Web Blog
Should I get one or the other? Off the bat we would advise that you get them both as they each can bring major benefits to your organisation. However, there is some expenditure involved in having your cake and eating it. Having said that, while a mobile website is indeed a must have in this day and age you might be wondering if developing a Mobile App is worthwhile.
The only major con that could possibly prevent you from getting an app is cost. Development and maintenance of an app that works on all smart devices is more costly than a mobile website. Additionally, there could be a yearly maintenence fee that will be much higher than your annual hosting for your website. That aside below are a list of benefits.
Simpler to use than Mobile Websites: There is a reason why your two year old relative is better than you at using an iPad. Mobile apps are simple. As a result, apps make it easier for your users to access information on your services and products.
Helps build your Brand: Having your own branded mobile app says quite a bit for your company or organisation. It shouts loud and clear that you are on the ball when it comes to technology and more importantly customer service. It is like the sales rep that pulls up in the shiny new Merc. You are already impressed and more eager to do business. Moreover, once the app is installed on your customer’s device your logo is constantly in the his or her face even if they don’t open the app.
Push Notifications: With a Mobile App you can send notifications to all your customers in a manner that they have no choice but to read them. With fewer and fewer persons actually reading emails your organisation must look for more innovative ways of reaching your clients.
Location based information: Your app can take advantage of the device’s features and as such provide your customers with location based information and interactive directions to your place of business. For example, imagine that a customer is within a one mile radius of your store. Your app can detect her location and send a push notification alerting her to a 10% discount off the shoe she was looking at earlier in the week. You will be hardpressed to find anything more effective than location based real-time marketing.
Web Blog
As a person who started off web design using Macromedia Flash back in 1999 you may think that this blog post is going to be biased. To some degree you are probably right but when you look at the website landscape today it makes you wonder if we should have fought harder to keep Flash around. Did Apple’s stance of no flash do us a disservice? Did the cry for web standards set us back 10 years? The real problem was that some web browsers that existed were wonky at best so that web standards were developed so that these browsers would eventually come in line. Now that they are in line are we faced with another problem? Here are my thoughts on this:
Limited Imagination: It seems as though as you surf from one website to the next all you see is the same thing i.e. navigation to the top, big slideshow in the middle, news etc to the bottom. The next website you visit is merely a minor modification of the one you are currenlty on. Even this website is a facebook look-a-like (shame on me). The imagination that was around in 2003, 2004 has all but gone. A new website was like a new movie trailer. Gone are the days when you would stumble upon a website and think “WOW”. While some of the things that are now being done in HTML5 are indeed impressive, the same and better was being done over 10 years ago in 2002.
Too difficult: Flash had made being creative simple. Animation was a breeze and complex data manipulation and integration could have been achieved in mere lines of code. Accomplishing the same with HTML5 seems like rocket science in comparison to Actionscript (Flash’s Programming Language).
Penetration: At one point flash players existed on 98% of browsers and regardless of whether they conformed or not you had the same user experience. It took us ten years to be at this point with HTML5.
Having said all of this HTML5 is here to stay and everyone has moved on. Even the biggest of flash supporters have since gone on to learn new skills. I think though the web would have been much further along had Flash development continued at the rate that existed back in the early 2000’s.
Web Blog
On no fewer than one hundred occasions (literally) I have been asked this question. At every interview or whenever persons hear that I studied engineering at University there is always the expected reaction of disappointment that I am now in the web development arena. Given the prestige and seeming financial advantages to being an engineer, the question is indeed a valid one. In fact there are times that I ask myself the question. Here are the three top reasons I made the switch:
Flexibility: Web and App development gives you the opportunity to make as much as you like. You have the flexibility to work from anywhere and for anyone. A career in Engineering does not easily allow for that maneuverability. You may work as a consultant engineer but that usually is more feasible later down in the twilight of your career after several years of being an employee. In web development you can become an expert in area quickly and thus quickly climb the career ladder in a short space of time.
Learn and earn: Learning a new skill, programming technique or software can quickly translate to additional earnings. You can apply these skills immediately on an existing project or offer a brand new service. There is no need to have years of experience and certification behind you before you can really begin earning from new knowledge.
Stability: You often hear of engineering companies firing staff in tranches. While this can happen in any organisation there seems to be no rhyme or reason for engineering companies to initiate a campaign of downsizing and/or restructuring from time to time. Web development allows you to have more control over your financial destination. While job security is a thing of the past it is much better to have multiple streams of income than to have all your eggs in someone else’s basket.
Web Blog
Not all business is good business. There are some clients that could sink you. At your first meeting keep in mind that while your prospective client might be interviewing you for the project you must also use that opportunity to evaluate him or her. Here are some tell-tale signs that a client may not be worth the hassle.
Keeps asking for you to drop your price: A client who keeps trying to negotiate you down probably does not really value your quality of work. While some negotation is reasonable constant nagging about your price is not a good sign. If you agree to reduce price then you should also reduce scope. Do not reduce your price for nothing. A key question to ask your client is what is the budget for the project. How honest the client is in answering this question will give you a good idea of how open your relationship will be.
The “I could do this myself if I had the time” client: Be very wary of persons who think they could do what you do for free. When I meet up persons like this I usually just simply encourage them to make time and do it themselves because technically speaking you could give yourself a haircut, do your own make-up or sew your own clothes. However, there is something different when a professional does it. Make sure that the clients that you have appreciate that.
Uncertain of requirements: Clients who want unorthodox solutions with amorphous requirements are ones to watch (from a distance). They may want something grand but are not sure exactly what it is and worse yet find it difficult to convey their ideas with words. If you should venture into a business relationship with such a client you could look out for multiple changes in scope, design and functionality. To coin the local expression “you will buss on d wok” or in other words suffer cost over runs.
Web Blog
Your website looks excellent on a desktop or laptop computer. It is beautifully designed, user friendly and works well on several browsers. However, how does it look if I pull it up on my smart phone? Or more importantly how does it look when your future customer, client or investor visits your Home Page on an iPad, Galaxy Tab, iPhone or Note3? Are you losing business because the contact information on your website cannot be easily read on a Blackberry?
Why Go Mobile?
With there being more smart phones and tablet devices than people in Trinidad and Tobago it is advisable that you ensure that your website renders properly on multiple devices if that is not already the case. According to the Adviser to the Minister of Science and Technology, Cornell Buckradee, as of December, 2012, mobile penetration was 142 percent – equating to three mobile phones for every two persons – which exceeded the developed world’s average of 128 percent.
Is it expensive?
There are Fully Responsive designs that work well on all sizes of screens and browsers so that there is no need to create a separate websites for mobile and tablet devices. There are also retina ready designs that cater for the retina display available only on certain Apple products. The cost of going mobile is therefore significantly reduced and is therefore something to consider when performing your next website upgrade.
Most local businesses already have some sort of web presence but the majority of these are not mobile ready. With the penetration of mobile devices far exceeeding that of laptops and regular desktop machines it would be wise to upgrade your website or you will no doubt get left behind.
Web Blog
A Content Managements System (CMS) is basically an additional webpage with forms that allow you to make changes to your website without having to do any programming. It is a great tool and if used properly can be extremely cost effective. It seems like a no-brainer to have one in place. However, the person(s) who are assigned to manage your website’s content should have some basic proficiencies. Below are some important factors to consider when employing the use of a CMS both from the client’s and web developer’s perspective.
Grammatical Accuracy: It is not uncommon to find grammatical errors on a website. In fact I have come across quite a few on some major websites that I know have multiple editors scanning for accuracy. You may even find one or two on this website as I usually write these blogs with one eye on the screen and the other focussed on my pillow. However, a website with many basic spelling errors and several occurrences of non-agreement of subject and verb can make your entire service or product look inferior.
Graphic Design: While your content editors are not expected to be Adobe Photoshop gurus they should have some type of eye for design and have a good idea of what type of imagery should be used. If not, your website will eventually take on the look of a Powerpoint presentation with tacky clipart images and multiple font types every and anywhere. If you are a developer, your client’s lack of design savvy will ruin your portfolio as your once beautifully designed templates now take on a very unprofessional look that could drive away future customers.
Time and Resources: Managing the content of your website should not be given to person(s) who are too busy. Your website should be updated regulary and promptly. Everytime a person vists there should be some new content or featured product. A person who hardly has the time to update because their plate is too full will most likely hardly have the time to care about how the content looks after it is uploaded.
In my experience as a developer offering a Content Management System is a must for all the websites I create. However, during the life of the website person(s) assigned the task must be guided along the way (even if at no cost). If not they will soon turn their own website into a monster that they themselves are not happy with and for some funny reason you, the developer, would be the one to blame. In addition, your client will soon cry out for a redesign and it may very well turn out that you are not the one doing it.
