It is no secret that the online space is competitive and changes quickly. With customers in nearly three dozen different countries, nobody knows that better than our talented team of web designers. Whether your focus is on UX or UI, the end goal of designing any online platform is to attract more users, keep those users on your platform longer, and motivate them to take meaningful action. If you want to remain competitive, have a look at this list of 10 of the biggest web design trends you can expect to see in 2015. 1. Large Background Images Full-width background images and videos have emerged recently, and their popularity does not show any signs of slowing. Paired with large, bold, and rich typography and parallax effects, these background images create a visually impressive experience. 2. Responsive Designs Responsive design most certainly is not a new trend. In fact, designing websites to load beautifully on devices of every size has been happening for several years now. What you can expect to see are new iterations of responsive designs, with a mobile-first approach to all web layouts. It is important for branding purposes for any web-based platform to provide a consistent experience regardless of device type. 3. Vibrant Colors Colors that make a bold, vibrant and often unexpected statement are rising in popularity. This is especially true when contrasted against muted background colors. This type of bright color usage is very effective when combined with significant transitions, animations, and large typography. 4. SVG Elements Scalable vector graphics, often shorted to SVG, allow images to look sharp on any screen size. They...
Over the past 12 years, our professional team of 150+ individuals has had the pleasure of delivering more than 1000 projects in nearly three dozen countries. Unfortunately, we have also worked with a number of clients who fell for false promises and unrealistic claims made by other so-called web development companies. In this short article, we hope to help you avoid disappointment, frustration, and lost earnings by offering guidance in the selection process. When it comes to choosing a web development company, who do you trust? How do you know who to work with? Elance, oDesk, Guru & More Thanks to the unprecedented global reach of the internet, numerous freelancing platforms have emerged in recent years. Virtually anybody can create a profile on a website like Elance, oDesk, Guru, and several others – and in turn proclaim him or herself to be an expert of any variety. While there are some freelancers online who can deliver a high quality development project, we would caution that most cannot compete with the results of an established web development company. Freelancers do not have the reputation of an established brand to maintain or protect. Freelancers will often favor rapid turnaround over client satisfaction. Attaining authentically verified credentials for a freelancer is next to impossible. In most cases, revisions, changes, and iterations will result in an additional expense. Of course, these generalizations are not true in every instance – but they certainly do present enough risk to make sourcing a credible web development company a good idea. How to Choose a Web Development Company Choosing the right web development company will vary significantly based...
Agile development is a common methodology used to approach development projects. It takes a flexible, teamwork-based approach to development that has proven to be very successful. But what about startups? Can a startup firm in the technology sector benefit from the application of Agile methodology? To answer this question, we will first need to explore the unique challenges facing startups. The Nature of Startup Life A startup firm is often loosely defined as a new business that is not profitable, and the business owners are okay with that – it is a time to innovate, grow, and develop. It is worth noting that being part of a startup can be very exciting. For instance: Things are constantly changing each day. Everything moves along quickly. You are working on ‘the next big thing.’ You are surrounded by creativity and passion. Unfortunately, because of the excitement, rapid growth, and abundance of creative ideas, challenges are likely to arise as well. The business does not have a defined roadmap. Approaches to development are disorganized and chaotic. Early market reactions do not provide sufficient data to adjust long-term strategies. And these are just to name a few. An infographic published by Clarity offers a very comprehensive list of struggles faced by many new startups: The missing key to successful growth for most startups is to have an action plan for development – one that is flexible and dynamic. At first glance, it appears that Agile development methodology may be an effective solution. What Makes Agile Development Methodology Effective Agile development allows for flexibility, especially if immediate change is required. The core concepts of...
The web has changed over the past few years – the amount of things we can now do online, as well as the way we construct our day-to-day lives around the web and communication, has meant that different software development techniques in the digital sphere have risen to prominence in recent years. Let’s explore a blend of two different types of development techniques – Outsourcing along with Agile Development Where does outsourcing agile development fit in for me? A distributed environment, one where not all work is completed in the same space, has become commonplace within today’s businesses, and for agile development as a process to work efficiently has to be able to work well in this environment. Fortunately, with the right lines of communication in place, distributed agile development adds a huge amount of value when outsourcing work, no matter where you are. The collaboration and relationship of a distributed team adds up a great deal – and it can fit right in to your team as long as you follow some essential guidelines on how to make distributed agile development work for you. Created ‘rich’ lines of communication to counteract the relatively small amount of quality face-to-face time with distributed work Create frequent deliverables within a distributed agile environment Get clear, well-written guidelines and objectives so everyone knows what to expect. Faster and more flexible delivery There are many key features of agile development that mean many major companies in the software development and IT industries are adopting this way of thinking. The table below indicates some features and benefits of agile development – as well as...
Everyone seems to be excited and talking about Agile product development these days. Let’s see why. Getting a product to market is more challenging and competitive than ever before. Adaptability is crucial, and many traditional product development methods overlook the importance of that flexibility. It’s not that traditional development methods are inherently bad – they simply lack in the necessary flexibility to be effective. The primary objectives of product development are to reduce time to market, increase product quality, and save money, all while delivering a product that exceeds client expectations. To begin this guide, let’s review the Waterfall model, a more traditional approach to product development that you may already be familiar with. The Waterfall Development Model If you can imagine progress flowing from top to bottom in a cascading fashion, you will begin to get a sense of the allegorical origins of the ‘Waterfall’ method. First used in the manufacturing and construction industries, the Waterfall model follows a sequential design process. In other words, each of its seven phases of development must be satisfied in order to move on to the next. If an error occurs in a later phase, the Waterfall model necessitates returning to an earlier phase in the sequence. In essence, this results in having to retrace a number of steps in between. Needless to say, a mistake in a later phase can be both expensive and time-consuming. To put it simply, a model that relies upon moving through only one of seven sequential phases at a time will be slow, tedious, and without flexibility. Thankfully, the Agile product development methodology has demonstrated the...
As a fast growing web development company, we feel the world of front end web development changes quickly – new tastes and fashions often guide the changes, but the world of tech also plays a part. New coding languages and platforms for developers shift the way we work with the front end of a website, and it’s important each year to be aware of the development and trends we’re likely to see evolving over the next 12 months. In this post we’ll look at the top front-end development predictions for 2015 – from the evolution of Responsive Design to new JavaScript Frameworks, there are many trends and predictions worth keeping your eye on. Extended Mobile Apps Development We are starting to see the beginning of a mobile-first development approach – whereby the user experience and impression users get of your website and your business will be first experienced on a tablet or web. It makes sense, therefore, to put mobile development at the forefront of your web world – and in terms of front-end development we can increasingly expect to see this attitude amongst web designers. In addition, we’re therefore likely to see increased use of Bootstrap within the mobile-first community. New Responses to Responsive Web With wearable devices rising in popularity – supporting a huge range of dimensions and screen sizes by major developers – we should expect to see new responses and attitudes towards the responsive web over the next 12 months. Responsive design will get faster, more intuitive and more advanced – frameworks such as Foundation and Semantic UI are set to rise in popularity, and...
The use of mobile apps and mobile websites on portable devices, from smartphones to tablets, is on the rise. In tandem is the tremendous growth of mobile commerce, often referred to as mCommerce. Many retailers recognise the enormous economic opportunity online, but are without an appropriate strategy to capture a significant portion of those mCommerce transactions. Fortunately, eCommerce industry leader Magento now offers a number of mobile solutions. With the help of a trusted and capable eCommerce Development partner, along with some amazing plug-ins and tools out there, it is now easy to customise these solutions. That means it is now easier for you to fit in perfectly in your customers’ mobile life style in a way just as you want. Magento is owned by eBay, and is the preferred eCommerce and mCommerce solution for more than 240,000 merchants worldwide. What Is Magento Mobile? Magento has risen rapidly in popularity to establish itself as the third most popular eCommerce solution in the UK, United States and Canada. Magento mobile solutions allow retailers to provide their customers with a comprehensive online shopping experience. In fact, Magento responsive designs represent 34 per cent of all responsive eCommerce websites in the Alexa 1M. Why Is mCommerce Important? To answer this question, we would rather have the numbers talk. Here are some quick facts that are no less than eye openers while we talk about mCommerce: The number of global smartphone users will approach 2 billion in 2015 Mobile phone penetration has climbed to a global average of 93 per cent mCommerce sales accounts for around a whopping $58.5 billion in annual The choice for retailers...
Outsourcing product development projects most often results in an effectively executed project. This is especially true when it comes to developing software as a service (SaaS) solutions, which can present a unique and compelling list of challenges. Fortunately, outsourcing SaaS product development has never made more economical sense. Outsourcing multiple different types of projects has grown on a significant scale in recent history, and SaaS product development is a prime example. Through this post, we will explore what makes SaaS development different, the necessary ingredients for successful SaaS product development, how offshore SaaS development has evolved over the past two decades, and how you can ultimately benefit from outsourcing your SaaS product development. SaaS Product Development Is Different SaaS product development is different in many respects from the development of more traditional products. This is largely due to the sheer volume and scale to which the product is being developed. Development teams need to be highly skilled and adept to truly understand the end goal for the product, and to plan technical advancements and deployments accordingly. As a result, maintaining an existing SaaS product – or developing a new one – in-house can be both expensive and frustrating. The availability of required skillsets are often challenging to acquire, hiring qualified developers is usually a time consuming and expensive process, and the changing landscapes of technology are sure to further complicate the issue. Effective SaaS product development necessitates a crystal clear vision, a well-defined plan, and the ability to swiftly react to new challenges as they arise. The Ingredients of Successful SaaS Product Development The following ingredients can often...
A content management system, often abbreviated to CMS, is an application allows publishing, editing, modifying, organizing, deleting, and maintaining online content from one central user interface. Most often, popular news websites, blogs, and other popular online destinations that frequently publish new content make use of a CMS. In so doing, content writers with minimal or no exposure to coding and design can regularly publish great content without any roadblocks. The purpose of this article is to offer an unbiased look at two different platforms – Drupal vs WordPress, the two most popular CMS choices available. When choosing the platform will power your website, you will need to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each. Drupal vs WordPress To put it simply, whether you prefer to power your website with Drupal or WordPress will depend largely upon your intentions and objectives for your website. Each CMS has its own strengths and weaknesses including the availability of its themes, plugins, and updates, as well as the necessary skills you will require for its use. Before diving into the specifics of Drupal vs WordPress, it is important to mention that both are great choices for creating a website. They are both built on PHP and MySQL, and both are open source CMS solutions. Understanding Open Source With the intention to promote universal access to software, the open source development model grants a free license to the design of any product, plus redistribution rights. As we compare Drupal vs WordPress in this CMS comparison, it is worth noting that both options are open source. In a nutshell, that means both CMS choices have...
If the statistics are to be believed 55 percent of the mobile consumers want to purchase within an hour. That’s a figure too good to ignore. Still there are many organizations that are resistant to the idea of having mobile-friendly websites for their businesses. It is high time that you give up this resistance. Your competitors are using this opportunity against you. They are there in your target audience’s mobile devices and making more money than you cannot make with your desktop website alone. Those who are intelligent enough to take the big plunge should concentrate on drafting a successful mobile SEO strategy. To make the task easier for you we are listing out all that you need to focus on while creating the successful mobile SEO strategy for your business. User Experience The user experience on a desktop / laptop is very different from that on mobile devices. It determines whether a visitor will come back to your website on not. Therefore, offering a great user experience to your mobile audience is very important to engage them. To be able to achieve that you either have the choice to go with responsive design or to get a mobile website developed. Faster Load Time One of the major things that impacts your visitor’s experience with your mobile / mobile-friendly website is how fast is it. And this is not important only from the user experience perspective. To reach the first pages of the relevant searches made on Google, you need a mobile website that loads in one second or less. Crisp Design On a mobile device, you bound by...
