In the age of “shelter at home” and “social distancing”, eCommerce adoption is no longer just an option but a necessity. Most offline businesses have now been forced to make a move to online selling platforms. Even the biggest stores that have been in business for many years are adopting online channels.

There have been changes in consumer behavior as well. As per a survey by CNBC, about 85% of consumers now prefer online shopping over brick-and-mortar shops.

But while rushing to join the eCommerce bandwagon, you may miss out on some important steps that might hurt your business in the long-run. Although, in essence, having an eCommerce store is similar to having an offline store, there are many things that differentiate the two.

To make sure your online business soars like your offline business, you must keep a few things in mind.

With an online business, you need to be proactive rather than reactive. Having a well-thought-out and specified roadmap can be the difference-maker. You need to identify your goals and then based on these goals, you need to form an actionable plan or a strong roadmap. Perhaps, the critical difference is just how central technology becomes in an online model as compared to the offline models.

In this article, we will discuss the technical elements needed to shift from a purely offline model to an eCommerce platform.

First, Why eCommerce?

Sure, some still need this question answered. So, here goes.

The biggest benefit of adopting eCommerce is that you get the opportunity to connect with a wider audience. Since the majority of people own smartphones these days, eCommerce can give you the power to be in people’s pockets. They don’t have to go around searching for your store. Instead, your potential customers can simply access your products at their fingertips.

Another significant benefit of adopting eCommerce is the lower setup cost as compared to a brick-and-mortar store with its associated real-estate investments. Moreover, eCommerce gives you the opportunity to create innovative, and impactful, promotions. Also, as your online customer testimonials are available for billions of people to read, it helps your credibility.

Hopefully, that will settle the “Why?” question. Now on to the “How?”

An eCommerce Roadmap

By focusing on the key elements mentioned below, you can create a great eCommerce adoption roadmap – 

Set up an online store:

The first thing you need to do when making a switch to an online store is to have a website or platform to showcase your products. There are tools aplenty and multiple sales channels that you can use to easily set up your online store. Platforms like Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, etc. are quite popular in this segment. 

But beyond the eCommerce engine, you must focus on the experience you provide your visitors. This brings the spotlight on the themes or website templates and elements that you use. Remember, how your website looks and how it allows the visitors to browse, search, and interact will be a crucial part of your store’s online presence.

Create the essential pages:

Without getting too caught up in the frills of setting up an online store, you must focus on creating those essential website pages that clearly showcase your products and services. 

First, focus on the basics and create an online store that makes it easy for people to explore and find what they are looking for. Providing visitors the right information at the right stage will help them progress in the buying journey. 

Some of the essential pages include the homepage, product pages, return/exchange, contact, and shipping. Your homepage should be able to help visitors easily dive into the entire store and discover what they need as well as any offers or promotions. The product pages on your online store must be detailed, compelling, and including high-quality product images. The shipping page must be capable of answering some of the common FAQs regarding shipping.

Communication is key. Your online visitors should be able to easily get in touch with you or resolve their queries using the Contact page. The return/exchange page should help customers get details about your return/exchange policies. This is also a good time to explore adding options like AI-enabled chatbots and smart features that assist your customers while helping you stand out.

Creating an online presence:

After setting up an online store/website, the next step is to inform your customers about it by creating an online presence. You need to reach out to your target audience with the right messaging on the channels that they prefer.

For doing it, first, analyze the market and figure out who your audience is and where do they hang out in the online space. Depending on your target audience, you can make use of various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, or Quora. These social media platforms allow you to interact with your potential buyers and sell your products to them. After developing a good following on social media sites, you can directly sell products from your social media handles as well.

Another effective strategy is to leverage the power of email. By using gated content that delivers value to your users, you can collect emails of people which you can then use to send personalized messages or campaigns. You can also use paid advertisements like Google ads, Facebook ads, or YouTube ads to promote your online marketplace. 

 

On the technology front, this is also a good time to consider the value of marketing automation, email marketing, and CRM solutions that integrate with your web presence. This will allow you to keep track of and build relationships with your target customers over time.

Setting up payments

This is a critical step. Since you’ll be dealing with a lot of financial transactions, you must choose a secure payment solution. Rising consumer awareness and an increase in the number of cybercrimes means that you must be extra careful while setting up a payment method. Customers want convenient payment processes as well as security.

Order fulfillment

Order fulfillment first requires inventory management. For an online store, you must be aware of your inventory at all times. Integrating your systems with solutions like ERP and supply chain systems will allow the site to be in sync with the orders being placed. This tight integration also provides the customers with transparent visibility into the delivery status at all times. 

Customer service

Irrespective of how big or small your online store is, customer service can be crucial. Your customer service solutions should be capable of handling all customer queries and should also be aware of all company policies. You can also look at utilizing smart chatbots on your eCommerce website for greater impact.

Of course, this is just scratching the surface. You need to think about hosting the site, data management, and including smart data-driven analytics into the operational processes. The technology choices are extremely vast and they can have a profound impact at every stage of this process. It’s only normal to be overwhelmed by the scale of the task. That’s where, if you’d like any help with your eCommerce setup then ThinkSys could help.

As per the latest data from GSMA Intelligence, there are 5.21 billion unique mobile phone users in the world today. That’s a huge market! It doesn’t matter if you have a well-established business or if you are just starting out. Having a mobile application to complement your business offerings is now essential.

But once you decide to launch your mobile app, you are faced with some choices.

Whether to go with native, hybrid, or progressive web apps? Which one would be the most suitable for my business? What’s the difference between these three anyway?

To be successful, your mobile strategy should be aligned with your business objectives. So, deciding what to go for could be a defining factor for your success.

To help you figure out the answers to these questions, we would be doing a detailed comparison of native, hybrid, and progressive web apps in this article. We’ll also help you figure out the when and why of all three. So, let’s get started.

What are Native Apps?

The term ‘Native’ is simply to signify that the app is designed natively for the OS on your smartphone. The native apps are designed to work specifically on one platform or system. Think of apps built specifically for either Android or iOS devices.

Benefits of Native Apps:

The following are the benefits of native apps:

• Native apps can offer the fastest, most reliable, and most responsive experience to users.
• Native apps may not require constant access to the internet.
• Native apps support push notifications out of the box. These notifications can be triggered by the native apps to increase user engagement.
• These apps can be downloaded directly to the device (Android or iOS) without the need for looking for a supported browser.
• These apps are quicker and more responsive as they have access to system resources. Native apps can seamlessly access device components like camera, location, microphone, sensors, swipe gestures, etc. to offer a better user experience.
• These apps are easier to discover since they receive complete support from official app stores.
• Native apps offer a higher scope of integration with the device’s features.
• They often have better quality, security, and compatibility because these apps are approved by respective operating systems.
• Native apps are usually easier to build because of an abundance of developer tools available in the market.

Drawbacks of Native Apps:

The following are the problems with native apps:

• Native apps generally have higher upfront costs as compared to other apps. Since these apps need to be developed for both iOS and Android separately, it increases development costs because you will need resources with skills in each area. This will also, eventually, impact the maintenance costs.
• These apps need to be updated regularly to retain users. Moreover, updating the app regularly can be an expensive process.
• These apps are not ideal for many simple operations because of the costs involved. It doesn’t make sense to use native apps for simple operations that don’t require native capabilities or rich user experience.
• The process of obtaining approval from the app stores (Android and iOS) can sometimes be quite lengthy.

What are Hybrid Apps?

Hybrid apps are installed like native apps but they are actually web apps on the inside, thus combining the elements of both web and native apps. These apps give you the convenience of a native app along with the connectivity and power of a web app.

Hybrid apps are built using technologies like HTML, CSS, and Javascript, and run in something called webview which is a simplified browser within your app.

Benefits of Hybrid Apps:

The following are the benefits of hybrid apps:

• Hybrid apps are built using a single codebase. This allows them to be quickly ported to other operating systems. So, you need to make only one app and make a few tweaks to it to make it work on both iOS and Android.
• Cost-effectiveness is one of the major benefits of using a hybrid app because these apps give you the benefit of developing native-like apps only at a fraction of the cost of a native app.
• These apps are faster to develop than a native app since hybrid apps are basically web apps that are packaged in a native shell.
• Since they are quicker to develop, hybrid apps are ideal for people who want to release their apps on a tight deadline.
• Since hybrid apps have some elements of native apps, they are capable of utilizing your system resources (like camera, sensors, etc.) close to how a native app would.
• Working with a single codebase gives the advantage of not having to hire different developers for iOS and Android.

Drawbacks of Hybrid Apps:

The following are the problems with hybrid apps:

• The most common and biggest issue found with hybrid apps is a lack of performance.
• Cross-platform development is tough in the case of hybrid apps. Getting your app to run optimally on each platform can be difficult.
• Swiping gestures and some similar features might not always work properly in a hybrid app.
• Hybrid apps require an internet connection at all times since they are basically repurposed web apps.
• The hybrid apps may require plugins to make full use of your device resources.
• In hybrid apps, the process of obtaining approval from the respective app stores (Android and iOS) can be lengthy at times.

What are Progressive Web Apps?

Progressive web apps (PWAs) are quite similar to hybrid apps, with the key difference being the fact that they are not distributed through native app stores.

Just like a hybrid app, PWAs take elements of native apps and web apps. These apps merge both elements into an accessible web application that can work both with and without the internet.

PWAs enhance the functionality of traditional web apps by giving it the ability to send push notifications, work offline, and even load on the home screen.

PWAs run in the browser like a traditional web app but they may or may not require an active internet connection. These apps work by storing information in a web browser’s cache which can later be recalled for quick offline access.

Benefits of Progressive Web Apps(PWAs):

The following are the benefits of PWAs:

• PWAs can work in any supported browser and provide good offline access.
• They are also much quicker to load than regular web apps. This is a crucial factor for increasing user retention on the app.
• PWAs can be built in a shorter time span and at lower costs than a native app.
• Since these are built on a standard codebase, PWAs are cross-platform compatible. You won’t have to redesign the app for Android or iOS separately.
• PWAs also have access to phone resources like a native app.

Drawbacks of Progressive Web Apps(PWAs)

The following are the problems with PWAs:

• Even though PWAs have access to many system resources, they don’t have the access to all of your system resources that a native app does.
• PWAs are comparatively more demanding on the battery than native or hybrid apps.
• Since PWAs cannot access contacts or Bluetooth, they are unable to give a deeply personal response to users.
• PWAs cannot be distributed through app stores and hence these apps are not ideal for businesses that want to reach the audience on Android and iOS.
• PWAs are not ideal for businesses looking to implement an in-app monetization strategy.

When and why to choose Native Apps, Hybrid Apps, or Progressive Web Apps(PWAs)?

To set up your app for success, you must carefully choose between native, hybrid, or progressive web apps. Here are the factors you must keep in mind while making your choice:

• Your mobile app should have a clear purpose in order to succeed. You must think about the pain points of your customers and choose an app built to address that. The features and capabilities of your app must be user-driven. A native app could provide better functionality and excellent user experience than a hybrid app or PWA.
• The budget is also an important factor to consider. You must choose an app type that fits within your budget. It can be done by choosing the right app type at the beginning itself. Choosing a PWA or hybrid app could often be more cost-effective than a native app.
• Keep the long-term vision in mind while choosing your app. If you want to offer regular updates in your app then going with a native app could be the better choice. Making the right choice for the app type will allow you to account in advance for all the resources that you might need for future releases and maintenance updates.
• Similarly, if you want to quickly release your app in the market, then PWA or hybrid app can do that for you. If you want to launch your app in respective app stores then a hybrid app would be the better option to choose than the PWA.

It’s a bit of a cliché, but true anyway, that the choice is defined by your specific needs and circumstances. We hope the information contained here will help you make the right choice!

The past few years ushered us into the era of mobile applications, where mobile apps have become an integral part of our everyday life. Be it Netflix, Facebook, Instagram, Uber, Skype, or more mobile applications are trending excessively in this day and age. However, with this increasing dependency on mobile applications, the need for niche technologies, frameworks, and platforms is also rapidly increasing, giving way to the advent of new frameworks and platforms that allow developers to create cross-platform apps that are suitable for all platforms. Moreover, these two frameworks are competing against each other to prove their worth, making Flutter Vs React Native the most trending topics of the year.

From simplifying the app development process to making them efficient, these frameworks are helping reduce the complexity of mobile application development and are hence trending among developers. Among these, Flutter and React Native are the two most popular Cross-platform Mobile App Development Frameworks that are enabling developers to create cross-platform mobile applications that work seamlessly across various platforms and devices.

So, let’s try to determine, “What is the difference between Flutter and React Native?” and answer the important question, “Will Flutter replace React Native?”. But before we delve deep into this discussion on React Native vs Flutter, it is important that we understand the need for cross-platform development frameworks.  

The Need for Cross-Platform Mobile Development Framework:

Nowadays, Android and iOS are two of the most widely used mobile platforms, with a completely different application development process. Android requires developers with extensive knowledge of Java or Kotlin, whereas iOS needs developers well versed in Swift programming language, making the development process expensive and time-consuming.

Cross-platform app development came into the inception to overcome this drawback and has become the need of the hour. Industries are using frameworks like React Native, Flutter, Xamarin, PhoneGap, and more, to create cross-platform applications, as they enable a single team to create apps with a single code base that works on multiple operating systems (OS), like iOS and Android. Due to this, most of the applications developed today are either cross-platform or hybrid and can run seamlessly on iOS and Android. Other advantages offered by cross-platform mobile application development frameworks are:

• It offers UX uniformity.
• Ideal for prototyping.
• Requires one team to create one product for two or more platforms.
• The code can be reused across platforms.
• Quicker Development.
• Easier Implementation.

Now that we know the reason for the shift from native app development to cross-platform and hybrid app development, let’s compare the two important cross-platform mobile app development technology.

React Native: Understanding the Basics:

Launched by Facebook in 2015, React Native is an open-source JavaScript framework built upon the React library and used to build natively rendering, mobile applications for iOS and Android. One of the most reliable and popular JavaScript frameworks used for developing mobile apps, React Native combines native components with React, the best-in-class JavaScript library for building the User Interface (UI). React Native enables developers to create react native apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and Linux, though the latter two require dependency managers like HomeBrew package manager.

Used by Facebook, Instagram, Airbnb, Skype, Tesla, Walmart, etc. and backed up by a huge developer community, React Native popularity is tremendous due to its ability to build applications efficiently, in less time as well as its use of Node Package Manager (NPM) for installation, excellent UI rendering, GPU oriented application development, seamless integration and quick load time, etc. Additionally, its features like platform-specific code and hot reload make it a common choice for developers for mobile application development.

What is Flutter App Development?

Flutter, one of the biggest React Native competitors, is a free and open-source mobile UI framework created by Google and released in 2017. Though new to the spectrum of mobile application development, it is gaining popularity and momentum among web and mobile developers for creating native applications, with a single codebase. In short, with Flutter, developers can use one programming language and codebase to create two different apps for different platforms.

Unlike React Native, Flutter does not use JavaScript, but rather a less known programming language Dart, which was created by Google in 2011. Dart programming language is focused on front-end development and can be used to create applications for both web and mobile. Though most of the systems are implemented in Dart, the factor that differentiates Flutter from other mobile application SDK is that it has a thin layer of C++ or C. Moreover, it is supported on Android Studio, IntelliJ Idea & Visual studio code.

Difference between Flutter and React native: What to Choose?

From being open-sourced, fast and free to offering excellent UI support and native-like experience, React Native and Flutter, two major competitors offering cross-platform solutions, share various similarities. However, there are certain aspects of these two frameworks that make one framework superior from the other, which will be highlighted in the following comparison:

1. Programming Languages: Flutter Dart vs React Native JavaScript

A major advantage of using cross-platform mobile app development frameworks is it allows developers to create applications for both iOS and Android using a single programming language.

• Flutter uses Dart programming language to create a Flutter app. Though new for mobile application developers, Dart is easy-to-use for developers experienced in different OOP languages such as Java and C++.
• React Native: Uses JavaScript to build cross-platform apps. Extremely popular among developers, this programming language helps web developers build apps with little training and hence is a winner compared to Flutter. 
2. User Interface:

As React Native is purely focused on UI design, it has a large number of React UI components that are more extensive than that of Flutter. This is because application development with React Native is highly based on native components, whereas Flutter works flawlessly with the owner widget sets. One advantage of these widgets is that they prevent the developer from being dependent on third-party UI libraries. 

3. Development Time: 

Development time and process are the two most critical aspects that need consideration during mobile application development. Flutter, prominently known for fast and simple development, is lauded for its hot reload feature, which enables developers to instantly view changes and implement modifications. Moreover, it provides a full suite of extensible components that are built from scratch. Whereas, React Native, though popular, relies heavily on third-party libraries, which becomes makes the process comparatively slower. 

4. React Native Vs. Flutter Performance: 

React Native, though popular for providing high-quality user experience, is considered less suitable for application development because of its architecture, which impacts its performance and makes it slower. Whereas, Flutter’s ability to reuse the same code for creating applications for different platforms as well as its use of widgets and GPU to render it on apps on the screen helps create apps with best-in-class performance and speed.

5. Documentation & Toolkit: 

Google, like always, provides clear, structured, and in-depth documentation for their products, with Flutter being no exception. From installation to widgets, testing, more Flutter offers proper documentation for all and is backed by the Flutter team. React Native lags behind in this aspect, as it has a poorly maintained and unclear documentation, with not much explained like installation and configuration setup. Moreover, it lacks official documentation for Continuous Integration & Continuous Delivery (CI/CD).

6. Technical Architecture: 

Another important aspect that needs consideration when comparing React Native and Flutter is technical architecture. 

• Flux Architecture: 

As React Native relies heavily on JS runtime environment architecture known as JavaScript bridge, it uses Facebook’s Flux architecture, which helps it to communicate with native modules. This though beneficial results in poor performance. 

• Skia:

On the other hand, Flutter uses Dart Framework, which has most of the components inbuilt and does not require JavaScript bridge to communicate with the native UI component. Moreover, it further uses the Skia C++ engine which consists of all the protocols, compositions, and channels needed to develop a mobile app. This independency of Flutter makes its architecture more beneficial than React Native.

7. DevOps and CI/CD Support: 

To ensure an application receives continuous feedback and is not released with bugs, it crucial to adopt Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery practices. This is ensured by Flutter, in its section on Continuous Integration and Testing, where its rich Command Line Interface (CLI) allows easy set up on CI/CD services strong CLI tools, whereas, React Native does not provide any instructions on CI/CD practices.

8. Installation: 

The installation process with Flutter is more straightforward, with the added advantage of automated checkup of system problems. On the other hand, react-native lacks a streamlining setup and configuration. 

9. Development Tools: 

Some of the tools used in both React Native and Flutter mobile application development are:

1. Flutter: 
   • Flutter SDK.
   • DevTools.
   • Hot Reload.
2. React:
   • Expo.
   • Redux.
   • Flow.
   • Ignite.
   • React Navigation.

Conclusion:

React Native is currently ruling the spectrum of cross-platform mobile application development, however, there is no doubt that Flutter is working hard to prove its worth and is slowly taking over the future mobile application development, by making the development more streamlined, introduction of new features and functionalities, as well as by saving the developer time and effort. However, it is still too soon to answer to questions like “Is Flutter better than React Native?”, as Flutter is still climbing the ladder to achieve the popularity and reliability that React Native is currently enjoying. 

Ever since the pandemic hit the world, business conditions have become more challenging.  The world of technology is no exception. For instance, the SaaS products market has been hit as companies have reduced their overall budget by over 10%.

Software product companies, in particular, are bracing themselves for tough times ahead. In a sense, the key issue seems to be confidence. Companies are unsure of what the future will bring so rather than take a risk, they are looking for strategies to outlast the hard times and prepare themselves for the uptick, whenever it will arrive.

So, what can product development companies do? How can they sustain their business in these uncertain times? The answer lies in becoming even more customer-centric and addressing customer challenges before the competitor.

But that only raises some other uncomfortable questions.

How to form strong customer relationships that will endure? How to keep building the next generation of their product to be able to continue to offer value?

Product companies know that they will have to innovate models quickly.

Let’s look at how they can do it.

6 Ways To Curb Costs And Fast-Track The Pace Of Product Development

1. Outsource the Development:

Considering that COVID-driven spending curbs have put a stop to most recruitment activities, product companies face the challenge of continuing with product innovation but with fewer in-house resources. Under the circumstances, they may have no better option than to outsource their development and testing activities. Outsourcing could help companies to save 80% of the development costs. This is now a proven system. Developers in the right outsourcing companies are already well-trained and experienced in the field, so it’s easier to explain to them the product requirement, rather than spending time on training and supervising new hires. However, here’s a word of caution – be careful while choosing a vendor-partner. Ensure that they have a product development heritage and the necessary technology skills before signing the contract.

2. Adopt Agile and DevOps:

The world has moved on from traditional ways of developing software products that were time-consuming and cost-intensive. These software development models stretched the entire product development process and delayed time-to-value. That apart, any delay anywhere would escalate the costs and, even, customer dissatisfaction. For those that have not yet taken the plunge fully, this is the time to shift to an agile methodology. Agile allows developers to make continuous improvements to the product throughout the process. This gives the customer the power to use the product and provide feedback to the developers almost immediately. This helps the developer to tweak the product based on feedback. The use of agile can be further bolstered by implementing DevOps. DevOps ensures better integration and constant improvement in the quality of the product. These models accelerate time-to-market and could start the revenue flowing much earlier.

3. Use Open-source Software:

Considering that product companies are keen on optimizing development costs, open-source software can be a viable solution. Unlike commercial, proprietary software, open-source software is mostly free of cost and rarely demands any licensing fees. Many popular tools are backed by a thriving community of developers. So, it’s easy to exchange ideas and seek support when needed.  In fact, the 2019 “State of Enterprise Open Source” survey revealed that 69% of IT leaders thought of Open Source as being “very or extremely important”. Perhaps, even more tellingly, only 1% did not think Open Source was important. Open source tools and technologies can help accelerate product development while controlling costs.

4. Design Impact Map:

Developers should start with a clear roadmap for what they want the product to achieve. This is called impact mapping. Impact mapping ensures that developers do not lose sight of the objective of building the product. Impact mapping helps the team to visualize roadmaps and determine how they will connect the product with the user needs. It compels the developers to ask questions related to who will use the product, how will it benefit them, etc. A clear roadmap will help the developers to set and achieve realistic goals and save time and costs on rework and prevent them from getting side-tracked.

5. Use Automation wherever Possible:

Developers can save time and money by using automation wherever possible. Automation offers plenty of benefits. Automation can help accelerate manual activities, trim effort, and reduce errors. This helps companies optimize their spend on resources. Companies could do more with less automation. Developers must try to automate time and resource-intensive functions such as testing for maximum impact.

6. Focus on MVP:

Customers often care for the core benefits a product offers rather than the nice-to-have features. Hence, developers could focus on delivering the core functionalities fast. This means a focus on building and delivering an MVP. Think like a customer must be the mantra. Developers should spend time to understand what features would help the customer and push back all those that do not add value. This will help the developers to develop the product faster and launch it before the competitor does it. The product can be further improved based on customer’s feedback.

Conclusion:

The 2008 global recession showed that with the right attitude, recession strategies, and innovation, companies could not only survive but also accelerate their growth. Product companies may have hit a rough patch due to restricted spending. But as businesses get back to normalcy, there will be demand once again for these products. Product companies must start preparing for the future by outsourcing their development work to a reliable partner and plan ways to develop products at a rapid pace and cost-efficiently.