The challenge nowadays is widening the customer base especially now that communicating and interacting with them transcends across different platforms. Smartphones and tablets are part of these platforms.

Businesses can benefit from mobile applications. From the productivity app for salespeople to the CRM and other attribution platforms, they are various ways to integrate mobile apps into the business process. Here are some benefits of having an app or two in the business.

Mobile apps for businesses speak simplicity.

After the mobile business app is configured and ready to download on mobile phones, existing customers will have have a chance to gain news, updates, and company policy. They also have access to exclusive products and services because the brand uses the app to have a deeper connection with its customers.

Having an app is a form of marketing as it lures prospective clients. Downloading the app entails interaction. The apps allow new customers and consumers to explore what the business can offer.

Hence, the app must be easy to navigate. Prospects must be able to have a full experience on the site or app without too many distractions. It’s easy for any person to discard the app if it isn’t user-friendly. It only takes five seconds for an individual to veer away from the screen.

Mobile business apps convey convenience.

Convenience works in both ways, that is, for the business and the customers. Business apps become a lucrative profit stream when those who download it conduct their affairs on it.

On the other end, prospects will only download the app if they think it contains the information that he or she needs. Content is still king even on the mobile platform. Therefore, businesses have to be very particular with the information presented on the apps.

Mobile apps manifests directness.

A business mobile app will tell you what to do, how to do it, and why you should do it. Okay, these may be common sense, but it is always a welcome idea that a business mobile application can actually remind the customers of the newest items in the store, retail branches, sale dates, etc. These are all possible with just a tap on the screen. Can you imagine how many people will come rushing to your store when your business mobile application reminds them of a ‘buy one pair of shoes and take 1 for free in 12 hours?’

Mobile apps for businesses display diversity.

A mobile application proves to be an effective marketing avenue. Based on a recent study, mobile messages are more successful than email messages regarding open rate. The latter has 22% success rate while the former has 98% success rate, which means that mobile platform can grow the business faster than email platform. Not to mention, companies can take advantage of such by sending promotions-based mobile messages. For instance, the message may contain information on a recent promotion with downloadable voucher or gift certificate redeemable at the physical store.

Mobile apps for businesses can attract, convert and retain customers. The benefits above are proof to the value-added of mobile applications. As more people are tuning into their smartphones for their social activities, mobile apps become a profitable venture for companies.

These apps must have clarity, simplicity, and convenience. They must provide ease to end users and information to its stakeholders. When all of these are present in the app, the only thing left to do is to wait for prospective clients and customers to get attached to the bait.

The post Why Businesses Win With Mobile Apps appeared first on Internet Marketing Reach.

Here are some simple ways to do so.

Scale appropriately

Websites can scale to different devices. However, screen sizes generally differ, so it is only appropriate to make the site viewable on multi-screens. Adaptive web design is acceptable.

Just make sure that the site scales properly for both portrait and landscape.

Reduce page load time estimably

Landing pages should load quickly. While there are no hard rules, the standard is the faster the loading time, the better. It should be between 2 and 4 seconds. Anything beyond that will annoy your user. Make the page extremely lightweight, about 20 kilobytes.

Aside from keeping code nice, consider using image sprites and CSS.

Publish content prudently

Due to less space available, headlines should be short, direct and concise. The entire content should be clutter-free as well with only an image and few links. There should be a clear and strong call to action (CTA). Remember that around 75% of mobile searchers take action within an hour. Put the CTA where the user can easily see it.

As much as possible, create contents in digestible chunks. Listicles and bullet points are the best as they can be read in one sitting.

Make contents highly readable

Less is more for mobile consumption since being able to grasp every word on the screen is important. Use straightforward fonts. Make fonts bigger than usual.

Furthermore, don’t make the users scroll endlessly. They will get bored then, move on to the next.

Check forms and inputting meticulously

Keep forms on landing pages simple and accessible. Forms should be accomplishable in a minute or less. Few fields will do, otherwise the user will abandon the landing page because it is draggy.

Conduct the thumb test initially

Clickables should be tested, and they should pass a thumb test. Remove anything that cannot be easily clicked using your thumb. Pad the links so there should be adequate space around these links. Proper spacing between the links should be apparent as well, so users can tap the right link.

For a gallery-type landing page, make sure the photos can be easily swiped.

Ensure simple navigation

Navigation must be straightforward. Buttons should be minimum in number and should be scattered logically on various parts of the page.

Actions must be also kept to a minimum. In the mobile industry, more actions could mean the less desirability of completing them. Remember the three-click rule? Getting from points A to B should be simple enough the user will be encouraged to stay in the page.

Target locally

Mobile users are up and about. Tailor the page so it will be relevant to the local target market Alternatively, you may customize the content to reflect the local operation such as the nearest branch or store to the user.

Consider adapting core contents to the location of your target audience.

There are just some of the most important things to think about in optimizing mobile landing pages. The obvious fact is that mobile and desktop are two very different mediums. Nonetheless, mobile users are more impatient than PC users. Hence, it is critical to design a landing page with the users in mind. This could spell the difference between gaining and losing visitors and therefore leads and conversions.

The post How to Create a Responsive Mobile Landing Page appeared first on Internet Marketing Reach.

Developers should be using all the tools at their disposal to improve code and coding quality. This can be the only way to confidently release codes that can execute expectedly. The steps below ensure that the developers are releasing the highest quality codes possible and thereby improving the quality of the JavaScript project itself.

Note: The steps outlined below is a workflow in actuality that website and mobile app developers can follow. It is the aim of this workflow to reduce or eliminate errors that frustrate users.

Code

Invoke a strict mode in your functions by using the ‘use strict’ statement. Use module design patterns. Minimize the usage of global variables. You can simply sandbox separate code modules. Pass in external dependencies, keeping the modules clear and concise.

When using third party frameworks and libraries, make sure they are established and well-tested. Keep the functions small. Separate business data from the DOM manipulation.

For bigger projects involving multiple developers, follow the coding guidelines such as the JavaScript Style Guide. Since they need stronger rules for code management, they may include stricter dependency management like Asynchronous Module Definition (AMD). Also, use code storage repository systems, keeping the codes backed up in the cloud.

For much bigger projects, create code branches to implement different features before merging.

Document

Experiment with formats. Once you found the right format like the structured block comment format for the project, use it. With this, the developer may understand the purpose of the functions minus the need to study the codes thereby reducing misunderstanding.

Analyze

Run a tool such as a static-code analysis against the code on a regular basis. The practice checks any coding pitfalls and errors, the most common of which are forgetting ‘strict mode’ use, referencing undeclared variables and spotting missing semicolons or braces, etc.

Correct the issues that the tool you use flags up. Set up default options to enforce coding standards among the developers involved.

Test

Conduct unit tests for small standalone functions for the execution of one of the functions from the main codebase. The functions include specific inputs to confirm that they output the expected value. Use both expected and unexpected parameters for input.

Run the tests on multiple browsers across different operating systems. You can also use testing tools especially those that provide APIs that allow unit tests to be run automatically across the browsers simultaneously. The tools also feedback the results of the tests upon completion.

Measure

Code-coverage tools can be also used in measuring which lines of the codes are executed during the unit tests against the functions. Function complexity should be also measured. In simpler terms, the reduction in complexity scores means easier and much better understanding of the functions.

Further, there are tools online that not only measure complexity, but also generate JavaScript code complexity visualization. This helps in identifying which functions can be improved.

Automate

Use task runners in automating the processes from documenting down to measuring. The process increases the opportunity to address code quality issues as they arise.

At some points, the code will throw errors. Handle these runtime errors gracefully so their impact to the website’s behavior and usability will be limited. Use web services in logging runtime errors thrown by the codes. The log information can be used in adding new unit tests and thus improving the code and eradicating the errors.

These seven steps help our developers in producing the codes that we are really proud of. These steps lay great foundation for future use as well. Our developers are committed to using these steps in our projects in producing high quality JavaScript codes. Let’s work together in building and improving the web – one step at a time.

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