APP Development: 熱門APPS

Checkout this beautiful and informative infographic about the future trends of Web Design for 2017

For the visually impaired, here’s the text-friendly version:

As an evolving industry, changes in the web design field are almost inevitable in any part. And as we approach the beginning of 2017, everyone is looking forward once again to many trends and shifts that are already looming in the field of web design.

In this infographic, we’ll look at some of the trends that will shape the world of web design in 2017. From themes to technologies, expect that these trends will influence both the performance of websites and ultimately, the experience of users in the years to come.

1. MICRO-MINI INTERACTIONS

The concept of micro interactions has really swept the feet of many web design enthusiasts since 2015 as it allows them to make the user Interface more appealing and approachable to the user. And as it becomes a fundamental concept in web design, there can be no doubt that more and more brands will implement this on their website.

However, as apps and services are becoming detailed and gritty, we’re expecting to move towards micro-mini interactions — where individual interactions are further broken down Into smaller bits with a greater degree of interaction

2. WEATHER APP DEVELOPMENT

One of the first things that we want to know in the morning is the weather. Because weather can either make or break our daily activities, we often take delight tracking its course, making our plans subsequently.

In 2017, we are more likely to witness an increased demand for weather apps as more and more people need to keep themselves updated with the latest weather. So. Expect to see more UX designers shift their attention in creating mobile weather apps.

3. THE MOBILE FIRST APPROACH

Prioritizing mobile devices in the design process isn’t new. But with more people using their smartphones to connect to the Internet and access their favorite apps, more companies are likely to take the mobile-first approach in designing their sites and apps in 2017.

Because designing for mobile has more restrictions than designing for devices with larger screens like desktops and laptops, the mobile-first approach will also give the brand insights on what core content and messages they really want to communicate.

4. INTERACTIVE WEB STORYTELLING

Storytelling is one of the most powerful approaches that when done right, can attract a lot of visitors to your website. Here are the storytelling trends that brands are likely to implement en their website in the years to come:

Videos
The use of videos to communicate brand messages to users has been abundant, and there is more to come in 2017. With video taking 70er of all consumer Internet traffic by 2018.

Bots
In an effort to achieve a more natural a. interactional interface, web designers are currently experimenting with using chatbots to create the interaction between the website and the user more personal as possible.

Animation
The developments with HTIVILS, CSS and JQuery have allowed brands to include animations on their websites to engage with users. Though most websites employ animation as a UX-enhancer device.

5. MORE RESPONSIVE DESIGN

Responsive design is not new in web design, but in 2017, it is predicted that more brands, regardless of their size, will build a more responsive-based website. Responsive design, which refers to the use of CSS media queries and flexible grid/layouts to build a website – can be very useful as the mobile-first approach gains more importance in the industry.

Responsive design makes a website dynamic, allowing it to adjust and rearrange its content depending on the screen size of the device. In result, brands can make significant cost-savings using this approach since they only need to build a single site, which effectively delivers content on various devices.

6. HAPNOTIC FEEDBACK

Haptic feedback is the technology, which refers to the use of sense of touch in a user interface, such as a virtual keyboard, whose individual keys provide tactile feedback when pressed. Through the years, this technology has undergone a lot of advancements, thanks to the decreasing cost of Electo-Active Polymer Actuators (EAPs).

One of latest modifications of this technology is the hapnotic (haptic hypnotic) feedback, in which an interaction designer can use a sequence of subtle pulses and vibrations to lead user to a “purchase now) button, or even discourage them from exiting a screen by activating pleasant texture on the page. Although this is still in the experimentation phase, we’re likely to see this roll out in to the market within the next 12 months.

7.ORIGINAL IMAGES AND TYPOGRAPHY

We’ve seen a lot of websites that look and work in a very similar way for some time now. Because of this, more brands are more likely to move away from using stock images, videos, and icons on their website, and instead, produce original assets that can make them stand out from the crowd this coming 2017.

Unique Typography
Gone were the days when the digital sphere is very reluctant on using flashy typography on websites. As one of the most powerful and straightforward ways to create brand personality and tone, expect that more brands will take advantage of over-sized and hand-drawn typography on their websites this 2017.

Personalized Illustrations
Playful, and often light-themed illustrations are gaining much traction on the Internet lately, that even some websites have been using this as the main visuals to create their unique identity in the market.

Authentic Photography
Photography will remain to be a staple in web design, but with the exception of stock images. Part of the strategy of many brands lately is to curate high-quality images that can attract users and help them emphasize their brand message and storytelling.

8. MORE FLAT DESIGN

The material design from Google, which was introduced back in 2014, is still considered to be the best way to achieve simplicity in today’s mobile—dominated industry. With its flat colors and simplistic design, users can interact with the website more fluidly and intuitively, making it a consistent trend in the web design world in the years to come.

Another user interface based on Google’s material design is Cards. Made famous by
Pinterest, the card Ul is where sections of content are displayed as individual “cards” which users can navigate through. This works hand in hand with the mobile-first model since it only requires simple gestures such as swiping to navigate the content of mobile devices, which then scale up for desktop users.

9. PARALLAX SCROLLING

Another shift that we’re likely to see in 2017 is the number of brands that will use parallax scrolling on their websites. Parallax is a scrolling mechanic which gives the illusion of 3D to users. Again, this can be very useful for brands who want to make their website as unique and dynamic as possible while serving its purpose to users.

10. PERFORMANCE AND INTELLIGENT ANALYTICS INSIGHT

Web design greatly varies on what works and what doesn’t on your website. This coming 2017, more brands will consider the performance metrics of their website that goes beyond page views and unique visitors when designing their website. With insights that tell you which part of the website should be improved or discarded, a brand can further increase its engagement. Which is one of the primary goals of web design.

These are just some of the trends and shifts that are expected to take place in the web design world in 2017. By being aware of these trends your business will be able to make necessary adjustments and developments on your website to make it at par with the industry’s standards.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/infographics/10-web-design-trends-predictions-2017-infographic-01727426#CE4StAbQ1A9uhO7Q.99

Two leaders in full-service website design and development, Farin Innovations and Frankel Interactive, announced today the launch of Optuno, a new hassle-free, and fully managed service to help small businesses and entrepreneurs establish an online presence with 100% customized, mobile-friendly websites. Optuno is an affordable and customized website experience that fills a void in the web design and development industry. Now, small business owners do not have to sacrifice the quality and integrity of their websites by hiring inexperienced designers and developers or by trying to do it themselves to save money.

Optuno’s affordable custom design service is the first of its kind and its approach is completely unique. In a world dominated by do-it-yourself website builders, Optuno goes further by providing design, development, copywriting, maintenance and updates, while also connecting each client with an experienced project manager to help every step of the way, all for a low monthly fee. The result is a 100% customized website, and a simple, stress-free experience for small businesses seeking a professional quality website for a quarter of the cost of using a standard agency.

“We started off like every other website owner; frustrated by the constant struggle to find affordable, reliable and professional help. So, 15 years ago, we opened our own agencies,” says Optuno Co-Founder Adam Frankel. “Over that time, we created countless ‘high-end’ sites for clients with ‘big budgets,’ but we knew many small businesses were left to fend for themselves and we wanted to put an end to that. So, we created Optuno.”

While many other agencies and independent developers rely on the use of open source content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Drupal and Joomla to create websites, Optuno uses a secure and proprietary CMS, called FICMS. Created through a joint venture between Farin Innovations and Frankel Interactive over the past 4 years, and deployed on hundreds of sites, FICMS simplifies the process of updating and editing websites.

“Part of having a good looking, revenue generating website is being able to maintain and update it easily. With FICMS, we eliminate all barriers for our customers,” says Optuno Co-Founder Michael Farin. “We call FICMS the world’s most user-friendly content management system because it is easy enough for any small business owner to use, but powerful enough to meet the demands of public companies and government agencies. Just point, click and edit to make updates to any of your website’s pages. And if you don’t want to make updates, we make them for you.”

Optuno’s services are designed to provide small business owners and entrepreneurs with modern, mobile-friendly and highly functional websites that eliminate the need for a third-party freelancer or agency when building or maintaining a website. Optuno’s new website is accessible across all devices, including smartphones, tablets and desktops at https://www.optuno.com. The website also features an ‘online checkout’ process where visitors can order a customized website entirely online.

Many of the apps we use everyday, from Facebook to Google Maps and Yelp, need to keep track of our location in order to provide their services. This is how Google Maps knows the fastest route to your destination and why Yelp is able to recommend nearby restaurants.

While some apps may need to monitor your location to provide the best experience, not all of them necessarily need to know your whereabouts. Limiting the number of apps that can access your location can also help you squeeze extra battery life out of your phone.

It’s possible to restrict individual apps from using your location, and with certain apps you can also set more specific restrictions. For example, on the iPhone you can choose to have the app always monitor your location, only track it when the app is in use, or you can set it so that an app never sees your location. These choices may vary depending on the app.

This option can usually be found in your phone’s settings menu under the privacy option. From here, you can also choose to turn off location services completely if you’d like to stop all apps from harvesting your iPhone’s GPS data.

Check out the video above to learn exactly how to hand-pick which iPhone apps have access to your location.

According to comScore, people now spend 60% of their digital media time on mobile devices. This shift to heavy mobile usage has been swift, with a dramatic increase in mobile traffic occurring in only the last five years. Certain segments of the population have even skipped the desktop experience completely—their first, and perhaps only, interactions with the Internet are via mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. This is especially common in countries that are leap-frogging to mobile devices from no device (computer or otherwise) at all.

Whatever the composition of your target audience, offering a mobile experience to customers and leads is undeniably important. The three tips below can help you ensure that your mobile design is one that attracts and retains consumers, rather than discouraging them.

1. Design with screen size in mind

The average smartphone’s screen ranges in size from four to six inches, and great mobile design keeps this range in mind. Simply porting your desktop experience to mobile can result in text that is too small or text that is arranged in prohibitively dense blocks, as well as a host of other layout issues.

Rather than contorting your desktop experience into a mobile experience, consider designing your mobile interfaces from scratch using responsive web design. With responsive web design, layouts are controlled by relative proportions—not specific pixel sizes. This allows for a more friendly user experience across multiple screen sizes.

I remember in my tender age how simpler and seemingly normal even to most folks by then to refer every type of washing powder as Surf.

Yes I did and you know everyone was cool with it, no harm came with it. Everybody would be aware of what was being referred to, it was just any of those washing powders not necessarily a specific brand. Good old days.

Now with my topic issue, nowadays these terms are virtually interchangeable as web designers and developers differ the way they describe their services. The truth, however, is that the terms reference two fundamentally different aspects of the website building process requiring two unique skill sets.

The question now being, why is it important that you know the difference as you look for a web professional to build your company website?

Let’s take a closer look – Web design

Before we talk about anything, one critical procedure for every web designer should be to begin by determining a client’s website objectives then everything else follows. No, you can’t just go straight into fixing your fancy graphics into a client’s website before establishing their goals.-unless they are like those clients who “just” want it done.

So you will realise web designers may use several basic design principles to achieve an aesthetically pleasing layout which also offers excellent user experience.

These I will discuss later but in the meantime let’s find out what a graphic designer is all about.

As I like to call graphic designers creative experts, these folks’ main focus is on the look and feel of a website and I will tell you their pride lies in visual design.

What they do or should, of course, is to first get to know their client’s vision and then convert it into an artistic design that is pleasing to viewers or users of the website.

Graphic designers are mostly interested in how visitors interact with the website so these guys really put more effort in giving a website the most user-friendly interface.

Essentially, their biggest task is the selection of the most appropriate colours, layout, font and images which ultimately creates the whole personality of the website. Besides the aesthetic aspect, the usability of the website is a priority. Web designers create pages that the target market can relate to.

Take it this way; you would expect a nursery school website or just a website targeted at children to be designed with brighter colours, large fonts, and more images and less text. This would make the website attractive and captures the attention of the target audience.

Hence their job has more to do with colour scheming, graphic designing and information flow. Their work language sounds like HTML, CSS as well as JavaScript and these enable them create stunning websites.

Some of the most important web design principles

• Balance – It’s quite important for every web designer to create a balanced web layout. In web design, there are heavy (large and dark colours) and light (small and lighter colours) elements. These must be applied in correct proportion to achieve a balanced website design.
• Contrast – if you are a web designer you surely know that contrasting colours should be placed opposite one another on the colour wheel. So here is when you look at contrasting sizes, textures and shapes to define and draw attention to certain sections of the website.
• Emphasis – this calls for the web designer to avoid over-emphasis of certain web elements. For instance, you cannot have a web page highlighted more than 50% on the page layout; this would be so boring and distracting so to say.
• Compatibility-it’s equally important having a website accessible on multiple or portable devices such as tablets. In this age, you cannot risk designing one contrary to this.

So what about web development?

Web developers, many call them programmers, make use of the design created to build a fully functional website. These are the people behind the smooth functionality of every single feature visitors interact with on a website.
They take care of all the behind-the-scenes of a website.

So, in other words, I refer web design as a non-interactive “picture” of a website. Why so? This is because web developers take the design and break it up into a system that is “live”. I’m talking about a system at this point that now allows you to give commands and get responses with just a click.

Let’s say you find something interesting on my website, you want to share with your friends on social media, and the share button works just as it’s supposed to, that’s what my developer is about – bringing life to every feature or icon on that website.

So these guys, of course, use some specific tools or coding languages in building websites. Some would just use HTML or even a more dynamic approach incorporating programming languages such as PHP to develop the various website pages.

Web developers may choose to utilise Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress or Joomla in order to streamline development and allow clients an easy way to maintain and update their website.

I’m sure you now have the understanding that these guys are capable of converting a static layout into a dynamic website by using image and content sliders, responsive or active links and buttons, and other interactive elements.

So they are usually more technical in nature. And they tend to have excellent problem-solving skills. Although web developers are sometimes referred to as programmers, their skills usually exceed those of a conventional software developer. Think of a web developer as more of a technical expert with programming skills.

Therefore, as you have seen, there is a thin line between these two skill sets since web designers can also be able to do what a developer does and vice versa.

It would be a hell of a deal though to have a team or at least one, who posses both skills which can be useful in web project management.

What’s better, a website or an app? Web designers often struggle with this question. While it can be tough to choose between the two, both mediums are used to convey information and promote brands.

A major difference between a website and an app is that the two are accessed through different devices, a computer and a smartphone respectively.

Image : shutterstock

When you type a URL to access a website on your mobile browser, you don’t reach a regular website; specifically, you reach a mobile website. A mobile website contains a smaller interface, to be used on phones and tablets.

But before you go ahead and form an opinion, it’s important to understand the differences between the two.

Screen-size

While designing, you must take into account the change in screen size of the two interfaces. A smaller display implies lesser pixels. Thereby in apps, features like heavy graphics and picture galleries are a strict no-no.

You have a keyboard at your disposal while accessing a website, but it can be difficult to manage the same with your smartphone. This is where touch functions come in. Seemingly minor aspects such as the location of touch buttons can go a long way in making your app more accessible.

Contextual

Most people access websites from their desktops or PCs, while being seated. In apps, there is no guarantee of that; for all you may know, a user might be running while operating their phone. As a designer, you must ensure that your app features can be used easily on the go. Add-ons like in-built dictionaries and power saving options help optimise use experience.

Slow processors

Compared to computers, smartphones have slower processors, thus demanding a simple layout for your app. Don’t assume that what works for your website would work for your app, too. Also, apps which consume significant mobile data are likely to get a thumbs down from your users.

Integration with smartphone features

If there is one thing you can do with all kinds of smartphones, it is making calls. Phones might not have fast processors or big screens, but they do enable people to make calls and text, thereby offering an altogether different opportunity for developers, which is missing in desktops. Therefore, apps making use of smartphone functions are likely to be more popular.

Targeted push notifications

Designers can use an app user’s geographical location to send geographically-targeted push notifications. Entrepreneurs often use this feature to promote brands across specific regions. Food ordering and taxi-hailing apps are perfect examples of such an approach.

As websites and apps cater to a different set of needs, choosing one over the other would be depriving the business of a potential clientele. Plus, with over 3.2 billion internet users in the world, websites and apps are here to stay. In view of these facts, it, indeed, is beneficial for upcoming web developers and designers to understand these differences as it would be sad to miss out on an idea whose time has come.

An app created by former Hutt Valley High School students became the first port of call for many people needing information after the November 14 earthquake.

During the flooding and aftershocks of the 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake the Wellington Now app collected vital information on quakes, weather and traffic to report to users.

Nick Hyland, Rakshana Premasiri and Dipesh Patel created the app in July 2015. They were in their final year at Hutt Valley High  and the app was their business studies project. Since then it has had more than 5000 downloads on iOS.

Nineteen-year-old Hyland said they could see the effects of the disasters through people using their app.

“During natural disasters such as storms and earthquakes, downloads spike dramatically and app usage can increase by up to 600 per cent," he said.

Hyland and the team also ran a blog during the disasters to help summarise the most important information.

The idea for Wellington Now originally came from wanting to streamline multiple sources of information.

“Wellington Now aims to be the hub for everything Wellington," he said.

The app takes information from websites such as metlink.org.nz and eventfinda.co.nz to create a one-stop shop of information. Two months ago the second version was released.

The app was completely rebuilt from the ground up.

“Version two builds on what we learnt over 2015 and incorporates many new features suggested from our users."

The developers haven’t finished with it yet either. Hyland said they planned to update it in the future to include important news articles from sources such as  Civil Defence, New Zealand Police and local councils.

Push notifications were in the works to alert users of accidents, earthquakes and public transport disruptions.

An Android version of the app had also been planned.

Hyland’s former business studies teacher Fiona MacAlpine said she was really proud of the work achieved by her students. Along with the Wellington Now team she also taught Lilia Alexander, the 19-year-old founder of the Wellington LIVE Facebook page.

Responsive web design means a website that is friendly with the device on which it is used. By term friendly I mean website the automatically adjusts with the device screen so as to save scrolling work from side to side.

This increases the comfort level of the user whether it is mobile or desktop user. Whereas mobile apps are specifically programmed for devices such as mobile, tablets etc.

Mobile apps are mostly made for single operating systems and they are not commonly used among all devices. Apart from being specific these apps are also good in providing additional features such as clicking photo, calling features, use of GPS, sharing mobile contacts and media stuff.

For clearer view let’s check point wise pros and cons of responsive web design and mobile app development:-

User friendly: When we talk about responsive website then it is something that is easier to administer with single URL technique. This assures that your website is easily available to your target users without being redirected from one website to another.

Whereas mobile apps are programmed in such a way that user has not to search for the contents. Once the app is installed in mobile device then just by one press you will be attached to the company.

Cost effectiveness: Responsive websites are cheaper for company as one website covers all types of details instead of designing more than one websites.

Content designing: In such perspective web designing is easy as there is no special content to be designed like in case of mobile apps. You can use same contents of your desktop website in mobile website with use of SEO technique.

Marketing Perspective: Responsive websites don’t require additional marketing where as mobile apps are to be marketed as they not available to customers as easily as website is.

Technical Perspective: responsive websites is new in technology, old devices and browsers do not support it and may result in slow and incomplete loading this may harm your user experience. At the same place mobile apps are based on single platform which is helpful for the user of that platform.

Interface conflict: desktop websites and mobile responsive websites are completely different when used by customer with single interface of desktop and responsive website you may result in satisfying none. In mobile applications the interface is same you don’t need to change with user type.

Accessibility and speed: when you talk about accessibility and speed you need to be very specific and easily available. In such cases mobile apps are more preferred in place of responsive websites as it clearly directs user to it destination point.

Websites contains lots of data and all is not required by single users where as mobile apps provides step by step user services.

Specificity and uniqueness: mobile apps are more unique and specific user can share details with you easily as it provides features that are more real times and helps you to understand correct problem of your user with the help photos and screenshots.

Personnel data sharing: mobile apps are generating revenue by sharing user’s personal data with the company. Sometimes with the point of view of user this is not safe but in point of view of company its source of revenue generation.

Whereas responsive websites does not share users personnel data with company it restricts with the user needs only.

Installation and updating: installation and updating is basic requirement for both modes i.e. website and mobile apps. But the difference is that in responsive website only company will have to make changes that will be visible to your customers whereas in case of mobile apps both user and programmer have to make changes.

Programmer has to make changes in the programming on the other hand user has to update newer versions every time changes are made. This causes app users to irritate and they avoid using apps.

Still these days’ users prefer for mobile apps as they have feature like notifications easy access, recommendations, offers and much more.