What is hybrid app development?

A hybrid application is essentially a web application which can run in a thin native container and as such can use the functionality of both web and mobile worlds.

A native application is a software that is designed to run on a specific device. The mobile applications are basically native in nature. They are designed either for Android or iOS devices. So, a native app is one which is designed for a particular device or platform.

Web applications, on the other hand, make use of the client-server architecture. The client typically runs on a web browser and sends requests to a web server over the internet.

What is hybrid app and how to build it? A hybrid application is built using HTML5, CSS and JavaScript are capable of some offline functionality and can use your device’s camera, calendar, geolocation, contacts and more. The mobile provides what is known as the WebView for running your hybrid application. It is a miniature web browser or simply put, a chrome-less browser. It lets you display and interact with web pages.

To the layman, it is difficult to distinguish between a mobile application and a hybrid application. On an Android platform, a WebView has all the features of a browser like a history, cookies, HTML5, JavaScript support and more. On an iOS, a WebView may contain tap highlights and touch callouts.

Also, the virtual keyboard will contain the Next and Previous button. There is a difference in the scrolling momentum of a WebView and a native view on an iOS. A network analysis tool can be used to detect whether the application is a hybrid one in iOS.

Some important tools available for hybrid app development

1. PhoneGap (Apache Cordova) – It is the most popular mobile hybrid app development tool. It used to be formerly called PhoneGap and later renamed Apache Cordova. It is a free and open source framework. It lets you build applications using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. It does not make use of any platform-specific APIs.  The resulting application is neither completely native nor web-based hence the name hybrid applications. The HTML5 and various plugins let the application access the various features of the phone like the camera, contacts, and others.  It is supported by almost all platforms like Android, iOS, Blackberry, Nokia Symbian to name a few. PhoneGap automatically converts the files uploaded to websites to App files.
2. Sencha Space – It provides a secure and managed environment to develop applications for any mobile platform. It provides various cross-platform development tools.
3. Trigger.io – It uses JavaScript API which lets you access the device camera, contacts, and other functionalities. In addition to this, it contains a cloud-based service which lets you compile the application for each mobile operating system.
4. IBM Worklight – It is an open and advanced platform for developing hybrid applications. It lets you build applications for many operating systems. It is an Eclipse-based IDE and uses SDKs for various development platforms.
5. Ionic Framework – It is an open source, free to use web-based platform. It uses Bootstrap3 and AngularJS. Also, it has a wide number of third-party plugins and extensions to aid development.

Hybrid App Development Specifics

The next important point to consider is when to go for hybrid mobile app development. There might be a number of occasions when hybrid apps are required, the most important being lack of time, limited budget, a single code across all platforms and availability of your application in the app store.

The other situations demanding hybrid development would be the availability of a workforce with HTML, CSS and JavaScript competencies but also requirement to use native features like push notifications, reminders and offline working.

Another use a hybrid application has is that it does not require to be updated very frequently as updated pages can be accessed through the server. This gives another reason to choose hybrid application development while updating or launching an app on an app store takes longer.

Besides the above-stated reasons, there are certainly other advantages of hybrid applications. They provide a uniform User Experience across all platforms. The hybrid applications are quicker, can adjust to any screen sizes and resolutions and can easily load complex graphics.

The ease of maintenance of hybrid applications makes them scalable. Hybrid applications are able to provide most of the functionality of a mobile application like connecting with your friends through social media, take photographs etc.

The hybrid apps can reach more audiences than native apps as they can be used on all mobile platforms. This helps in increasing the customers and the revenue. Besides, hybrid applications are also useful when implementing BYOD (Bring Your Device) in an organization as the hybrid app can run on multiple devices.

An organization wanting to implement Minimum Viable Product technique can easily use hybrid applications as they can be updated faster through pages and a web server to make it available to the early adopters as soon as possible.

Hybrid applications make the need for learning different languages for different platforms redundant. Any new mobile operating system can be easily included in mobile applications. So, it has a ‘write once, run anywhere’ approach. A popular example of hybrid application is Netflix.

Also, another benefit of using a hybrid app is you can reach your customers faster than a native app. If the time to reach your customers is crucial for you as you don’t want to fall far behind your competitors than a hybrid app is a way to go.

Mobile apps and web apps on other hand have few downsides. Web Applications are responsive websites which run in browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and others while native apps run on a smartphone or a tablet. Web apps are slow, less user-friendly and not always on a user’s smartphone like a mobile or hybrid app. Mobile apps are expensive to develop and maintain. Getting a mobile app approved for an app store is also a difficult task.

As with any other technology, hybrid applications also have certain shortcomings. The hybrid applications are slower than the native applications as there is an extra layer added to the source code and the mobile platform. If the developers are not well-versed with the target platform then debugging is a tedious task.

Mobile operating systems are frequently updated with new features and organizations want to use these feature as soon as possible to stay competitive. It takes time to include these features in the hybrid apps which make organizations opt for mobile applications instead.

Hybrid App Development & Testing

Testing a hybrid app takes longer as it must be tested in numerous environments which is not the case with native apps which are built for proprietary platforms.

Hybrid apps work well for small-scale projects but not recommended for heavier applications which are feature rich and require the use of many low-level functionalities. This is the reason why Facebook shifted from HTML to a native application. There is also a dearth of expert hybrid app developers and might not be able to create sophisticated applications.

The user experience is found to be more wholesome with the native app than hybrid apps as the former can access all the functionalities of the device. Also, if you plan to develop a product then the Native app is a better option.
On a more technical note, it has been found that the WebView in Android lags the WebView in iOS which may limit your application. If your application is a gaming app or requires animation and videos, then build a native application.

It is difficult to handle gestures in hybrid apps than in Native apps. They are handled programmatically which may slow down the application.

Web apps are easier to maintain, can work even on older devices and no app store approval is required.

Winding Up About hybrid app development

A hybrid application is in the true sense a middle path between a web application and a native application. It is a cost-effective and easy to use and develop a solution. Certainly, the best approach in various scenarios.

The post Hybrid App Development – The Middle Approach, Tools and Platforms appeared first on DesignWebKit.

Today we mention top 8 best programming language for mobile apps which have been popular lately amongst mobile app developers and are being used for making human life simple.

Choose the Best Programming Language for Mobile Apps

Java

One of the most popular languages for mobile app development is Java. Java now is regarded as the favorite mobile app development language across the world by top developers thanks to its easy portability and flexibility in working with various platforms. This language which was developed by Sun Microsystems allows code reusability and easy debugging which makes it absolutely smooth to work with. Previously users couldn’t utilize the Java made applications on IOS devices, however, to remove such barriers Total Cross technology has been brought into practice which allows easy portability of any code to IOS and thus imparting in all the more flexibility.

C

Called as the mother of programming languages C is probably the oldest mobile app development language ever used by the developers. This language which served as the base for Java, C#, and most other programming languages was the first language which started the era of digitization. Although the cross-platform compatibility was absent in C it still could produce a robust code with high-end graphics. This language is a bit complex and so is the code portability however once mastered it surely is one of the best mobile application development language in the world.

Python

While most of the best programming language for mobile apps may confuse you with their syntax and lines of code, Python is the exact opposite. In fact, the easy readability and understandability of this programming language is what makes this language one of the most used languages in mobile app development. A great learning for beginners, Python can produce finer results despite it being fairly simple. It has been used in coding of powerful search engines such as Google after being successful in which it became popular, and is now being used in mobile applications such as Instagram and Pinterest.

C++

A modified and a bit simplified version of C is the C++ language, which has been known to help the developers with small level mobile application development. This language which has easier to understand syntax is used mainly in coding for Android and Windows platform. The language has been known to be the basis for coding popular software such as Firefox and Adobe Photoshop. The code developed in C++ is easy to port which is one of the fortes of this language.

Swift

Called by many as the programming language of future, Swift has the potential to overturn and completely change the way mobile applications are being developed today. Invented and utilized by Apple for its IOS app development, Swift is on the verge of becoming the most utilized language in the world. Based on the same line of syntax and command as C this language does have features of Python, Objective C and Java combined which makes it one of the most powerful languages to be used in mobile application development. The best part of this language is that it takes very little time to master and the code it produces is absolutely top notch with detailed intricacy in output which is clearly visible.

C#

If objective C is something which Apple owns, then C# (called as C sharp) is the language which Microsoft can be credited with.  This language has the potential to accomplish and develop almost any web application and mobile application you can think about however it is widely used for developing mobile games and other interactive 3-D applications. Though people might disagree with it being popular most developers still use code snippets of C# in making mobile application as this language is very easy to learn. The coding is so simple in C# that a popular U.S startup coded their mobile application in the time span of a single day, yes one day, that is how easy C# is.

Ruby

While Ruby isn’t directly used for coding a mobile application, you can code applications in Ruby utilizing platforms such as Rhodes or RubyMotion. Ruby is the second most popular and best programming language for mobile apps after Java in the world. Learning as well as coding in Ruby is extremely easy and one can make popular Android and IOS applications in Ruby within 10 minutes. This language has dynamic typing option which means it supports the developer with every step of their coding and hence they don’t require to remember all the long syntax and rules for this language. It has portability and reusability feature embedded which does make it any developer’s favorite in no time.

Objective C

Used by Apple for making numerous IOS applications, Objective C is the language which most of the IOS applications have been coded in. The language which is a child of C is used to produce bug-free applications and thereby IOS applications also are strong in terms of security. This language focuses more on the visual appeal of the application while not at all compromising on internal working. With supporting features such as dynamic runtime and dynamic typing it sure is still utilized in making web applications despite Swift making its way to the market.

Conclusion

So this was the list of top 8 best programming language for mobile apps which are being utilized in making high-performing mobile and web applications. If you are thinking of learning any programming language than we would suggest you to learn Swift as it is what people call as the- programming language of future. If you are planning on hiring any developer for any mobile application you wish to be built, then go through the advantages of each one and then hire someone who understands your needs and can suggest the best possible framework for the same.

The post Choosing Best Programming Language for Mobile Apps: 8 Options appeared first on DesignWebKit.

In this article, we bring you the insightful tips on promoting your app in 2018. Use them when devising your app marketing strategy and you’re bound to get more out of it.

Tip #1: Expect It To Be The Whole New Ballgame

As you tap into mobile app marketing strategy, you’ll notice that the things are quite different. The traditional marketing channels and approaches no longer work for this niche. So, even if you’re an expert in digital marketing, building an app marketing strategy you should cast the tried-and-tested methods aside. Be ready to embrace new mobile-first advertisement channels.

The takeaway lesson from this is that you should be open-minded when it comes to building your app marketing strategy. So, you’ll need all of your innovation and flexibility to choose what works for promoting your app the best.

Tip #2: Fight Mobile With Mobile: Find The Right Marketing Channels

The next tip concerns being choosy in terms of the marketing channels you invest into. Do not expect the much-used strategies of online advertising (such as in-store ads, banners, and newsletters) to work. The likelihood that someone who sees your app on the screen of a PC, pulls out their phone and searches for your app is pretty low. That’s why you should pull your online ads where your target users spend their time on mobile devices. For example, if you want to promote a mobile game, addressing your audience inside other similar games would be a viable option. In this case, reaching your app will be at the fingertips of your target audience.

So, the channels that prove most effective as part of your app advertising strategy, are mobile advertisement channels and real-time bidding exchanges. The latter let you make ad serving automatic and ensures that your ad reaches the target audience. As a result, if you adopt this strategy, you get effective, low-cost advertising that targets the needed segment of potential app users.

What’s more, companies report that the more mobile advertising channels they invest in, the more they get out of it. So, employing different advertisement channels ensures higher installs of your app in the app market. This, in its turn, improves the app’s discoverability and reputation.

This image displays the findings of Ovum, one of the market-leading researchers on mobile advertisement. You can see how many marketers report this or that channel being first, second or third most important in their app marketing strategy.

Tip #3: Choose the Right Social Media

Advertising on mobile-first social media should be a prominent part of your app marketing strategy. It’s important to carefully consider the possible options and determine the most effective ones. First of all, determine what the social networks that your target audience most ardently uses are. Secondly, consider the type and specifics of your mobile app and discover possible user pools within other social networks. Thirdly, determine what type of the ads appeals most to your target audience and matches the content on social networks. Then, ensure that it takes users just one click to get to your app’s page in the app store.

If you wonder what the social networks to consider are, we can name the 6 social networks, app advertising in which proved most successful in 2017. They are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest LinkedIn and Snapchat. Facebook proved to be the best network in terms of lead generation. Instagram is the mobile social network with the highest user engagement (70% higher than Facebook, 2000% more engaging than Twitter). The other networks are runners-up in terms of popularity, and it depends on your target audience which ones prove more successful.

Tip #4: Promote The Experience, Not The App

At present, you’re no more marketing the app itself. You’re not telling: “Look, we’ve got the app that lets you do what you’re doing without it on your laptop”. Modern mobile apps create new experiences, the ones that cannot be achieved on your website or elsewhere.

That’s why it’s important to market and show off the unique experience your app delivers. For example, you can achieve this with a series of in-app screenshots or with a video presentation. Make sure that your ads clearly point out what the value that your app brings is: makes something simpler, helps keep track of something, delivers a breathtaking playing experience, etc.

Tip #5: Power An App-Devoted Website or Landing Page

Powering a sound web presence for your app is one of the crucial components of its successful marketing. This online point of reference should uncover all the greatness of your app and state clearly the value the app delivers. If you go for a website rather than a landing page, it’s important that you update your site’s Blog page frequently. By this, you’ll show that the app is by no means abandoned and has a proactive team behind it. What’s more, frequent blog updates are bound to please modern search engines that will rank your website higher on SERPs. Once again, this leads to better discoverability.

If you don’t have a website for your app, the simplest way to power it is by using a modern web theme. With a modern mobile app template, you’ll be able to create your stunning web presence using ready-made blocks and a pre-built WYSIWYG editor. This makes launching your website within days possible, so you’ll start harvesting the revenues within a short period of time.

Details | Demo

Tip #6: Ensure Users’ Loyalty

To take your app’s popularity up a notch, you should ensure its popularity among the users who discover it on their own. Here the ranking of your app in the app store and the number of thoughtful positive reviews it got are the things that matter.

That’s why, the app promotion should go hand in hand with app improvement. You should respond to user’s comments and take their advice into consideration. If you keep improving your app and making the experience it delivers better, you’re bound to ensure the loyalty of your users. Loyal users are the ones who genuinely enjoy the app. They’re prone to tell about your app to your friends thus helping you with app promotion free of charge. So, the more loyal users you manage to get, the better.

Tip #7: Ensure the Strong Presentation Of Your App In App Markets

There are some not very far-sighted app providers, who invest heavily into app promotion but foresee the basics, such as ensuring a strong presentation of their app in the app stores. This is the mistake that you can’t afford. If following the ad, people end up on a lame app page, you’re bound to lose a portion of potential users.

To prevent this, ensure that you have an impressive, up-to-date presentation of your app in the app store. Make it strong with a demo video and commented screenshots. Take care to translate the app’s description to different languages. Automatic translations are far from being impressive, aren’t they? So, that’s you who are responsible for carrying out this small, but pretty important task. So, don’t put it on the back burner.

Tip #8: Capitalize on the Burst

Do you know what a burst is? It’s actually a very interesting tactic to include into your app marketing strategy. Let us explain the essence of it.

In fact, it’s very straightforward. To achieve a burst, you initialize a short-term, intensive advertising campaign. For example, you can run one dedicated to Christmas promotion or other occasions. The campaign leads to a boom in popularity and you quickly skyrocket the ranking in the app stores. As a result, the number of organic downloads also grows. After this, you can scale down the spending on advertising back to the minimum that lets you maintain the achieved popularity.

The burst proves an impressive technique for magnetizing your app’s store presence. As a result, you’ll benefit from it more than from gradually increasing your spending on app promotion.

Tip #9: Keep Searching For New Marketing Channels

If following the tips #2 and #3, you identified the channels and social networks to use for your app’s promotion, this doesn’t mean that you’re done. Web space is ever-changing and you should keep a watchful eye on rising mobile technologies. For example, this year we saw the rise of Telegram and channels in it. At present, it may be wise to invest into the promotion of your app on the app review Telegram channels.

The takeaway lesson from this is that you should regularly re-inspect the promotion channels you selected. Don’t be afraid to switch to new channels and test their effectiveness in your app’s promotion. You never know which one of them will open new horizons for you and the app.

Tip #10: The Job Is Never Done

Most importantly, with app promotion, the job is never done. Of course, you should set goals and reach them. However, once you reach them, set new goals and keep growing. Treat your app promotion as a mobile game with an unlimited number of levels. Keep playing when you’re stuck. Keep playing after you’ve reached the level you’ve never dreamt of. Just keep playing it and upgrading your app and its promotion!

App Marketing Strategy Wrapping Up

That’s pretty much it for today. Following these tips, you’ll be able to add zest to your app marketing strategy. Moreover, you’ll never reach the ceiling of improvement and will always keep growing in popularity, no matter how advanced in app promotion you are.

If you want to discover some more insightful app promotion tips, check out Mobile App Marketing Strategy to Step up Application Sale.

Are there any other app marketing tips that worked out for you and helped you prosper? You’ll help others if you share them in the Comments section below.

Happy promoting!

The post App Marketing Strategy: 10 Practical Tips To Ensure The Success Of Your Mobile App appeared first on DesignWebKit.

Spy Phone App – Ultimate tool for parenting

Parents who are worried about their teens and kids online activities and the possible risk factor of encountering with digital nightmares, the cell phone surveillance software are the true guardian for kids and teens. Parents can set complete parental control on kids and teens online activities to prevent them from online evils such as cyber bullies, cyber stalkers, sexual predators and child abusers. No, what is happening on kids and teens social media platforms, the monitoring software for phones enable parents to view their hidden activities same as with naked eye. Parents can remotely control the mobile phones of kids and teens when they are doing something inappropriate activities through a remote phone controller app. it enables parents to block the internet remotely, view installed apps, block text messages and calls on teens cell phone.

Spy Phone App – A True Leader of Your Business

Business organizations usually face problems related to their employees and the online security issues. Theonespy phone app is there for you to behave like a leader of your business to the fullest. It empowers employers to keep an eye on employee’s activities when they are using company’s owned gadgets such as cell phones, pads, and tabs. On the other hand, if there is the un-authorized entry made by an employee to temper the confidential documents stored in the devices and employers may lose all the data of their business. Don’t worry the phone spy software is there to retrieve all of your lost data within no time.  Employees can get remotely screenshots of their employee’s activities on the device and they can even listen to the gossips they made against the company or others employees through Phone bug of the mobile phone surveillance program.

Spy Phone App – A trust Factor in your Relationship

It makes relationships stronger, spouses and the partners can install The One Spy phone app on each-other cell phones in order to know where the partner or the spouse is the moment and what sort activities they are doing in their daily routine. It will really make a difference to trust each other and make the relationship stronger and beautiful.

So once again the rules:

1. Leave a comment under this post.
2. Share this post on any social media platform.

The results will be announced on December 27th.

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