publishers yield the benefits of your app because they will contribute a lot to its success. The add channel feature we discussed above will help these publishers to gain more viewers, make an identity, and make earnings.

The advertisements in the news articles generate revenue for the publishers. Some news apps charge a small commission fee for this. However, being a newbie in the market, you’re advised not to deduct even a penny from their earnings.

Final Words

News apps provide every kind of information in real-time, which spreads globally at a lightning-fast speed. This is why the popularity and demand for these apps are soaring with each passing day.

If you’re looking forward to developing a news app for your business growth, take the above-mentioned features into account. They will help you to make a statement in the market and stay ahead of the competition.

For more information or guidance, feel free to approach the experts of our iOS/Android app developers.