Guide to collaborating with a full-product development agency

The Ultimate Guide To Collaborating With An End-to-End Product Development Company In 2023

From ideation to launch, the development process involves a range of complex and interconnected steps that require specialized knowledge, skills, and expertise.

We prepared an in-depth guide where key roles cover all aspects of the end-to-end product development process, from UX to development and delivery. You’ll gain an immersive view of building a successful product.

Full product development stages such as product strategy, user experience design, project management, budgeting, and post-launch support – we will handle everything, also providing references to the way we approach technology projects at RebelDot and how we articulate cross-functional teams to act as close consultants to each of our clients.

We will also provide insights into technology trends, best practices, and legal and compliance considerations.

  1. What is end-to-end product development?
  2. The importance of a UX-first approach in product development
  3. Working with an end-to-end product development company vs working with freelancers
  4. Choosing the right product development company
  5. Product Strategy: A Key Component of Successful Technology Products
  6. Streamlining Product Development Through Efficient Project Management
  7. From Planning to Launch: Managing Costs and Budgets in Full-Product Development
  8. Maximizing Your Product Launch: Tips for a Successful Marketing Campaign
  9. Beyond Launch: The Crucial Role of Post-Launch Maintenance and Support
  10. Legal and Compliance: Ensuring Your Tech Product Meets Regulatory Standards
  11. 5 Full product development trends

TL;DR

Developing a successful product requires careful planning, a focus on user needs, and a commitment to continuous improvement. The process starts with identifying the problem the product will solve, then creating a roadmap and defining the minimum viable product. It’s important to involve users in the design process through user research and testing, and to prioritize features based on user feedback.

Collaboration between all stakeholders, including designers, developers, and product managers, is crucial for success. Agile methodologies can ensure flexibility and adaptability throughout the development process. Once the product is launched, it’s important to collect feedback, measure success metrics, and continuously iterate and improve the product based on user needs.

By following these steps and committing to a user-centered approach, teams can create products that meet real user needs and drive business success.

What is end-to-end product development?

Full-product development is a complete way to make a technology product. It includes all the parts of the development process, from coming up with ideas to launching the product and maintaining it afterward. It takes a team of developers, designers, and other experts working with the business owner to turn an idea into a fully functional product. With this approach, the goal is to make a product that is not only technically sound but also meets the needs and expectations of the target audience and fits with the business goals and objectives.

Most of the time, the end-to-end product development process starts with brainstorming and research to find a market opportunity or problem the product can solve. The team then does user research and testing to learn more about the target audience and their needs. This helps guide the design and development process. The team works on making the product’s architecture, features, and functions, as well as designing the user interface and how the user will interact with it. Once the development is done, testing and quality assurance are done to make sure the product is stable and meets the project requirements.

Full-product development aims to make a product that is ready to go on the market and can grow and change over time. This approach is different from development projects that only focus on certain areas, like design or development. Full-product development aims to make a complete solution that fits the business goals and user needs and is backed by a team of experts who can help with maintenance and support on an ongoing basis. With this method, businesses can make technology products that are not only useful but also easy to use and give them an edge in the market.

At RebelDot, we believe in a comprehensive approach to product development that considers all aspects of the product life cycle. Our development process is engineered to cover the entire process of building and shipping digital products, from idea to long-term operation and development of the live product.

The first stage of our product development process is the discovery and analysis phase. During this phase, we work with our clients to learn about their product and business plan, as well as their users’ needs and expectations. We analyze this information, plot an approach, and prepare a ballpark estimate for budget and timeline requirements.

Next, we move on to the product design phase, focusing on creating a great user experience. Through rapid prototyping and iterative design, we refine the software user experience to ensure that user needs are met and the product experience is best-in-class.

Once the product design is in place, we move on to agile MVP development. Our development team joins the process and works with the design team to bring the product to reality. We work in iterative sprints, enabling short response times on changing priorities, and ensuring that every step is transparent, trackable, and adds value.

Finally, launching the MVP is just the first step in the process. We believe in continuously servicing and extending your product to help you stay competitive in the market. Our team is here to support you throughout the entire product life cycle, ensuring that your product continues to meet the needs of your users and business.

While each full-product development company may have its own process, there are certain steps that should be followed to ensure the best possible outcome. By understanding these steps and being mindful of what to expect from a development partner, you can make informed decisions and find the right company to help you bring your product to life. At RebelDot, we take pride in our transparent and collaborative approach. We’re always here to help guide you through the development process and deliver a product that exceeds your expectations.

Clients often come to us with an idea and a plan, but they don’t always know how to execute it. We don’t just implement their ideas, we act as consultants and strategic partners. Our development process is designed to identify and solve problems before they arise, ensuring that the final product is not only functional, but also marketable and successful. We believe that a comprehensive approach to product development is essential for building great products and achieving long-term success for our clients.

Ciprian IacobCTO RebelDot

The importance of a UX-first approach in product development

Design plays a integral role in the success of any technology product. It is not just about how the product looks, but also about how it feels and functions. Having a user-experience (UX) first approach to product design, at RebelDot we ensure that the end-user’s needs are taken into consideration from the very beginning. This approach supports our Product Design team in creating a product that is intuitive, easy to use, and provides a seamless experience to the users. By placing user experience at the forefront of product design, we can create a product that not only meets but exceeds user expectations, resulting in higher user engagement, customer satisfaction, and, ultimately, a greater return on investment.

Creating a harmony between product designers and product developers is critical to achieving a successful product design. The two teams must iterate together to create a cohesive and effective user experience that also meets the business requirements. The product designer’s role is to understand user needs, design the user interface and experience, and create prototypes that will be used for user testing. Meanwhile, the product development team takes these designs and turns them into a functional product.

By working in tandem, they can quickly identify and resolve issues, saving time and money in the long run. This collaborative approach enables the teams to achieve product-market fit faster, leading to a more successful product launch and, ultimately, a greater impact on the market.

Our product design process is centered around creating a seamless user experience that fulfills the needs of the users while achieving the goals of the project. Starting with research to define challenges and goals, we iterate through the learn, design, and measure stages, refining the experience with each step. Our focus on rapid prototyping and user feedback ensures a UX-first approach that saves time and money, while achieving product-market fit faster. Once the core of your product is defined, our cross-functional team of designers and developers work together to bring it to life.

The RebelDot UX - Product Design Process - C – 2 (1)-min

Here at RebelDot, going UX first is in our DNA. We’re all about building products and features that bring value to your users: Products that feel intuitive, seamless, and effortless to use. Products that drive customer satisfaction and business success. Our full focus is on delivering user-centric products that make your users happy and your business thrive.
Tamas Leb Head of Product Design RebelDot
Tamas LebHead of Product Design RebelDot

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TIP: Ensure that the product design and development teams work collaboratively and simultaneously from the start to create a cohesive user experience that meets the needs of the users while also meeting business requirements. This collaborative approach can help to identify and resolve issues quickly, saving time and money in the long run, and leading to a more successful product launch that has a greater impact on the market.

Working with an end-to-end product development company vs working with freelancers

There are a number of things to think about when deciding between a product development company and a freelancer. Product development is the main focus of a product development company, but freelancers may or may not have the same focus. Even though you can find talented freelancers who specialize in product management, you’d still need to find other experts like DevOps engineers and QA testers.

When you work with freelancers, you have to manage and bring them on board yourself, which can take time and be stressful. But if you work with a product development company, you can avoid the stress and possible mistakes that come with managing multiple resources on your own. You’ll also have access to the company’s network of talent, who get regular work and are often cheaper than putting together your own team.

Product development delays can be expensive, and agencies are often better able to help you stay on track. They can also help you avoid having too many features by pushing you back and stopping you from making an MVP that is too big. Also, agencies are better able to help with product launches, such as getting users started and setting up a knowledge base, launching on product launch platforms, and getting app stores to approve the product.

Development consultancy benefits

Avoid hiring in-house

As your business scales, the projects you work on usually become more complex. This means you have to increase the number of people working on each project. That involves a long, expensive hiring process that may not leave you with the perfect candidate for the project.

Meanwhile, development consultancy can give you a full team of experienced developers, including:

Frontend and backend developers; UX/UI designers; DevOps engineers; QA specialists; Product and project managers

End-to-end app development consultancy can also quickly and easily fill expertise gaps in your current development team to ensure you build products packed with value. It’s perfect for small businesses that may not have the time or budget to run a full-scale hiring process.

Gain new perspective

But development consultancy isn’t just about hiring a team to do the development legwork. Sometimes it’s simply about gaining knowledge and guidance. Close consultancy can bring fresh eyes and a different perspective to your project. They can bring a higher level of experience to the table and help you improve your product and your team.

Get expert help

It’s also a great option for businesses that don’t have lots of app development experience. Companies without this experience may not know what to look for when they’re hiring in-house developers. This might mean you hire the wrong person for the job and waste time and money. Development consultancy allows businesses to work with the best people with the right skills for the task at hand.

Develop faster

Almost any business can create brilliant digital products by using this approach to app development. Best of all, it offers a cost-effective way of creating these products in less time than you would expect to see with an in-house team.

You can hire a team of expert developers without the stress associated with the traditional hiring process. Partnering with a dedicated development team also guarantees that you’re going to hire developers that are truly committed to your project. Outsourcing your work to freelance developers may mean your project may not be a priority, since they often have multiple projects in progress at one time.

Tapping into a team of freelancers may seem like a cost-effective solution, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Coordinating and managing multiple resources can be stressful and time-consuming, and the quality of the work can vary greatly. Working with a full-product development company not only provides access to a wider pool of talent but also streamlines the development process by providing a single point of contact for all aspects of the project. From ideation to launch, our cross-functional teams are dedicated to ensuring that your product is delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.
Andreea Pop Business Developer RebelDot
Andreea PopBusiness Developer RebelDot

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TIP: Collaborating with a full-product development company offers a cost-effective way to develop high-performance digital products quickly, without the stress of traditional hiring. You’ll gain expert help, new perspective, and a dedicated cross-functional team focused solely on your project.

Choosing the right product development company

Getting the right full-service product development company is detrimental to the success of your web or mobile app. Here are ten steps you should take to choose the right partner for your project:

Define project objectives and timeframe.

Define your project’s goals and timeline. Before you contact a product development company, it’s important to know what your project goals are and how long they will take. This will help you save time and avoid confusion in the future. At this stage, you don’t have to have everything figured out, but a simple list of requirements and some basic mockups or workflows are good places to start. It can also be helpful to figure out what kinds of general technical skills will be needed.

Find software development companies.

Once you know the goals and needs of your project, you can start making a list of possible software development companies. Use Google to find software development companies, look at review and ranking sites like Clutch, and get as much information as you can from company websites. Find out about the company’s size and structure, its focus and strategy, its experience with similar projects, its average hourly rate, its workflows and business practices, its expertise in technology, and the services it offers.

Check their portfolio and experience in your domain.

Here is where you begin comparing the software development agencies on your long list. Use both the software development company’s own portfolio and customer testimonials. Reviewing a project portfolio serves multiple purposes: it enables you to determine whether the company has completed work similar to what you need, it provides insight into the company’s level of experience, and it enables you to determine whether the company is capable of completing your project.

Make sure they act as a true partner.

Ensure that they act as a true partner. The ideal development partner will act as a true partner, as opposed to merely an external agency. Any respectable software development company should fully comprehend your business’s requirements. Understanding the desired product functionality alone is insufficient. They should have a thorough comprehension of the business you operate in and the market you’re aiming at and provide constant suggestions, essentially acting as a consultant, not just a team of experts contracted to simply implement your desired technology.

See if they specialize in what you need.

A software development company will be familiar with specific technologies and will specialize in developing applications/solutions with them. Choose a tech partner that stays current with technological advances and takes note of their software developers’ expertise.

Check their full-product development process.

A well-documented and well-executed project development process will improve efficiency and assist the team in dealing with challenges that arise along the way. Adaptive planning, early delivery, frequent project updates, and modern communication tools should be the foundation of the development methodology. This will keep you informed at all stages of the project’s development.

Request their security practices.

You will need to understand how the company handles sensitive information and what safeguards are in place to ensure that your idea, product, solutions, and confidential materials are not misused. You should also think about how to secure the solution that is being developed. Is the development team following proper security procedures? What level of security is required?

Ask about testing and software maintenance.

When signing a contract with a software development business, make sure you fully understand their testing policy and how testing is performed at each stage of development, as well as ongoing. Think about if and for how long the original contract stipulates that the development team will be responsible for backup services, support, and maintenance.

Evaluate their communication and project management skills.

It’s important to evaluate the team working on your project. You should be able to meet the team members, find out what they do and what they are good at and perhaps, more important than you think, what their shared values are and what the company culture looks like. This will help you decide if they are a good fit for your project and for your overall vision, as you are most likely going to establish a long-term collaboration based on trust, transparency and open communication, aspects which sometimes can be much more important than mere skill.

Consider the cost and value of their services.

Sign the agreement: You should be ready to sign the contract once you have evaluated the software development business, its methodology, security policies, testing and software maintenance policy, and the team working on your project. Ensure you have figured out all the specifics before committing.

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TIP: Choosing the right product development company requires evaluating not only their technical skills but also their ability to act as a true partner, their specialization, communication, and project management skills, and their value for cost. It’s not just about finding a company that can develop your app but also finding a long-term collaborator that understands your business, goals, and values.

Product Strategy: A Key Component of Successful Technology Products

It is impossible to have a successful full-product development project without first developing a product strategy. It guarantees that everyone on the team is working towards the same goals and has a shared understanding of what those goals are. Without a well-defined plan, it’s unlikely that the team will be able to create a product that satisfies both the business’s goals and the customers’ needs, which could lead to costly delays and even the project’s demise

A well-defined product strategy helps figure out the target market, audience, and customer needs. By researching and analyzing the market, the team can find out what’s already on the market and see if there are any gaps or chances for a new product. This information is very important for making a product that meets the needs and expectations of the target market and is likely to do well in the market.

A product strategy also helps define the product’s unique value proposition and how it is different from similar products on the market. By knowing who the target audience is and what they want, the team can make a product that is not only functionally sound but also fits the pain points or needs of that audience. This unique value proposition can help the product stand out on the market and attract potential customers.

A product strategy can also help the team find potential risks and challenges and come up with ways to deal with them. This makes the development process easier to manage and reduces the chances of failure.

Streamlining Product Development Through Efficient Project Management

Project management is the act of guiding a team through a series of tasks to accomplish the project’s objectives, which are ultimately represented in the project’s deliverables. The team working on a project must devise the tasks necessary to meet the project’s objectives based on a set of defined limitations and criteria, commonly referred to as project requirements.

Correctly specified requirements result in the creation of unambiguous instructions for the development team, which eventually results in the production of accurate and expected deliverables. Before beginning with the design and development phase of a project, it is sometimes necessary for project managers to speak with project participants to establish precise requirements.

Project schedule or timelines, project plan, budget allocation, and resource allocation are some of the other terms commonly used in project management. The project schedule sets the expectations of when deliverables are to be completed, while resource allocation is crucial to ensure that the project does not get unnecessarily delayed.

The project plan is a constantly updated tool that project managers use to keep track of the progress on tasks, what is left to be done, who is working on what, if the timeline for each task is going to be met, and generally how to plan out the next few weeks or months of work.

Agile and Waterfall methodologies are two popular ways to organize projects. In general, the waterfall method is best for managing hardware projects, while the agile method is best for managing software and firmware projects. The agile method uses an iterative process that lets the project plan change as work goes on. This is called planning in “sprints.” This method is especially helpful when products are supposed to be released much sooner with fewer features and when product development (updates to functions or features) can take a long time.

At RebelDot, we use Agile software development methodologies for developing, delivering, and sustaining complex products. Our Agile development cycle is initiated by assembling the team and completing the project setup and architecture. Then, it continues with the cyclical phases that include planning the work for each sprint, the development & testing efforts, the code deployment, and the final Agile-specific Sprint events (such as Review & Retrospective meetings).

Utilizing project management software, such as Jira, to store documentation and organize the project in a Knowledge Management software, such as Confluence, improves the visibility of all project activities and phases. This centralizes communication and provides a single source of truth for the project team. Lastly, defining clear roles and tasks avoids team members from treading on each other’s toes and enables you to play to each individual’s strengths. Including the team in formulating a more plausible strategy, so enhancing their sense of project ownership, is also vital. Overall, project management and teamwork are necessary for the successful completion of a project.

 

At RebelDot, we create bespoke cross-functional teams to fit any project scope and scale businesses, both SMBs&startups as well as enterprises. By utilizing Agile methodologies and project management software, we ensure that our teams are efficient, well-organized, and able to adapt to changing project requirements. Our focus on teamwork and clear communication allows us to deliver high-quality results while keeping timelines and budgets in check.
Ioana Lazau Delivery Director RebelDot
Ioana LazauDelivery Director RebelDot

From Planning to Launch: Managing Costs and Budgets in Full-Product Development

Hiring a dedicated development team is a business model that allows clients to work with a remote development services provider. With a dedicated vendor, clients can assemble a team of experts with specific specializations or choose a full-stack team that includes business analysts, project managers, UI/UX designers, developers, and QA specialists.

This model is best for companies without a clear project scope and requirements because the client can delegate the development process to the appointed project manager or independently control it.

The cost of hiring a dedicated development team is transparent and depends on the team members’ salaries and the service provider’s commission. The cost can vary from $10,000 to $500,000 per project, depending on the size, location, and expertise of the company.

Small and medium-sized software development companies usually charge between $80 and $140 per hour on average. Large companies can charge between $110 and $220 per hour, and enterprise-level companies can charge $250 per hour or more. Collaboration models with companies that make software can be either fixed price, time and materials, or a mix of the two.

Maximizing Your Product Launch: Tips for a Successful Marketing Campaign

An end-to-end product development company can be an invaluable resource when it comes to launching a new technology product to the market. From developing a go-to-market strategy to creating compelling marketing assets and executing a product launch plan, a full-service company can provide the skills and resources necessary to achieve maximum impact.

The product launch process typically begins with an in-depth market analysis to articulate the buyer persona and identify competitors and key trends in the industry. Based on this research, the company will collaborate with the client to establish a go-to-market strategy that will include the primary features, benefits, and messaging of the new offering. This approach will serve as the basis for all subsequent marketing and product launch operations, including advertising initiatives, social media campaigns, and press outreach.

Besides, an end-to-end product development company would also develop a comprehensive bundle of marketing collaterals needed as part of the launch campaign, such as website content, product descriptions, video content and so on. Nevertheless, it will also ensure that all materials are consistent with the brand and effectively express the new product’s value proposition. In addition, they will guarantee that these documents are optimized for search engines and other digital channels in order to maximize their visibility and reach.

Measuring the success of marketing activities and modifying strategies as needed is an additional vital component of a product launch. An end-to-end product development company may utilize a variety of techniques and analytics, including website traffic, social media engagement, conversion rates, and customer feedback, to track the product’s performance and iterate along the way, based on real-time feedback. By examining these data points, the company may determine what is working and what needs improvement in order to maximize the success of the product. The company may also conduct surveys or focus groups to get more in-depth client input and utilize this data to make informed judgments regarding future marketing activities or product revisions. For long-term success in the competitive technology industry, continuous examination and adjustment of marketing strategies are essential.

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TIP: The success of a product launch campaign is not only about creating compelling marketing assets and executing a plan but also about measuring its performance and modifying strategies based on real-time feedback. An end-to-end product development company can provide the necessary skills and resources for both aspects of the launch process.

Marketing is a essential component of any successful product launch campaign. An end-to-end product development company can provide the skills and resources necessary to develop a go-to-market strategy, create compelling marketing assets, and execute a product launch plan that achieves maximum impact. From website content to video production and social media campaigns, a comprehensive bundle of marketing collateral is needed to effectively express the new product’s value proposition and reach the target audience. Measuring marketing activities and modifying strategies as needed is also critical to ensuring long-term success in the competitive technology industry.
Andrei Temneanu Marketing Manager RebelDot
Andrei TemneanuMarketing Manager RebelDot

Beyond Launch: The Crucial Role of Post-Launch Maintenance and Support

It is critical to have a post-launch marketing strategy too, in order to ensure the continued success of your digital product. This strategy may include ongoing customer engagement, targeted advertising, and product improvement on a continuous basis. Consistent promotion is required to keep a product’s market position. Social media marketing, email marketing, and other forms of digital marketing are examples of this. This way, businesses can enhance brand recognition and customer loyalty by keeping customers engaged and informed about the product’s latest features and updates, ultimately leading to increased sales and success.

Collecting user feedback and addressing any concerns or issues will also be an important part of your post-launch marketing efforts. Customer satisfaction and loyalty can be ensured through regular updates and bug fixes. Furthermore, product development agencies can collaborate with businesses to create new features and improve existing ones based on customer feedback and market research.

Moreover, your technology partner can offer training and educational materials to help your desired users learn how to properly use the product. This can include written and video tutorials, webinars, and in-app help to make sure that users are getting the most out of the product.

Diving into a rather technical explanation, let’s suppose you have launched a web application developer using the .NET framework. Once the application goes live, you will need to monitor it to ensure that it is working optimally and that there are no bugs or errors that could negatively impact the user experience.

A component of the maintenance phase may involve monitoring logs and analytics data on a regular basis to discover any performance or security issues. For instance, you could utilize Application Insights to monitor the application’s performance and detect any bottlenecks or faults that require fixing.

Updating the application to maintain its compatibility with new technologies and platforms may also be a part of the maintenance process. As new versions of.NET are released, for instance, you may need to upgrade your application to take advantage of new capabilities and guarantee compatibility.

In addition, as your digital product will grow, hence attracting new users, you may need to change the user interface, add new features, or modify existing functionality based on user feedback. This may require regular user testing and incorporating user feedback into your development roadmap.

Overall, the maintenance stage of a full-product development process for a web or mobile application built using any development framework involves ongoing monitoring, optimization, and updates to ensure the application remains secure, high-performing, and up-to-date with the latest technologies and user needs.

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TIP: Post-launch maintenance and support are just as important as the initial product launch. Ongoing efforts, such as customer engagement, regular updates and bug fixes, user training, and compatibility upgrades, are required to ensure the continued success and growth of a digital product. Regular monitoring, testing, and incorporating user feedback into the development roadmap are crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty in the competitive technology industry.

Legal and Compliance: Ensuring Your Tech Product Meets Regulatory Standards

When creating a digital product, it is critical to ensure that it complies with all legal and regulatory requirements. Failure to do so can have serious legal and financial consequences. Security, privacy, and accessibility are three major areas of concern. As technology advances, so do the regulations that govern these areas. As a result, it is critical to stay current with the latest requirements and to collaborate with legal and compliance experts to ensure that the product abides with all applicable laws and regulations. This section will cover three key legal and compliance issues that product owners should be aware of: data privacy regulations, accessibility requirements, and intellectual property laws, but also provide a series of acronyms that you should be aware of.

Intellectual Property Rights (IRPs): Collaborating with a product development company requires a thorough understanding of the ownership and protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs). Not only does this refer to the finished product, but also the source code, designs, and any other components that went into making it. The ownership, licensing, and transfer of the IPRs should all be laid out in a formal agreement and the parties should agree on the IPRs’ scope.

Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure: During the development process, a product development company may have access to sensitive information and trade sensitive information, such as customer data, corporate strategy, and financial information. To preserve this information, it is essential to have a written agreement that includes non-disclosure and confidentiality clauses. The agreement should outline the scope and length of the confidentiality duties, the parties’ rights to use the information, and the sanctions for a breach.

Data protection and privacy: When digital products are made, personal information is often collected, processed, and stored. This means that privacy and data protection laws must be taken into account, like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States. The product development company should be mindful of this subject and be capable of providing guidance on how to follow the rules. The parties should have a written agreement that covers data protection and privacy, including the purposes and legal basis for processing personal data, the rights of data subjects, and the parties’ obligations to follow the relevant regulations.

As a product owner looking to develop a digital product, it is critical to be aware of the industry’s legal and compliance requirements. These requirements, which aim to protect users’ privacy and security, are enforced by various government bodies in the United States and Europe. CAN-SPAM, COPPA, HIPAA, and TCPA are just a few examples of acronyms that product owners must be aware of when developing a digital product. Failure to follow these regulations can result in serious legal and financial consequences, which can harm the reputation of the product and the company behind it. As a result, product owners must collaborate closely with their development team and legal counsel to ensure that their product complies with all relevant regulations.

Here are a few acronyms for security and privacy compliance in digital products that are commonly used in the United States and Europe:

GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation:

In 2018, Europe enacted a comprehensive data privacy law known as the GDPR. It establishes strict guidelines for the handling and processing of individuals’ personal data within the EU, including the right to access, erase, or limit the use of personal data.

CCPA – California Consumer Privacy Act:

This is a state law in California that went into effect on January 1, 2020. It gives California residents the right to know what personal information businesses collect about them and to have that information erased.

HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act:

This US federal law applies to the healthcare industry and establishes national standards for protecting individuals’ medical records and personal health information.

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS):

The payment card industry developed this set of security standards to combat payment card fraud. It lays out the requirements for businesses that accept credit cards.

COPPA – Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act:

It applies to websites and online services that collect personal information from children under the age of 13. It necessitates parental consent and specifies the collection and use of such information.

5 End-to-end product development trends

Product Development with Sustainability in Mind

Increasing emphasis on environmental friendliness is driving product innovation right now. There has been a recent uptick in the demand for ecologically friendly products and packaging among both consumers and businesses. Recent research in the United States found that over half of consumers would alter their consumption habits if doing so would lessen the negative impact on the environment. Businesses are adapting their product development processes to meet the demands of eco-conscious consumers by using more sustainable materials and methods without sacrificing the high standard of quality that customers have come to expect from their wares. There will likely be a rise in the number of eco-friendly options available come 2023.

Integration of Internet-of-Things-Based Products

The IoT, or the Internet of Things, is another direction manufacturers are heading in. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a system of interconnected computing devices that can share information and work together to form a global network. The number of Google searches for “IoT” has surged by 966% in the last decade. The number of Internet of Things (IoT) items is expected to reach 11.7 billion by the end of 2020, increasing by a factor of 15 over the preceding decade. It is estimated that now 54% of all internet-connected devices are IoT items, and that number is expected to rise to over 41 billion by 2027 as IoT usage increases. The development of innovative IoT goods is seen as the primary driver of the anticipated future expansion of internet-connected gadgets.

Distributed Teams for Product Startups

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a new trend in product development, where distributed teams have become the “new normal” for product-based startups. This trend is beneficial to organizations for several reasons. Firstly, it allows businesses to hire a diversified, highly trained staff without any geographical constraints. Secondly, in-office costs, employer costs, the necessity for face-to-face meetings, and travel expenses are all reduced. Thirdly, it allows for a well-organized project while also increasing productivity. Fourthly, it provides ample freedom to developers and extended product teams, making it easier for them to contribute while still enjoying their at-home lives.

Finally, hiring costs for product teams have been made easier due to a larger talent pool available at often cheaper prices. The goal is to build a relationship where ideas and initiatives can grow within a team, regardless of location or background. Distributed teams offer product startups the possibility of standardized hiring of remote developers or team extension through staff augmentation.

Process Automation

The trend of businesses automating their workflows and processes with digital tools and technologies is known as process automation. The goal of process automation is to increase efficiency, save time, decrease errors, and boost output.

The term “process automation” refers to the use of digital tools and programs to boost productivity and efficiency in the workplace. As a result of the help of these technologies, workers are freed up to concentrate on duties that are both more strategic and of higher value.

One of the advantages of process automation is its simple incorporation into the everyday work routine. The digital solutions are designed to be user-friendly and intuitive, enabling employees to easily adopt and incorporate them into their work routines. This can result in significant time savings, improved efficiency, fewer errors, and enhanced performance.

In conclusion, process automation is a trend that enables organizations to automate their workflows and processes with digital tools and technologies. It may be readily integrated into normal work routines and helps people develop their abilities, save time, and work more efficiently.

Cloud migration

Businesses are using cloud technologies more and more as a way to save money, make their services more accessible, and get rid of boring, repetitive maintenance tasks. In fact, as technology improves and internet speeds keep getting faster, more and more businesses are switching to cloud-based systems. This is especially true in places where internet speeds have been slower in the past.

Since cloud technologies have so many benefits, it’s not surprising that more and more businesses are using them. But a big problem for cloud technology providers is that they need to improve their security, especially when it comes to handling sensitive data. Once this is fixed, we can expect even more businesses to use cloud technologies in the years to come.

In addition to the benefits of cost reduction and accessibility, cloud technologies also offer businesses the ability to scale their operations easily and efficiently. By migrating to the cloud, businesses can easily add or remove resources as their needs change, allowing them to respond quickly to changes in demand or growth opportunities.

Cloud technology also provides businesses with the flexibility to easily experiment with new technologies and business models, without having to make large, upfront investments in infrastructure. This level of flexibility and scalability makes cloud technology a valuable tool for businesses looking to remain competitive in an ever-changing business landscape.

Consider RebelDot as your next technology partner

The full-product development process is a complex and interconnected journey that requires specialized knowledge and expertise. From ideation to launch, each step plays a vital role in creating a successful digital product that solves real user problems.

The ultimate guide to full-product development has provided a high-level overview of the development process, including the importance of product strategy, user experience design, project management, budgeting, and post-launch support. It has also highlighted the significance of user research and testing, the collaboration between stakeholders, and the use of Agile methodologies for flexibility and adaptability.

Ultimately, a user-centered approach is key to creating products that not only meet user needs but also drive business success. By committing to continuous improvement and being open to feedback, teams can iterate and improve their products to ensure they remain up-to-date with the latest technologies and user needs. With the right knowledge and approach, anyone can develop a successful digital product and make a positive impact in the market.

At RebelDot, we are passionate about creating innovative, user-centered digital products that solve real problems and drive business success. Our cross-functional teams bring together design, development, and project management expertise to deliver high-quality web and mobile apps.

We follow an agile development approach that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and continuous improvement, and we work closely with our clients to ensure their vision is brought to life in a way that exceeds their expectations. Our deep expertise in a range of technologies, including .NET, React Native, Flutter and even Blockchain Development allows us to deliver custom solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs.

If you are looking for a technology partner to help you develop your own digital product or improve your current one, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch today to learn more about our approach and how we can help bring your vision to life.

reactjs vs react native

Reactjs vs React Native – which one should you consider for your next app?

If you’re building an app in 2022, there are two immensely popular products to consider using – Reactjs and React Native. As you might expect, these two originated from the same stable, namely Facebook, with Reactjs being the 2011 brainchild of Facebook developer Jordan Valke (it was originally called FaxJs).

Reactjs is a Javascript library of components that can be assembled to create a web app. In 2013, Facebook made its app development library open-source, and its popularity soared. In 2015, in reaction to the ever-growing popularity of Facebook on mobile devices, the company created React Native, a development framework for native apps for both iOs and Android, as well as other IoT devices. React Native too is open-source.

In 2022, both development platforms are immensely popular. In Stack Overflow’s 2021 developer survey, Reactjs had overtaken the likes of jQuery, Angular, and Vue.js as the world’s number 1 web development framework, used by over 40% of respondents. React Native’s developer community is ever-growing, so although it’s the comparative newcomer, it’s increasingly well-supported.

This article will look at the big differences between Reactjs and React Native, their comparative advantages and disadvantages, and each product’s best use case scenarios.

Here's what we're going to talk about

What is React (Reactjs)?

ReactJs, sometimes referred to as React, is a Javascript library of UI components that can be plugged together to build a web-based app. It has a huge user base and is entirely open-source. One of the big advantages of ReactJs is the speed with which you can create a workable web-based app. That is because most of the components you’ll need have been pre-assembled by other developers. In other words, there’s no need for you to reinvent the wheel!

ReactJs builds exceptionally fast web apps because it uses declarative views. This means that the sections of a page that change because of the user’s interactions are refreshed, leading to a faster page display rate (and an easier development process). Later in this article, we’ll look more closely at that and ReactJs’ Virtual DOM environment.

ReactJs was created when Facebook was primarily a website rather than the multi-platform entity it is today (requiring its products to be translated into mobile compatible versions). However, suppose you’re creating a primarily web-based app or complex interactive site. In that case, ReactJs is a fantastic way to work.

What is React Native?

In contrast with ReactJs, React Native is primarily used by developers working on mobile apps for both Apple and Android devices. Its biggest advantage is that it uses an innovative bridge to communicate between its core JavaScript code and the native coding of iOs or Android. It does this through both Java and C++ translation over the bridge.

This means that developers simply write one set of code for their app. That code will automatically translate to both platforms, eradicating the need for separate development teams to code platform-specific versions of the same app. This can save a great deal of time and money.

React Native can also be used to build web versions of its apps, but it is primarily designed for mobile app creation.

ReactJs vs React Native: The main differences

Before deciding what system to use, you need to know if your app will function primarily on the web or on mobile/IoT devices. This will help clarify whether ReactJs or React Native is best suited for your purposes.

Here are the main differences between the two platforms:

Environment

React Native is a full development framework, which means you don’t necessarily have to work outside its parameters (except for key APIs or emulation environments). ReactJs is a JavaScript library of components, so you’ll need other tools to build your site.

Platform compatibility

As we discovered above, React Native can create apps for both mobile OS and web apps. In contrast, ReactJs is very much a specialist JavaScript component library for app developers.

Coding

ReactJs uses JavaScript and underlying HTML5, whereas React Native will write code for the relevant devices’ native script (e.g., Swift/Obj C for iOs or Java for Android).

Styling

ReactJs uses HTML5 and CSS stylesheets for the UI display. React Native lets you write JavaScript stylesheet components that it then translates to their native equivalents.

Learning curve

You’re likely to pick up React Native quickly if you’ve already used ReactJs. Still, both rely upon an understanding of JavaScript. You don’t have to know HTML5 for React Native, however. Both have supportive developer communities.

Key Features of ReactJs

ReactJs excels in several key areas:

Use of a Virtual DOM

When changes are made to code, ReactJs will only re-render the branch which has been altered because it is constantly monitoring differences between the virtual DOM that developers work on and the underlying real DOM where it will make the approved changes. The speed savings this generates should not be underestimated.

SEO Performance

Support for server-side rendering speeds up the UI display as well as providing information for Google’s bots to identify the underlying HTML and evaluate your site with ease. This improves the SEO rankings of any site built in this way. However, a word of caution: sites optimized in this way take considerably longer to create.

Huge Component Library

With nine years of open-source development behind it, ReactJs’s library of components is second to none, allowing developers to put together a first iteration in record time. These components are further subdivided into libraries for specific purposes, so you can home in on exactly what you need.

Animation

ReactJs uses CSS for animation, which you can code alongside other stylistic elements without resorting to an animation-specific API integration.

Key Features of React Native

The headline benefits of React Native are as follows:

Cross-Platform Compatibility

The main advantage to using React Native is that you code once and your app should function across all mobile platforms. You can also create desktop versions with React Native for Web.

Hot Reloading

When you’re making tiny tweaks to an app it can be immensely frustrating having to refresh the whole thing to see the effect. With hot reloading, you can toggle immediate changes off and on in your editor so that you can use a trial-and-error method to get your UI just right.

Developer Tools

React Native comes with a suite of developer tools ready to use, including debuggers, live reloading, and code inspectors. You don’t need to use any third-party plug-ins to get your app just right.

Support and Networks

React Native may have finally been overtaken as the most popular cross-platform development app (Flutter stole its crown for the first time in 2021, according to Statista). However, it still enjoys a 38% market share and a huge support network of developers. Should you run into trouble, you’ll find someone to help before too long.

Why Use ReactJs for your Business?

Given all the above, you should choose ReactJs for your app development if the following criteria apply:

  • Your primary aim is to create a web-based app or interactive website.
  • SEO is of maximum importance.
  • Your developers are experienced in JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS.
  • You want your app to be up and running as quickly as possible.
  • You want to be able to swap modular components in and out with ease.

Examples of Companies using ReactJs for their web apps: Facebook, Netflix, Airbnb, Reddit, PayPal

Why Use React Native for your Business?

Companies building apps would be best to choose React Native if these apply:

  • You want to create mobile apps which work on both iOS and Android devices.
  • You care about speed and cost-saving in the development process.
  • Your apps are not primarily designed to handle large volumes of data.
  • Your developers are happy to use APIs for animation and JavaScript stylesheets for the UI.
  • Any web versions of your app will be secondary to their mobile counterparts.

Examples of Companies using React Native for their mobile apps: Instagram, Coinbase, Uber Eats, Pinterest.

Limitations of ReactJs

You can’t use ReactJs alone to build a mobile app. Therefore, it’s probably not the best tool if you suspect that your website-based application might also suit a mobile UI approach.

Coinbase, for instance, could easily have built a web app for their crypto trading platform, but they knew their clientele was highly mobile and tech-savvy. Therefore it made sense to go Native instead.

Should you want to adapt your ReactJs-created app for Android or iOS, you’ll largely have to start from scratch.

Another problem could be the speed of change of ReactJs. As an incredibly popular open-source product, many upgrades and revisions are taking place, not all of which are helpfully documented.

Ensuring you have a suitably secure and up-to-date version could require constant monitoring. It’s therefore not the best choice when creating FinTech or banking apps.

Limitations of React Native

As we’ve seen, React Native allows you to simultaneously create multiple versions of your app which automatically work across different platforms.

However, it doesn’t quite function straight out of the box. In order to run it on a Windows system, you first must download and install NVM and node.js to run JavaScript, then Java SDK8, React Native itself, and some other tools you’ll need.

Once you’ve done all that, you’ll find React Native doesn’t have as many modules as its older brother, ReactJs. If your developer can’t locate what they need, they may still have to create it from scratch.

Additionally, some of the included features, such as the onboard animation API, aren’t ideal. Lastly, learning and navigating React Native isn’t as easy as one might hope.

Which is Better - ReactJs or React Native?

That’s a bit like asking whether apples or oranges are better. They are different tools with various use cases. In short, though, if you need a fast-loading web-based app, ReactJs should be your best choice, whereas if you have an app that will work mostly on smartphones, React Native is the way to go.

ReactJs has been around longer, so it has a bigger library of components and support network. There are Github folders available for both ReactJs and React Native, fortunately, as well as numerous developer forums where you can source free advice if you’re stuck in your project, including Stack Overflow, Reddit, and Hashnode.

What is the Future of React Native and ReactJs?

These Facebook-originated app creators aren’t the only game in time. Strong competition is being mounted by Flutter and NativeScript, to name a few.

It also seems likely that Facebook (under its new parent company Meta) might mix aspects of both React variants. It’s possible they’ll create an all-in-one solution that includes more support for VR and augmented reality apps since that’s the direction the company is heading. They already have React VR and React 360 under the same brand umbrella, so it’s likely this trend will continue.

Whatever the future holds, it seems likely that the React name will be here for many years to come, continuing to create award-winning apps for some of the world’s biggest brands.

Get in touch with a team of ReactJs and React Native experts

Having worked with international clients in more than 15 industries such as fintech, healthcare, infrastructure, greentech, social, blockchain and many more, we got a team of 150+ skilled engineers and kind people ready to assist your throughout the entire end-to-end development process. 

Should you look for a team to play both the consultant and implementor role, don’t hesitate to reach out. We will shortly schedule a meeting with you to learn more about your idea, the vision you have and challenges that you want to overcome in developing your web or mobile app. 

React Native 2022 rebeldot

Will React Native die in 2022?

Cross-platform app development: what it is and why do we need it.

If we were to pick 10 random people from around the world, we would stumble upon unique mindsets, interesting personalities, and various likes and dislikes.

However, the one thing that these people will have in common is that each of them will probably own a smartphone filled with tens of apps and a stable internet connection.

Therefore, any business will benefit from a professionally-looking, cost-effective mobile app that can run on both Android and iOS.

This is where cross-platform app development comes in handy: it has been gaining solid ground on the native approaches, and it has been empowering a single team to develop an app that will satisfy all the users.

In addition, it takes advantage of faster and more intuitive UI development and reusable business logic.

There are multiple choices for developing a cost-effective mobile app that can run on both Android and iOS, each of them coming along with certain advantages and disadvantages. We are here to look into React Native and why it is a solid choice for a business that wants to develop a mobile app in 2022, but we will also explore the alternatives and what they bring to the table.

Why has cross-platform app development become so popular?

Before diving into any details about either cross-platform framework, we first need to understand why this approach has been gaining so much attention, stealing the spotlight from native technologies.

Native app development refers to creating an app that will run only on the target OS. Therefore, if your app should be downloadable both in Google Play Store and Apple AppStore, you would need to hire two separate teams, each of them working on an app.

While a native approach has its advantages, more points of view should be taken into account by anyone who wishes to expand into the mobile markets.

The most obvious (and the most painful one) is referring, of course, to the costs of such a setup. Two teams would work simultaneously on the same product (compared to a single cross-platform team that would develop an app that will run on all the platforms). Two teams are more expensive than a single one.

In addition, there might also appear inconsistencies between the platforms. Users want to see consistency, and they do not want to feel limited by their platform when they are going to use an app.

What is React Native?

React Native is an open-source JavaScript framework that enables your React developers to use their knowledge for writing beautiful and performant cross-platform mobile apps, all of this promptly.

It was developed by Facebook and released in 2015. It uses the same working principles as React: a component-based structure, hot reloading, and a large ecosystem of developer tools.

It is backed by the entire JavaScript community, thus taking advantage of many developers who share their knowledge and solutions to ease development for others.

In the following paragraphs, we are going to look into some of the advantages (along with the disadvantages) of choosing React Native for developing a mobile app.

It is backed by a powerful community and it can greatly reduce the costs and the time needed for the development.

In addition, when starting with a monorepo approach, developers are going to think of the architecture in such a way that the code that would be common between a web application and a mobile app is going to be shared between the projects. Therefore, we are reducing the need of rewriting all that logic (networking calls, state management, models).

What are the alternatives to React Native in 2022?

Of course, we should point out that there are other cross-platform solutions that one could go for instead of React Native. Asking “which one is the best” is not going to lead to a definitive answer, since picking the suitable technology for developing a product comes with a lot to take into consideration.

A business will need to take into account the budget, the allocated timeframe, the complexity of the app, as well as the users that they are trying to reach, and what is important to those users.

Flutter is probably the most popular cross-platform technology that represents a solid contestant for React Native.

However, we are going to look into why it might not be completely ready for some scenarios, and why in those scenarios picking a more mature technology is going to bring the most advantages to the business and the users.

Other than Flutter, Xamarin is also worth mentioning, having been developed by Microsoft and featuring flexibility and scalability. However, it is not suitable for UI-heavy applications, and it lacks a strong and numerous community.

NativeScript is another technology from the JavaScript family, but its biggest downside consists of the risk of using buggy plugins, and of course, the community that is not closely as large as React Native’s.

Is Flutter going to kill React Native?

Short answer: no, Flutter will not kill React Native in 2022.

One technology does not simply make another one disappear, as React Native has been the strongest choice for the past few years. Flutter has indeed become more and more of a buzzword in the tech community, but a technology that is written using JavaScript will not go away so easily.

Looking at the big picture, each cross-platform technology will more or less bring the same advantages to the table: lower development costs, faster pace of development, consistent user interface, and easier code maintainability).

Therefore, we need to look further when assessing which technology is suitable for a startup or a big business.

Flutter has been developed by Google, it is newer than React Native (therefore it is still further away from the level of maturity that is needed in a production-ready app) and the code is written using Dart (a language that is developed by Google and not even close to JavaScript’s popularity at the moment).

One of the most important aspects that should be considered when it comes to Flutter is how much support the development team will find online. One of the drawbacks of a smaller community – as well as a less used programming language – consists of the scarcer results when Googling a problem that is blocking the development.

Developers are more likely to adopt something familiar to them. It is easier to find new additions to the team in the form of JavaScript developers who haven’t worked with React Native – but know the programming language perfectly – as well as web developers who know React but haven’t worked with React Native yet.

Such a transition is performed easily and it reduces the costs and the overhead that is involved when bringing less experienced people into a team. Learning React Native in 2022 is easy and the online resources are abundant for anyone interested.

Is React Native dying?

React Native is not going to go away any time soon. JavaScript has been around since 1995 and it gives no signs of retiring any time soon – it was the most popular programming language on Stack Overflow’s yearly survey for the past few years.

Therefore, since it benefits from strong backup from a numerous and dedicated community, the developers will easily find solutions for any problems, open-source packages that can be integrated into applications (thus leading to a better development pace), as well as the possibility of re-using the same business-logic codebase for developing a web application using React (using the monorepo approach).

Flutter is the biggest competitor of React Native, many being afraid that it will kill React Native in 2022. These concerns have their root in the recent popularity gain that Flutter has seen in the latest period.

Since I am not here to say that one technology is better or worse than another, I will stick to facts and present in an objective way the reasons why React Native still has much more maturity to offer, in addition to a helpful community and a countless number of open source packages.

Flutter’s advantages are pretty much the same as React Native’s: faster development time, beautiful UI design, and easy debugging.

On the other hand, Flutter apps might suffer from the fact that the size of the result is bigger, thus being more consuming for the memory and battery of a smartphone.

In addition, it is still immature, thus not being a safe choice.

Is React Native still performant in 2022?

Before discussing the performance of this framework and whether or not an app will be able to deal with 2022’s expectations of a smooth and modern feeling, we need to understand how the user interface is being rendered and how it differs from other cross-platform technologies.

How does React Native work?

Behind the scenes, React Native creates an iOS app and an Android one. When running such an app on a mobile device, there will be two threads that will take care of the business logic and one that will render the user interface: the JavaScript thread and the UI thread.

The first one will tell the second one what, where, and when each component needs to be rendered.

One of the greatest advantages of React Native’s UI system is that the UI is rendered using native views – whereas other technologies (such as Cordova) would generate the HTML for the UI and render it inside of a WebView.

It might not seem problematic, but something would always feel ‘off’ for someone who’d use an app that is developed using the second approach.

Under React Native’s hood, the user taps on a button, this action is understood by the main thread and passed as a message to the JavaScript thread. Here, the logic is handled, then the UI changes accordingly.

This bridged communication is the greatest concern of those critiquing React Native’s performance.

However, we won’t have any performance issues in normal usage scenarios — the bridge handles the communication pretty quickly.

Try this: how many times can you tap your screen in one second? Probably not enough to cause performance issues, that is for sure.

React Native can develop smooth and fast apps that can run at 60 FPS.

One scenario where performance might suffer involves a lack of attention from the developer.

React Native’s UI can be viewed as a tree-like hierarchy.

Let’s say that this website is the top-most component. Its leaves will consist of the header and the body of the website. The leaves of the header are the logo of the company, the website pages’ titles, and so on.

If the state of the root (top-most) component were to modify, every single leaf down to the last one would re-render. Even in this scenario, the naked eye will not notice anything, since these re-renders happen too quickly to be noticed. However, such mistakes are not advisable, nor are they endorsed by RebelDot.

Is React Native being used by any tech giants?

We can safely say that a React Native app will be performant. It will run smoothly and beautifully, and performance will not be a problem for most business requirements.

The popular crypto exchange platform Coinbase has decided to rewrite its app using React Native. Taking into account how important performance and maintainability are for a business that operates on the blockchain – and whose revenue is $1.8 billion for the first quarter of 2022 – we can safely say that React Native’s performance will satisfy everybody.

Wix is another household name when asking yourself what other big names are using React Native. This has led to many online React Native open-source packages that ease the lives of developers, as Wix engineers have decided to help the community with their solutions for some difficult (but common) scenarios (such as displaying and customizing a calendar in your app).

Other tech giants such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype, Pinterest, Uber Eats, Oculus, Shopify, Discord, Tesla (and the list continues) have decided that React Native is the fit choice for their requirements.

Therefore, worrying about performance when such billion-dollar businesses have decided that this framework is satisfying their needs might not be needed.

The fact that such companies have placed a bet on moving further with React Native in 2022 is a statement of its stability, fast development pace, platform consistency, as well as lower costs.

This is a technology that has been consistently growing and maturing over the past years and it benefits both the developers and the project managers.

Conclusion.

We have looked into the current state of cross-platform app development and navigated through some reasons why React Native will still be a solid choice.

Its community and its code reusability possibilities are not to be looked over by a business that aims to reduce costs while not compromising quality.

React Native is performant and easy to learn, its UI system is flexible, robust, and easy to use – and it generates modern and professionally-looking mobile apps.

While we are not pretending that it does not have its disadvantages, we are still strongly convinced that its advantages and what it has to offer will satisfy a startup and a business that is set out to create powerful and quality products.

That being said, due to its intuitive architecture, live reloading, and fast development times, as well as good performance and code reusability between platforms (iOS, Android, web), we can safely say that React Native is the best choice for cross-platform app development in 2022.

Healthcare app development 2022

Healthcare App Development in 2022 [The Ultimate Guide]

There was a time when we wouldn’t think twice about going to the doctor or hospital for just about anything.  

All that changed rather dramatically in early 2020, when COVID19 turned the world upside down.  

In some parts of the world, healthcare reemerged as an online service, with most people starting to avoid going to the hospital or the emergency rooms, scared of catching the virus.  

On the one hand, this ignited a series of social and health impacts, but it also created an unpreceded demand for healthcare apps.  

The reasoning was quite straightforward: everyone has a smartphone these days. So, when you can’t see the doctor in person, you might as well get expert advice from the comfort of your home with just a few taps.

And so, the healthcare app development movement started to take shape.  

However, like anything else, more doesn’t always mean better. So, let’s take a deep dive into healthcare app development, what it is, the dos and don’ts of it, and what you need to know about working with developers. 

  1. What Is Healthcare App Development?
  2. Why Do People Use Healthcare Apps?
  3. Healthcare Market Outlook
  4. What Types of Healthcare Apps Are Out There?
  5. Integrating telehealth with EHR technology – healthcare apps for patients with healthcare apps for practices
  6. What Are the Benefits of Healthcare Apps Development?
  7. What Are the Costs of Developing a Healthcare App?
  8. What Are the Challenges of Developing a Healthcare App?
  9. What are the regulations? HIPAA & FDA & HITECH etc.
  10. How to Develop a Healthcare Mobile App?
  11. What is The Future of Healthcare app development?
  12. How to Choose a Custom Healthcare Software Development Company?

What Is Healthcare App Development?

Healthcare app development refers to the process of designing digital products for mobile devices that support users in requesting and receiving vetted medical advice for their health conditions in real-time.

Alternatively, these apps, which are also built for web interfaces, can aid doctors’ day-to-day workflow by helping them track their patients’ health, schedule appointments, and manage staff.

So, when you say healthcare app development, you’re talking about developing software for one or more platforms, which will be used to provide a healthcare service.

Why Do People Use Healthcare Apps?

People use healthcare apps for various reasons.

Some might use them because they live far from a hospital or doctor’s office and it’s easier than traveling.

Others prefer the convenience of healthcare apps to in-person visits, and some might have serious conditions that require frequent updates, so an app makes it easier to get the care they need.

Like most digital apps, healthcare apps are marketed for their convenience and ease of use. All you need is a phone and an internet connection to talk to a healthcare professional.

Healthcare apps have been invaluable during the pandemic as early diagnosis tools for people who presented suspicious symptoms.

Doctors and nurses have been able to assess reported symptoms in time and properly advise patients to undertake the right further steps in order to prevent aggravating symptoms of the virus.

This created a safer environment for patients and staff at healthcare facilities by identifying potential virus carriers in advance and restricting contact between them.

Healthcare app Market Outlook

Much of the available healthcare app research out there is specific to the U.S. market, but since the U.S. is also one of the largest markets in the developed world, that could function as a solid point of reference. 

According to a new report on digital health trends, published by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, there are now more than 350.000 healthcare apps available to consumers. 

Although most of them are still geared towards general wellness and fitness, it looks like apps focused on managing specific diseases or health are growing exponentially, covering no less than 47% of the apps available, compared to only 28% in 2015. 

Important to mention that along with this growing maturity of digital health products in mainstream medicine also comes robust evidence of their impact on both patients and healthcare institutions.

Looking at the big picture, the digital health industry has raised record-breaking investments in 2021, having reached $7.1B only during Q1, which is far more than the $2.9B reported in 2020’s Q1. 

That’s due to increased investor interest in digital healthcare platforms that revolve around on-demand models, extensive primary care, behavioral health, fitness, and prevention. 

Other key stats on mobile health in the U.S.:

  • 85% of American adults own at least one smartphone 
  • There are already over 350,000 healthcare apps in various app stores 
  • Nearly four million Americans used a healthcare app in 2020 – that’s nearly 30% of the adult population of the United States 
  • Most smartphone users use their smartphones for some kind of health-related activity – whether that’s searching for health information, tracking fitness, or something else 
  • 90% of doctors use smart devices at work, and over 60% of U.S. hospitals have their own healthcare apps 

What Types of Healthcare Apps Are Out There?

A better question would be what kind of healthcare apps aren’t out there. 😅

With the proliferation of web and mobile digital products we’ve seen over the past few years, there are healthcare apps for nearly everything now, including: 

  • Primary care health advice
  • Apps to track pregnancy and fertility 
  • Apps for people who have diabetes 
  • Mental health apps 
  • Developmental apps for children with disabilities or who are on the autism spectrum 
  • Apps for monitoring your heart rate 
  • Calorie counters and fitness apps 
  • Smartwatch apps to monitor your vitals while exercising 
  • Meditation apps 
  • Apps for quitting smoking and other addiction apps 
  • Sleep cycle monitoring and relaxation apps 
  • Personal emergency apps for people who have serious conditions 

The list of potential healthcare apps is almost endless, and we’ve barely begun to scratch the surface. 

As technology evolves and web and mobile development innovates, we will see more health tech and telemedicine apps.

Integrating telehealth with EHR technology - healthcare apps for patients with healthcare apps for practices

Telehealth has seen steep adoption rates amongst both patients and medical practices.   

But first, let’s clear out the confusion and address the difference between telemedicine and telehealth.

Telehealth refers to the broad electronic and digitally performed activities to access healthcare service at-a-distance. 

It includes a wide range of technologies to provide care remotely. It is different from telemedicine in that it encompasses a broader scope of remote healthcare services.

That means that telemedicine only refers to very specific activities within the remote healthcare realm, such as online appointments, remote monitoring, symptoms checking, asking medical questions, or receiving prescriptions. 

While patients can benefit from using such apps in the numerous ways mentioned above, clinicians can also enjoy these digital products’ positive outcomes. 

Healthcare software that integrates Electronic Health Record (EHR) functions can support medical institutions in treating people remotely using secure tools. It also helps doctors streamline the complete care process, automating time-costly bureaucratic tasks to enhance the delivery of patient care.

As you probably have already guessed, telehealth apps that facilitate quick access to doctors work in perfect harmony with EHR technology to create a positive mass impact.

Or at least it should. 

Consider this:

In the U.S., more than 95% of hospitals are using certified EHR platforms to simplify data collection, increase focus on the delivery of medical services, decrease overhead costs and reduce mortality to those who suffer from chronic diseases. 

Developing telehealth apps that can integrate an EHR system would only aid the performance of these medical systems and overall workflows, eventually replicating the authenticity of the good ol’ face-to-face patient interactions. 

Nevertheless, merging telehealth with EHR systems would also help patients better understand their diagnoses. Following a virtual consultation, the patients will now be able to see a summary of their visit and the rest of their medical history, which will provide context for any new information. 

What Are the Benefits of Healthcare Apps Development?

If you have a healthcare business, you might be wondering if it’s worth developing the app you’ve been thinking about. After all, healthcare app development is outside of your wheelhouse.

The answer is almost always yes. Here are a couple of reasons why: 

  • There is an evergrowing need to make healthcare more accessible globally
  • both patients and medical institutions learned that telehealth is significantly more cost-efficient, which is why the demand is constantly growing on both parts
  • medical practices are willing to invest in platforms that enhance efficacy of healthcare and support doctors in making more precise, custom decisions for each patient
  • people are becoming more self-aware, increasingly committing to preventative healthcare – which is going to be an appealing niche to investors since much of the healthcare platforms so far almost solely focused on the treatment of existing medical conditions

If you can build an app that lets your patients access your services faster, easier, and remotely, your business will definitely benefit from this decision.  

What Are the Costs of Developing a Healthcare App?

Web and app development costs vary depending on the type of software or app you want to develop, how much custom coding is required, how complex the interface is, and how long it takes to develop the application from napkin sketches to fully functional product.

Costs can be anything from a few thousand dollars upwards, and depending on the number of features you may want to add, those prices can go up throughout the project.

If you have an idea for an app, it’s always best to speak to several app developers and get quotes for their services. This will give you a good idea of what you should budget for the project.

What Are the Challenges of Developing a Healthcare App?

Web and mobile app development is a complex process. It takes a fairly long time to build a quality application, and there’s a lot of testing, reviewing, and revising that happens before it’s ready to launch.

Aside from ensuring that the app complies with specific regulations, depending on the geographical market you’re targeting, the development process is very similar to any other industry, with the end-user as a focal point.

You have to carry out extensive research and run discovery workshops to nail the value proposition and target market the needs and challenges you want to address.

The product design aspect should consider the most recent healthcare app design trends and articulate a smooth & minimal user experience.

For this experience to be flawless, another important factor is prioritizing the main features that the digital product should revolve around, so that it would overwhelm the user.

All these aspects should be validated as part of an initial MVP meant to collect valuable feedback from the market and support you and your technology partner in creating a streamlined product design and a pleasant user experience that delivers value to all parties involved.

What are the regulations? HIPAA, FDA, HITECH etc

HIPAA & FDA & HITECH regulations govern how health information is stored, accessed, and shared.

Patient information is extremely personal and must be subject to the strictest protections.

Basically, any app or software used in the healthcare industry, where patient information may be accessible, needs to comply with the highest possible security standards.

Not complying with this kind of legislation is an offense and can land you in very deep legal hot water.

How to Develop a Healthcare Mobile App?

The good news is that you don’t need to write a single line of code to develop a healthcare app. 

There are healthcare app developers out there who can take your idea and turn it into reality. Here’s how: 

  1. First, you will have a concept – what do you want the app to do, and for whom? 
  2. Next, your web and mobile app developer will gather information and analyze various technologies 
  3. When they’ve decided on the right technology for the job, they’ll design the application 
  4. Next, your developer will create an MVP – a Minimum Viable Product 
  5. You will enter a phase of beta testing, where bugs will be identified, and the UX will be adjusted 
  6. The app will go to final development 
  7. Another round of quality assurance and testing will find and fix any remaining bugs 
  8. Your app will be released 
  9. You will enter the maintenance and update phase 

Good app developers will walk you through the process and probably offer to stay on retainer during the maintenance phase when the app is live and on sale. 

They’ll also be able to quote you when you want to add more features or something you want to change.  

 

What is The Future of Healthcare app development?

As technology has evolved, so has health tech. Several technologies making waves in the tech world are fantastic for the proliferation of healthcare digital products.

Blockchain, the unbreakable encryption that secures cryptocurrencies, is already being used to secure health information.

Artificial intelligence is being built into diagnostic and other tools, allowing doctors to find potential diagnoses at the speed of machine calculation, which is much faster than anything any human can do. Besides, it lowers human errors within the healthcare process.

Virtual reality allows surgeons and specialists to perform surgeries and examinations from thousands of miles away, and the internet of things is already monitoring our health in real-time.

The future of tech is bright, and medical technology is one of the big winners!

How to Choose a Custom Healthcare Software Development Company?

Now that you know what health tech is and how the process of developing a healthcare app usually progresses, you might be wondering how you can get started.

The best advice is to look for the right partner first, and, to do so, there are several things you will need to consider.

First, their skills, certifications, and people.

You want to collaborate with a team where everyone involved has solid credentials and previous experience working with the latest technologies and, ideally, with clients from the same industry as your business.

Yesterday’s tech won’t create a cutting-edge health app.

Next, ask for references and about their track record. Healthcare software development is a specialist field, so you should look for a company with specific experience in this type of development.

Once you’ve shortlisted people with the right skills and experience, ask about an approximate timeline for developing your idea, and start comparing offers.

Of course, price is never the first consideration, but it is a factor, so find out what value you will be getting for your investment.

Choosing the right developer is almost as important as having a brilliant idea.

Take your time with this step, ask lots of questions, and don’t gamble the success of your idea on a team that you didn’t find chemistry with yet.

Cliche or not, trusting your gut feeling at this stage of the process should be an important decision-making factor.

Well, if you are looking for a reliable healthcare app development company to bring your idea to life through the latest tech and a user-centric design, then don’t hesitate to reach out. 🚀

You might want to read our latest case studies where we present how we developed a telemedicine app, as well as a management software provider for healthcare facilities.

DRD telemedicine mobile app

Telemedicine apps to keep an eye on in 2021

There’s a new category of apps booming right now.

Actually, it has been here for a while now, but the context of the pandemic has triggered the emergence of even more of this kind of apps.

Yes, I am talking about dating telemedicine apps.

It looks like the amount of people relying on telemedicine solutions have gone through the roof. In fact, it has been reported that the pandemic boosted technology adoption, with the demand for such telemedicine apps increasing by over 65%.

To get even deeper into data, the global telemedicine market is expected to grow 37.7% annually until 2025, when it is estimated to exceed $191 billion in market value.

So..

How are telemedicine apps transforming healthcare?

Telemedicine apps allow you to speak with a health care provider using an app on your phone. Some may also work with your computer. Services may be on-demand, which means you see a different provider each time you use the app. Other services allow you to see the same provider for multiple visits.

What is also cool about telemedicine apps is that they also have a specialty, a specific niche to serve. Some focus on mental health care, others focus on reproductive care and others may focus on urgent care.

The apps may charge per visit, and most have relatively modest fees.

What seemed to be the norm some time ago, now became an ultimate alternative. More and more people prefer receiving expert medical consultations and prescriptions from the comfort of their home and even more institutions are recognizing these new needs and commit to adapt to them.

Healthcare processes are being transformed globally to these new tendencies with institutions managing to solve even more recurrent problems like providing fast healthcare access to remote areas and ensuring that there is a sufficient number of doctors who can cover certain territories and essentially decrease the number of diseases.

Basically, no matter where you are, now you can reach a doctor in no time so that you won’t have to google your symptoms and pretty much fear that your days are numbered. 😅

Keeping this in mind, I figured I’d highlight the most popular telemedicine apps of 2021, the game-changers, if you would, which you should keep an eye on.

Teladoc

Teladoc telemedicine app

The company offers fast and reliable access to its doctors via phone calls or video conferencing, either on the web or through the mobile app.

You get access to services like general care, pediatrics, preventative medicine or mental health. Teladoc’s on-demand service provides a high level of convenience and versatility, allowing users to connect with a doctor whenever the need arises. Typically, doctors connect with a patient within a 20 minutes time-frame since the initial request.

Physicians are available 24/7 and service is offered in over 30 languages. I must mention that according to the company’s data, nearly 90% of its clients have their medical issues addressed in a single call, which eliminates the need for further appointments and follow-ups for most users.

The cost of a Teladoc visit depends on the specific type of care that you are going for, as well as the insurance you got. A General Medical visit can be as low as $0 per visit with insurance, but prices vary outside your benefits plan or insurance coverage. The same General Medical visit would cost $75.

Visit Teladoc’s website for more information.

DRD

DRD telemedicine mobile app

DRD is a web and mobile app that brings together the functions of a doctor search platform and a telemedicine service to Austrian users. This idea came to life in 2017 when the two founders realized the importance of simplifying access to doctors and the need for support in choosing the right doctor for the course of treatment.

The platform functions as the first point of contact for patients with medical questions and offers the chance to get immediate assistance via video consultations with registered specialists.

As a start-up with a young, dynamic team, drd doctors online focused on offering the following functions as part of an iOS, Android and web app for users:

  • Chance to have a telemedical consultation with a general practitioner via an encrypted video consultation
  • Simple, secure and user-friendly patient file for all medical documents on your smartphone
  • Search function for all specialists registered in Austria.

Simple access to a family doctor via your smartphone – No waiting times, direct referral to a specialist and a laboratory and instant prescription on your smartphone.

All general practitioners on DRD doctors online have been recommended by medical professionals and continually undergo training in order to provide top-quality and highly targeted medical advice.

In terms of price, you got two options to chose from. One fit for trying out the platform, for a fixed price of 49.99 euros, and another one, subscription-based, for 9.99 euros per month.

Visit DRD’s site for more information.

Recomedica

Recomedica Telehealth app

Recomedica is a MedTech startup, a mobile app launched in November 2019 that bridges medical service providers worldwide and patients, offering users immediate access to online medical consultations, in order to streamline the diagnostics and treatment processes.

With more than 350 specialized medical professionals under the same umbrella and growing, Recomedica provides medical advice and recommendations to users posting an average of 300 requests daily.

Since 2019, Recomedica has been offering online medical guidance and access to healthcare services to more than 35,000 unique users who have already made over 80,000 medical requests within the web platform.

Besides common features amongst other telemedicine platforms like generating a full Medical Profile for both yourself and your family members, real-time chat with doctors from different specialties, management of medical cases and files, or medical requests, the platform also features a machine-learning-like algorithm as part of the onboarding process.

This is specifically important as it allows automatization of processes, eliminating the manual tasks and smoothening extraction of data directly from electronic records. It also creates the possibility for doctors to predict trends in the patient conditions and their behaviors by discovering connections and relations from seemingly unrelated information, patterns that could then be used by to determine diagnoses, prognoses and treatments for patients in healthcare organizations.

There are 3 different types of subscriptions that you can make and, depending on the one you chose to go with, the price varies between 5 to 20 euros per month. 

Visit Recomedica’s site for more information.

MDlive

MDlive telemedicine

MDLive helps patients to get in touch with psychiatrists or dermatologist doctors, counselors for discussion via a mobile application. Each doctor that works for MDlive is board-certified in their area of expertise, and the staff overall specializes in treating a wide variety of medical conditions. The overall experience of each of the physicians offering consultations is 15 years, making the MDlive’s staff a highly experienced team.

The doctors have 24/7 availability and you can reach them either through a phone call or a video chat. Specifically, their area of expertise relies on diagnosing skin conditions, allergies and plenty of other acute conditions. Nevertheless, the popularity of this platform also has to do with its mental health services and respectively the therapists who are available for counseling and support sessions on-demand.

Depending on the insurance, the cost per medical visit can be between $0 to $82. However, on their website you will find that part of the medical services that you can access, there is also a behavioral health and dermatology category including slightly pricier sessions.

Visit MDlive’s site for more information.

Amwell

Amwell telehealth app

Designed specifically to be a fast, reliable, and smarter way for patients to interact with doctors, Amwell is focused on convenience and service. Most of the virtual doctor’s visits are less than 10 minutes and don’t require an appointment. Amwell’s focus is on providing an accurate diagnosis and recommending the proper treatment in an expedient manner.

Amwell physicians can even write prescriptions or suggest homeopathic treatments for conditions like sinus infections, rashes, or acne. Interactions take place over the phone, video chat, or using the service’s app.

The cost is $79 per visit, and even less with most major insurance plans.

Visit Amwell’s site for more information.

Doctor On Demand

Doctor On Demand telehealth

Available over the web, phone, or smartphone app, the healthcare professionals at DoD provide assistance and advice for urgent care, chronic conditions, and preventative medicine.

The company keeps certified therapists on staff to assist patients with mental and behavioral health issues, while its doctors handle advice on how to treat everything from the cold and flu to asthma and diabetes.

One of the best aspects of this service is that patients can mark doctors as a favorite in order to connect with them again in the future when available.

The app is free with premium services and consultations varying per session basis.

Visit Doctor on Demand’s site for more information.

Plush Care

PlushCare telemedicine platform

Plush Care puts a large team of experienced physicians right at your fingertips thanks to its app. Using a smartphone, patients are able to make an appointment, speak directly with a doctor, and get a quick and simple diagnosis. The service also calls in prescriptions to a local pharmacy of choice and provides the ability for a follow-up after the initial consultation.

PlushCare treats urgent issues like the cold and flu or UTIs and STDs. It also provides support for ongoing conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disorders, and depression. And the platform has a huge mental health care component via licensed therapists or primary care physicians. PlushCare even has options for prescription renewals, too, including birth control.

PlushCare has two membership plans: the monthly membership costs $14.99 per month, and the annual membership which costs $99 per year. You also get a 30-day free trial for both plans. Besides, there’s a $99 copay per visit. However, those of you that benefit from an insurance will have to pay a significantly lower fee, about $25 to see a doctor.

Visit Plush Care’s site for more information.

LiveHealth

LiveHealth healthcare app

Whether you need help dealing with common issues like pink eye, fever, or tooth pain, or you’re looking for more in-depth assistance with allergies or the flu, LiveHealth Online covers it all. The service allows members to connect with doctors 24/7 using their laptops or smartphones in order to get fast and reliable medical attention and prescriptions filled.

LiveHealth also connects users with psychologists and psychiatrists to get them the mental health support they need, too. One of the distinguishing features to this service is that it allows members to choose the specific doctor that they want to interact with.

The costs vary depending on the type of insurance you hold. In the case you don’t benefit from one, a visit would cost $59.

Visit LiveHealth Online’s site for more information.

Talkspace

Talkspace mental health app

Talkspace is a telehealth service that specializes in mental healthcare, offering features such as: chat, video and voice calls, user-friendly therapists’ search, AI-based assessments, billing and ePrescriptions. It is a highly rated online therapy platform, offering the patient the option to select from a list of recommended licensed therapists.

Users can engage in therapy sessions via video conferencing and messaging, for delicate matters ranging from family conflicts to substance abuse, bipolar, anger management, OCD etc. Talkspace offers 24/7 access and flexible plans to meet individual needs.

With the likes of Demi Lovato or Michael Phelps being strong advocates of the platform, since 2012, the application has reached over one million users. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for Talkspace as the number of visitors drastically increased, in fact doubled since mid-March 2020.

The average cost starts from $260 a month

Visit Talkspace’s site for more information.

Lemonaid

Lemonaid app

Lemonaid is an app, an online doctor’s office, as they like to position themselves, widely used in the United States which features medical professionals licensed in all 50 states.

Its mission is to provide all Americans access to primary healthcare services and help patients get evaluated and treated for conditions like urinary tract infections (UTIs), cold sores, flu, acute sinusitis, acne, as well as treatment to quit smoking, get tested and treated for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), high cholesterol, diabetes and many more.

The thorough onboarding process is a key selling point of this platform. Specifically, patients receive a sort of questionnaire to fill out and based on the reviews these questionnaires get from the expert doctors of Lemonaid, each patient is given personalized medicine shipped with free delivery directly to the user’s door or the nearest pharmacy.

The costs vary based on the nature of consultation starting $10+ for lab tests, and $25 and more for telehealth appointments.

Visit Lemonaid’s site for more information.

Well, if you are looking for a reliable telemedicine app development company to bring your idea to life through the latest tech and a user-centric design, then don’t hesitate to reach out.

You might want to read our latest case-studies where we present how we developed a telemedicine app, as well as a white-label platform used to digitalize healthcare institutions.

2021 Web and Mobile app design trends

2021 Web and Mobile app design trends.

With the outside world being partially closed, this year we found ourselves evermore present in the digital universe. This was an immense opportunity for the organizations looking to step up their digital experiences, as well as for those brick-and-mortar businesses who transitioned to the online environment and switched from struggling to survive to thrive within this context.

Reflecting on some of the product design practices that lift the bar in 2020 in terms of innovation and efficiency, in this article I am going to present what are, in our opinion, the web and mobile app design trends for 2021.

As it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which of these trends are going to perform better, we advise that you don’t take the following list as a leaderboard, but rather as inspiration, an appreciation of what it is believed that will dominate the screens in the upcoming year.

Dark Mode.

We’ve all got excited when Apple introduced this feature. Being so widely adopted by most of the users in no-time, it became the norm for big tech companies such as Facebook, Instagram, or Slack, as well as small businesses looking to spice up their digital identities.

Slack Dark Mode design trend

Users seem to find the dark theme adding up a nuance of coolness to their devices, but besides this aesthetic factor, there are a couple of other reasons why this feature has been so requested recently and why we think will continue to dominate the UI guidelines.

· It reduces eye strain

· It provides safety in dark environments

· It allows highlighting and popping other design elements

· It saves device battery power

If you are thinking of adopting this trend for your digital experience too, there are some things that you should keep in mind so you can make the most of it:

Use a dark grey rather than a pure black (#000000); use lighter tones on dark themes, as saturated colors can create an irritating contrast on your UI; test your design in both dark and light appearances and allow your users to switch between regular to dark themes, rather than framing it as the only option.

There are more technicalities behind the simplicity of this sleek feature, but for that, we suggest that you read Nick’s Babich 8 tips for dark theme design.

Bold Typography.

Yet another design trend that seems to have found its way back into widespread practice nowadays, bold typography perfectly blends with pretty much every trend that this article will touch upon. Not only does it add an extra feel of modernness to your overall design, but it also an efficient means of driving users’ attention to certain elements on your web or mobile app.

Remember that when playing around with such heavy fonts, you should avoid overusing them and focus on short bits of text placed on more neutral backgrounds.

bold typography product design
Mobile Banking Service Website by Tubik

Micro interactions.

Micro interactions have become an essential part of designing great web and mobile apps. Being utterly subtle details, these design gimmicks articulate an enjoyable experience and ignite a priceless sense of excitement for those using your app or navigating your website.

Although the term might seem quite explanatory itself, one must remember that the word “interactions” refers to engaging human moments, that can be grasped within seconds, without overwhelming.

Microinteraction Bookmark interaction by Paarth Desai
Microinteraction Bookmark interaction by Paarth Desai

Beyond conveying an aesthetic aspect, these animations aim to:

· Provide immediate feedback about a completed action, playing on our natural tendency to seek instant gratification in everything we do;

· Teach the functionality of the visual interface through intuitive design elements.

· Or encourage certain actions on the platform, functioning just like a visual Call To Action, but rather an indirect one.

Micro interaction Loading XXI by Oleg Frolov
Loading XXI by Oleg Frolov

Whether you are thinking of a swipe animation, an unconventional loading screen, a delicate call to action, or just a cool button, when designing these micro interactions, you should always put yourself in the user’s shoes, strive for functionality, be as less intrusive as possible and use plain human language.

Neumorphism.

Designers from all over the world seem to have not got over this trend which is somewhat recent, making most of the lists of 2020. Still, researching it could get a bit confusing because some tend to state that neumorphism is just a more recent term coined for skeuomorphism.

But there is a difference.

Skeumorphism, implies designing elements in a realistic and minimal style, focusing on the similarity between the real and digital worlds.

While neumorphism also attempts to replicate the real feel and aspect of elements such as buttons, layouts, or cards, it is more focused on the color palette. Specifically, this trend refers to creating an interface in which the previously stated elements look like they are placed behind the background, and not on the background.

digital product trend neumorphism Apple Watch UI Design by Sanad Daniyal
neumorphism Apple Watch UI Design by Sanad Daniyal

This is a subtle touch that can be done by manipulating shadow and light.

The image below should be explanatory enough, but if you want to get a crash course into how to properly implement it, we suggest reading this neumorphic design guide.

Shazam Neomorphism Version by Nardi Braho
Shazam Neomorphism Version by Nardi Braho

Immersive 3D visuals.

It is still quite early to tell if VR and AR technologies have gained a maturity level, but what is noticeable is that an increased number of product designers are pivoting similar hyper-realistic visuals onto websites, as well web and mobile apps. This gives brands more immersive touchpoints, an awe-inspiring user experience that could easily translate into conversions.

3d visual Timescope by Peter Tarka
Timescope by Peter Tarka

Successfully jumping on the bandwagon with this trend implies, however, a fine eye for design, but also a series of diligent efforts to increase your website performance. You may have some sleek animations or a 3D visual ready to take up the entire users’ screen and amaze them, but a slow-loading and poorly optimized platform will have them leave your website even before that fancy hero image will pop up, so be mindful about it. 

3d Landing Page by Tran Mau Tri Tam
3d Landing Page by Tran Mau Tri Tam

Abstract data visualization.

With so much data being available online, cluttering both our feeds and our minds, it is imperative that you find more engaging ways of displaying it. Gone are the days when we would get excited glancing at a colorful infographic, consuming the information with more curiosity than we would from a dull spreadsheet.

Indeed, it was exciting to see this abrupt transition from plane tables to creative data illustrations, but just like with every visual feature, we seem to have got used to this too now.

You have to find novel ways of data visualization. Dare to illustrate your information abstractly with a futuristic design that doesn’t necessarily conform to some predefined patterns. Challenging the norms might sound cliché, but when it comes to design it is how you move forward.

Leaps in Space by Bureau OberhaeuserDrowning in plastic by Reuters Graphics
Drowning in plastic by Reuters Graphics

Microcopy & UX writing.

Talking about plain human language, there’s not much to discuss about it, but a simple statement. People demand less jargon, less of those vague standard notions, and more copy that sounds human. The goal is to write as you talk, ideally as less formal as possible, similar to a casual dialogue that you would have with a friend.

Although we were not the fans of the term “human-centered design”, as it kinda feels like BS, to our surprise, it is a thing now. And so should the human-centered copy.

It doesn’t matter whether you are writing an article or UX copy for a new fintech app, you should aim to define a unique tone of voice, based on authentic non-corporate messaging that people can understand and resonate with. Being a content writer myself, I have often fallen into the trap of wanting to sound just as professional as the other players in the industry, but, looking at the engagement metrics, I got to understand that I was heading to a dead-end.

It is fascinating how challenging it is to write just as simple as we talk when most of us were schooled in a specific formal writing style, but, luckily, there are some organizations that are already mastering this art.

Have a look on Ueno’s website to draw some inspiration on what engaging UX writing looks like.

Minimalistic design.

We can’t be sure whether this is just a temporary phase or a long-awaited comeback, but it is clearly happening. With so many distractions, flashy elements, electrifying colors, and nerve-racking pop-ups, going back to the basics of minimalism feels like a refreshing breath of air for most of us who need a break from the distractions of the current always-on life.

Having just mentioned that you should dare to be bold in your design and play with the abstract notions, it might seem a bit contradictory to now encourage you towards minimalism.

I’m not saying you have to ditch your experimental ideas to the detriment of a bare design. What I am suggesting is that you can do both. Simply keep in mind that, these days, as users, we tend to feel overwhelmed and anxious by the clutter we are surrounded with.

No matter the industry, a loosen-up visual interface will trigger a sense of peacefulness which often correlates with increased levels of engagement. Still, this practice is even more effective for those businesses selling complex solutions such as SaaS products or even financial services, as it simplifies their narrative, keeping users hooked on the specific platform.

minimalistic design Finance Mobile App Design by Ghulam Rasool
Finance Mobile App Design by Ghulam Rasool

Final thoughts.

The web and mobile app design area is crowded with ephemeral trends, but some of them determine the industry norm for a longer term. In this article, I wanted to present the popular design trends of 2020, while also anticipating a few more that will gain increased traction in 2021, based on our work here, at RebelDot, as well as an analysis of the already existing articles on this topic.

Although neither of these trends implied rocket science, I hope that reading this piece reinforced some basic concepts and got you inspired to design the next digital solutions that you users won’t get enough of in 2021.

As the design phase is also an iterative part of the product development process, you might also want to read our complementary post about building an MVP to understand exactly just what it means to innovate with rapid customer feedback. 🚀

DSC_1581__1564482943_82.78.92.63-2000x1125 (1)

React Native or Native Development-iOS & Android: What should you choose for your next mobile app?

The dream of having one single framework to cover all platforms has been amongst us for years, and for a lot of us, getting here seemed nearly impossible.

A few years later, React Native has massively grown since it was open-sourced by Facebook back in 2015. Today, huge players like Facebook, Bloomberg, Uber Eats and Walmart have chosen React Native to build their mobile apps.

So, what’s better for your next great mobile app, React Native, or Native App Development?

A few months ago we had this very same discussion in house, with one of our partners. We were looking at two different apps, that could both be developed native or cross-platform. One involved sole iOS development and the other one was supposed to function on both platforms, Android and iOS. Now, most of our clients expect that in this kind of situations we deliver a straight, upfront answer with solid information to sustain our position. The truth the answer to this question depends on the project you are planning to build.

Taking the case of a mobile application that we would want to work on both platforms both iOS and Android, React Native comes in handy as a streamlined, cross-platform framework that allows you to develop two different apps, with the same codebase without compromising on your user’s experience. This simply means you don’t have to create an iOS and Android app separately and instead, one single codebase will have the output of two different apps. It also means that when there’s a bug, we’d only need to fix it once, which makes this whole React Native game loved by teams of developers around the world.

To cut to the chase and get a few things clear from the start, if you are only looking to build an iOS mobile application, building it in React Native makes zero sense.

So, yes, React Native is not an all size fits all framework, and there are cases in which we do not recommend cross-platform development as the best option. Switching the angle, if you are looking to build an iOS mobile application and later on add an Android one to it, the approach isn’t the same.

From our perspective, React Native comes with a huge advantage of cutting down on development costs. Our experience tells us that in most cases, the development cost is reduced by 30% per platform.

Besides this great competitive advantage React Native brings to the table, there are a few essential things we would want you to consider before making any decision regarding the tech stack of your mobile app. These are also some of the most frequently asked questions we get regarding React Native. Grab a cup of your favourite coffee and read this through with us.

Does React Native influence the look & feel of my mobile app?

The right answer is that it depends on the overall complexity of the user experience.

One considerable advantage that native mobile apps bring to the table is access to all mainly native functionalities, as well as some other animation tools. There is no middle ground, and you can take advantage of everything the platform has to offer. For some apps, which are a little bit more sophisticated in their UX, this might improve the overall user experience the app has to offer. Although React Native has the Animated API, which is a pretty good solution, some say it is still far behind the native capabilities.

In a nutshell, React Native simply does not provide all the power for complex animations and UX like a native app would. Still, for simple-looking apps, unless the quality of the code is poor, the user should not be able to tell the difference.

Does React Native influence the future scalability of my mobile app?

We recommend getting into scalability as a point of discussion long before actually starting to build an app. It not only gives your digital product a good start, but it helps in making sure you won’t have to support the financial costs of possibly rewriting your app later in time, as the product gets more traction.

By now, React Native should have all the capabilities of scaling with about 80% of the apps on the market. Having said this, there is no reason React Native should stand in the way of your app’s scalability, and there are a few good examples out there on the market to prove it.

Why are some people disappointed by React Native?

Because for apps that are resource-intensive and require a lot of interaction, Java, Swift and Objective-C might be better options. Messaging apps like Facebook Messenger can be a good example here, as in most cases, they allow a high degree of customisation and have a lot of background processing.

Also, there are apps like battery monitors and media players or various antivirus software that are more suitable for native languages.

Airbnb ditched React Native. Should I too?

The short answer is — no — but it gets more complicated than this.

If we take a look at the case of Airbnb, they ditched React Native after trying to introduce it in a reasonably big app, already written in native code.

Around 2009, Airbnb was just a web-based platform, with increasing traffic on mobile devices.

In 2012, the Airbnb development team realised that in order to keep pace with the increasing traffic they were having on mobile devices, they would eventually have to start investing in a team of iOS and Android developers. For almost four years, their team built iOS and Android apps using dedicated mobile development resources.

Four years later, in 2016 the landscape has shifted in such a way that they had to come with a faster solution to the increasingly mobile need on the market. Already having a fairly big team of experienced React resources from their web development teams, switching to React Native instead of hiring iOS and Android developers, seemed like a good idea. They started introducing React Native into their already existing code base and up to this day, 15–20% of their apps were written in React Native.

In 2019, Airbnb realised it takes more time and resource to introduce React Native into an already existing codebase, as often times they were bumping into functionality gaps that needed to be filled with native code.

Taking the case of Airbnb, transitioning from 0 to 1 was far costly than expected. The point here?

If you are trying to introduce React Native into an already existing codebase, expect to invest such amount of energy and time, it might not even be sustainable anymore.

Summing this up, React Native should, by now, have all the capabilities of covering functionalities for at least 80% on the market. To this day, it has been widely used by a lot of big brands that are out there and in some cases, it might be the smartest option for developing a mobile app for both Android and iOS.

If your team does not have any experience working with React Native whatsoever, maybe an alternative would be to hire a React Native developer

Did we miss anything?

Make sure you drop a line or getintouch@rebeldot.com.

Curious to know what it’s like being a rebel? Come grab a coffee.

We are looking for rebel people to join our offices in Copenhagen, Cluj and Oradea.

going-ux-first-is-a-necessity

Going UX design first is not a trend, it’s a necessity.

Here at RebelDot, user experience design has been an important part of our process from the very beginning. In fact, for us, design isn’t just a trend, but a way of thinking.

Of course, we aren’t the only ones who realized the importance of going UX first, as many companies, from start-ups to large organizations choose to go this route, as the number of advantages brought to the table is astonishing.

Since the importance of UX design plays a significant role in our company and the products we build/ develop, I’m going to share with you why going design first is not a trend, but a necessity.

Going UX design first

First, user experience design should not be an add-on, as it should be incorporated from the very beginning.

The biggest mistake many companies make is starting the UX design phase too late in the product development process. I know from experience that developers are much more comfortable thinking in features and user stories, rather than journeys and scenarios. Therefore, in development-oriented teams, products are built based on assumptions and requirements, and oftentimes they end up with a final product that doesn’t correspond with the user`s needs.

By going design first, we go through a series of steps, an iteration through which we define and validate needs, frustrations, requirements and assumptions, resulting in a validated product, which answers real needs. Only after the design phase, we hand off a fully working prototype and documentation for the developers to build on.

Good user experience is crucial. The aesthetic side is just a small part of UX, which makes all aspects (consistency, functionality, target audience, monetization, etc) work together in harmony. Essentially, UX defines how a product will work, and how users will interact with it.
If you have an idea, then this is the place to start!

Importance of going UX design first

Empathy

First, every product, environment or experience starts with the users. After kick-off you need to find answers to the following questions:
What are the user’s needs?
What problems are we trying to solve?
What value will the product bring to the users?

Going design first will answer these questions through research, which on top of everything, will give you a better understanding of your audience and will allow you to adjust and set trajectory before the development phase begins.

When building a new product, it’s vital to dedicate as much time as possible in understanding how users will use the product and in which scenarios, to make sure their needs are met, and frustrations resolved, making their way of working simpler and hassle-free.

Innovation

To solve complex problems and come up with innovative solutions we use an iterative design process, where we seek to understand the users, assess their needs, challenge assumptions, and identify problems that might not be apparent on first sight.

While every product is unique and has its own challenges, having an iterative design process in place is crucial to champion challenges and design the best solutions.

Consistency

A designer will help you bring all ideas together, identifying features that are important for your product, features that can determine whether your idea will succeed or fail.

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Money Saving

It is easier and cost efficient to change trajectory, to tackle the unexpected during the design phase. The costs of changes and updates in this phase are much lower than changing an entire product which is already developed.

Building on 3 pylons

The end goal of a design is to create a product that is desirable, feasible and viable. This means that your product should not only satisfy the needs of a user, but it must also take into consideration the appropriate technology that allows implementing the right solution for the product and its business model.

Designers slow us down to speed us up

The design is important, and as mentioned before, to start with this phase from the beginning is vital, a must for companies and organizations that build products.
Start with the right foot, foresee, tackle and validate issues, before investing too much time and money into the development process. 

 

If you want to build a successful product you should definitely go design first, think outside the box, look beyond aesthetics, build a cross-functional team and most importantly, believe in your idea!

Blockchain

Are STOs replacing ICOs?

November 2018 has been a Blockchain packed month for us, as our CEO has been invited as an investor to two of the biggest conferences in the blockchain industry: Crypto Invest Summit in Los Angeles and Malta Blockchain Summit and now we’re packing again for London.

BTW, if any of you want to grab a cup of coffee, you can meet our CEO during the Blockchain Venture Summit that will take place on 21st of November.

However, before flying to London, we wanted to share with you the main key points from the L.A and Malta conferences.

So here we go:
The end of the ICOs is close:
One of the main takeaways is that the era of the ICOs is nearly over. STOs – Security Token Offerings – are taking the lead.

During the conference, there were various discussions from the types of assets being tokenized to all the legal implications and the infrastructure needed to support them. Although the infrastructure is still in its infancy, all the voices agreed that the STOs are the next big thing. Keep an eye on it!
Blockchain is a bubble:
Steve Wozniak was one of the star-speakers bringing different perspectives to the table. Although he doesn’t claim to be a big expert in the field himself, Steve clarified his position regarding bitcoin by explaining that he invested in it for the sake of an experiment. However, he said that he is excited about how technology is evolving but that there is one thing that the world must not forget: the human factor.

One of his most interesting remarks was that Blockchain is a bubble: “The Internet was a bubble, but the thinking behind it was correct, it ended up being integral to our lives. Maybe with Blockchain, it will be the same: it is a bubble, but in 10-15 years its value will show ” Steve Wozniak.
My 2 cents are that Steve is right, but I believe Blockchain’s worth will be seen in an even shorter period than what he predicted. I’m curious about your opinion: is Blockchain the new era, or is it a trend slowly dying?
Malta is the Blockchain Island

One of the things I liked most about Malta Blockchain Summit was the diversity of the participants: over 8500 (the highest number stated) with different backgrounds and perspectives regarding the industry.

But what truly captured my attention was learning about the efforts that the Government and institutions do in transforming Malta in blockchain heaven. The legislative actions seem to have created a sense of security and stability, Malta managing to attract top cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance and OKEx. Thumbs up, Malta!

The gaming industry – the playground for Blockchain
Gaming, Gaming and again Gaming… the topic came up multiple times during the events and was related to how Blockchain is disrupting the gaming industry. The blockchain gaming advocates continuously emphasized that the main benefit of using Blockchain in this industry is having true ownership of your in-game assets.

However, not everything is pink as the main bump in the road is user adoption. It seems that there is a big challenge to onboard new users: ”Many gamers are blinded by what they are accustomed to.” Cristián González, CEO of MEGO

On the list of obstacles for mass adoption, we can also add the costs transparency and the quality of the games.
These are only a few of all the interesting things I learned from the conferences, but I will come back with more updates from London. In the meantime, I’m curious to see what you think about Blockchain and where you see the tech heading next.
Software development process

The Anatomy of a Successful Software Development Process | UX-UI Design.

Hello everybody,

Our team was present between 3rd–4th of October at IMWorld in Bucharest.

During the event, amongst the visitors, they spoke with a few of them about our end-to-end software development process. While having these conversations, they realized some important aspects of the current market trends:

‘’ We were surprised to find out how many business owners have difficulties in finding the right software partner for their businesses. When we showed them how we do UX/UI and the concept of Rapid Prototyping we even got replies like: It took me one year to find a company to offer something like that. This was again, besides the positive feedback that we had already received from our clients, a market validation about the value we bring through our digital UX process. ‘’

Among the key takeaways from the event we noticed that the combination of Agile Development and Lean Startup is something that is driving the market nowadays. Also, UX-UI Design stage seems to be the emerging trend and one of the most important steps in the web and mobile app development process.

‘’At RebelDot we already have a few years of experience in terms of introducing UX-UI Design as a first step in the development process. Our teams have worked on different types of projects and industry specifics and we already validated the effectiveness of our development methodologies.’’

How is the UX/UI step part of RebelDot’s end-to-end software development process?

When talking about our special end-to-end software development process, we are a technical partner that covers all services from: tech advisory, gathering specifications, risk assessment, architecture, UX-UI design to prototype, MVP or product development, quality assurance, maintenance and long-term support.

As you can see below, after the initial analysis and specifications gathering, we move directly to UX/UI Design.

Instead of writing hundreds of pages of technical specifications, most of our customers prefer to move into this design stage where they can visualize their future app. Moreover, they can provide their own feedback and also collect and bring in feedback from their future users/clients. At this stage, change is easy to embrace and everything is quick, cost effective and easily adaptable towards product-market fit.

RebelDot’s UX-UI Design process is following in general 5 steps:

1.      User personas – define who your users are and what their main characteristics are.

2.      User Flows – identify the processes and define, step by step, what the users’ journey through your future web or mobile app is.

3.      Wireframes – start designing the screens for the most important steps of every user flow. Initially, they will be low fidelity but enough to help you identify the items you like and which you don’t. After a few iterations and feedback rounds we will reach the high-fidelity stage and you will be able to see exactly how the screens will look like.

4.      Mockups – apply your branding elements and visual identity to the wireframes.

5.      Prototype – build a prototype to share with potential users and gather feedback in order to validate product-market fit before proceeding to development.

The process described above is just a small part of how we work, but if you are interested in finding out more details, drop us a line at getintouch@rebeldot.com and we’ll offer you a dedicated demo.