A mobile application is software that can be downloaded to a smartphone or tablet. It all started with simple games on push-button phones, but modern products can cover almost any need: pay taxes, make an appointment with a doctor, find jobs on request or a couple for the evening, order food and book a hotel.
Types of mobile applications
By business goals
Internal use
Services that optimize the work of employees within the company: corporate social networks and instant messengers, virtual office, cloud data storage, etc.
As a marketing tool
Loyalty programs: discount aggregators, bonus card and cashback systems for regular customers.
Online business services: programs for making appointments with a doctor, booking tours, hotels, etc. with the ability to conduct bank transactions.
In these cases, the application is used as a tool for implementing a marketing strategy - its interface allows you to send push notifications and reminders that encourage the audience to take advantage of a discount, buy a product, book an apartment, or make an appointment with a doctor.
By business goals
Internal use
Services that optimize the work of employees within the company: corporate social networks and instant messengers, virtual office, cloud data storage, etc.
As a marketing tool
Loyalty programs: discount aggregators, bonus card and cashback systems for regular customers.
Online business services: programs for making appointments with a doctor, booking tours, hotels, etc. with the ability to conduct bank transactions.
In these cases, the application is used as a tool for implementing a marketing strategy - its interface allows you to send push notifications and reminders that encourage the audience to take advantage of a discount, buy a product, book an apartment, or make an appointment with a doctor.
By purpose
Gaming
Logic tasks, racing, quests, quizzes, shooters, children's, adult and family games - the possibilities of modern development are almost limitless and allow you to create both simple and complex multi-stage virtual reality systems.
For e-commerce and service industries
Here we collect everything that helps the company reach as many potential audiences as possible: programs for ordering a taxi, making an appointment with a cosmetologist, buying cinema tickets, etc.
Content
They help users quickly receive relevant content: news from publications and newspapers, blogs with useful articles about psychology, exchanges with exchange rates and stock prices, assignments in language courses.
Social network
Services that help you communicate via smartphone and tablet: VKontakte, Instagram, Facebook, Gmail, etc.
Gaming
Logic tasks, racing, quests, quizzes, shooters, children's, adult and family games - the possibilities of modern development are almost limitless and allow you to create both simple and complex multi-stage virtual reality systems.
For e-commerce and service industries
Here we collect everything that helps the company reach as many potential audiences as possible: programs for ordering a taxi, making an appointment with a cosmetologist, buying cinema tickets, etc.
Content
They help users quickly receive relevant content: news from publications and newspapers, blogs with useful articles about psychology, exchanges with exchange rates and stock prices, assignments in language courses.
Social network
Services that help you communicate via smartphone and tablet: VKontakte, Instagram, Facebook, Gmail, etc.
By job features
Native
These are projects that are created for a specific platform, written in its native language and provide all the available capabilities of a smartphone: camera, contact list, GPS, health and sleep data, etc. Services for Android are most often written in Java, for iOS - Swift or Objective-C.
Pros: high speed and performance, the ability to implement a maximum range of functions, a clear interface, the ability to work without the Internet, a reliable level of security, support from marketplaces.
Cons: high cost and long development process, expensive maintenance.
Mobile web applications
It can be called a site adapted for any phone. The web service can be installed as a bookmark in the browser and used regardless of the platform, without downloading to your phone or wasting memory.
Pros: simple and inexpensive creation process, no need to undergo moderation and publish in every marketplace, easy access for users.
Cons: requires an Internet connection to work, limited interface, low performance and speed, cannot send push notifications.
Cross-platform
Universal services that are created for two platforms at once: iOS and Android and combine the features of web and mobile applications.
Pros: low cost and high release speed, cross-platform, offline updates.
Cons: speed is lower than native ones, incorrect operation in case of poor Internet, limited visual capabilities.
Native
These are projects that are created for a specific platform, written in its native language and provide all the available capabilities of a smartphone: camera, contact list, GPS, health and sleep data, etc. Services for Android are most often written in Java, for iOS - Swift or Objective-C.
Pros: high speed and performance, the ability to implement a maximum range of functions, a clear interface, the ability to work without the Internet, a reliable level of security, support from marketplaces.
Cons: high cost and long development process, expensive maintenance.
Mobile web applications
It can be called a site adapted for any phone. The web service can be installed as a bookmark in the browser and used regardless of the platform, without downloading to your phone or wasting memory.
Pros: simple and inexpensive creation process, no need to undergo moderation and publish in every marketplace, easy access for users.
Cons: requires an Internet connection to work, limited interface, low performance and speed, cannot send push notifications.
Cross-platform
Universal services that are created for two platforms at once: iOS and Android and combine the features of web and mobile applications.
Pros: low cost and high release speed, cross-platform, offline updates.
Cons: speed is lower than native ones, incorrect operation in case of poor Internet, limited visual capabilities.
How mobile apps work
How are they different from websites?
Mobile services are more difficult and expensive to create, but they allow high-quality interaction with users - the costs for them quickly pay off and help form a loyal audience.
Notifications. Through the application, you can send push notifications and reminders, even if a person does not open the service, perform functions in the background and without an Internet connection.
Prompt feedback from the company via chat and technical support.
Individual service. It is possible to use geolocation, a person’s biological rhythm, data about interests and queries in search engines to offer an individual service: call a car to your home, create a diet and exercise regimen, offer the necessary tests taking into account medical history, or find a suitable match based on your interests.
More convenient to use: the application interface is adapted to user actions and has a clear structure with buttons.
Detailed analytics. Using statistics in the application, you can analyze the behavior of the target audience, create a more detailed portrait of the client and select effective marketing strategies.
Architecture
There are two main blocks: front-end and back-end parts. They act as a split system and interact with each other, transmitting information and ensuring smooth operation of the product.
The back-end part is not visible to users, but it is where all the site logic is based, data is processed and reactions are sent. Backend developers ensure the correct functioning of the interface, make each button take a person to the desired page, make payments through banking systems and collect data.
Front-end provides the look and feel of the interface that users interact with. This includes the design of pages, buttons, push notifications and other graphic elements, a user journey map and interaction with functions.
How are they different from websites?
Mobile services are more difficult and expensive to create, but they allow high-quality interaction with users - the costs for them quickly pay off and help form a loyal audience.
Notifications. Through the application, you can send push notifications and reminders, even if a person does not open the service, perform functions in the background and without an Internet connection.
Prompt feedback from the company via chat and technical support.
Individual service. It is possible to use geolocation, a person’s biological rhythm, data about interests and queries in search engines to offer an individual service: call a car to your home, create a diet and exercise regimen, offer the necessary tests taking into account medical history, or find a suitable match based on your interests.
More convenient to use: the application interface is adapted to user actions and has a clear structure with buttons.
Detailed analytics. Using statistics in the application, you can analyze the behavior of the target audience, create a more detailed portrait of the client and select effective marketing strategies.
Architecture
There are two main blocks: front-end and back-end parts. They act as a split system and interact with each other, transmitting information and ensuring smooth operation of the product.
The back-end part is not visible to users, but it is where all the site logic is based, data is processed and reactions are sent. Backend developers ensure the correct functioning of the interface, make each button take a person to the desired page, make payments through banking systems and collect data.
Front-end provides the look and feel of the interface that users interact with. This includes the design of pages, buttons, push notifications and other graphic elements, a user journey map and interaction with functions.
In what programming languages are they created?
Java
Most Android applications on Google Play Market are written on it.
Java is used for development for Android, cross-platform and hybrid interfaces, but in the last two cases it will be necessary to use other languages to take into account the specifics of each operating system.
Kotlin
It was created to overcome the shortcomings of Java and is used to write code for almost all new services on Android.
Objective C
It began to be used in the 80s of the 20th century. It was created based on C and Smalltalk, and in 2008 Apple released iPhone SDK 2.0, which allows you to create programs for iOS. At first it was considered an add-on to C, but when NextStep and Apple licensed it, Objective C became the official language of all interfaces for iOS.
Swift
Swift not only adopted all the advantages of Objective C, but was also endowed with new features that simplify writing and implementing code.
Rust
Rust began in 2006 by developer Graydon Hoare, who wanted to combine the speed of C++ with the reliability of Haskell. In 2009, Mozilla joined it, and a year later it was presented at the Mozilla Summit. Rust is now one of the most popular among developers. Used to create native and web applications on Android, iOS, Linux, Windows and Unix.
C#
Previously used mainly for Windows Mobile, C# has recently learned to work on Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. Due to its convenient syntax, strict structuring and a large number of libraries and tools, you can write different types of interfaces on it and solve any problems with less time and resources.
Java
Most Android applications on Google Play Market are written on it.
Java is used for development for Android, cross-platform and hybrid interfaces, but in the last two cases it will be necessary to use other languages to take into account the specifics of each operating system.
Kotlin
It was created to overcome the shortcomings of Java and is used to write code for almost all new services on Android.
Objective C
It began to be used in the 80s of the 20th century. It was created based on C and Smalltalk, and in 2008 Apple released iPhone SDK 2.0, which allows you to create programs for iOS. At first it was considered an add-on to C, but when NextStep and Apple licensed it, Objective C became the official language of all interfaces for iOS.
Swift
Swift not only adopted all the advantages of Objective C, but was also endowed with new features that simplify writing and implementing code.
Rust
Rust began in 2006 by developer Graydon Hoare, who wanted to combine the speed of C++ with the reliability of Haskell. In 2009, Mozilla joined it, and a year later it was presented at the Mozilla Summit. Rust is now one of the most popular among developers. Used to create native and web applications on Android, iOS, Linux, Windows and Unix.
C#
Previously used mainly for Windows Mobile, C# has recently learned to work on Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. Due to its convenient syntax, strict structuring and a large number of libraries and tools, you can write different types of interfaces on it and solve any problems with less time and resources.
In what cases is it necessary for business
If users use the phone more often than the computer. You can track statistics through Yandex.Metrica or Google Analytics. If more than 50% of customers access your website via smartphone, this is a sign to take action: provide users with convenient conditions for ordering before competitors do so.
There is a loyalty system. Replace plastic cards and paper coupons with stickers with a convenient online service (ideally, if it works even without the Internet). Offer customers an electronic bonus card with points, a discount for downloading the application, and a convenient personal account for tracking activity.
Competitors are already using the application. If the market has already begun to use mobile technologies, there is definitely no point in waiting. Study the offers of other companies, come up with additional features for your own product and start development so as not to lose customers.
We need new sales tools. The service allows you to implement marketing campaigns: hold sweepstakes and promotions, talk about new products and services, remind you about appointments and offer individual conditions for each person.
Creating applications is a complex process, but in the hands of an experienced team, everything is created quickly without loss of quality and is tested at every stage on a real target audience.
If users use the phone more often than the computer. You can track statistics through Yandex.Metrica or Google Analytics. If more than 50% of customers access your website via smartphone, this is a sign to take action: provide users with convenient conditions for ordering before competitors do so.
There is a loyalty system. Replace plastic cards and paper coupons with stickers with a convenient online service (ideally, if it works even without the Internet). Offer customers an electronic bonus card with points, a discount for downloading the application, and a convenient personal account for tracking activity.
Competitors are already using the application. If the market has already begun to use mobile technologies, there is definitely no point in waiting. Study the offers of other companies, come up with additional features for your own product and start development so as not to lose customers.
We need new sales tools. The service allows you to implement marketing campaigns: hold sweepstakes and promotions, talk about new products and services, remind you about appointments and offer individual conditions for each person.
Creating applications is a complex process, but in the hands of an experienced team, everything is created quickly without loss of quality and is tested at every stage on a real target audience.
