The Ultimate Checklist For Mobile App Templates

        
In the previous article we saw why you need a mobile app with a nice template. If you are into mobile app development, you better take template design seriously. Whether you select a mobile app template or choose a custom design, you’ll have to keep in mind a few guidelines. This article tells you what you need to keep in mind when you create a template for your mobile app.

Consistency with your corporate design

Every business has a "corporate design” i.e. letter heads, business cards, and official documents and letter heads that have some pattern, a look and feel to them. When designing your mobile app, ensure that it is in sync with this design. This means you select the right colour scheme, the right font and you probably have a logo to begin with.

If you’re selecting a mobile app template, make sure that you choose those fonts that resemble your existing font and colour combinations closest. For an app template, decide which parts of the app you want to customize. Overall, you need to find a template that will suit your business style.

Right kind of navigation

When you select an app template, make sure the navigation suits your business. You don’t want to be stuck with complex navigation that your employees or customers cannot use. The front page must have all the related sections for users to select and browse. Next, select whether you want to use a swipe style or a tap style of navigation. For instance, if you want a newsstand or blog kind of app, make sure swipes are easy.

Header designs 

If your company already has a logo, it's would be great to include it in the header. You could also create something innovative - but keep in mind that the available space is just 300x74 pixels. Having your brand name in the header is a great idea too.

Select the right pattern for the various sections

Selecting the right pattern for the various segments of your app is essential for app success. The way you display your content and images on the app will definitely make a difference. For every type of content, you’ll find that there are several ways of displaying it. Select the layout that allows you to emphasise on the most important aspects of your business.

Last but not the least, the splash screen and the icon will be your first interaction with the customers. Make sure they are powerful enough to create that lasting first impression.

How to promote your mobile app

         
We saw what it takes to build an app in the last article. To recap, you basically need three things:

• Knowledge of how to create a user interface that’s attractive and easy to use
• Knowledge of Software development, network security and database management
• Comprehensive knowledge of web development, OOPS concepts and mobile APIs.

Before we move to marketing and promotion, it’s important to say this loud and clear: You need to have actually built the app. The first step towards a successful marketing strategy is to understand the app store environment and ranking algorithms that can guide you the possible ways to market and promote your mobile application to the consumer world.

Secondly, it’s important to develop apps which support various mobile platforms like iOS, Android, Windows etc. Cross-platform apps have a lot of advantages like reduced development costs, greater reach and easy marketing which means you don’t have to create niche messages to promote for a specific set of people. But this means that you have to know your target audience closely.

Steps before launch

1. Choose a good name

It is very important to choose a name for your app that is both unique and memorable. Make sure you include the most important keywords of the app’s functionality in its name. Lastly, ensure you don’t infringe any trademarks.

2. Choose the right category

In the appstore, estimate the number of downloads you will need to rank in each category. You will need to play to your strengths. Choose the most relevant category for your app. The more competitive a category, the more downloads you get.

3. Create an amazing icon

Your icon matters...a lot! Make sure it delivers the app’s purpose in style. Make it appealing and eye-catching. Users may not even look at the description of the app if the name and the icon reveal enough.

4. Good title, description and keywords

This is a decider. A lot of the users are going to look at your description of the app though a majority will actually land up by virtue of word of mouth. You need to include keywords, make it actionable and spy on your competitors to find out where you need to push harder. Finally, keep it simple. Brevity is much appreciated.

5.  Get featured on review sites

Open a spreadsheet and get ready to look for target sites and contact information. Start collecting data well ahead of your launch and contact everyone once the app goes live. Prepare your press kit (Pictures, Press release, Bio of the founders, Screenshots, logos, etc.) Target journalists and editors that cover your field. Keep collecting data and do a thorough analysis before you take hit the ground running.

Last but not the least, encourage users to share your app on social networking sites and to rate and review the app!

How to build a mobile app

At a time when everyone wants to jump on to the mobile bandwagon, it’s essential that we pause and ask ourselves the important question: “Do we have the skills necessary that go into making a killer app?” Because remember, there are tens of thousands of apps in the appstore but only a hundredth of them are actually used across the globe. So let us first look at what you need to build an app.

1. The learning curve:

Every job needs certain skills and app development is no different. It demands knowledge of Systems programming, internet security, database management etc. So, a bachelor’s degree in CS/software development or a specialized associate/degree in mobile application development too, would be okay. But it is essential to build on the skill set and education you already have by receiving further education and training in development languages(C#, Swift) and mobile user interface design.

2. Certification:

This is not a must-have and certainly not one you can’t-do-without. But having one on your resume might be of use just in case managers or companies require additional certification beyond postsecondary education and training.

• Microsoft offers entry-level certifications through its Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) program. Because of what a Microsoft certification brings to a resume or portfolio by itself, MTA certifications carry an instant appeal to workers looking to ply their trade in another career or to enhance their current skillset.

• Another certification that has become popular over the years is the certification of the Mobile Development Institute(MDI). It offers three entry-level developer certifications for Apple iOS, Android and Blackberry. But this is not for newbies as the certification requires that the candidate must have published at least one app on one of the platforms(iOS/Android/Blackberry)

• Building a mobile app also requires you to manage and support mobile environments, integrating mobility with wired and wireless LANs. That means a skill set that includes everything from mobile device management, to security to network infrastructure. All of which are covered under the CompTIA Mobility+ certification. It carries no prerequisites but recommends that individuals have 18 months experience in a mobile environment.

3. Building the app

Now, to creating the app. The first thing to do before you start building an app is to choose the platform. Once you’ve chosen the OS, you need to track the major players in the market of your niche, the functionalities and techniques they are using to make their businesses better.

The next step is to brainstorm. Find a killer idea. This is really important as there are a plethora of apps already available in the market and your app needs to be distinct and serve a unique purpose in the same league. The key question to ask is: What is your app going to have that other apps in the market do not?
Lastly, analyse and understand user behaviour. This requires a lot of research and insight and might also consume a considerable amount of time but this is where you identify what key ingredients your app needs to win the user’s mind.

Common Mistakes that every Ios developer should avoid

 
Building a successful iOS application is no easy task. It requires solid systems programming knowledge coupled with boundless creativity and some hard-selling. It also demands that you have better debugging skills than your competitors. This is because even the best of developers are bound to make mistakes as they churn out tons and tons of code. This is why it is important to identify common mistakes and look for them during the development stage itself. In this article, we present to you some common mistakes that you, as developers should avoid when building applications in iOS.

One of the most common mistakes that every iOS developer makes while he/she develops apps is memory errors, which many new iOS app developers often do commit when designing and developing applications. These mistakes are highlighted below for you to be aware, as upcoming iOS developers of such critical iOS memory mistakes.

• Most developers forget to include the dealloc method in each class, which causes memory management problems during development. Ensure that you make appropriate dealloc calls in each class to avoid such issues.

• It also happens that developers, many a time, do not call the super dealloc method from dealloc, that later on results in crash and serious issues in your app development. Remember that you cannot directly call a dealloc method. You should first call the super dealloc and that, only in your dealloc method.

• NSLog Statements can be extremely helpful in debugging an app, but overuse it and you could slow down the performance of the app as a whole. The more you use NSLog statements, the more memory it will consume and in the end, you may end up getting a memory warning from the app itself. Try to avoid such mistakes and bypass NSLog statements if you don't really need them.

• Underestimating iOS debugging commands: New developers are often unaware of the power of iOS debugging tools and never use them during development. MallocStackLogging, NSDebugEnabled and other environment variables can help you identify common causes for crash etc. So, try to familiarise yourself with iOS debugging commands and use them within your app development to avoid memory issues.

Apart from these major memory errors, many developers also forget to set pointers nil after releasing them, preferring to use retainCount of the objects which causes memory issues later.

What explains PHP’s popularity?

What is PHP?

PHP is short for Hypertext Preprocessor. It has grown over the years to become a widely used, server-side programming language that produces dynamic web pages. This article looks at why PHP has grown to become the language of choice for programmers and the features make it a language of the future as well.

Advantages of PHP 

The first advantage of PHP is that it’s open source i.e., it is free for personal and commercial use. In addition to this comes a large community of open source applications that work to fix bugs, security threats and other issues. One can also set different security levels in the.ini file to defend the system from attacks of users.

The second advantage is PHP’s interaction with databases. PHP interfaces very well with MySQL, widely-used as a database component of LAMP systems and used for web applications like Wikipedia and PHP-Nuke. This is why the PHP-MySQL combo has been so successful in the web world.

Thirdly, PHP is easy to use and runs very fast. Even if you are a developer with little experience, you can learn the basics of PHP and start working in a very short period of time. PHP is simple to the extent that even HTML coders can integrate PHP code straight into their pages. This is also the reason why PHP has become the language of choice for building mobile applications. If you're looking to create responsive mobile apps, PHP is your obvious choice.  To the experienced, the extensive features of PHP have unlimited potential.

PHP web hosting? 

PHP web hosting is a type of web hosting service that provides support for PHP. Most web hosting companies offer PHP hosting solution as a lot of demand exists. But make sure that you are provided with the latest version of the PHP script when registering.

Affordability

When you begin to search the internet for web hosting services, you will find PHP hosting to be much more affordable when compared to other hosting solutions. Apart from the reason that PHP is Open Source, the other main reason is that it usually comes with the popular database, MySQL, also free. Since these technologies are available for free their hosting fees too, are lower.

 How to Find Ideal PHP Web Hosting 

If you are running a small business and have begun your search for a PHP web hosting service, you need to know the three basics of web hosting: Firstly, ensure that the service has enough bandwidth to meet your requirements. Second, ensure enough disk space for not just your current needs, but also the future. And third, the hosting package should also provide you with databases whose size meets your web site requirements.

How Android Devices Are Transforming Our Lives

 
Vendors around the world are customizing Android to their needs, providing rich user experience and access to third party apps on connected devices. It is expected that by 2020, 22 billion embedded systems and other portable devices will be connected to the internet with the help of Android, thus revolutionizing the workplace. We take a look at Android powered devices and their possible impact at the workplace.

You can customize Android to meet your enterprise policy, functionality and security needs. If a device uses Android as its base operating system, developers will start building innovative apps on that platform that can be used at your workplace.

So, say Goodbye to conference room smartboards, VGA projectors and LCD TVs, and say hello to
Smart displays- 65” touch enabled smart displays that run embedded Android, providing not just white-boarding and power point facilities, but integrated multi party video collaboration and more.

Virtual desktops- A remote virtual desktop that is touch-enabled, running full Android and web apps, seamless application and data connectivity between Android phone, Android tablet and laptop.
Android screens- A touch panel that installs over a standard LCD display or TV, turning it into a big Android tablet with a remote, pointer and keyboard.

Android Sticks- Dual-core Android systems on a USB stick that plugs into an MHL-enabled display or TV and runs any Android app, web or remote Windows app/desktop, using Wifi for connection and a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

Android enables the portability of enterprise features. Not confines to the desktop, employees can access the same work on mobile devices.

Not only the workplace, Android is truly transforming the healthcare industry too with its wide range of monitoring and imaging equipments. Apps and mobile phone add-ons for Android phones let patients automatically report their vitals and long-term test data over 3G and 4G mobile networks.

Android for therapeutic and imaging equipment

Devices with built-in displays streamline the magnifying and X-ray processes. Remote monitors and surgical displays help surgeons perform delicate surgeries using tele-surgical robots. Personal health monitor devices collect and analyze data from various body sensors, and are only the size of a small phone.

How Mobile Apps Invade Your Privacy

               
There is no doubt you’ve heard about privacy issues related to Google, Facebook, and other prominent websites. But have you thought of the private data theft that could be occurring right now, on your mobile device? In this article, we discuss the major issues that affect privacy in mobile apps and how third-party ad libraries play a vital part in it.

More than 70 billion apps were downloaded last year from Google Play and iOS. With the popularity of mobile apps growing every day, we discuss the privacy concerns that should users must be made aware of.

 There are four levels of potential risk:

• Application layer: Vulnerable apps and malicious code gain access to your data and devices sensors.

• Hardware layer: Attackers take advantage of memory corruption defects in firmware to gain
administrative access to your firmware.

• Network layer: Information can be intercepted over the air now. Mobile Wifi has all the same problems that laptops have on Wifi.

• Operating system layer: Android and iPhone jailbreaks make use of defects in your phone’s operating system.

Application related risks:

Some mobile apps upload users’ contact lists and store them without permission. It has also been discovered that a fake version of the Instagram app for Android installed malware on users’ devices after being downloaded from third-party sites.

Also, fake applications are a common method used by attackers to spread malware. So, download apps only from trusted app stores.

Ad libraries

Smartphone users should also be aware of the risks that some mobile ads pose. In-app ad libraries can retrieve ads remotely and some ad libraries have the same permissions that users grant the app during installation. Remote access to ad libraries introduces a security risk by allowing third-party ad libraries to bypass general security.

Some ad libraries can access a user’s location, list of all apps on the phone, phone numbers and call logs.
So make sure you find your own balance of Privacy vs Functionality. Delete apps that do not allow you to change privacy or sharing settings. Make sure you read user’s responses and feedback before you download an app. Do not say yes to all the permissions that the app elicits from you. Read them carefully and download the app only if you are convinced.