A digital presence over the web is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a must for even the smallest and most boutique of companies that strive to stay relevant in a fiercely competitive marketplace. As even vertical market sectors grow saturated with multiple competitor businesses, customers are spoilt for choice – and therefore not afraid to jump ship as soon as they encounter poor customer service or product quality.
As a result, customer loyalty is a gradually dwindling concept, and businesses now need to stay on their proverbial toes to deliver nothing short of the very best, both to attract new customers, and retain existing ones. A website is therefore an essential component that instils business presence across digital channels, while mobile apps can deliver autonomy and self-service to your customers from the convenience of their smartphones or tablets.
With software outsourcing a popular and effective option for building high-quality custom applications, many businesses also choose to outsource web development in order to achieve the same quality, while slashing the overhead costs that come with an in-house team. If you are new to web or software outsourcing (or are looking to switch partners) knowing what (and who) to look out for can be a daunting process.
In this article, we break down the factors that contribute towards successful web and mobile app development. We also share tips and advice on how to build a web and mobile app development strategy that will not only deliver a stellar digital presence – but will be scalable enough to serve your business and its customers for the long run.
Before drafting any kind of UI design, it is important to take a step back and look at the big picture; in other words, understand what your user’s typical journey is going to be along your website or mobile app, in order for them to make an action that you desire.
Leading software and IT outsourcing companies differentiate themselves from average ones through this step alone, as it indicates proactiveness on the part of their software development teams. In order to determine your user’s typical digital journey, it is worthwhile to answer questions such as:
Establishing your user’s ideal journey can then pave the way for making decisions around other aspects of your software or application development project, as it shall set the precedent for everything that is built thereafter.
Maintaining a uniform colour palette, theme and logos is a must across online as well as offline channels – including physical assets such as letterheads and business cards. If your organisation has a confirmed set of brand guidelines, your software development team can refer to these during the design stage, so your digital platforms are also built in accordance with these guidelines.
As with any fast-growing business, your business’s objectives, KPIs and operational models are bound to evolve as time passes by. This means that your business teams as well as software development teams need to maintain a keen eye for detail, to alter course whenever the situation demands it – so you can always stay relevant and fresh in the minds of your customers.
Agile web and software development can play a vital role to make changes happen with minimal downtime – something that the best software companies in Sri Lanka expertly cater to, for both local and international clientele.
A competent web development team will always prioritise on cybersecurity and data privacy, both for protecting their customers’ confidential data, as well as keeping threat actors at bay. With cyber breaches constantly on the rise, no organisation is immune to compromise, and your website and mobile apps need to constantly be monitored for threats, so that relevant remediation can be carried out in the wake of an attack.
Even the smallest of requirements can snowball into large and intricate web and mobile applications. What’s more, most web and app development projects are bound to be ongoing, long-term ones, thereby making the case for simplicity even stronger.
At least in the early versions of your site or app, focusing on a simple product with minimal features is a viable strategy, as it can lessen the burden on development teams, while releasing a product that offers little to no learning curve for users.
Later versions can be made more elaborate with improved functionalities, depending on user feedback and error reports.
When it comes to website and mobile app enhancements, your users can be the best sources of unbiased feedback. Gather data from reviews, social media, surveys or simply by connecting face-to-face with customers to understand trends surrounding what is liked and disliked, so that necessary changes can be made – again in the interest of making your customers happy, and subsequently improving business growth.
As business environments, product offerings and the economy change, your digital strategy will also need to undergo changes in order to maintain standing within your respective market(s) of operation.
Whether this is a series of small tweaks or a major upheaval, observing your websites, mobile apps and any other digital presences such as social profiles in the grander context of an overarching digital strategy is imperative to identify new channels of engagement as well as new customer bases.
Thereafter, putting your observations into action by upgrading your sites, apps or social platforms can enable an online positioning that is geared towards customer-centricity – something that will always help retain customers in an age where loyalty is steadily on the decline.
Building a website or mobile app is a long-term process that eventually also progresses into being an intricate one – no matter how simple you aim to be in the beginning. As a result, working with a reliable web development partner is a must, in order to enable stringent and timely development, along with post-implementation upgrades and security monitoring.
Irrespective of whether you work with an in-house or outsourced web development team, here are a few rules-of-thumb that every organisation should follow in order to build and maintain a successful web and mobile app development strategy:
This way, your business teams not only contribute towards a stellar web and mobile presence, but also mutually align towards achieving greater business goals through steady customer revenue and engagement.
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