The increased use of mobile and web apps during the pandemic has rapidly transformed into a change in consumer behavior. People can no longer imagine life without their smartphones: they live in a network of interconnected, valuable applications that change one's life for the better every day. In this article, you will find out why it is essential to finally launch your own app or improve existing ones in 2022 and how to do it.
These days, software development companies are totally high-demand: businesses have begun concentrating on digital marketing accessible to the masses and users - on high-quality IT solutions. One of them was just the progressive web app - convenient, fast and informative; they allow you to increase conversions and sales quickly. Implementing such an experience should be cost-effective for the company and include additional functionality. Theoretically, the process of web application development or software upgrading is a regular process that has predefined steps and does not seem to require any special effort - all the responsibility for the result rests on the shoulders of the subcontractor. However, behind all this, there is complex management that involves all aspects of the product life cycle. So, we are going to start this article by highlighting the statistics to help you decide - whether you need PWA software or if it is worth spending the money to improve the website.
Today, Android users can choose among 3.3 million apps, while those, who love Jobs' creations with all their hearts, doubt what they want to download from the list of 2.11 million units. 6,648 billion people are obsessed with smartphones, which equals approximately 83.72% of all the people around the world owning these smart devices. They love to use their phones everywhere: in the shower, in a restaurant, on the train, in bed, you name it. But let's not go there. All we wanted to report is somewhat related to an expanded network of very different user groups who are hungry for new unicorns and are willing to pay fabulous sums of money for it.
Here are two simple examples. Starbucks has focused on selling coffee, cookies, and other things through PWA while still having an alternative mobile app. This decision proved victorious because it doubled the number of orders. The same goes for global giant AliExpress, which has increased conversions by 104% through PWA. They could generate even more leads and extend the session time by 74%. It would seem that most of the application operations are on the website, but the cherry on the cake is offline work. Now a question: are you still not sure if your business needs progressive web app design?
Well, here are some more statistics. 49% of users access their favorite and useful apps about 11 times each day. One of them, by the way, could be yours! Mobile apps will generate over $935 billion in revenue by 2023, indicating the growing popularity and necessity of implementing such technology in your business.
It makes sense that before opening a program, people must find and download it. But how do you make them do it? Sometimes, even an excellent web resource can not attract the proper attention to the news channel and only suffers losses. The answer is as follows:
Lack of storage space;
They freeze too frequently;
The website has a more understandable functionality.
It becomes evident that PWA architecture can not do without quality. After all, you can't create anything and hope for the goodwill of Internet sharks, who will consider it meat and greedily swallow it. People don’t want to burden themselves with unnecessary junk, even on their smartphones. Filling your resource with valuable options, making data processing instantaneous and the UX unsurpassed, you will likely swim in a sea of success. So, let's talk about how to create an app for business.
As practice shows, every application development process is unique and often very different from standard practices because of product requirements. Initially, there are four stages, which include:
pre-design;
design;
development;
support.
The first stage begins with the formation of a business idea. It may include an analysis of the features of the future application, its benefits to society, and the range of tasks that it should cover. This stage can sometimes be delayed due to the ever-changing customers' priorities. This is usually the most challenging time for project managers because here and now, they have to tune in to the same wave as the consumers and help deal with several misconceptions.
Then there is a thorough business analysis of the idea, market research, and selection of a possible team of people who may be involved in creating the program. Finally, uniqueness - this is what makes an app successful and gives you a significant advantage over your competitors. At this stage, it builds predictions and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the future product. But to meet the customer's expectations, any idea must be tested for viability and actual demand, which is engaged by a team of testers and designers.
After all the stages of creating an application have been agreed upon, it's time for a new phase of project development - the design sprint. This step involves creating a prototype, which is tested to identify problems and improve the UX.
Then the most exciting thing happens: a team of specialists gathers and thinks about the web application development process. Depending on your goals, you may also get by with the help of a single developer. Nevertheless, do not forget that cross-platform capabilities have recently become the most valuable. Still, experts can work with specific web application programming languages or only with one type of operating system - whether Android or iOS. Finished or not quite finished, PWA is tested for bugs - this step can not be neglected because the positive user experience depends on it.
After your team creates PWA, it's time to present the product on the app marketplace, where different platforms have strict publishing rules. This stage is also accompanied by a powerful marketing campaign and the growth of excitement around your brand. Do you remember how much hype was once caused by Forbes or Twitter?
It is not less significant to support the product, that is:
monitor the server;
do backups;
release updates;
don’t neglect to debug.
It would seem that this long development process is over, and you are good to go. However, one can only stop supporting the app if it is not needed - no more maintenance, rebranding, or other aspects that prolong its life. But let's move to the money question to keep you informed on every aspect of the PWA project.
The most critical issue in the development remains software project budget estimation. Usually, predicting exact amounts is a complex process connected with the backlog. A negative statistic is that about 28% of projects are derailed due to inaccurate financing planning. However, a detailed description of the sprints and objectives that lead to the result will help control the financial part.
So, here are a few basic steps you should take to calculate the costs perfectly.
Make a list of goals
The development speed depends on the planning of tasks and their distribution into smaller ones. Depending on the terms of cooperation with the specialists, you can easily estimate the cost of each job. But it is essential to stay on the same page with the client and understand the needs. For more reliability of the approved aspects, make it a rule to conduct business correspondence, calls, and in-person meetings. They will help to detail some of the provisions.
Allocate labor resources
Project management budgeting and forecasting depend on the capabilities of the team. If that's not enough, take into hiring outsourced staff.
Estimate the duration of the jobs
Each job has its deadline, agreed upon with one or another specialist. Calculate the cost of person-hours and add them to the total budget. But note that there can always be errors in calculating time intervals. We advise you to use only 80% of the team's potential to avoid possible burnout.
Automate calculations
Apply beneficial cost estimating software to liven up the budgeting process a bit. For example, Float or Jira tracks costs in real-time by recording the working hours of project participants.
When making a budget, do not forget about taxes and unforeseen expenses. They usually account for 10% of the total amount.
Let's determine how long it takes to renew a progressive web app
As we said, the speed of the project will determine the expenses of its creation or renewal and the payback in the market. To understand how long it takes to develop an app, let's revisit the process of its development. It would help if you defined which part of your outdated PWA software requires urgent change.
Usually, the formation of a business idea can take 1-2 weeks and depends on the objectives of entrepreneurs and the project manager, depending on the correct presentation of information to the team.
Then there is an analysis of the updating concept. The contractor-company performs research on the market and defines the usefulness of the updated product, which can take 4-5 weeks. The idea is then tested for viability for 3-6 weeks. If everything is well, the design sprint phase comes, which usually lasts 3-6 weeks. There must be a mandatory quality check and further bug fixing to satisfy the customer's request. This process and a product update can take about 8 weeks. Deployment takes about a week. You can have an excellent workable product in as little as 17 weeks. But remember, you shouldn't avoid the market research or testing phases, or your app can fate the unbeatable Google Glass.
Tips & tricks on how to speed up a PWA development process
There are several basic practices to increase the effectiveness of teams while accelerating the timing of sprints. Here they are.
Expand your team of experts
Sometimes the tight timeline of a project does not match the number and capabilities of developers. To speed up work on updates, many companies resort to extended outsourced hiring, which allows them not to disrupt deadlines.
Work on small manageable milestones
This advice has already been sounded in our article, but we will allow ourselves to remind you of it. So, high-quality execution of short sprints gets you closer to your desired goal faster by identifying and correcting errors in the early stages of development.
Create a roadmap
While updating a web app, it is essential to understand what stage the team is at. You will save a lot of time if you initially establish and visualize precise requirements and a road map.
Limit your work in progress (WIP)
Many tasks make the situation desperate and hinder the project's development. You may use the Kanban methodology to manage the process better and get timely feedback.
Avoid code debt
This phenomenon describes poor decisions made to speed up the process of improving a project, which subsequently fails. To avoid this, you should have a strategic risk management plan.
Automate your work to speed up!
Elementary actions to automate the workflow can remove a heavy burden from the shoulders of developers. Introduce a CI/CD pipeline or tools that enable automatic testing, and you'll reach a new level of collaboration.
What do the experts say?
In this section, we have collected several opinions from top experts of well-known companies about some of the nuances of web app improvement. They will also tell you why it is essential to have a PWA for a website.
Since the team is the backbone of any project, you should find the right people. And here's what DesignLi's expert Laura MacPherson says. When looking for people to join the team, choose those who have already established themselves as specialists on similar projects and have experience getting the job done on time. The latter can be checked in the reviews in the specialist's portfolio.
Vintage's Art Director, Olga Shevchenko, says that to meet the deadline, allow a small margin of error in calculating the timeline. If you finish faster, it will make your client happy, or if you meet the deadline, you will make your client happy too!
Since cloud development has been gaining momentum over the past few years, try to pick out the best experts among the significant number of talking heads. Subscribe to @jeffbarr, @adrianco, @abbyfuller, @scottgu, and @kelseyhightower to keep up with the latest trends in computing.
And here's what experts say about automation: Vita Trevino-Garcia, director of recruitment, says it is important to simplify the search for candidates through all kinds of software. Hiring affects the profitability of the project. This can be measured mathematically by comparing the time and budget spent on finding an employee with the figure charged to the client.
We also decided to share Google's answers to the pressing question: does the PWA still exist today? So, an unequivocal yes! They live and continue to evolve. The company advises gradually adding functionality to keep the software up to date as users access more actual browser technology. "Building a PWA does not mean starting from scratch." - in essence, you're already using a hybrid framework that you may fill with data or leave out something irrelevant but present in a website or mobile app. And here's how PWA simplifies business growth: in our articles, we've just mentioned the importance of quick loading and interactivity of content more than once. Web applications usually render a page on the server (SSR) and then update the client (CSR) dynamically, although the opposite is true. Therefore, it is worth combining SSR and CSR to make them productive. This way, the page will load quickly, and the entrepreneur will not lose money because of the high bounce rate.
You may also make it easier and not take on the huge burden of configuring and supporting the application. Sometimes it is worth entrusting the case to professional companies with vast experience in the relevant spheres.
Conclusion
Today's entrepreneurs face a dilemma to stay in line: was the PWA a successful solution, or should it have focused on the mobile app. As practice shows, the world's giants choose the combo: PWA+alternative because the latter has several disadvantages, which the web application can easily handle. The MPS editorial board, led by experienced developers, also considers it appropriate to maintain an up-to-date PWA, which should be entirely consistent with the business goals set.
Since the world is obsessed with smartphones, this technology is already successfully pervading the globe, capturing the attention of millions of users around the world. Therefore, try to assess the need for its implementation and the possible risks, and only after that start working out the idea thoroughly with a reliable PWA company of experts! Good luck to you!
Every self-respecting business owner, at some point, thinks of improving employees' knowledge, mastery, and confidence. They may already succeed in creating an eLearning platform for corporate training. However, it still needs constant updating to keep the staff up with time and deliver the most relevant data. While developing online lessons is a lengthy process requiring experience and tech power, distributing tasks can become the only solution for companies searching for quick and efficient results.
Today’s busy and tech-savvy online customers are interested in mobile-friendly educational courses suitable for smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets. User-centric and accessible, gamified and bite-sized, mLearning can happen anytime, anywhere. You should learn how to implement it in the organization to make it a part of your corporate culture.
If you practice edtech in your organization, then you might already understand the crucial role of digital learning platforms in constant employee growth. Corporate training has a direct impact on your company’s productivity.
