We build bespoke web applications tailored to suit your business requirements, anything from online marketing through to business management solutions, typically we might design and develop a website as part of a larger software solution, for example, to accompany a smartphone app and IoT device. In this respect we are ideally placed to provide a full suite of services covering everything from the device electronics through to the smartphone app.
Whatever your requirements first impressions count; web apps have found their way into our daily routines, from shopping online to the now familiar zoom call, however as consumers we can be hard to please and research shows that a website has less than a second to make that crucial good first impression.
The last decade has also seen a significant change in our browsing habits, with mobile internet traffic now making up almost 50% of all global internet traffic. Consequently, web apps now need to look good and be useable on anything from a widescreen TV to the smallest mobile phone, in short they need to be 'responsive'.
Typically, we develop with a 'mobile-first' approach, optimising apps for mobile screen sizes and allowing them to scale up for larger tablet, laptop and desktop screens, although there are still some scenarios where an opposing (desktop-first) approach will be more suitable.
App design and visual appeal across a range of devices is important, but a web app must also provide a good user experience in terms of functionality. Apps largely exist to enable us to perform various tasks and the success of an app lies in its ability to optimise that experience, both visually and functionally. To ensure we deliver an optimal product we always recommend following an established development process:
We start any software project by identifying the requirements and developing a deeper understanding of the project objectives. This early phase is an opportunity to ask questions and discuss requirements in detail.
During this phase we would seek to understand the target audience, industry and scope of a project and identify any economic or technical constraints that may impact development.
With sufficient information gathered, the design & planning can begin, this will involve decisions about:
The design phase is an opportunity to create wireframes and mock-ups of pages with dummy functionality to establish a prototype of the app, this enables everyone to see what the app might look like and understand how best it will work.
During the design phase there's an opportunity to carry out user experience (UX) research and get valuable feedback on the layout and functionality of the app. This can then be fed back into the design process and refinements made before development begins.
Once designs are finalised development can begin. During development the prototype app provides a template to code the software application, this phase will include everything from the layout of the user interface to the logic for the functionality, the database design, and the security settings. At the end of this process there should be a fully functional app.
Testing is an integral part of the development process and will be carried out to ensure that any bugs are identified and remedied early and before launch.
Launching a new website or app involves securing a domain and selecting a suitable hosting package. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) should be considered during the design and development process and there is a degree of work to do at launch such as registering the app with Search engines and working to optimise rank in search results, this process takes time to come to fruition and so SEO is best factored into ongoing maintenance.
Other maintenance to consider for an app may include updates to content and or software and again these will vary depending on the type and scale of app.