02May/24

Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Mobile App

1. Be visible to customers at all times

Statistics show that the average American adult spends an average of 3 hours and 43 minutes on their mobile device. While probably only a handful of applications make up the bulk of this total usage, it doesn’t change the fact that each user has to unlock, scroll, and scan their device for the apps they’re looking for. Being “in the way” can be an advantage to your company, as our mind subconsciously records every image and text (or well-designed app icon!) it comes across.

2. Create a direct marketing channel

Apps serve many functions: they can provide general info, prices, booking forms, search features, user accounts, messengers, news feeds, and much more.

One of the biggest benefits of having a mobile app is that all the information you’d like to provide to your customers—including special sales and promotions—is right at their fingertips. Via push notifications, you’re getting even closer to a direct interaction, and can easily remind customers about your products and services whenever it makes sense.

3. Provide value to your customers

Talking about on-hand information, how about digitalizing that loyalty program you have in place? Instead of sticking to the old point-collection card, make it possible for your customers to collect their rewards via your mobile app. The result? More downloads and more return customers.

4. Build brand recognition

A mobile app for your business can greatly contribute to your brand awareness. I’d like to break this topic down into two aspects, the combination of which will make your app a true winner:

  • Brand. A mobile app is like a blank billboard sign. You can do what you want with it; you can make it stylish, hip, functional, bold, or informative. But what you really want to do is create an app that has features your customers will love, while at the same time being well-branded and beautifully designed.
  • Recognition. The more often you can get customers involved with your app, the sooner they will be inclined to buy your product and/or service. In advertising this is called the “effective frequency”: as a rule of thumb, hearing and/or seeing your brand approximately 20 times is what will get you truly noticed.

5. Improve customer engagement

Whether you are selling flowers or spa services, your customers need a way to reach you. Having a messaging (or help desk) feature within your app can really make a difference in the way you communicate with your customers. Think about it: OpenTable, for example, built its entire business model around this principle. Instead of calling a restaurant for a table, you can book it with less than five clicks on their platform. Now think about it: How many customers would prefer to communicate with you via text than via phone?

02May/24

How to Create a User-Friendly Website

1. Understand Your Target Audience

To make a good website design, you need to know a lot about the people you are trying to reach. By doing thorough study and analysis, you can learn a lot about what people want and need.

To make a website that is easy to use and interesting, you need to know a lot about the people who will be visiting it. Do a lot of study to find out the user’s tastes, needs, and viewing habits. This will help you make your website fit their needs.

2. Optimize Site Navigation

Implement a simple navigation system that shows content in a clear and easy-to-understand manner to improve the user experience of your website. To optimize the user experience and make it easy for guests to find the information they are looking for, use a well-organized system of groups, subcategories, and tabs.

3. Responsive Web Design

Responsive web design is an important part of building websites today. It means making websites that work well on computers, laptops, tablets, and other types of devices.

It is very important to make sure that your website is flexible, which means that it can change to different devices and screen sizes without any problems. To get a good rank on the first page of Google, you need to put mobile-friendly website design at the top of your list. This can be done by using a style that works on all kinds of devices.

4. Page Load Speed

Optimizing how quickly a page loads is a very important part of making a website. It’s important to make sure your website starts fast so that users can have a smooth experience.

It is crucial to optimize the opening speed of your website in order to improve user experience and lower skip rates. Minimize the size of CSS and JavaScript files and use browser caching to speed up the time it takes for a page to load.

5. Clear and Engaging Content

Making sure the content on your website is both clear and interesting is essential to optimize user interaction. This can be done by using simple words and a style that looks good.

9. Implement SEO Best Practices

Include SEO best practices in the way you build your website to make sure that search engines can find and rank it well.

30Apr/24

Benefits of Web Application Development for Business?

Introduction 

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses are continually seeking innovative ways to stay competitive and connect with their target  audiences. Web application development has emerged as a powerful tool that enables companies to enhance their online presence and streamline various business processes. In this article, we will explore the top seven benefits of web application development for businesses and delve deeper into each of them.

Global Reach and Accessibility

One of the primary advantages of web applications is their ability to provide global reach and accessibility. Unlike traditional desktop applications that are confined to a specific device or location, web applications can be accessed from any device with an internet connection and a compatible web browser. This means that businesses can reach a global audience without the need for users to install or update software.Benefit: Web applications provide a consistent and easily accessible platform for engagement, ensuring that your business can connect with customers across the street or on the other side of the world

Cost-Effective Solution

Web application development offers a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes. Unlike native mobile applications that require separate development efforts for various platforms (iOS, Android, etc.), web applications are platform-agnostic. This means that a single web application can run on multiple devices and operating systems without the need for extensive customization.

Scalability and Flexibility 

As businesses grow and evolve, their software needs often change. Web applications are highly scalable and flexible, allowing them to adapt to changing requirements and increasing user loads. Whether you need to add new features, accommodate a larger user base, or integrate with third-party services, web applications can be easily modified and expanded.

Benefit: Scalability ensures that your software investment can grow alongside your business, saving you the hassle and expense of reinventing your entire application as your needs change.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Web applications are designed to be cross-platform compatible, meaning they can run seamlessly on various devices and operating systems. Whether your users prefer Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, or other platforms, they can access your web application with ease. This versatility eliminates the need to develop and maintain separate applications for different platforms.

Benefit: Cross-platform compatibility simplifies the development process, reduces costs, and ensures a consistent user experience across devices, fostering user satisfaction and loyalty.

Real-Time Updates and Maintenan

Web applications are hosted on web servers, allowing for real-time updates and maintenance. This means that businesses can quickly address bugs, security vulnerabilities, or performance issues without inconveniencing users. Users don’t need to manually download and install updates, as web applications are automatically updated when they access the latest version of the application.

Benefit: Real-time updates and maintenance ensure that your web application remains secure and up-to-date, providing users with a reliable and hassle-free experience.

Enhanced Security

Security is a top priority for businesses, especially when handling sensitive data or transactions. Web application development offers robust security features to protect both your business and your users. With the right security measures in place, web applications can safeguard against common threats such as data breaches, unauthorized access, and malware.

Benefit: Enhanced security measures instill trust in users and protect your business from potential threats, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information.

Easy Updates: Updates to web apps are deployed centrally, so users always have access to the latest version without needing to manually update anything.

Cost-Effectiveness: Businesses can save money by developing and maintaining a single web app instead of separate apps for each platform (e.g., iOS, Android).

30Apr/24

Best Practices for Software Testing and Quality Assurance

Title: Mastering Quality: Best Practices for Software Testing and Quality Assurance

In the fast-paced world of software development, delivering high-quality products is paramount. Quality assurance (QA) and testing play crucial roles in ensuring that software meets user expectations and business requirements. To achieve this, organizations need to adopt best practices that streamline testing processes, minimize defects, and enhance overall product quality. In this post, we’ll explore some essential best practices for software testing and quality assurance.

1. Start Testing Early:

Begin testing as soon as possible in the development lifecycle. Early testing helps in identifying defects at an early stage, reducing the cost of fixing them later. By starting testing early, teams can catch issues before they propagate throughout the system, leading to faster delivery of high-quality software.

2. Define Clear Requirements and Acceptance Criteria:

Clear and well-defined requirements are the foundation of effective testing. Ensure that requirements are documented clearly and include acceptance criteria that define the desired behavior of the software. This helps testers understand what needs to be tested and ensures that testing efforts are aligned with business objectives.

3. Use a Combination of Testing Techniques:

Employ a variety of testing techniques to uncover different types of defects. This includes unit testing, integration testing, system testing, regression testing, and acceptance testing. Each testing technique has its own focus and contributes to overall quality by identifying defects at different levels of the application.

4. Automate Testing Where Possible:

Automate repetitive and time-consuming tests to improve efficiency and consistency. Automated testing helps in executing tests quickly and frequently, especially for regression testing. By incorporating test automation into the development process, teams can catch defects early and ensure faster delivery of reliable software.

5. Perform Both Functional and Non-Functional Testing:

Test not only the functional aspects of the software but also non-functional aspects such as performance, security, and scalability. Neglecting non-functional testing can lead to issues in production that impact user experience and business operations. By testing both functional and non-functional requirements, teams can ensure that software meets performance and security standards.

6. Adopt Test-Driven Development (TDD):

Incorporate Test-Driven Development (TDD) into the development process to ensure that tests are written before code is implemented. TDD helps in defining clear requirements and driving the design of the software based on test cases. By writing tests first, developers can ensure that code meets the specified requirements and is thoroughly tested.

7. Implement Code Reviews:

Conduct code reviews to identify defects, ensure code quality, and promote knowledge sharing among team members. Code reviews help in catching issues early in the development process and improve overall code quality. By fostering a culture of collaboration and feedback, teams can continuously improve the quality of their codebase.

8. Track and Manage Defects Effectively:

Use a defect tracking system to log, prioritize, and track defects throughout the testing and development process. A centralized defect tracking system helps in identifying trends, monitoring progress, and ensuring that defects are addressed in a timely manner. By effectively managing defects, teams can minimize rework and deliver high-quality software on time.

9. Document Test Cases and Results:

Document test cases, test scenarios, and test results to provide transparency and ensure repeatability of tests. Comprehensive documentation helps in understanding what has been tested, the outcomes of tests, and any issues encountered during testing. By documenting test cases and results, teams can maintain a reliable test suite and facilitate knowledge transfer within the organization.

10. Continuously Improve Processes:

Regularly evaluate testing processes, tools, and techniques to identify areas for improvement. Encourage a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the QA team by sharing best practices, conducting retrospectives, and investing in training. By continuously improving processes, teams can adapt to changing requirements and deliver software that meets evolving user needs.

In conclusion, mastering software testing and quality assurance requires a combination of best practices, tools, and collaboration. By starting testing early, defining clear requirements, using a combination of testing techniques, and embracing automation and collaboration, teams can deliver high-quality software that delights users and meets business objectives.

23Oct/23

Debug PHP API function using output to a file

Add ob_start(); function from where you want to put output to a file

Use following function to get output of code execution :

$contents = ob_get_contents();

Put the content to a file:

file_put_contents(<FILE PATH WITH NAME>,$contents);

Clean the output with using ob_end_clean();

Example:

…..

ob_start();

print_r($data);

$contents = ob_get_contents();

file_put_contents(‘var/www/html/dumprequest.txt’,$contents);

ob_end_clean();

05Sep/23

Install Apache2, PHP, MySql ubuntu 20.04

Step 1 – Installing Apache

Update the package list for upgrades and new packages:

sudo apt-get update

Now Apache can be installed.

sudo apt-get install apache2

Step 2 – Installing MySql

Install MySql Server

sudo apt-get install mysql-server

After MySql has been installed, you will need to set the root password of the database and secure it using the following command :

sudo mysql_secure_installation

You will be presented a screen where MySQL asks whether you would like to activate the VALIDATE PASSWORD PLUGIN. For now, keeping things simple, type no.

In the next type the root password of your choice. Confirm it again.

In the next screen MySql will ask whether to remove anonymous users. Type yes Disallow root login remotely?

Type No Remove test database and access to it?

Type Yes Reload privilege tables now?

Type Yes

After the password has been set you can check the whether MySQL is working correctly by logging into the database with the command :

sudo mysql -u root -p

Password is the same that was set in the previous step.

Step 3 – Installing PHP with Common Extensions

Now install PHP and commonly used PHP extensions by using the following command :

sudo apt-get install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-curl php-gd php-json php-zip php-mbstring

After PHP has been installed, restart Apache.

sudo service apache2 restart

04Aug/23

Install PHP 8.2 on Ubuntu 22.04

Update System

sudo apt update && apt upgrade -y

Install PHP 8.2

sudo apt install php8.2 -y

If system doesn’t found this package, then add Ondrej repository :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Update system:

sudo apt update

Install main extensions of PHP 8.2

sudo apt-get install -y php8.2-cli php8.2-common php8.2-fpm php8.2-mysql php8.2-zip php8.2-gd php8.2-mbstring php8.2-curl php8.2-xml php8.2-bcmath

Check PHP installed version:

php --version

Check installed extensions:

php -m

or

php8.2 -m (If you are using multiple versions of PHP)