Mobile Push Notifications

What exactly are mobile push notifications, and why should apps have them? What type of apps should have push notifications? How much time and effort is required to develop an app that has push notifications? What is the cost to add a push notification feature in an app? There are too many questions, and we are here to answer them all for you.

A ‘push notification’ is an alert message whenever any update comes, and it pops up on mobile devices. App developers can send notifications at any time by using the push notifications app feature, and it does not matter whether the user is using the app or not, the user will still receive the message. For example, a sports application can send you scores and important updates, and a weather app can send you weather updates with the help of push notifications. You can only receive mobile app push notifications if you have installed that specific app.

Mobile app push notifications look like message alerts and updates. Whether it is Android or iOS, every platform supports push notifications.

 

Why apps should have a push notification strategy?

Push and email notification plans are the best marketing strategy so far. Push notifications cannot disturb the users, because if users do not need push notifications, they can easily turn them off. If the app sends the right and useful push notifications, then the users are more likely to open those notifications. Push notifications are an effective and efficient way of bringing back inactive users and can increase the retention rate by five times if implemented correctly.

Push notifications can also enhance the engagement rate of the users. Push notifications for content matter a lot, as they will help the user to interact with an app more effectively. App developers can gather useful information about their app via push notifications and this information helps them at the time of updating and modifying their app.

Push notifications not only bring back the users but also increase the conversion rates of your app and enhance the user experience.

 

Types of Push Notification Apps

Push notifications should mainly have three important qualities that keep the users engaged. Push notifications must be highly personalized, timely, and very relevant. Let us find out the different types of push notifications.

  • The time-sensitive notification.
  • Highly personalized notifications design.
  • Reminder notifications.
  • Subscribed notifications
  • Rewards and achievements notifications

 

How to develop an app that has a push notifications feature?

Developing a perfect application with push notifications requires a lot of time and effort. First, you need to find out the taste of your audience and what they want. What they are likely to respond to? So, to implement this idea, you should have to find the reason why your audience downloads your app. If your app is related to sports events then send them the relevant push notifications that are related to sports. If you send irrelevant posts that are against the taste of your audience then it can decrease the performance of your app.

The second point that you need to consider is when your audience needs your services. It means that you should send the push notifications to your audience at the best time.

The third point that you need to consider is the location of your audience. You should target the location where your message will be most useful.

 

What’s the cost to add a push notifications feature in your app?

Push notifications apps are used to deliver all kinds of information to app users. Here we will discuss the top push notifications services that are used for mobile applications.

  • Amazon SNS
  • OneSignal

 

Amazon SNS

Amazon SNS is the best push notification service that allows the app developer to send push notifications. Amazon SNS’s price is $1 for one million push notifications.

 

OneSignal

OneSignal multi-tasking push notifications platform has almost all the features of push notifications. OneSignal has three plans.

  • Free
  • Starter ($99 per month)
  • Pro ($500 per month)

 

Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.

A/B Testing Mobile Apps: Why it Matters

A / B testing, also known as split testing, is a process of showing two versions or variations of the same pages to different segments of visitors to the site or an app in question, to find the variation that generates more conversions and more clicks. It is crucial to be A/B testing mobile apps for various reasons, which we will go over here.

 

Why do mobile apps need A/B testing?

Now let’s take a look at the main reasons why you should perform A/B testing on mobile apps.

 

Solve the “pain points” of your visitors

People come to your apps for a specific purpose, such as finding out more about your product or service, buying it, or just browsing your home page.  Regardless of the user’s goal, they may face certain problems and obstacles (pain points) before they can achieve their goal: these may be unclear explanations or the poor way you organized a particular page. The difficulty or impossibility of reaching a goal easily shows that your app is not providing visitors with an optimal user experience. And all this friction that the user encounters on their way ultimately hurts your conversion rates. By using the data collected through tools capable of analyzing visitor behavior such as heat maps, Google Analytics, and surveys, you will be able to solve the main obstacles encountered by your visitors and make your app more efficient.

 

Get a better return on investment from existing traffic

Most digital marketers have long understood that the cost of acquiring quality traffic can be huge. A/B testing allows you to get the most out of your existing traffic and can help you increase your conversion rates without having to shell out a single penny to acquire new traffic. A/B testing thus offers a high return on investment, because sometimes even the most minor changes can lead to a significant increase in conversion rates.

 

Make low-risk changes

With A/B testing on mobile, you can make minor and incremental changes in your app instead of redesigning and creating a whole new app. This can avoid compromising your current conversion rates.  A/B testing allows you to achieve optimal results with minimal modifications, resulting in increased return on investment. For example, you can perform A/B testing when you plan to delete or update your product descriptions, to see how your visitors will react to the change.

 

Thus, A/B testing is a way for you to determine which way the scales will tip, and to make decisions accordingly, choosing among the different versions tested. You can also use this method when introducing a new feature change.  Before permanently introducing a new feature, running a trial as an A/B test on the relevant app section can provide you with valuable information on the relevance of this change. Changes made without A/B testing may or may not be successful.  But testing before making changes provides a lot more certainty and serves to confirm your initial hypothesis.

 

Achieve significant data-driven improvements

A/B testing is completely data-driven and leaves no room for guesswork or instinct. You can easily and scientifically determine a “winning” version and another “losing” version based on performance indicators such as the time spent on a given page, the number of requests for downloading a guide, the rate of cart abandonment, click-through rate, email open rate, etc.

 

Benefits for mobile developers

Currently, the app stores either lack a means of A/B testing (like Apple App Store) or offer limited functionality (as with Google Play Experiments), despite the fact that this strategy is paramount to identify what increases your sales (and what’s a waste of time and money).

So, you’ll need to use a solution designed with mobile developers in mind. SplitMetrics makes running A/B tests and figuring out what’s working easy.

The benefits for mobile developers are nearly endless, but some of the highlights include:

  • Higher conversion rates
  • Analysis of engagement metrics
  • Decision-making based on data and statistics
  • Ability to view app store experience from user’s point of view
  • Better use of resources
  • Insights into customer behavior
  • Achievement of greater business objectives

 

Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.

Top App Advertising Companies

Mobile advertising is the best way to attract more customers to your app. Mobile app advertising companies provide ads of different sizes like banner ads, video ads, pop-up ads etc. that can easily fit on your mobile screen. There are a lot of mobile app advertising companies available, and you can monetize your app with these companies and earn a boatload of money as you run your ad campaign.

In this article, we will discuss the top advertising companies, their benefits, and why they are the best advertising companies.

 

Facebook Ads

Facebook is one of the most authentic and oldest platforms for advertising. Facebook has a lot of users and a wide range of audiences and that is why it is the best platform to target your audience. According to a report, Facebook has almost 2.8 billion monthly active users. There is no doubt that Facebook is the largest social media network out there. You can place the ad for your app on Facebook, and Facebook will send the traffic directly to the app store. Facebook also offers analytics of your ad performance.

The average click-through rate (CTR) of Facebook is 0.9%. You can even monetize your app with Facebook and earn a good amount of money.

 

Leadbolt

Leadbolt is one of the most recommended and prominent mobile app advertising companies. Leadbolt provides high-quality and high-performance ads. Their ads come in many formats like interstitial ads, native ads, video ads, banner ads, playable ads, etc. Leadbolt uses modern technology such as machine learning and automated campaigns to give the best ROI.

According to stats, their ads are currently serving on 66000 apps. Leadbolt comes under the umbrella of those companies that have contextual ads. They serve ads by focusing on users’ interests. They provide a free hand to choose the app where you want to serve your app installations ads. Leadbolt also provides very good CPC and CPM rates so that you can generate revenue by monetizing your app.

 

 

MobAir

The next best mobile app advertising agency is MobAir. MobAir is available all across the world. It provides high-quality and attractive ads. Their ads are available in many formats. You can choose any format according to your satisfaction. You can run an ad campaign on MobAir and you can notice your app as well. They have powerful tools for monetization. Their CPC and CPM rates are best compared to the other networks.

 

Tiktok Ads

The most powerful app advertising company of modern times is Tiktok. Tiktok has a wide range audience, with 800 million active users worldwide. Tiktok ensures a high engagement rate.

Tiktok is among the best app advertising platform that places your ads in a very unique way and provides you an option to market your content with localized content. Tiktok influencers that have almost 2.5 million followers typically charge $700 per post.

 

Google App Campaign

Undoubtedly, Google is one of the largest search engines. It has a search engine market share of 91%. Google earns more than 90% of its revenue through advertisements. Google app campaign is an advertising platform that is exclusively designed for mobile app advertising. Google app campaigns work on a cost-per-install and cost-per-action basis. You can publish your app ad on Google and run a live campaign and earn money from your app by monetizing your app with Google.

 

Taptica

The latest and modern technology of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) is used in Taptica, which helps to reach the targeted users on time. It has 200 million users. Most of the ads are available in video format. You can place their ads in your app and you can advertise your app with their platform.

 

Apple Search Ad

Clearly, Apple search ad is an iOS app advertising company. Apple Search Ad primarily focuses on promoting IOS applications. Apple Search Ad is also known as App Store Search. They allow their publishers to drive traffic on their apps by using this platform. Apple Search Ad has two plans to run an ad campaign: Basic and Advanced. The cost of a basic plan is $5000 to $8000 and an advanced plan allows the publishers to set their budget and audience themselves. This platform also allows publishers to monetize their apps.

 

AppLovin

AppLovin is the top-notch app advertising company for game developers. They allow game developers to run their campaigns and monetize their gaming applications. They can reach your gaming app to 470 million users. Along with app install ads, AppLovin also offers lightweight SDKs to get the full benefits of in-app advertising for your app.

 

Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.

How to Write a Mobile App (Build Your Mobile App)

We are living in the era of the digital world where mobile apps become the essential needs of every business. Nearly every brand, every company, and every product has an app. In this article, we will discuss the best strategy to write a mobile app (build an app).

There are some essential steps that you need to follow to build an exceptional application.

Let’s discuss these steps one by one.

 

Write a mobile app with a step-by-step process

 

Choose the name of your app

The name of your app helps the users to locate your app easily. The app name somehow portrays the picture of your business. We would suggest that if you already have a well-established business then you should continue with the same name, it will help your existing users to place their trust in your app and can easily find you. For a new business, you have the freedom to choose any good name of your app but keep in mind that the name should reflect the image of your brand, be easy to remember, easy to pronounce, and have global appeal.

 

Select the color scheme

After choosing the name of your app, the next step is to choose the color scheme. Choose the most attractive, clear, elegant, and eye-catching colors. Make sure to choose the colors that suit your business. For example, if your company or organization for which you are building an app is a healthcare center, it does not quite make sense to use a darker color scheme with black. Instead, you may go for an app design that incorporates a lot of red and white, or blue and white. Do not use too much color in your app, and always go with two to three colors.

 

Customization

The customization step is very essential. Better and elegant customization makes your app more attractive and can increase the traffic of your app. Customize the design of your app in a truly unique way. To do better customization, you should work with an aesthetic approach. First, you should focus on the app icon, splash screen, and background. If you have your business logo then use your logo instead of the app icon. If you do not have a logo then create your app icon. The app icon should be simple and eye-catching. Do not use too much color on the app icon and remember to not lose your theme in the midst making your app icon as eye-catching as possible.

The background of the app and splash screen are very crucial, so choose a simple and attractive background according to your app. The splash screen is the introduction of your application. The first thing that the user will notice on your app after opening it is the splash screen, so work on it to make it as nice as you can.

Secondly, focus on app layout and fonts, The layout of your app mainly means the way all the elements in your app are laid out. This is more than just aesthetic. The layout panel of your app will decide whether your app is useful or not. Choose the best of the best app layout that will attract the users. Next thing to consider is whether your app has a readability factor. Make sure that your fonts should be simple and easy to understand.

 

Install your app for testing

After creating your app, the next step is to check how your app looks like on an actual device. This is one of the most essential steps for you because here you will see the results of your effort. You can check whether the app is useful for your audience or not. You can also check if your app needs any changes or improvements. After this step, your app will become available for your users.

 

Why is it better to design the app with the help of an app development company?

Many reasons define that designing a really good app can be done easily with the help of an app development company. Let’s discuss some of these reasons.

The app development company provides you with the already built UI/UX templates. This can save you loads of time. You do not need to learn to program if you are partnering with a reputable software development firm. App development firms provide you with the best custom-built features that can make your app development journey easy. They provide you with complete guidance and assistance.

We hope this guide helped you realize how simple it is to write a mobile app, once you have your concept and development tools figured out.

Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.

Five Reasons Why You Need a Brand App

According to Statista, 85% of people use smartphones in the United States and this percentage is increasing gradually. In this article, we will discuss five reasons why you need a brand app for your business.

As we know that this is the era of the digital world, and every day modern technology is spreading its wings around the world. Every business and company is adopting the new world of digital technology. Many business owners are shifting their business to the online world. Nowadays, the online presence of a business or any company is very much essential. If a business has its app then it leaves a great impression.

 

You might be thinking that an app is not important for a small business but that’s not true. An app is even more important for a small business for its growth and betterment. Let’s discuss the top 5 reasons that will define the importance of an app for a business.

 

Increased online visibility of your business

Smartphones have become the basic need of every person. Every person spends a lot of their time on their smartphone. Every minute people try to find new functions and applications in their smartphones. If your business has its application then people can see it while scrolling, and if it is attractive then people will download your business application. This will be very good for your business promotion. The online visibility of your business will be increased and your business will attract more appealing customers.

You can even engage your customers by adding promotional and sales offers to your app. In short, your business can become a brand and its growth can be doubled by having a new brand app for your business.

 

Increased customer loyalty

Having a proper business app can increase the trust of your customers. Your customers will become loyal to your services and products. The mobile app allows your customers to directly communicate with you, and the mobile app also allows your customers to give their feedback. The promotional offers, sales, and ads on your app will highly engage your customers.

Let us say there are two amazing restaurants. One restaurant has its app but the other restaurant does not have an app. So think for a moment, which restaurant would be good in terms of customer loyalty and sales? A restaurant that has its online presence is 100 times better at attracting and retaining customers than the other.

 

Can be a marketing channel

In this digital era, what is the best marketing strategy? You might be thinking of appointing salesmen or placing roadside banners, and arranging ad space vehicles. You are right but all these are old methods and strategies. Online promotions are the best way to promote your business in this era. A mobile app is no doubt one of the best marketing channels that can easily grow your business. Push notifications, news feeds, and promotional offers are the best options available in an app.

 

Profit can be raised

There is no doubt that mobile apps can easily generate sales and your profit can be doubled. We have a practical example with the Domino’s pizza app. When dominos launched their mobile app, their sales increased by 28% and now, 50% of their business is running through their mobile app. This is the power of a mobile application. You cannot imagine how much the value of your business can be increased by with the help of an app.

 

Increased accessibility

It is nearly impossible to reach the target clients at the same time at different places. One of the major benefits of a business mobile app is that it offers greater exposure on different mobile devices at any given time. Having said that, you as a business owner can send a discount/offer push notification to your customers anytime. You do not need to take a printout of your promotions and distribute them physically. Now you can send your sales offers through your brand app. The app can make your business life much easier.

 

Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.

One-Page eCommerce Site: How to Create One

eCommerce websites are online portals that allow people to buy and sell goods and services over the internet by exchanging information and money. Anything that requires a transaction can be done online easily. A term that has been used quite a bit lately in the online retail world has been ‘one-page eCommerce site’. What is a one-page eCommerce site and how is it used?

 

Purpose of a One-Page eCommerce Site

In general, an eCommerce website allows an organization to operate almost fully online, avoiding the need for a home office with sales and management personnel. The procedure is made easy, which sets it different from other websites that still focus on company development. A one-page ecommerce site allows you to display all your products on one-page, which makes the site a lot easier to manage and helps customers see all products from one view.

 

One-Page eCommerce Site: Different Kinds of Sites

  • Enterprise-to-enterprise (B2B) The framework of the business-to-business eCommerce model is exactly what it sounds like.
  • Business-to-consumer (B2C).
  • Client -to-client trades (C2C).
  • Client-to- business (C2B).
  • Website including a single brand.
  • Retailers of the internet
  • Websites where you can earn money as an affiliate.

 

Top 5 eCommerce Websites

  • Daraz
  • Shopify
  • Ali Express
  • Amazon
  • oLx

 

Gain of eCommerce Websites

eCommerce and drop shipping are profitable. And this is the perfect tool to make money in a short time with little effort. It’s time to start working for a living.

 

Relevant Pros and Cons of eCommerce Websites

 

PROS

 

  1. Wider Market

With eCommerce, you can also be able to control the clients from the whole world online comfortably. Clients may shop from any place at any time, and more individuals are getting presented to buying on their cell phones.

  1. Get a review of clients and suggestion

When your store is fresh and no one trusts it immediately because they consider that it may be a scam, getting reviews of clients make your store trustworthy. When any buyer visits your store, he observes the reviews on the products. Sometimes clients also give a review and sometimes the seller must manage them by asking people to review his product. There is an approach to follow your traffic and customers’ entire client excursion to get bits of knowledge about watchwords, client experience, showcasing messages, evaluating methodology etc. and the sky is the limit from there.

  1. Fast response to the customer according to the market trends

The improvement in coordination, particularly for “outsource” traders, permit firms to respond rapidly to advertise and web-based business advancements, just as shopper demand. Traders can likewise make limits and advancements on the fly to draw in clients and increment deals.

  1. Lower Cost

With the development of web-based business stage innovation, it is currently easy and reasonable to establish and deal with a minimum investment business website. Vendors at this point don’t need to spend a major measure of cash on Adverts or signs, nor do they need to stress over staff or land costs.

  1. More Opportunities to “Sell”

In an actual store, dealers can just present a restricted amount of item data. Web-based business sites, on the other hand, empower more data to be incorporated. (ex. demo recordings, surveys, client tributes etc.)

  1. Customized Messaging

Vendors can give nitty-gritty information and item suggestions to enlisted clients utilizing internet business stages. By showing the most significant material to every guest, these designated messages can help upgrade change.

 

 

CONS

 

  1. Lack Of Personal Touch

A few groups favored the quality assistance they get when they visit an actual store and draw in with salesmen. Clients need to purchase the product as well as have an incredible encounter at the same time, hence an individual touch is particularly indispensable for organizations offering top-of-the-line items.

 

  1. Lack Of Tactile Knowledge

Purchasers can’t contact or feel an item regardless of how great a video is created. Not to mention conveying a brand insight through the two-dimensionality of a screen, which can habitually include the feelings of touch, smell, taste, and sound, is no simple work.

 

  1. Cost And Product Comparison

Customers may think about an assortment of items and pick the best arrangement by buying on the web. Therefore, numerous traders are compelled to contend on value, restricting their overall revenue.

 

  1. Need For Internet Access

This ought to be obvious, however, remember that your customers will require Internet availability to shop with you! Since numerous online business frameworks contain highlights and functionalities that require fast Internet access for a compelling client experience, guests with helpless associations might be overlooked.

 

  1. Credit Card Fraud

For internet businesses, credit card theft is a real and rising issue. It can result in a chargeback, resulting in revenue loss, penalties, and a bad reputation.

 

eCommerce Website Development

The bulk of business owners, salesmen, entrepreneurs, and most commercial businesses invest their money in installing an eCommerce website to turn the competitive advantages of online shopping into a constant revenue source through a competent eCommerce online store.

Clients can discover, analyze, and buy desired products or services online in seconds by using their smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Deciding to invest time, effort, and money in the eCommerce website development process is a rational decision for increasing your business growth with more sales and higher profits.

In terms of advantages of online buying, eCommerce websites provide several other competitive benefits, including but not limited to:

  1. Expanding your business’s reach by focusing on several local and international markets.
  2. Increasing sales volume and attracting more potential clients with a professional online eCommerce store that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  3. Tracking and monitoring customer behavior (i.e., the attention of your eCommerce website consumers) to tailor your items and marketing efforts.
  4. Using remarketing efforts to increase up-selling and cross-selling opportunities.
  5. There are limitless business opportunities generated daily once you have a professional online store built to suit your business demands and goals when it comes to the benefits of eCommerce website creation.

 

5 Steps for One-Page eCommerce Site Development

 

STEP#1

Choose your plan and sign up.

STEP#2

Decide how you want to create your site.

STEP#3

Connect your domain.

STEP#4

Set up your e-commerce website, products, shipping options, and payment

STEP#5

Market your ecommerce website.

 

Shopify Development Step-by-Step

Shopify is an online website tool that providing the platform for developing e-commerce store. You have to pay only some dollars yearly for using their services. By log into this platform online and you can start to design your store. If you are not able to do this you can also hire any freelancer for this task.

 

STEP#1

Sign up for a Shopify account.

 

STEP#2

Get to know your way around the Shopify admin dashboard.

 

STEP#3

Select your Shopify theme from default and premium options.

You may test and review changes to your distributed subject, so that you can attach as many pages as you need to your Shopify account, contingent upon the package you select.

 

STEP#4

Add your items to the list.

 

STEP#5

The main option for designing and building your store is drop shipping. You can also upload your products manually by adding their pictures and prices. But you also have the choice to import products from any other online store. To do this, attach the app extension in your Shopify store by which you can export products from the following stores:

  • Ali Express
  • Alibaba
  • Amazon

 

STEP#6

Add all relevant app extensions to your store. These applications serve many purposes, including providing customer support, importing products, reviewing imports, and maintaining the dealings and tracking system of your order. In the Shopify online store design, some apps are also free. You can also buy some premium apps for more accurate results.

 

STEP#7

In this step, you have to add the payment method for clients during online shopping. Customers can pay through any method that is very useful and helpful. Go to Payment suppliers in Settings and deactivate any installment suppliers you’ve empowered. Then, at that point go to Accept Visas – > Add a supplier – > Third-party charge card supplier – > Provider – > other – > Bogus Gateway – > Continue – > Activate the entryway.

 

STEP#8

In this step, you analyze the store by placing the order and check the payment method and shipping detail. It is beneficial because you can get the idea about your store as a client experience and observe any error you face by placing an order.

 

STEP#9

Go live with a custom domain name.

Now all you must do is add your domain to Shopify. Then you will be ready to go live with your business. You will need a domain name (your website address) to be found by visitors and search engines, just like any other website. And you are all set!

 

As you can probably tell, creating a one-page eCommerce site is a very simple process. Anyone can do it from anywhere at any time. However, if you are in need of advanced services to set up and run your eCommerce store, you can always partner with a reputable eCommerce development firm to help get your store up and running in very little time.

How Augmented Reality is Used in Different Industries

Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the biggest technological trends of the decade and will evolve as smartphones and other AR-enabled devices become more available worldwide. AR allows us to see real situations right in front of us – trees rocking in the park, dogs running behind the ball, children playing football – with a digital supplement on it. For example, a pterodactyl can land on trees, dogs can mix with their cartoon brethren, and children can fly past an alien spacecraft on their way to a scorching goal.

With the development of AR technology, these examples are not much different from what can already be available for your smartphone. Augmented reality is easily accessible and used in a variety of ways, including Snapchat lenses, apps that help find a car in congested parking, and a diversity of shopping apps that permit you to try on clothes even from home.

According to the latest report, by 2021 there will be about 1.96 billion users of mobile ARs worldwide. And by 2023, their number will expand to 2.4 billion AR customers.

The most commonly used AR is on the smartphone: users can activate this and open a camera, see the real world about them on the display, and use an AR application to advance the world in any way with digital overlays, including:

  • overprinting of images, digital information, and/or 3D models
  • adding real-time instructions
  • inserting inscriptions
  • adding color changes
  • changing the user’s appearance or environment with “filters” on Instagram, Snapchat, and other applications.

Uses of Augmented Reality in Retail and Sales

Innovative trends now have a significant impact on the brand’s marketing strategy. Augmented reality has developed as an innovative mechanism that empowers brands to collaborate with purchasers on their movable devices. AR creates a new digital experience that enriches consumer-brand relationships and can be used anywhere, whether it’s a PC at home, mobile devices, or kiosks in stores.

Vendors have to depend on print promotion campaigns or other media to promote properties. Divided in the past, print, media, and retailing efforts in stores are now collected into a complete consumer experience with augmented reality.

Integration of the added reality in marketing efforts is aimed at building relations with consumers, increasing sales, and increasing the value of purchasing experience. Retailers can reach their target audience through a variety of traditional and non-traditional interactions.

  • The added reality can improve navigation through the warehouse when it comes to large spaces and large quantities of items.
  • Creating virtual retailers of any size allows you to be closer to customers without the cost of inventory and long queues.
  • Gamification added to physical products helps attract customers to the product and works as an incentive to buy faster.
  • Demonstration of the product may not have such high pressure as the pitch situation, but it is still possible to sell.
  • AR-enabled store windows entertain potential buyers and make them wonder what is inside.

 

Uses of Augmented Reality in the Food Industry

Restaurant owners constantly try to attract their customers by offering them something innovative and memorable.

  • The added reality in the food inventory business is an additional support system for companies. With AR-based special inventory management tools, staff can quickly check and update food stocks by simply scanning barcodes and inventory using an AR application.
  • Many restaurants today have their AR-applications that allow customers to view menus in 3D projections. With these applications, you can quickly select your favorite dish from the menu. When a client comes to the restaurant, he can open the application and view all the menus in 3D.
  • If the client wants to know more about a particular dish on the menu, he does not need to call the waiter. Instead, the client needs to open the AR application and scan the menu; The application will provide complete information about any dish. From total calorie to nutrient content, everything can be learned in just a few clicks.

Interestingly, one 2017 study showed that 73% of restaurant visitors agree that restaurant technology can improve their customer experience. So maybe it’s time to put technology into your F&B business.

 

 

Uses of Augmented Reality in Hospitality and Hotels

In recent years, augmented reality has become an important concept in the hotel business, as it allows hotels and other related businesses to improve the physical environment. Augmented reality gives the hotel business unlimited opportunities for interaction with the guests. By presenting a virtual tour of the hotel before getting a room, the customer will have a classic image and expectation in mind.

 

Famous hotels around the world use AR-brochures to showcase their rooms and facilities to potential guests. Guests can see their apartments and all features before reserving for vacations (i.e swimming pool, route, institution, and sports center). This will increase the satisfaction and the number of reservations, as the guest will have a better idea of what his stay will be.

  • Each guest is special and should be treated with special attention. But sometimes, the hotel staff cannot always do it the way the guest wants. For this purpose, hotels use advanced AR such as Google Glass to solve this problem. Using Google Glass, employees can see important details about guests.
  • Every hotel should have an application where guests can be able to get the latest information about the hotel. For example, the guest can command their cellphone in any direction within the hotel and get information about such things as service problems, cleaning updates, swimming pool or spa directions, etc.
  • Each room has a map of the surrounding area. When a guest directs his smartphone to the wall, he can get information about the nearest sights. AR also helps guests find comfort easily.

 

Uses of Augmented Reality in Tourism and Travel

The traveling and tourist industry is a very analyzed segment. Clients of the tourism industry frequently arrange their programs by seeking views on their mobile phones. The search for data and information does not stop even after arriving at the destination. All of the information about their favorite place is collected through a mobile phone.

AR can complement the exploration activity by giving interactive and engaging news. With today’s mobile apps, these advanced features can be made available to travelers, making them easy to search for and trust.

Even the tourism specialists have estimated that with AR it is possible to create different user experiences that can be a blessing for the tourism and travel industry. When you proceed on tour to a city like London or New York, where there are countless charms, you can naturally miss an attractive site. The AR applications for tourism can allow travelers to discover more of these targets.

Nowadays, guests know where they want to go. People also search all their locations where they want to go on their smartphones. However, augmented reality can improve people’s touring movement with interactive animations, presenting them more properly. Travelers like the possibility to use exciting, easy to use and useful navigation methods.

The travel industry is the creation of exclusive experiences, and AR has the prospects to support this business sector. Technology can encourage tourism with new client service styles. It is presumed that soon AR will entirely change the business pattern of the tourism sector.

 

Uses of Augmented Reality in Education

AR is increasingly used in educational institutions, often to help students learn complex subjects. Another application of the augmented reality in education is the teaching of all information through virtual reality.

Although AR and similar technologies like VR are becoming increasingly popular in education, less than 10% of schools currently use AR in class, according to Project Tomorrow. Among the reasons for the slow implementation of AR in education are the following:

  • Unwieldy AR equipment
  • Concerns about academic value
  • Lack of adequate funding

AR provides opportunities for teachers to help students learn abstract concepts. Using the interaction and experimentation that AR technology offers, teachers can improve classroom experience, teach new skills, inspire students’ minds, and engage them in learning new scientific interests.

Students’ involvement and interest increase when they can participate in the creation of educational content.

An interactive learning environment provides opportunities to implement practical approaches to learning that can increase engagement, improve the learning experience, and force students to learn and practice new skills.

Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.

What is Software as a Medical Device? (SaMD)

The medical devices industry covers a wide array of applications and modalities. Generally speaking, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees the safety and efficacy of new devices that are placed on the market by issuing guidelines and regulations.

Based on the perspective of medical device manufacturers, this article highlights the most important aspects of this document. A newly proposed categorization framework is included with the new guidance on SaMD that clarifies how existing regulations can be applied. 

There are three main categories of medical device software:

  • A “software as a medical device (SaMD)” is a computer program that serves as a standalone medical product as well as software
  • Software used in medical devices (SMDs). This includes software that’s implanted in medical equipment, as well as software that’s part of medical products
  • A software accessory for a medical device

 

Definition and Scope of SaMD

It is predicted that SaMD, or Software as a Medical Device, will continue to grow in the clinical environment.

Medical management software as a service (treatment, monitoring, prevention, diagnosis) helps an individual with his or her medical needs, (e.g., monitoring blood pressure and diabetic control, apps for medical use, clinical information systems).

In the International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF), international regulatory convergence for medical devices is accelerated. Representatives of Australian, Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese, European, Japanese, Russian, Singapore, South Korean, and US medical device regulatory authorities serve on the committee. 

A consensus was reached through the IMDRF as to which types of software would qualify as medical devices. Since software as a medical device (SaMD) is regulated differently in each country, manufacturing strategies and availability are affected by this. 

History

The top 10 healthcare error incidents were analyzed in 2007 by the Swedish Medical Products Agency, Läkemedelsverket. When the software was at fault, it was noted that medical data was commonly lost, the wrong patient was prescribed medication, the wrong dosage was calculated, patients were not warned that they were allergic to an active substance, etc. A patient had died due to the software in several cases. 

Läkemedelsverket investigated and determined that several healthcare software products qualified as medical devices but had not been subjected to a conformity assessment or been CE marked. 

Software-only products were also regarded by EU regulators as being medical devices long ago, but it had not been obvious that the term ‘device’ applied to something intangible like software.

 

Software as a Medical Device

A SaMD is a form of software that performs a medical function without being part of a hardware medical device, according to the IMDRF. 

The term italicized is not to be confused with the physical location of the software, but rather with its legal status. Even though the software runs on cloud computing equipment, it can also be run on the hardware platform of a medical device and still be SaMD. 

The software cannot be classified as SaMD if it drives the hardware or serves the intended medical purpose- but it can be classified as part of a medical device in the regulatory meaning of the word. An ultrasound device, as an example, has software that can be used for automatic nerve detection. 

If a manufacturer wants to attribute the claim of nerve detection to the ultrasound device or only to the software, it can place such software on the market as SaMD. However, software that doesn’t have its own medical purpose is not SaMD. 

 

Examples of Software as a Medical Device

“Software intended for one or more medical purposes without being part of a hardware medical device.”, is the FDA’s definition of software medical devices, adopted from the 2014 International Medical Device Research Forum report.

If the software’s intended use is to power a medical device, it does not meet the definition of SaMD. While SaMDs may be integrated with any physical device, they must run on general computing platforms (or mobile devices) and may be used with any other medical device.

Some examples of SaMD devices are:

  • Using a digital camera’s accelerometer, the software attempts to diagnose a condition
  • MRI and other types of medical imaging can be viewed on mobile devices with special software
  • Image-processing software that detects cancer by analyzing images
  • Information-supply applications for treatment planning
  • Regulation software for medical devices, such as pacemakers
  • Heart rate monitors and BMI calculators

 

Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.

Doctor Appointment App Features

Do you always have patients lined up in your waiting room? The appointment booking process has not been managed appropriately if this appears to be the case.

It is likely that medical appointment software will be able to rectify this problem. Your staff and patients will appreciate this tool, whether you choose an app or web-based platform. It is no doubt excruciating for those who are crammed into tiny rooms with the COVID-19 pandemic raging.

Here we will go over why an online doctor appointment booking system was developed and why patients demand one, including how your business can meet your customers’ expectations.

 

 

Benefits of a Doctor Appointment Booking App

 

There are two benefits to using apps to schedule doctor appointments. First, they allow patients to easily arrange meetings with their preferred healthcare providers. A second benefit of these systems is that all appointments and data are kept together under one roof.  

Here’s how it works in the real world:

  • From the perspective of the patient. Using an app makes scheduling an appointment easier than ever before. With just a few clicks or taps, patients can schedule an appointment with their doctor at a time that is most convenient for them. Both you and your patients benefit from saving time.

 

  • From the perspective of a clinic. Apps and web-based platforms are used for clinic booking system software. You can focus your staff on more important tasks (such as entering patients’ personal information, scheduling doctors’ schedules, handling paperwork) by automating appointment booking. 

 

  • A hospital appointment management app or a web platform can reduce unused time slots when a hospital appointment management system is implemented. You could lose money if there are no-shows or cancellations.

 

  • Apps are also useful for tracking revisits and improving communication between patients and clinicians from the patient’s perspective. Appointments can be scheduled, cancelled, and rescheduled more easily.

 

Doctor Appointment App: How Does It Work

An app helps you keep no-shows at bay by setting reminders and notifications. It is also possible to reschedule back-to-back appointments immediately in case patients miss their appointments, thereby avoiding a loss of profit due to an unused time slot.

In addition to preventing overlapping appointments, clinics can develop a scheduling system. A solution that automates the booking process can help prevent double bookings caused by human error.

Pandemic turmoil makes this all the more important. Your waiting room should be as empty as possible for social-distancing purposes.

 

Doctor Appointment App Features

 

Patient profiles

Patients’ information should be easily accessible to doctors before, during, and after appointments. This information is best stored in an app. A doctor can use it to retrieve any information about a patient (name, age, medical records, treatment plans, insurance information, etc.) before an appointment.

 

Doctor profiles

A patient’s first connection with a doctor is through an app. It’s important that physicians’ profiles are clear and comprehensive. Photographs, core competencies, and experience will help patients make an informed decision. As well as consultation fees, consider including treatment costs.

 

Notifications

You should consider implementing reminders and notifications in your hospital appointment booking app in order to reduce the possibility of unused time slots. By sending them notifications before scheduled appointments, patients can confirm appointments in advance, reducing the risk of missed appointments.

 

Booking form

If possible, arranging medical appointments could be as simple as using a website or app to schedule an appointment. The appointment booking process should be simple for patients once they select a physician and time slot.

 

Medical records

Keeping patients informed about the progress of their treatments and giving them access to their test results is always a good idea. Including an ‘upload’ option will allow them to share diagnostic scans with their physicians.

 

Electronic prescriptions

Refill requests can be requested directly through the app by your patients. This really helps patients and you both save time and money by eliminating the need to travel to your clinic. Pharmacies in the network will then be able to provide refills.

 

Payments

Making patient consultations and treatments pre-payable is particularly convenient. Your no-show rate can be reduced if you include this feature in your app, since paid appointments hardly ever turn into missed ones.

 

Telemedicine

Out of all the doctor appointment app features, this one is especially important. It is definitely worth it to include telemedicine in an on-demand doctor appointment app despite the increasing costs. Offering online consultations lets you reach patients who cannot attend face-to-face appointments.

 

Directions

When you have multiple locations, directions are vital. Your app or web platform can conveniently provide directions to your nearest clinic so that patients can find it easily and get directions. Directions provide a straightforward way to find a medical facility, combined with hours of operation and contact information.

 

How to Create a Doctor Appointment app: Step-by-Step Guide

Rolling out an app is one thing, but making it scalable, fail-proof, and ready for thousands or millions of users is another.

So, don’t approach the problem piecemeal. To transform your clinic’s pride and joy, make sure all of your steps are intertwined.

 

Step 1. Research

Let’s be honest: if you develop an app for patient appointments, you won’t be a trailblazer. Therefore, learning from your competitors’ mistakes is in no way a bad thing. They could even become assets for you.

During the research phase, you should:

  • Take a closer look at the apps of your competitors
  • Compare and contrast their pros and cons
  • Don’t miss out on opportunities
  • Consider the needs of your patients when implementing this strategy

In order to move forward with the app development process, you can now use your findings of the research.

 

Step 2. Planning

Here you determine the features you want incorporated into your app as well as the technology to rely on. Developing a roadmap requires meticulous planning and setting milestones to remember.

It is important to check your local laws at this point as well. It is imperative that patient information is appropriately protected since doctor appointment solutions use their personal information. Your software should be protected from flaws and vulnerabilities with encryption technologies.

 

Step 3. Design and prototyping

You are now moving into the next phase of an evidence-based plan. Prototyping and designing your product should include the following:

  • Your app’s visuals should include colors, patterns, and other elements
  • Create a user interface
  • Build a user-friendly booking system
  • Make sure you include all the clickable options in your menu
  • Make it compatible with Android and iOS

You don’t have to make it picture-perfect at this point. This can be a good place to start gathering feedback.

 

Step 4. The testing process

Patients should ideally try out doctor appointment apps before they are built. The purpose of this is to determine if the MVP is intuitive for both parties and if any tweaks need to be made. You can improve your patients’ experience by asking them for some feedback.

In addition to testing usability, we also need to test stability and security. To test whether the app can withstand real-life scenarios, it needs to simulate extreme load conditions.

 

Step 5. Launch

Your app will be ready for release once you have finished the final improvements based on feedback. Uploading your app to the app store is not the end of the process.

It is equally important to maintain your app. Technical glitches shouldn’t detract from the patient experience, and while adding new features is okay in the future, you don’t want to stop adding them now. A killer app must be updated regularly, especially in the healthcare field.

 

Now that we have gone over the top doctor appointment app features and the steps involved in the process, you can start brainstorming how you will build your medical app.

 

Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.

Pros and Cons of Native vs. Hybrid Apps

Apps seem to be everywhere nowadays. Our everyday lives would not be complete without them. However, while we may see apps as a simple icon on our screens, they are seen as a more complex piece of software for app developers or investors considering a business app. The question of whether to develop an app or ask for one to be developed is in fact a big one. One of the main issues is whether to develop native vs. hybrid apps?

There are many pros and cons to both native and hybrid mobile apps. Which one should you choose and why? This question cannot usually be answered precisely. There is no perfect solution. The best choice depends on the need, timeline, budget, and developer’s expertise. 

The purpose of this post is to explain the differences between a hybrid mobile app and a native mobile app and how either can benefit your business. 

So let’s begin.

 

 

Pros and Cons of Native vs Hybrid Apps

 

Why is it important to consider? In the end, app development is all about the user, and as we’ve already touched upon, apps and mobile devices are a part of our everyday lives. Therefore, it becomes as important to make the user experience responsive and reliable. Bad user experiences are not acceptable. 

App development solutions vary in their experience for users, so choosing which route to take is important.

As a blend of native and web apps, hybrid offers a better and more cost-effective alternative to native, providing a good combination of performance and user experience. 

There are some new approaches to native app development…

 

Simplicity vs. complexity

 

Let’s say that you opened an online food delivery business, and customers can order food through your app. The app should be made as simple as possible and should not have any complex functionality or features. 

You can, in this case, opt for a hybrid development model since there are no complexities involved.

In addition, there are many native food ordering apps since the owners of these businesses refused to compromise on quality in any way.

 

Games and apps with complex features

 

You have already mapped out the features you want to add in the future to your mobile game and plan on developing it. Native development is the best choice in this case because more functionality can be added to the app in the future based on user feedback.

It is worth mentioning that hybrid development approaches are used in few games. The hybrid approach to app development is used even for complex retail apps.

Facebook is a good example. In 2012, Facebook became fully native. Users still complain about slow speed after having native Facebook apps.

 

Pros and Cons of Native Apps

 

Developing a native application – an app that is developed specifically for a mobile platform, such as iOS or Android, using Objective-C or Swift code, is the best path for custom software development. These languages are used by operating systems (OS) and are developed using their integrated development tools (IDEs). 

As a result, the app can be built using OS guidelines, which will provide users with more features and a better user experience. The look and feel will be familiar to users, which will make it easier for them to adopt the app-defined gestures. 

An app that runs natively is one that complies with all the guidelines of an operating system. On your phone, you can use native apps such as a camera and messaging. 

Furthermore, native applications offer optimal performance because they can be tailored to the device’s features, such as the camera, microphone, or GPS.

 

Pros of Native Apps

  • By distributing native apps through App Store app stores, visibility and support are improved. 
  • The features and guidelines of the operating system, as well as built-in capabilities, allow native apps to perform better.
  • Due to their familiarity with the user experience, native applications are easier for users to use. 
  • Accessibility has improved, resulting in a more personalized product. Customers are thus more loyal to you. 
  • To place the native app in the app store, the software must pass QA and security checks. 

 

Cons of Native Apps

  • Programming skills in complex languages are necessary for creating native apps. 
  • Hybrid and web applications cost less upfront than native applications. 
  • It may not be advisable to use simple applications. 
  • The development of native applications can be affected by platform upgrades.

 

Native apps, even though typically more expensive to develop, are more economical in the long run due to their speedy performance and user-friendly interfaces (UIs).

 

Pros and Cons of Hybrid Apps

 

A hybrid app consists of both native OS and web applications. They are useful due to their native capabilities and multiplatform capabilities. The application is primarily built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Hybrid apps load code using a web view rather than a native shell.

 

Pros of Hybrid App Development

  • It is not necessary to use a web browser to run a hybrid app. 
  • Hardware and APIs are available to them. 
  • There is only one codebase to maintain. 
  • You can maintain consistency across multiple platforms with consistent UI language.

 

Cons of Hybrid App Development

  • Hybrid apps suffer from performance issues due to loading in webview as well as being much slower than native apps.
  • A third-party platform is needed to deploy the app’s shell. 
  • A native app can lower costs, but customization can increase costs. 
  • It is likely that issues will come up in both native and hybrid environments, making it difficult to resolve bugs. 
  • A hybrid app is often less user-friendly than a native app

 

As businesses adopt hybrid apps, mobile development is transforming. Business people are keen on hybrid mobile solutions as they are quick to develop, cost-effective, and have expected results. It has certain limitations but is good to a certain extent. 

Today, hybrid apps allow developers to take advantage of the advantages of both types of applications. Despite hybrid apps’ limitations, developers are finding more ways to work around these challenges as technology advances.

Now that you learned a little bit more about native vs. hybrid apps, its time to get developing!

Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.