The way users engage with a brand’s web app has evolved significantly over the past few years. Users now prefer a distinct preference for engaging with chatbots as their go-to support for query resolution and support. Well, this is just one of the modern preferences that we are talking about. The blog piece will take a look at the top web app development trends that are expected to dominate in 2024. But before we discuss them, let’s quickly understand the concept of web app development. Read on!
What is web app development?
Web app development is defined as the creation of software applications that operate on web browsers. It involves the combination of designing, programming and testing to build dynamic and interactive websites. Web app development can range from simple websites to complex enterprise-level systems. The choice of tools and technologies depends on the unique business requirements and goals. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram leverage complex web applications to connect, share content, and interact online. Content relationship management systems like Salesforce and Hubspot are web-based CRMs that enable businesses to manage interactions with customers, track leads, and analyze data.
Web app development for 2024 – Top trends
• Blockchain
The global blockchain technology market is predicted to reach 1235.71 billion US dollars by 2030. It is one of the most significant trends for the future-ready development of web apps. Blockchain technology is defined as a decentralized and distributed ledger system that enables secured transactions across various computer systems. It involves developing decentralized applications that run on a peer-to-peer network instead of centralized servers. The technology allows for the creation of digital tokens that represent real-world assets within a specific application. Blockchain is best suited for supply chain applications – thanks to its high transparency and traceability. Web apps utilizing blockchain can facilitate end-to-end visibility, reduce fraud, and improve supply chain efficiency.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) offer a modern approach to web app innovation. They combine the best capabilities of both web and native mobile applications. They are designed to work seamlessly across different platforms and devices. The cross-platform compatibility reduces the need for different development efforts for different operating systems. Progressive web apps are built with a responsive design approach, ensuring that the UI adapts to various screen sizes and orientations. Also, PWAs are suited to work offline or in low-network conditions. They leverage service workers, which are scripts that run in the background, to cache content and enable offline access.
Another important aspect of progressive web apps is that they are discoverable through web search engines. Users can access a PWA by simply clicking on a link or bookmarking it. This makes it more accessible and user-friendly.
Twitter Lite is a popular example of a progressive web app.
The global chatbot market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.3% by 2030. 84% of businesses believe that AI chatbots will be very increasingly relevant for customer communication. AI chatbots are one of the significant features of next-gen web apps. They enable dynamic and real-time interactions with users. They are capable of answering queries, providing product/service information, and assisting users in navigating through web applications. Unlike human customer support agents, they can operate 24/7 without the need for breaks. This round-the-clock availability ensures that users can gain information or assistance at any time, contributing to optimized customer service.
Another benefit of leveraging AI chatbots for web app innovation is that it automates routine or repetitive tasks. They can handle common queries, guide users through processes, and perform specific functions within a web app. This allows human resources to focus on more complex tasks like business expansion and growth. Furthermore, AI-powered chatbots can analyze user data and preferences to provide personalized recommendations, content, or assistance.
Rather than navigating through multiple pages, single-page applications load a single HTML page and dynamically update the content. This enables a more engaging experience for users. Single-page applications often rely on APIs to fetch data and update content, thereby reducing the load on the server. They leverage client-side rendering and JavaScript frameworks to create highly interactive and dynamic user interfaces. Users can enjoy features such as instant form validation, real-time updates, engaging animations, and more.
Refire – an international hydro energy technology company is a perfect example of a single-page website application.
• Video content
Did you know that 82.5% of video traffic is driven by videos? Users increasingly turn to videos for information, entertainment, and engagement. No wonder videos are one of the top web app development trends in 2024. Integrating videos into web applications can capture and maintain user interest for longer time durations. Videos offer an immersive and dynamic way to convey business messaging. Web applications, especially those focused on e-learning, can benefit from incorporating video lectures, tutorials, and demonstrations to enhance learning processes. Videos are great for telling compelling brand stories. They can be used to showcase products, share brand narratives, and connect with users on a more personal and emotional level.
Future-ready development with AlignMinds
Here at AlignMinds, we employ agile methodologies, enabling flexible and iterative web development processes. We are equipped with full-stack development expertise and can cover both front-end and back-end technologies across various platforms. Our team follows a mature and well-defined delivery process which guarantees that client requirements are met consistently and within agreed-upon timelines. We believe in a sprint-based development approach. It means businesses are provided with measurable deliveries at the end of each sprint. Our client portfolio spans across diverse industries such as healthcare, logistics, media, and retail.
Initiate a conversation today to discuss how we help you develop a modern web application that can keep your customers hooked to your brand.
Ever wondered about the magic behind your favorite apps and websites? It’s not just about pixel-perfect visuals; it’s the seamless harmony between UX and UI design that makes product design and development addictive. Let’s decode this dynamic duo and uncover the secrets of exceptional product design. Did you know as per the statistics, 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience? That’s where UX comes in, ensuring smooth navigation and delightful interactions. Meanwhile, UI adds visual charm, capturing attention within milliseconds.
Join us on this journey to demystify UX vs. UI, and discover their game-changing impact on the digital world!
Defining UX and UI: What Do They Stand For?
User Experience, often abbreviated as UX, pertains to the emotions and perceptions a person experiences while engaging with a product or system. It encapsulates the general feeling derived from using a website or app: Is it user-friendly, enjoyable, and effective? UX is dedicated to ensuring users encounter a favorable and seamless interaction.
On the other hand, UI, or User Interface, is more about the specific elements and design of the product that users interact with. It’s the buttons, menus, colors, and layout – the visual and interactive part of the experience. UI is crucial in ensuring that the product looks good and is easy to use.
The Key Differences
The Synergy of UX and UI: Maximizing Product Design Impact
Within the domain of digital product design, the seamless integration of User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) plays a pivotal role in realizing a product’s complete potential. UX and UI are frequently likened to complementary facets of a single entity, and their cooperative partnership can yield a design that not only boasts aesthetic appeal but also offers an intuitive user experience, thereby optimizing the product’s effectiveness.
User Experience, often abbreviated as UX, revolves around comprehending and addressing the requirements, inclinations, and actions of the end-users. It encompasses thorough research, user experimentation, and an ongoing design process aimed at fashioning a user journey that is smooth and delightful. A finely honed UX guarantees that users can effortlessly explore the product, complete their tasks with efficiency, and relish their interaction. Consequently, this results in user contentment, continued engagement, and positive word-of-mouth endorsements.
User Interface, or UI, focuses on the aesthetics and interactive elements of the product. It deals with the layout, color schemes, typography, and overall visual appeal of the user interface. A well-designed UI not only captures the user’s attention but also guides them through the user journey using visual cues, interactive elements, and intuitive design patterns.
The interplay between UX and UI design hinges on their mutual ability to enhance and complete one another. A graceful UI has the power to enrich a well-organized UX, rendering it more compelling and visually attractive. Simultaneously, a considerate UX guarantees that even the most visually arresting UI remains functional and user-oriented. Through seamless collaboration, UX and UI designers can do product design and development that are not only visually pleasing but also provide a top-tier user experience.
This collaboration culminates in a product that strikes a chord with its users, addresses their demands, and leaves an enduring mark. To optimize the influence of product design, it’s essential to have a deep comprehension of the target audience, strike a balance between aesthetics and functionality, and commit to continuous enhancement based on user feedback.
AlignMinds: Your Gateway to Exceptional Product Design Experiences
In the ever-evolving world of product design, understanding the intricate fusion between UX and UI is paramount. We’ve dissected these two vital components and their profound impact on the success of your product design and development. UX is the unsung hero, focused on user satisfaction and functionality, while UI adds the aesthetic charm that draws users in.
As you embark on your product design journey, remember that UX and UI are two sides of the same coin. You need both for a stellar user experience. So, why not partner with the best in the business? AlignMinds,the leading product engineering company in India, has the expertise to transform your vision into a reality that not only works flawlessly but also looks stunning.
With AlignMinds by your side, your product design journey transcends ordinary boundaries and becomes a masterpiece in the making. Say no to mediocrity; embrace the finest. Experience the transformative power of AlignMinds, where a single click bridges the gap between good and exceptional. Your users will thank you for it.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how businesses create and maintain online presence. By combining technology and creativity, AI enables web developers to design and build more engaging, responsive, and user-friendly websites.
According to a Statista report, the revenue generation from AI is expected to reach $126 billion in 2025. AI has become an essential tool for web development and online branding, as it offers various benefits such as personalization, optimization, and automation.
In this article, we will explore the different aspects of AI and how it influences web development and online branding. We will also look at the future of the internet in the era of AI.
The Rise of AI in Web Development
Artificial Intelligence has transcended science fiction and become an integral part of our digital lives. When it comes to web development, it is not just about creating functional websites anymore; it’s about delivering an immersive, personalized, and efficient experience to users.
The AI revolution in web development has been driven by the need to cater to an ever-demanding user base. Today’s users expect websites to not only load swiftly but also adapt to their preferences seamlessly.
Important Factors to Consider That Influence Online Branding
Several factors in website development influence online branding and have revolutionized because of Artificial Intelligence!
AI-Driven Design for Better User Experience
In web development, making sure users have a great experience is super important. AI-powered design is leading the way in this effort. It is like having a smart assistant that watches what users do on a website and then changes things like the layout, menus, and content to match what each person likes. This personalized touch makes the website enjoyable to use and keeps people coming back.
AI-Powered Content: Creating More with Less Effort
Content, like articles and videos, is what makes the internet interesting. AI is like a powerful helper that can create top-quality content quickly. It is not just about text; AI can even make audio, video, and interactive stuff like chatbots and virtual assistants. This means less work for human creators and consistent quality across different parts of a website. AI is unlocking creative possibilities to engage users in exciting new ways.
Personalization for Better Engagement
Personalization is very important for online success. AI helps websites show you what you like based on your past behavior and some basic info. This makes you feel like the website is made for you. You are more likely to stay, interact, and buy. AI helps websites get you hooked.
Making Web Development Easier with AI
Creating websites used to be hard and slow. People had to write and test lots of code by hand. But now, AI helps by doing most of the work. AI tools can make and fix the code for websites without human help. This lets web developers be more creative and less bored.
AI and SEO: A Dynamic Duo
Having a great website is not enough; people need to find it online. That is what SEO does—it makes sure your website appears in search results. AI-powered SEO tools have changed how businesses do this. They can analyze data, find the right words, and keep your website visible and relevant.
The Ethical Considerations
While the potential of AI in web development and online branding is immense, it also raises ethical considerations. Privacy concerns, algorithmic bias, and transparency issues need to be addressed as AI continues to shape these domains. It’s crucial for businesses to navigate these ethical challenges responsibly while harnessing the power of AI.
Case Studies: Real-World Applications
To truly understand the impact of AI, it is essential to examine real-world applications. Across various industries, businesses have harnessed AI to transform their web development and branding strategies. From e-commerce giants using AI for product recommendations to healthcare organizations improving user experiences, case studies showcase the versatility and effectiveness of AI in different contexts.
Here are a few references that can further help comprehend the concept:
1. Netflix: Personalization Through AI
Background: Netflix, the world’s leading streaming platform, relies heavily on AI to enhance user experience and retain subscribers.
AI Implementation: Netflix employs AI algorithms to analyze user viewing habits, preferences, and historical data. This data-driven approach enables them to recommend personalized content to viewers, increasing user engagement and retention.
Results: By leveraging AI-driven recommendations, Netflix has seen a significant boost in user satisfaction and subscription retention rates. According to a report by McKinsey, Netflix’s recommendation system, powered by AI, is estimated to save the company $1 billion per year by reducing churn.
2. Spotify: AI-Powered Music Recommendations>
Background: Spotify, a popular music streaming service, uses AI to deliver personalized playlists and recommendations to its users.
AI Implementation: Spotify’s AI algorithms analyze user behavior, such as the songs they listen to, the time of day, and their mood, to curate personalized playlists like “Discover Weekly” and “Release Radar.” They also use AI for audio analysis to categorize songs based on characteristics like tempo and mood.
Results: Spotify’s personalized playlists have significantly increased user engagement. As of 2020, Spotify reported that over 60% of their streams come from personalized playlists, showcasing the power of AI in keeping users engaged and satisfied.
3. IBM Watson: AI in Website Development
Background: IBM Watson, IBM’s AI-powered platform, offers a suite of tools for businesses, including web development.
AI Implementation: IBM Watson’s AI capabilities extend to web development through AI-powered chatbots, content generation, and user experience optimization. It allows businesses to create websites with personalized content and responsive designs using AI.
Results: Multiple businesses have used IBM Watson to streamline their web development processes and improve user experience. For example, a travel booking website used Watson’s chatbot to assist customers in real time, resulting in a 30% increase in bookings and a 20% reduction in customer service response times.
4. Coca-Cola: AI-Driven Content Creation
Background: Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most recognizable brands, adopted AI for content creation.
AI Implementation: Coca-Cola employed AI algorithms to generate thousands of unique product descriptions for their e-commerce website. The AI analyzed product features and customer preferences to create compelling and personalized descriptions for each product.
Results: By using AI to enhance their website content, Coca-Cola experienced a 28% increase in online sales and a 20% reduction in bounce rates. The AI-generated descriptions resonated better with customers, leading to higher conversion rates.
These case studies demonstrate the versatile applications of AI in web development and online branding. From personalized content recommendations to streamlined web development processes, AI is reshaping the digital landscape and delivering tangible results for businesses across various sectors.
As AI continues to advance, its impact on these domains is poised to grow further, offering exciting possibilities for businesses seeking to thrive in the digital age.
Future Trends in AI-Driven Web Development & Online Branding
The future holds exciting prospects for AI in web development and online branding. One of the most promising areas is augmented and virtual reality experiences. AI can enhance these immersive technologies by personalizing user experiences, creating lifelike simulations, and improving real-time interactions.
The result is a more engaging and captivating online world!
Even for businesses, investing in futuristic AI is a strategic move! Businesses need to understand the tangible benefits of AI adoption. From increased conversion rates and improved user satisfaction to cost savings through automation, the ROI of AI investments is measurable and significant.
Get Ready to Embrace the AI Revolution with AlignMinds
In conclusion, Artificial Intelligence is a transformative force reshaping the landscape of web development and online branding.
Embracing this revolution is not an option but a necessity for businesses looking to stay competitive in the digital age. As technology continues to advance, staying ahead of the curve will be the key to success.
AlignMinds is a prominent Website Development and Software Development company with a global presence, including operations in India, Kenya, and the United States. This company has established itself as a valuable partner for businesses seeking to enhance their web development and online branding strategies.
As a renowned website development company in India – AlignMinds boasts a highly skilled and experienced web developer proficient in creating user-friendly, responsive, and visually appealing websites. Their expertise covers various industries and technologies, including Artificial Intelligence. By offering custom website development solutions, AlignMinds ensures that each client’s unique needs and brand identity are reflected in their online presence.
2.Robust Software Development Services:
In addition to website development, AlignMinds excels as a software development company in India and other parts of the world! They create customized software solutions that are AI-driven that help streamline business operations, improve efficiency, and enhance customer experiences. Their software development services cater to various domains, including healthcare, finance, e-commerce, and more.
3. Global Reach:
AlignMinds’ presence in India, Kenya, and the US allows them to serve clients from diverse locations. This global reach enables them to understand and adapt to market dynamics and customer preferences.
4. Online Branding and Digital Transformation:
AlignMinds understands that a website’s role extends beyond design and functionality. They offer comprehensive services to help clients establish and strengthen their online branding.
5. Emphasis on User Experience:
AlignMinds places a strong emphasis on user experience (UX) design. Being a website development company in Kenya, they ensure that websites and software applications are intuitive and easy to navigate, resulting in higher user satisfaction and more extended visitor engagement.
6. Innovative Solutions:
AlignMinds keeps pace with the latest technological trends and innovations. They offer cutting-edge solutions, such as progressive web apps (PWAs) and AI-driven applications, to keep clients ahead of the curve.
7. Client-Centric Approach:
AlignMinds takes a client-centric approach to every project. They collaborate closely with clients, understanding their goals and challenges to deliver tailor-made solutions that align with their objectives.
8. Measuring Success:
AlignMinds believes in data-driven decision-making. They provide clients with analytics and performance metrics, enabling them to continuously measure their websites and software applications’ success.
9. Security and Trust:
AlignMinds prioritizes security in all their projects in the era of increasing cyber threats. As a software development company in Kenya, they implement robust security measures to protect websites and software applications, building user trust and safeguarding sensitive data.
AlignMinds’ website and software development expertise positions them as a valuable partner for businesses looking to enhance their online branding efforts. Their commitment to quality, innovation, and client satisfaction makes them a reliable choice in the competitive web and software development world.
FAQs: Your AI and Web Development Queries Answered
Q1: How can AI improve website load times?
AI can optimize website performance by compressing images, caching content, and prioritizing resources, resulting in faster load times.
Q2: Are AI-generated articles as good as those written by humans?
AI-generated articles can be of high quality, but human touch is often needed for creativity and nuanced writing.
Q3: What are the security implications of AI in web development?
AI can enhance security by identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities, but it can also be exploited by malicious actors. Robust cybersecurity measures are essential.
Q4: Can small businesses afford AI-powered web development?
AI tools are becoming more accessible, with options for businesses of all sizes. It’s a matter of choosing the right solutions that align with your budget and goals.
Q5: How can AI improve the mobile browsing experience?
AI can optimize mobile websites by adapting layouts, images, and content to suit various devices and screen sizes, ensuring a seamless experience for users.
In summary, the impact of Artificial Intelligence on web development and online branding is profound and far-reaching. It’s a journey into a future where websites are not static pages but dynamic, personalized experiences that engage and delight users. Embracing AI is not just an option; it’s the path to staying competitive in the digital landscape.
In the dynamic world of Software Development and AI, Computer Vision stands tall as an ingenious and transformative technology. With its eye-catching capabilities, it’s reshaping industries across the globe. From healthcare and automotive to retail and entertainment, Computer Vision has left an indelible mark on the way we interact with machines.
Imagine a world where AI-powered systems can not only recognize faces and objects but also interpret emotions, detect anomalies, and aid in medical diagnoses. Impressive, right? According to recent statistics, ‘the computer vision domain is on the fast track, eyeing a remarkable $17.7 billion market size in 2023, and all signs point to a continued surge with a 19.6% CAGR spanning from 2023 to 2026’. This staggering growth underscores the pivotal role of Computer Vision in unlocking new possibilities and driving innovation.
Ready to be blown away? Join us on an exciting quest to explore the vast array of benefits that Computer Vision offers to AI, and envision the incredible possibilities it holds for shaping our future!
Definition of Computer Vision in AI
Computer Vision in AI is a field focused on enabling machines to interpret and comprehend visual information like humans. It involves developing algorithms and models that enable computers to extract meaningful insights from images or video data. By harnessing methods such as image recognition, object detection, and image segmentation, computer vision empowers AI systems to discern patterns, recognize objects, and comprehend scenes.
This technology is put to use in diverse fields such as self-driving cars, facial recognition, medical imaging, and augmented reality. By bridging the gap between visual data and AI understanding, computer vision revolutionizes the way machines interact with and interpret the world.
How Computer Vision is Becoming Vital for AI Applications
Within the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) applications, computer vision has risen to prominence and become an essential component, witnessing a notable increase in importance and relevance. Computer vision involves the extraction of information and understanding from visual data, enabling machines to perceive and interpret the world as humans do. Thanks to the strides made in deep learning, neural networks, and the accessibility of large-scale annotated datasets, this technology has undergone tremendous growth.
The applications of computer vision are vast and diverse across various industries. In healthcare, it aids in medical imaging analysis, detecting anomalies, and assisting in diagnosis. In autonomous vehicles, computer vision enables real-time object detection, lane tracking, and pedestrian recognition for safe driving. Additionally, it finds its utility in manufacturing for quality control, in retail for customer analytics, and in agriculture for crop monitoring.
One of the key reasons for the growing importance of computer vision in AI applications is its potential to transform raw visual data into valuable insights. This capability opens doors for enhanced decision-making, increased efficiency, and better automation in several sectors. As technology progresses, the accuracy and capabilities of computer vision models continue to improve, expanding its practical applications and impact.
Moreover, the rise of edge computing, where data is processed locally on devices, further boosts the importance of computer vision. With processing power becoming more accessible, AI-powered cameras and sensors can be deployed in various edge devices like smartphones, drones, and IoT devices, enabling real-time and on-device analysis.
Exploring 9 Ways Computer Vision Enhances AI Capabilities
Improved Image Recognition and Object Detection: Computer vision in AI enables more accurate and efficient image recognition and object detection, allowing machines to interpret and process visual data with high precision. This has diverse applications in fields like automotive, retail, and security, enhancing user experiences and safety measures.
1.Enhanced Facial Recognition Technology: Computer vision empowers facial recognition systems to identify and verify individuals, leading to improved security, personalized user experiences, and streamlined access control in various sectors such as banking, airports, and law enforcement.
2.Automation in Manufacturing and Industry:Computer vision plays a vital role in automating quality control processes, defect detection, and assembly line tasks in manufacturing industries. This leads to increased production efficiency, reduced costs, and enhanced product quality.
3.Advancements in Healthcare and Medical Imaging:AI-powered computer vision aids medical professionals in diagnosing diseases through advanced medical imaging analysis, offering earlier and more accurate diagnoses, leading to improved patient outcomes and treatment plans.
4. Enabling Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR):
When it comes to AR and VR, computer vision takes center stage, delivering lightning-fast perception of reality and a flawless merge with imaginative virtual elements, taking users on an immersive joyride of their dreams.
Support for Autonomous Systems and Robotics: Computer vision is indispensable for enabling autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots to navigate and interact with their surroundings, making them safer, more reliable, and capable of performing complex tasks independently.
5.Improving Accessibility for Visually Impaired Individuals: AI-powered computer vision assists visually impaired individuals by interpreting visual information and providing auditory or haptic feedback, enhancing their ability to interact with the world and promoting inclusivity.
Efficient Agricultural and Environmental Monitoring: Computer vision aids in monitoring crop health, detecting pests, and assessing environmental changes, empowering farmers and environmental agencies to make informed decisions and optimize resource usage.
6.Enhanced Security and Surveillance: Computer vision enhances security and surveillance systems by enabling real-time monitoring, object tracking, and anomaly detection, bolstering public safety and reducing crime rates in various settings, such as public spaces, transportation, and critical infrastructure.
Final thoughts on the transformative potential of computer vision in AI
As technology propels us into the future, Computer Vision stands out as a transformative force, reshaping the landscape of Artificial Intelligence. Venturing into a world of limitless opportunities, aligning with the very best Digital Transformation company in the US, India, and Kenya can set your business on an upward trajectory like never before. As we’ve explored the astounding benefits it brings to various industries, one thing remains crystal clear – the transformative potential of Computer Vision is boundless.
And when it comes to maximizing these advantages, AlignMinds emerges as the undisputed champion. As the best Digital Transformation company in Kenya, India and US, AlignMinds harnesses the power of Computer Vision, propelling businesses towards unparalleled success.
Embrace Computer Vision with AlignMinds today – Unlock Success! Contact us now to explore limitless opportunities.
Imagine a world where you can bring your wildest dreams to life, where you can step into a virtual realm and interact with products that haven’t even been manufactured yet. This is the power of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in product engineering.
In this article, we will delve into the realm of AR and VR, exploring their applications in product engineering, their benefits, and how they are shaping the future of the industry.
Introduction to AR and VR
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are revolutionary technologies that merge the physical and virtual worlds, enhancing our sensory experiences and enabling us to perceive and interact with digital content in a more immersive way. In AR, digital elements are added to the real world, while in VR, a full simulated environment is created.
The Role of AR and VR in Product Engineering
AR and VR have found a profound application in the field of product engineering. These technologies are transforming the way products are designed, developed, and tested, offering numerous advantages throughout the entire product lifecycle.
Enhancing Product Visualization with AR and VR
One of the key benefits of AR and VR in product engineering is the ability to visualize products in a highly realistic and interactive manner. Designers and engineers can create virtual prototypes and visualize them in a real-world context, allowing for better evaluation of aesthetics, functionality, and ergonomics.
Here are some ways AR and VR has been enhancing product engineering and visualization:
Streamlining Design and Prototyping Processes
AR and VR eliminate the need for physical prototypes, significantly reducing time and cost associated with traditional design iterations. With virtual prototypes, engineers can test different configurations, materials, and dimensions virtually, enabling faster and more accurate decision-making.
Simulating Real-World Environments and User Interactions
AR and VR technologies enable engineers to simulate real-world environments and user interactions. By immersing themselves in a virtual environment, designers can assess the usability, accessibility, and safety of products, identifying potential issues and making necessary improvements early in the design phase.
Improving Collaboration and Communication
AR and VR facilitate collaboration among multidisciplinary teams by providing a shared virtual workspace. Engineers, designers, and stakeholders can collaborate remotely, visualizing and manipulating 3D models together, regardless of their physical location. This enhances communication, streamlines decision-making, and reduces the risk of misinterpretation.
Overcoming Challenges
AR and VR Implementation
While AR and VR offer tremendous potential, their implementation in product engineering does come with challenges. Some of these challenges include high development costs, technical complexities, and the need for specialized hardware and software. However, as technology advances, these hurdles are gradually being overcome.
Security and Privacy Concerns
Another challenge is the security and privacy concerns! As with any emerging technology, security and privacy concerns arise with AR and VR implementation. Storing and transmitting sensitive data in virtual environments require robust security measures to prevent unauthorized access and protect user privacy. Industry standards and regulations are continually evolving to address these concerns and ensure the responsible use of AR and VR technologies.
Future Trends and Potential Applications
The future of AR and VR in product engineering is incredibly promising.
As technology advances, we can expect more sophisticated and accessible solutions. Some potential applications include virtual training simulations, remote product demonstrations, and even personalized customer experiences through AR and VR interfaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How does AR differ from VR?
A digital element is added to the real world through AR, while a virtual reality creates an entirely simulated environment.
Q2: Can AR and VR be used for training purposes?
Yes, AR and VR have proven to be effective in providing immersive training experiences across various industries.
Q3: What are the main challenges in implementing AR and VR in product engineering?
Some challenges include high development costs, technical complexities, and the need for specialized hardware and software.
Q4: Are there any security concerns with AR and VR?
Yes, security and privacy concerns arise with the implementation of AR and VR, and measures need to be taken to ensure data protection.
Q5: What are some potential future applications of AR and VR in product engineering?
Future applications include virtual training simulations, remote product demonstrations, and personalized customer experiences.
Have more question? Get in touch with one of the established product engineering company in US, India, Kenya and other parts of the globe.
Get Started with AlignMinds
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have revolutionized product engineering, offering unprecedented opportunities for visualization, design, collaboration, and user testing. The integration of these technologies into the product development process has the potential to enhance innovation, accelerate time to market, and improve overall product quality.
If you would also like to be a part of this or adapt AR and VR into your product or application development, then connect with the best product engineering company in India also very well known in Kenya, US and other parts of the world.
AlignMinds is a renowned company that offers exceptional AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) solutions for product engineering. With their expertise and innovative approach, AlignMinds has established itself as a leader in leveraging AR and VR technologies to enhance various aspects of product engineering. Here are some reasons why AlignMinds is recognized for their AR and VR solutions:
Extensive Experience: AlignMinds has a wealth of experience in developing AR and VR solutions for product engineering across diverse industries. Their team of skilled professionals understands the unique challenges of product engineering and applies their expertise to deliver tailored solutions.
Customized Solutions:
AlignMinds recognizes that every product engineering project has specific requirements. They work closely with their clients to understand their needs and objectives, ensuring that the AR and VR solutions are customized to meet those requirements effectively.
Immersive Visualization: AlignMinds excels in creating immersive visualization experiences using AR and VR technologies. Whether it’s virtual prototyping, 3D modeling, or interactive simulations, AlignMinds’ solutions provide realistic and interactive experiences that facilitate better design decisions and user engagement.
Collaborative Tools: AlignMinds understands the importance of collaboration in product engineering. Their AR and VR solutions incorporate collaborative tools that enable teams to collaborate remotely, review designs, provide feedback, and iterate efficiently. This streamlines the design process and improves overall productivity.
Ergonomics and Human Factors: AlignMinds emphasizes the importance of ergonomics and human factors in product design. Their AR and VR solutions allow engineers to simulate human-machine interactions, conduct usability studies, and optimize product ergonomics for enhanced user experience and safety.
Seamless Integration: AlignMinds ensures seamless integration of AR and VR technologies with existing product engineering workflows and systems. They have the expertise to integrate these technologies with CAD software, PLM systems, and other engineering tools, enabling a smooth transition and maximizing efficiency.
Scalability and Future-readiness: AlignMinds’ solutions are designed to be scalable and future-ready. They leverage advanced technologies, such as cloud computing and machine learning, to handle large-scale projects and provide insights for continuous product improvement.
Client Satisfaction:
AlignMinds has a strong track record of client satisfaction. They prioritize open communication, timely delivery, and superior customer support throughout the project lifecycle. Their goal is to ensure that clients achieve their objectives and derive maximum value from their AR and VR solutions.
In conclusion, AlignMinds is a reputable provider of AR and VR solutions for product engineering. Their extensive experience as a software development company, they offered customized approach, immersive visualization capabilities, collaborative tools, focus on ergonomics, seamless integration, scalability, and commitment to client satisfaction make them an excellent choice for businesses seeking top-notch AR and VR services for their product engineering needs.
Organizations are constantly seeking ways to optimize their infrastructure management processes in the current digital world. Traditional manual approaches are no longer sufficient to meet the demands of modern software development and deployment. This is where Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and DevOps come into play, offering a powerful combination that enables seamless infrastructure management.
In this article, we will explore the benefits of IaC and DevOps, understand their key principles, and learn how to implement them effectively.
What is Infrastructure as Code (IaC)?
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a methodology that allows infrastructure provisioning and management using code-based definitions. Instead of manually configuring servers and resources, IaC enables you to define your infrastructure in a declarative manner using scripts or configuration files. These scripts can be version-controlled, tested, and automated, providing a repeatable and reliable approach to infrastructure management.
What is DevOps Principles?
DevOps is a set of practices and principles that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to enhance collaboration, automate processes, and deliver high-quality software products. DevOps emphasizes the integration of development, testing, and operations teams to streamline the entire software delivery lifecycle. By breaking down silos and fostering cross-functional collaboration, DevOps enables organizations to achieve faster and more reliable deployments.
Benefits of Infrastructure as Code and DevOps
Implementing IaC and DevOps brings a wide range of benefits for organizations aiming to improve their infrastructure management processes. Let’s explore some of the key advantages:
A. Improved agility and scalability
IaC and DevOps enable organizations to quickly provision and scale their infrastructure as per their needs. With automated processes and infrastructure templates, you can easily spin up new environments, replicate existing configurations, and handle dynamic workloads efficiently. This agility allows teams to respond to changing business requirements swiftly.
B. Faster time to market
By automating manual tasks and streamlining processes, IaC and DevOps reduce the time it takes to deliver software products to the market. Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines enable faster and more frequent releases, ensuring that valuable features reach the end-users promptly.
C. Enhanced collaboration and communication
DevOps emphasizes collaboration and communication among development, operations, and other stakeholders involved in the software delivery process. By breaking down barriers and fostering cross-functional teams, organizations can achieve better alignment, improved decision-making, and accelerated problem-solving.
D. Increased stability and reliability
With IaC and DevOps, infrastructure configurations are defined and managed through code, eliminating manual errors and inconsistencies. This results in more reliable and stable infrastructure deployments. Automated testing, monitoring, and observability practices further enhance stability by quickly detecting and resolving issues before they impact the end-users.
Challenges in IaC and DevOps Adoption
While the benefits of IaC and DevOps are compelling, organizations often encounter various challenges during the adoption process. Let’s explore some of these challenges in detail:
A. Addressing resistance to change
Change can be met with resistance, especially when it involves new technologies, processes, or cultural shifts. Introducing IaC and DevOps requires buy-in from all stakeholders, including developers, operations teams, and management. Overcoming resistance to change and fostering a culture of openness and collaboration is crucial for successful adoption.
B. Managing complexity and technical debt
As infrastructure and application architectures become more complex, managing the associated technical debt becomes a challenge. Over time, infrastructure code can become convoluted, making it difficult to understand, maintain, and scale. Organizations must find effective strategies to manage complexity and prevent technical debt from hindering the benefits of IaC and DevOps.
C. Ensuring security and compliance
As infrastructure becomes code, organizations must prioritize security and compliance. Failure to do so can lead to data breaches, compliance violations, and reputational damage. Ensuring secure infrastructure configurations, implementing appropriate access controls, and regularly auditing and monitoring the infrastructure are essential for maintaining a robust security posture.
D. Training and upskilling the workforce
Adopting IaC and DevOps often requires new skills and knowledge. Organizations must invest in training and upskilling their workforce to ensure they have the necessary expertise to effectively implement and maintain IaC and DevOps practices. Identifying skills gaps, providing relevant training programs, and encouraging continuous learning are crucial for building a capable and empowered team.
Unleashing Agility by Overcoming the Challenges in IaC and DevOps Adoption
While challenges exist, they can be overcome with proper strategies and approaches. Let’s explore some solutions to address the challenges faced during IaC and DevOps adoption:
A. Strategies for addressing resistance to change
Communicating the benefits of IaC and DevOps: Clearly articulate the advantages of IaC and DevOps, such as faster software delivery, improved collaboration, and increased scalability. Demonstrate how these practices align with the organization’s goals and can positively impact individual roles and responsibilities.
Involving key stakeholders in the decision-making process: Engage stakeholders from various departments in the decision-making process. This fosters a sense of ownership and involvement, increasing the likelihood of successful adoption and reducing resistance.
Providing training and support to employees: Offer comprehensive training programs to familiarize employees with IaC and DevOps concepts and tools. Provide ongoing support through coaching and mentoring, enabling employees to apply their newly acquired knowledge effectively.
B. Managing complexity and technical debt
Implementing modular and reusable infrastructure code: Break down infrastructure code into modular components that can be reused across projects. This promotes maintainability, scalability, and reduces complexity.
Regularly reviewing and refactoring infrastructure code: Encourage developers to review infrastructure code regularly and refactor when necessary. This helps identify and address areas of complexity or technical debt, leading to cleaner and more efficient code.
Using automation tools to simplify deployment processes: Leverage automation tools, such as configuration management and orchestration frameworks, to simplify the deployment and management of infrastructure. Automation reduces the chances of human error and enables more reliable and consistent deployments.
C. Ensuring security and compliance
Incorporating security into the DevOps pipeline: Integrate security practices into the entire software delivery pipeline. Perform regular security scans, vulnerability assessments, and penetration testing to identify and address any potential security risks.
Implementing infrastructure security best practices: Follow industry-standard security best practices for infrastructure configuration. This includes implementing proper access controls, encryption, and monitoring mechanisms to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with relevant regulations.
Regularly auditing and monitoring infrastructure configurations: Implement robust monitoring and auditing mechanisms to detect and respond to any unauthorized changes or potential security breaches. Continuously monitor infrastructure configurations to ensure compliance with security policies and industry standards.
D. Training and upskilling the workforce
Identifying skills gaps and training needs: Conduct skills assessments to identify areas where additional training and upskilling are required. Understand the specific roles and responsibilities within the organization and provide targeted training programs to address skill gaps.
Providing continuous learning opportunities: Encourage employees to participate in conferences, workshops, and online courses to stay updated with the latest IaC and DevOps practices. Foster a learning culture that supports continuous improvement and provides resources for self-directed learning.
Encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing: Facilitate collaboration between teams by promoting cross-functional projects and encouraging knowledge sharing. Establish channels for sharing best practices, lessons learned, and innovative solutions to foster a culture of continuous learning and growth.
E. Teaming up with an Infrastructure development company
Teaming up with an infrastructure development company like Alignminds can be a game-changer when it comes to adopting Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and DevOps practices.
Alignminds is among the best Infrastructure development company in India, Kenya and US. They bring a wealth of expertise and experience in building robust and scalable infrastructure solutions. Their team of skilled professionals understands the complexities and challenges involved in IaC and DevOps adoption, and they are well-equipped to guide organizations through the entire process.
By partnering with Alignminds, organizations can benefit from their in-depth knowledge of industry best practices, cutting-edge tools and technologies, and a proven track record of successful implementations. Alignminds provides end-to-end solutions tailored to specific business needs, ensuring a smooth and efficient transition to IaC and DevOps.
With their support, organizations can overcome obstacles, mitigate risks, and accelerate the realization of the benefits associated with IaC and DevOps adoption.
So, what are you waiting for? Book a free consultation today! Contact Now!
Choosing the Perfect IT Infrastructure Development Company: Factors to Consider
A recent study conducted on businesses revealed that 99% of them reported utilizing at least one digital technology in their daily operations. This represents a significant reliance on technology and proves that IT infrastructure is the backbone of any modern business.
With the growing reliance on technology, it’s essential to have an efficient and reliable IT infrastructure that can support your business needs. But building and maintaining such an infrastructure is not an easy task, and often businesses lack the expertise and resources to do it themselves.
This is where IT infrastructure development companies come in. Choosing the perfect IT infrastructure development company can be a game-changer for your business, and in this article, we will discuss the factors that you should consider before making that decision.
So, let’s get started! Here are the 15 factors to consider:
1.Understanding Your Business Needs
The first and most crucial step in choosing an IT infrastructure development company is to understand your business needs. You must have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve, what your budget is, and what your timeline is. Once you have a clear picture of your requirements, you can start looking for a company that can meet those needs.
2.Experience and Expertise
The experience and expertise of an IT Infrastructure Company.is a critical factor to consider. Choosing a company that has worked on similar projects to yours and has a track record of delivering high-quality work is essential. You can assess their experience by checking their portfolio, reading client reviews, and asking for references.
3.Technology Stack
The technology stacks an IT infrastructure development company uses is another crucial factor to consider. The right company should use modern and up-to-date technology compatible with your business needs. They should also have expertise in various technologies, including cloud computing, architecture, and containerization.
4.Scalability
Scalability is a critical factor to consider when choosing an IT Infrastructure Management company. You want to select a company that can grow with your business and meet your changing needs. The right company should be able to accommodate the increased demand for resources and infrastructure while maintaining performance and quality.
5.Communication
Effective communication is essential for successful IT infrastructure development. You want to choose a company that is easy to communicate with and is responsive to your needs. The company should have clear communication channels, provide regular updates, and keep you informed about the project’s progress.
5.Security and Compliance
Security and compliance are essential when choosing an IT infrastructure development company. The company should thoroughly understand security best practices and compliance requirements, including GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, among others. They should also implement robust security measures to ensure the safety and confidentiality of your data.
6.Cost
Cost is an important factor when choosing an IT Infrastructure company. You want to select a company that offers reasonable rates without compromising on the quality of work. However, it would be best to avoid companies that provide meagre rates as they may compromise on quality or lack the necessary expertise.
7.Support and Maintenance
Support and maintenance are crucial for the smooth operation of your IT infrastructure. You want to choose a company that provides reliable support and maintenance services. They should offer 24/7 support, regular maintenance, and troubleshooting services to ensure your IT infrastructure runs smoothly.
8.Cultural Fit
The cultural fit between your business and the IT infrastructure development company is also an essential factor to consider. You want to choose a company with similar values and a work culture that aligns with your business needs. This will ensure that the company understands your business goals and can work effectively to achieve them.
9.Project Management
Project management is a critical factor to consider when choosing an IT Infrastructure development company. The right company should have an effective project management process in place to ensure the project is delivered on time, within budget, and to your satisfaction. They should have a project manager assigned to your project who can communicate effectively and provide regular updates on the project’s progress.
10.Flexibility
Flexibility is essential when it comes to IT infrastructure development. You want to choose a flexible company that can adapt to your changing business needs. They should be able to modify the project scope, timeline, and budget to accommodate any changes that may arise.
11.Innovation
Innovation is critical for businesses to remain competitive in today’s fast-paced environment. The right IT infrastructure development company should be innovative and constantly explore new technologies and solutions to improve your business operations. They should be able to provide recommendations on how to enhance your IT infrastructure and provide solutions to any challenges that may arise
12.Training and Knowledge
Transfer Training and knowledge transfer are essential to ensure your employees can effectively use and maintain the IT infrastructure developed by the company. The right company should provide training and knowledge transfer sessions to ensure your employees can use and maintain the infrastructure effectively.
13.Quality Assurance
Quality assurance is critical when it comes to IT development. The right company should have a rigorous quality assurance process to ensure the project is delivered to your satisfaction. They should conduct regular testing and checks to ensure that the infrastructure developed meets the highest quality standards.
14.Industry Experience
Industry experience is essential when it comes to IT infrastructure development. The right company should have experience working with businesses in your industry and thoroughly understand your industry’s unique needs and challenges. This will ensure that they can provide solutions tailored to your business needs.
AlignMinds Technologies provides IT infrastructure management services to help businesses improve the reliability, security, and performance of their IT systems. Their team of experienced IT professionals can help businesses design, deploy, and maintain IT infrastructure that meets their specific needs.
AlignMinds‘ IT infrastructure management services include network management, server management, database management, cloud management, and security management. They use the latest tools and technologies to monitor and manage IT infrastructure, ensuring maximum uptime and performance.
AlignMinds can also help businesses optimize their IT infrastructure to reduce costs and improve efficiency. By identifying areas for improvement and implementing best practices, AlignMinds can help businesses get the most out of their IT investments.
Overall, AlignMinds Technologies can help businesses with all aspects of IT infrastructure management, from design and deployment to monitoring and optimization. Their team of experienced IT professionals and focus on quality make them a great choice for businesses looking to improve the reliability, security, and performance of their IT systems.
If you are looking out for the perfect IT Infrastructure Management company in India , Kenya , US, UK or any other country Contact AlignMinds today!
Web development and design have come a long way over the years, but with that progress comes
an increase in security threats. As a Web development company in Kochi, India, Kenya, US, we
understand the importance of protecting your website from old and new threats. In this blog, we’ll
explore best practices for web development security and emerging threats to watch out for.
Best Practices for Web Development Security
Use HTTPS
HTTPS is one of the easiest and most effective ways to secure your website. It encrypts the
connection between the user’s browser and the server, ensuring that any data transmitted is
secure. This is especially crucial for sites that deal with private or financial information.
Keep Software Up to Date
For security, it’s important to keep the software on your website up to date. Updates often come
with security patches that fix known holes, so installing them as soon as they’re available is
important.
Use Strong Passwords
Using strong passwords is another easy way to improve web development security. Encourage
users to create complex passwords that are difficult to guess or brute-force. Two-factor
authentication could be used to add another layer of security.
Use Content Security Policy (CSP)
Content Security Policy (CSP) is a powerful tool for preventing cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. It
allows trusted content sources like scripts, stylesheets, and images. This helps prevent attackers
from injecting malicious code into your website.
Regularly Back Up Your Data
Regularly backing up your website’s data is essential for disaster recovery. If your website is ever
compromised, a recent backup can help you quickly restore it to its previous state.
Use a Firewall
A firewall is a piece of network security equipment that monitors incoming and outgoing data and
filters it according to predetermined security policies. A firewall can help prevent unauthorized
access to your website’s servers and protect against a wide range of cyber-attacks.
Implement Role-Based Access Control
Role-based access control (RBAC) is a way for an organisation to limit network access based on the
roles of its users. By implementing RBAC, you can ensure that users only have access to the data
and resources they need to perform their job functions, reducing the risk of a security breach.
Use Captcha to Prevent Automated Attacks
A challenge-response test is a type of captcha. It checks to see if the user is a real person. By
requiring users to solve a captcha, you can prevent automated attacks often used to exploit your
website’s security vulnerabilities.
Encrypt Data at Rest
In addition to using HTTPS to encrypt data in transit, you should also encrypt data at rest, meaning
data stored on your website’s servers. This can be done using tools like full disk or file-level
encryption, which can help prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data during a security breach.
Regularly Audit Your Website’s Security
Regularly auditing your website’s security can help identify vulnerabilities before attackers can
exploit them. This can include performing penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and code
reviews to ensure your website’s security is up to par.
Emerging Threats to Watch Out For
Ransomware
Ransomware is malware that encrypts a victim’s files and demands payment in exchange for the
decryption key. This can be devastating for businesses that rely on their website to operate. To
protect against ransomware, it’s important to keep your software up to date, use strong passwords,
and regularly back up your data.
Internet of Things (IoT) Attacks
As more gadgets connect to the internet, the potential of IoT assaults rises. Hackers can exploit
vulnerabilities in these devices to gain access to your website and steal sensitive information. To
protect against IoT attacks, use strong passwords and keep your software up to date.
Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks are a type of social engineering attack in which an attacker tries to trick the victim
into revealing sensitive information. These assaults are getting harder to spot as they become more
complex. To protect against phishing attacks, educate your users on recognising and avoiding them.
SQL Injection Attacks
SQL injection attacks are cyber-attacks where an attacker injects malicious code into a website’s
database. This code can be used to steal sensitive information or to modify, delete, or add data. To
protect against SQL injection attacks, you should use parameterized queries and input validation to
sanitize user input.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks
Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks occur when an attacker injects malicious code into a website that
is then executed by a user’s browser. This code can be used to steal sensitive information or modify
the website’s content. To protect against XSS attacks, you should use input validation and output
encoding to sanitize user input and prevent the execution of malicious code.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks occur when an attacker floods a website with traffic,
overwhelming its servers and causing it to become inaccessible. These attacks can be devastating
for businesses that rely on their website to operate. To protect against DDoS attacks, you should use
a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute traffic and protect against high-volume attacks.
Malware Attacks
Malware attacks are cyber-attacks where an attacker infects a website with malware, which can
then be used to steal sensitive information or gain unauthorized access to the website’s servers. To
protect against malware attacks, you should use antivirus software and regularly scan your website
for malware.
Conclusion
Web development security is essential for protecting your website from many threats. By following
best practices like using HTTPS, keeping your software up to date, and using strong passwords, you
can reduce your risk of a security breach. It’s also important to stay current on emerging threats
like ransomware, IoT attacks, and phishing attacks, so you can take steps to protect your website.
As a Web development company in Kochi, India, Kenya, US, we’re committed to helping our clients.stay secure online. Contact us to learn more about our web development and design services.
Are you tired of waiting for your Laravel application to load? Do you find yourself frustrated by slow response times and sluggish performance? You’re not the only one! Nowadays, users crave lightning-fast website and application experiences. In fact, a study conducted by Google has conclusively shown that a staggering 53% of mobile users will abandon a website if it takes longer than a mere 3 seconds to load. Whoa, that’s alarming!
But don’t worry, there’s hope! With the right techniques and tools, you can optimize your Laravel application for peak performance and provide your users with the speedy experience they crave. In this blog post, we’ll dive into the nitty-gritty of optimizing your Laravel app for peak performance. We have some real-world stats and examples to back up the best practices.
So, get ready to rev up your app’s performance and take it to the next level!
Techniques for Optimizing Laravel Application Performance
1. Minimizing Autoloaded Services: Autoloading numerous services can potentially result in sluggish performance as each request triggers the loading process, thereby consuming excessive memory and resources. To optimize performance, it is recommended to curtail the count of autoloaded services and limit the autoload only to essential services.
2. Route Caching: Route caching creates a cached version of the routes, which significantly improves the performance by reducing the time spent on route scanning and compilation. To implement route caching, use the command “php artisan route: cache” in Laravel.
3. Switch to the Latest PHP Version:
Upgrading to the latest version of PHP can provide better performance due to the latest features and improvements in the language. Make sure to check the Laravel documentation for supported PHP versions.
4. Compress visual data: The utilization of large images can drastically impede the performance of your application. In order to enhance the efficiency of your system, it is recommended to diminish the size of your images by means of an image compression tool or use Laravel API performance optimization tools.
5. Minimize HTTP Requests: Each HTTP request generates additional overhead, which can slow down the application. To minimize HTTP requests, combine all necessary resources such as CSS, JavaScript files, and images into one request.
6. Enhance the efficacy of database queries:
Database queries that are too slow have the possibility of severely undermining the performance of your application. To optimize your queries, use Laravel API performance optimization tools like eager loading, query caching, and indexing.
7. Utilize the methodology of Eager Loading: Eager loading loads all related data for a specific record, reducing the number of database queries required. This feature can be used in Laravel by using the “with” method on a model.
8. Employ JIT Compilers: The Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler can improve PHP performance by compiling the code at runtime. To enable JIT in PHP, make sure to use the latest PHP version and enable the JIT configuration.
9. Incorporating a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A Content Delivery Network can improve performance by distributing your application’s static content to multiple servers worldwide, reducing the latency and network load on your server. In Laravel, configuring the CDN within your application’s configuration file is crucial to leverage this capability.
Tools for Optimizing Laravel Application Performance
Laravel Debugbar: Laravel Debugbar happens to be a robust package that offers developers instantaneous and unparalleled insight into their application’s performance. It displays debugging and profiling information such as memory usage, execution time, and database queries in a graphical interface. This tool allows developers to identify and fix performance issues quickly, resulting in faster application performance.
Blackfire.io: Blackfire.io is a profiling tool that helps developers optimize their applications’ performance. It provides a deep understanding of the application’s performance by identifying performance bottlenecks and suggesting ways to fix them. The tool integrates seamlessly with Laravel, allowing developers to profile their applications with ease.
LoadForge: LoadForge is a load testing tool that helps developers simulate high traffic to their applications. By testing the application’s performance under heavy load, developers can identify and fix performance issues before they become a problem. LoadForge also integrates with Laravel, allowing developers to test their applications easily.
Laravel Telescope: Laravel Telescope is a debugging tool for developers who take performance seriously. It offers unparalleled visibility into critical aspects of your application, including requests, jobs, and database queries, all in real-time. The tool allows developers to quickly identify and fix performance issues, resulting in faster application performance.
Start Optimizing your Laravel Application Performance
That’s a wrap! We’ve finally reached the finish line of our quest to maximize the performance of our Laravel application. By implementing the techniques and tools we’ve discussed throughout this blog, you’ll be well on your way to creating a blazing-fast web application that your users will love. If you’re on the hunt for Laravel application development in Kochi, Kenya, US, look no further than AlignMind. Contact them now to augment your application’s operational efficiency.
Remember, optimizing your application’s performance is an ongoing process. Keep monitoring and tweaking your code, caching and database settings, and server infrastructure to ensure that your app is running at its best. In the end, it all comes down to providing a great user experience. By following the tips we’ve shared, you’ll be able to deliver lightning-fast response times, minimize downtime, and keep your users happy.
If you’re starting with web development, this post will outline some of the top web development ideas that you can use to make your website stand out.
8 Best Web Development Project Ideas In 2023
Here in this section, we will discuss 8 best full stack web development project ideas that you can try in 2023:
1. Grocery Delivery Website or App
Grocery delivery apps as a top web development project idea gives users a wide range of products and services. They’re frequently integrated with an analytics API. Using free website builders enables adding eCommerce functionality and shipping options. Grocery delivery websites help users compare prices and make payments and save shopping lists. Food delivery apps offer features similar to real- time operations and social sign- ups and customizable payment options. Some offer cash- on- delivery, while others allow credit cards to pay for their orders. The first step in the development process is to set your process flow. This will include defining your target followership, relating the type of app you want to produce, determining the time it’ll take to develop, and assessing the ideal of your final design.
2. Mood-board Creator App
A mood- board creator app is another web development project idea that saves time and money by helping you organize your ideas. This can be especially useful if you’re working with a customer. Creating a mood board can be delightful for sharing your ideas with guests and fellow creators. A mood board can help you find direction in your design process and help you exclude design crimes. Mood boards can come in numerous forms, but a standard format is a digital collage of images, plates and textures. They can also include words or descriptive expressions that capture the overall feeling of a particular design. Whether creating a brand, website, or mobile operation, mood boards can help you develop a sense of style. These can be simple visual plans or complex, organized collages.
3. Image-Sharing App
There’s a lot of talk about image sharing these days, so let’s look at some of the most extraordinary ways you can put your digital creations to good use. One thing’s for sure you’ll have a lot further data to work with in the coming times. One way to do this is by starting with native app development. For illustration, you could use Kotlin for Android, Swift for iOS, and JavaScript for the database. This will enable you to make a largely functional operation in no time at all. To get the most out of this operation, you ’ll need to be more sophisticated in your approach. In particular, you must concentrate on the big picture, i.e., your users and their requirements.
4. To-do List App
You can use the to- do list app as your web development project idea as your first design. If you’re starting with a full stack web development, these apps are a great way to organize and stay on track. The stylish to-do list apps are easy to use and allow you to produce tasks and assign them to others. A to- do list can keep you from getting distracted and make it easier to flash back effects. It also allows you to produce space for other studies. Plus, these apps are mobile-friendly, so they’re great for busy people on the go. When preparing your to- do list app, you’ll need to do some database CRUD operations. You’ll also need to allow users to produce and view timetable views, library systems, and comment on tasks.
5. Invoicing System For Freelancers
A sound invoicing system for freelancers is a game-changer for freelancers in terms of keeping pace with their payment obligations. It can simplify transferring checks and help you get paid promptly. The software should also allow you to track your time and charges to keep your billable hours in check. A tab system that allows you to shoot customized checks will make your billing process more manageable. Some of these systems offer a variety of precious features, similar to automatic payment options. It also offers a free invoicing option to automate introductory invoicing requirements.
6. Video Conferencing Website or Application
Videotape conferencing application is a great web development project idea to showcase your skills. To produce a videotape conferencing app, you need to consider your target followership and the features that will be most useful to them. It would help if you also add many features that will help you optimize your real- time connection. The most pivotal point of a videotape conferencing app is the audio and videotape quality. It is crucial as it can make a huge difference in the number of people that can participate in a call. Additionally, you can add a whiteboard. Some of the more advanced features include automatic adaptations to the video and audio bitrates, which are pivotal to the quality of your calls.
7. Content Management System
Web development involves designing and developing a website with numerous factors. These include your software, customer software, and a database to store data. Content operation systems help manage content. These systems allow users to produce, edit and publish blog posts. They also offer performance monitoring and reporting. A CMS is a more complicated one than a regular messaging app. A full Stack system should be suitable to make the system you need. Whether it’s an e-commerce website or a portfolio website, you will need to learn how to develop the right way.
8. Project Management Tool
Complete mound web development systems involve erecting a website with multiple factors and a database for data storehouse. To make a full stack web development, you need a lot of knowledge of different technologies. Fortunately, several software tools will help you with this. MeisterTask is a Kanban- grounded tool that helps you sort and organize your systems. It has a free version and paid version that includes many features like workflows, custom fields, and more. Wrike is an important design operation tool. It helps you set a timeline, organize tasks, and improve performance. You can also produce interactive maps. It’s available in a free version and a paid version with unlimited users.
Conclusion
Whether you ’re looking to start a new web development project or revamp your existing one, plenty of offers are available to help you get started. We hope our information gives you an idea of which one you should go for. Get in touch with us today to know how you can get any of these projects developed by the hand of our professionals.
Choosing the right development framework has a major role in deciding the success of any digital solution. Web development is not exempted from this. If you are a business that has always been cautious about choosing the right platform for your technology solution, you might have come across Laravel, a trending technology framework that is getting popular among businesses like you. If that is true, you might have also wondered whether to hire Laravel developers for your next project.
Here, as a technology partner for startups to enterprises for more than 12 years, we are trying to list out the benefits of hiring Laravel developers for your next project.
Is Laravel the right platform for businesses?
As a serious business that has its own goals to achieve in the long term, you want someone who is an expert in the latest technologies as your technology partner. Especially since, due to the ever-changing nature of the technology industry, new technologies are being introduced every day and existing technologies are being updated or outdated.
As a web development company, we have seen a new trend in the industry, The rise of a new framework that is often preferred by businesses and developers alike. The framework is none other than Laravel.
There has been a huge rise in the popularity of Laravel in the last decade. Compared to PHP, the programming language this framework is based upon, Laravel is a new kid in the block. However, due to the features and benefits it offers, more developers are choosing Laravel over other PHP frameworks nowadays.
The benefits are not exclusive to developers. The huge rise in demand for Laravel based solutions underlines that businesses are also getting benefited from this framework.
What is Laravel?
Laravel is a free, open-source PHP web framework, intended for the development of web applications following the model–view–controller architectural pattern and based on Symfony. It is primarily used for building custom web apps using PHP. The advantage of Laravel is that it handles routing, templating, HTML, and authentication perfectly. Laravel is a server-side framework, and it focuses heavily on data manipulation.
Model–view–controller
The Model-view-controller is a design pattern used for designing user interfaces that divides the codes into three categories, Model, View, and Controller, and each category of code has its own purposes. For example, the model deals with raw data, logic, and rules of an application. View deals with the representation of information and the controller ties together the model and view. It is the controller that accepts user inputs and converts them to commands for model or view. While the model is the central component, the controller is the brain of the application.
Laravel is based on the same “Model-view-controller” architecture and functions in the same way.
Why hire Laravel developers?
The reactive businesses change their business approach due to the pressure from the market. They introduce new products or services because the demand for the existing ones is on the decline, or their competitors are offering better ones. There can also be other reasons like the cost of the current business model is increasing and they are forced to come up with a new one. The market preferences have changed, and they must analyze the new trends and align their products and services to meet the latest demands. Since these businesses are led by the market, they have least to no control over the industry they are operating in.
On the other hand, the proactive business is the one that sets new trends in the market. They invent new products to create fresh demands in the market. They come up with unique solutions to win the attention of the market and increase the demand for their existing products and services. They keep on rejuvenating the industry with the help of the latest technologies and they are always ahead of their competitors.
Among these two, which one will be more likely to survive as a business in the long run?
The answer will be proactive businesses.
As a business, if you want to win the market and have an advantage over your competitors, you must be proactive in your approach.
Technology is the best tool available to any business that wants to be competitive in their industry. As a competitive business, you are not using technology to survive in the market. You are leveraging the latest technology to cut down your operating cost, maximize customer interaction, satisfy your customer’s needs, and inventing fresh methods to reach more customers. The right technology can help you with saving resources like money and time and increase your profit margin.
So, if you are a business that falls into the second category and is looking to build a web solution, Laravel is the right choice for you. This PHP framework comes with a ton of features that helps business and developers alike. These features make the development process easier and when the process becomes easier the cost and time will be reduced. So, if you decide to hire Laravel experts, you can have the best solution at an affordable price within a short time as a business.
So, let’s discuss the features of Laravel that make the framework the best choice for most businesses.
Features of Laravel
The question of whether to hire Laravel developers is not a brainer for most businesses due to the advantages the framework offers. The main advantages of Laravel are;
Better performance
Most businesses hire Laravel developers because the framework has certain performance advantages over other frameworks in the market.
Laravel comes with native support for Memcached and Radis caching systems. The benefit of such systems is that they help you to build applications quickly by storing diverse cached objects so there is no need to rebuild the configuration for every request. The availability of route optimization helps you with maximizing your app performance even if it has lots of routes. The scalability and multilingual support make Laravel one of the best PHP frameworks to work with if you are expecting more users in the future.
Laravel also offers features like Image optimization, limiting the number of plugins, composer load optimization, precompiling assets, etc. to improve the performance of your application.
Object-oriented libraries
Laravel boasts of having Object-oriented and pre-installed libraries. The availability of such libraries makes Laravel one of the easiest frameworks to use for complex solutions. Laravel programmers can easily integrate functions like Bcrypt hashing, checking active users, CSRF (Cross-site Request Forgery) protection, password reset, encryption, etc to the solution with the help of these libraries.
Security
Security is a major concern for any business. Offenses like Data theft, cybercrime, leaking personal data of users, etc. are increasing day by day. Businesses must make sure that the solution they are going to develop and use is immune from such threats.
The good news is, if your decision is to hire Laravel developers, you will no longer have to worry about application security.
The framework supports salted and hashed passwords. This means that it will be harder for hackers to decipher your passwords. Also, with Laravel, implementing authentication is amazingly simple. The framework comes with all settings preconfigured. If you want to make changes to the authentication logic or process, it is easily doable since many documentations are readily available.
The CSRP protection offered by Laravel helps you with safeguarding your application from cross-site request forgery. So, fraudsters will not be able to get access to your application by running unauthorized commands through an authenticated user.
The use of prepared SQL commands by Laravel avoids injection attacks; so, it becomes impossible for untrusted inputs to alter the execution of a command in your web app.
Artisan
Laravel comes with a command-line interface called “Artisan” that provides you with several helpful commands to develop your application easily. Every command has a help screen that shows the command’s available arguments and options. Artisan is powered by the robust Symfony Console component. The availability of such a powerful tool makes the application development process easier and less time-consuming. As a result, when hiring Laravel developers, you can expect a quick turnaround time.
Better user experience
User experience is a crucial factor that decides the success of an application. According to a survey conducted by PWC,
“32% of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they loved after one bad experience.”
In this online age, most customers are interacting with businesses online. In fact, the market is rapidly moving towards digital services and products where all the interactions between customers and businesses are done solely online.
Do you think it is possible for a business to survive in the industry without giving enough attention to user experience these days?
Fortunately, PHP frameworks like Laravel offer more features to improve user experience. Laravel uses a template engine called “Blade” that simplifies the development process and makes your application lightweight and easy to use for the end-users. The intuitive interfaces offered by the engine helps you with building your own unique brand image and giving your customers an experience that sets you apart from your competitors.
Better database migration
Database is a crucial component of any application. If not taken care of properly, it can render the whole application useless within a fraction of the time. One of the challenges faced by developers and businesses alike is migrating databases between different environments and syncing them between development machines. Since Laravel offers a convenient way to deal with database migration and management, the pool of potential problems is further reduced.
Automatic package discovery
Laravel has a user-friendly feature known as “Automatic Package discovery” that automatically identifies the packages which the users might want to install. If you are someone who wants to disable this option, Laravel also lets you do so.
Community
Laravel has one of the most active communities. This means that the technology is still on a growing stage and there is no sign of it fading away anytime soon. While developers can seek help from the community on complex problems related to coding and development, as a business you can ensure the solution you will have in hand will be future proof. Also, such communities make it easier to find the Laravel experts you are looking for.
Who should hire Laravel developers?
As stated earlier, if you are a business that wants to be competitive in your industry, it is better to hire Laravel experts for your next projects. The advantages of Laravel – most of them are stated above – make it one of the easiest and wise decisions you can ever take.
If you are a business that operates in banking, entertainment, healthcare, eCommerce, or other industries with high traffic where a lot of data processing and complexities are involved, Laravel will be the best option for you. Features like Service Container, Event Broadcasting, baked-in queue systems, etc. helps Laravel to handle these functions better than any other frameworks available in the market.
Laravel also supports microservices architecture. This means that when you are hiring Laravel developers, you can create one massive application that comprises several independently functioning modules. Such applications are efficient, robust, and can handle multiple functions simultaneously at the same time without compromising on processing time.
Laravel can be integrated with existing content management systems like WordPress or Drupal. You can also build content-based applications entirely from scratch using Laravel. So Laravel is also the best choice for entertainment businesses, news portals, etc.
Popular systems built using Laravel
Due to the wide range of advantages stated above, Laravel is used by many businesses that spread across different industries. If you are looking to hire Laravel developers, you must be interested in knowing a few of such popular solutions built on Laravel.
MyRank
MyRank is a popular e-learning platform that is built using Laravel. Being an e-learning platform, one of the major requirements for MyRank is scalability; so that it can add more scholars and more learning resources to the platform. Choosing Laravel over other frameworks has helped MyRank to meet its requirements easily.
Contendoo is a platform for businesses to find the right talent for their content needs. It acts as a bridge between business and freelance content creators. The platform features a variety of talent including translators, content writers, designers, content strategists, marketing specialists, etc.
Businesses can choose talent based on subject expertise and language. Contendoo handles management, invoicing, and payment for the businesses so that they can have all the advantages of in-house and freelance combined.
Such a complex solution demands innovative features and third-party integration. By choosing Laravel to build the platform, Contentoo made the development process easier and less time-consuming.
Other features of the platform include a secure messaging system, contact management, and a reminder system to implement deadlines.
October is an open-source self-hosted content management system based on the Laravel web application framework. With October, even users with the least technical knowledge can manage page contents with the WYSIWYG editor. They can manage images, videos, and other files, and even edit website menus with a simple visual interface. It is fully compatible with the PHP composer package manager. Adding new functionalities and configuring them is easy due to CMS page components. October supports CDN and image cropping and has a ton of plugins that can be integrated into the platforms.
The purpose of any forum is to host engaging conversations online. To enable it, the platform has to be fast (so conversation happens instantly), secure (users’ data should be secure), reliable (downtime can affect user experience and it will also render the platform useless), responsive (users can engage in a conversation from a wide choice of devices; even while on move) and good looking.
Flarum is one such platform that is also modern, simple, fast, and free. All the advantages of Flarum are made possible due to the capabilities and huge potential of Laravel. By hiring Laravel developers, you can start building simple discussion platforms and scale them to complex solutions with the help of numerous tools and plugins supported by the framework.
One of the popular forms built using Laravel is Laracasts.
Invoice Ninja
Invoice Ninja is an accounting solution that offers a ton of features to its clients.
The features include invoicing, tracking payments and expenses, auto-billing, recurring invoices, creation and sending of work proposals, time tracking, easy sharing of invoices, supports for different types of attachments, custom design for invoices, auto-reminder, payment notification, bulk sending, voice commands and a lot more. You can see the complete list of features offered by Invoice Ninja here.
Invoice Ninja is one of the best examples that showcase the real capabilities of Laravel.
Tably
Tably is solely built for restaurants to help them with online reservation, reservation management, walk-in management, and event booking. The solution automates most of the routine operations in a restaurant and helps the owners to solely focus on the actual business. Tably is one of the best examples of how Laravel can be used to build solutions that are specially designed for certain industries. It shows the versatility and robustness of the framework.
BonAppetour is a solution built using Laravel to leverage the potential of culinary tourism. It connects travelers and hosts and offers them a platform for finding local homemade dishes. The advantages of Laravel made it easier to store, manage and display the huge database of local hosts in a meaningful way that helps travelers to find their next stay, easily.
Bagisto is a free & open-source Ecommerce Platform built on Laravel.
It enables you to create your own free eCommerce website and scale it is using various extensions. The main features of Bagisto include sales through multiple channels, customers and groups, various payment modes, custom attributes, insights and reports, localization, multi-currency support, access level control, and so on. Bagistop proves that if you want to build an eCommerce solution, Laravel is one of the best choices for you.
Canvas is a minimal blogging app built by Todd Austin using Laravel. It features writing in markdown with the Summernote WYSIWYG which also supports autosaves, a media uploader, post tags, and post scheduling. Canvas is a simple to use yet scalable solution that underlines the value of Laravel as a flexible framework.
If you are a competitive business that is looking to develop an innovative web application, Laravel will be your best choice. The advantages offered by Laravel over other frameworks make hiring Laravel developers for your next project a no-brainer.
Want to hire the best Laravel developers in the industry? Contact us now. We have more than 12 years of experience in developing trendsetting yet cost-effective web and mobile solutions for startups to enterprises.
Custom web design involves a team of people who are specialized in their respective fields working round the clock to build a website as per the customer requirements, keeping their brand uniqueness. The custom web design company takes cues from its customers and develops the website accordingly. When it comes to custom web design and development the possibilities are endless.
How is a custom web design service different from template based web designs?
Template-based web design involves designers choosing from the available templates and working on the same to create websites for their clients. The basic integrity of template structure and navigation flow of the template cannot be altered, and the level of customization is limited. WordPress for example offers many templates for its customers to play with. But as mentioned earlier the level of customization is limited and it is mainly opted by amateur web designers or small businesses who just need a website for the sake of it.
On the other hand, custom web design companies offer tailor-made solutions to meet customer expectations. For example, a custom WordPress website design will in most cases be more professional than what is possible with a template design. Custom-designed websites are by all means a superior product offering when compared to template-based websites.
Advantages of custom web design
Custom web design services offer a high level of customization giving the website individuality.
Websites that are custom built are SEO compliant, aiding in better Search Engine ranking like in Google.
People prefer websites that are unique and that reflect that brand’s ethos, only custom website design can truly reflect the same in their website.
Custom web design and development promotes a customer-friendly(user-friendly) website interface. Customer-friendly websites not only attract large traffic but also drive up user engagement.
Custom web design and development ensure a high page speed. High page speed contributes to the overall user experience, better engagement, and maximum conversion.
Custom web design and development process
Custom web design and development process can be divided into 5 simple steps, they are as mentioned below:
Goal and scope identification
The first step in the custom web design process is to identify the goal and objective of your business. This stage is considered vital for the smooth flow of the project. Any discrepancies in clearly identifying the goal and scope of the project can impact the outcome of the project. Hence you (the client) and the custom website design company will take adequate time and effort to develop the goal and scope defining framework.
Identifying the goal of the project involves defining the purpose of the website(is it to sell products like an eCommerce website or provide news reports, blog, and so on), how should it interact with the potential customer, what is its USP, how much should the website be similar or different from the competitors, and so on.
Some of the common tools that facilitate the website goal identification process include the following:
Competitor analysis
Brand attributes
Target audience
Target geography
Target demography
Once the goal and objective of the website are understood, the client along with the custom website development company can set the scope of the project. Scope of the project includes the website features, graphic and icon design, add-on features, and so on. The biggest advantage of customized web design is the possibility it offers for a business to go above and beyond to develop a product that is unique, distinct, and most importantly reflects the character of the brand. Any discrepancies in the goal and scope identification cause disruption in the execution timeline and budget. Hence, this stage as mentioned earlier is especially important.
A legally binding contract and a timeline chart are used by the custom web design agency as a basis to start the project. This ensures that both you and the web design company are on the same page.
Sitemap and wireframe creation
Sitemap lays the foundation for a well-designed website. A sitemap will usually consist of all the links available on the webpage. It gives you an understanding of how information is spread across the website. A good sitemap also represents the logical flow of information within a website by defining the relationships between various pages on it.
While Sitemap is the blueprint for the website, a wireframe is a two-dimensional architectural skeleton of a web page. This helps designers identify the flows in the components and designs of the webpage, furthermore, it gives them a brief idea about the type of content required for the web page. A well-designed web page can be sleek and user-friendly at the same time.
Content creation
Website content plays a major role in attracting web traffic to the website. The website content should be crisp, clear, precise, and engaging. Website contents should be unique and use simple language for wider acceptability of the same. Furthermore, the structure in which the content is laid plays a major role in making the page attractive, informative, and engaging at the same time.
SEO-friendly content can help with having a good ranking in Search Engine Results (SERP). Tools like Google Keyword Planner helps content writers across the world to identify the most searched keywords on Google.
It is typically the business or the client who offers the bulk of the content. The custom website development company usually structures the content and makes it SEO friendly.
Visual elements
It is only when the designers start inserting visual elements into the website, it comes alive. Visual elements help make the website unique, this is especially true when the designer designs the right logo, images, frames within the website to disseminate information logically. Visual elements come in handy when you want to customize the design of the websites to resemble the brand image and exude brand ethos.
Testing and launch
Testing comes in the last phases of developing a website. In this stage, the custom website design company will test the website performance using a variety of methods and techniques to ensure that the website is ready to be used by the end user without trouble. Testing helps to fix issues present on the website. Furthermore, it ensures that the website performs the work it is meant to do in the real world.
Once the testing part of the website is performed successfully and the testers have given a thumbs up, the website is launched with the help of a server. Once it is launched, the website can be accessed by you and your customers alike with the help of the internet.
What language is best suited for custom web design?
There are a variety of programming languages used to develop custom websites. Each programming language comes with its unique set of frameworks and libraries that make them unique in their own ways. Some of the most widely used programming languages in the field of custom web design are as mentioned below. Please note that most of the time, more than one programming language is used to develop a complete website.
PHP
PHP is considered as one of the most commonly used programming languages to create custom websites. The biggest advantage of the PHP language is that it is open-source, which means that it is available for free of cost. PHP is also browser-friendly, making the website user-friendly, efficient, and fast.
HTML
HTML or Hypertext Markup Language is the language used to implement the structure and layout of web pages. Unlike PHP, HTML is a frontend language which means that it helps to develop the part of the website that the end users interact with directly.
SQL
Structured Query Language, or SQL as it is widely known, is a database query language that deals with data and databases of a website. It helps with adding, storing, modifying, deleting, and retrieving data using commands.
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets helps with adding styles to the web pages. Like HTML, CSS is also a markup language and the two often go together. However, the CSS has the most influence on how the web page will appear to the end user in terms of font, font size, colours, etc, and make the style consistent across the website.
Python
Python is relatively a new language but has gained immense popularity in the past few years. More and more developers are showing affinity to Python. It is a very powerful language, that is both simple and easy to operate. It is highly flexible and fluid making it an excellent language for developers who are responsible for building complex applications.
Java
Java as a language was developed in the 1990s, believe it or not, it is still one of the most in-demand programming languages of the 21st century. It is still considered as “the right choice” when it comes to programming. The program has the capability to work on multiple platforms making it highly versatile. A java programmer is still the most in-demand profession in today’s world.
Java Script
Javascript has the capability to support object-oriented styles, this makes it an extremely valuable language for building versatile applications. Javascript was created with the intention to develop websites, apps, and games that can run on all browsers. It can support both function-oriented and object-oriented styles helping programmers make excellent websites that look exotic.
Go
Go is a programming language designed at Google that is relatively a newcomer to the scene. It solves the problems that other programming languages have like ease to use, high readability, excellent integration to name a few. Being a product from Google and Google being the king of search engines its popularity is expected to outshine other languages in the years to come.
Why is a custom website the best choice for your business?
Web customization
Custom website design services offer a high level of customization giving the website individuality. The first impression is the best impression. When a customer enters your website, he/she should feel excited. The color combinations used, the simplicity of the design and the effortless dissemination of information will have a lasting impression on the customer.
These factors motivate the customer to visit the website again. Word of mouth publicity can further accelerate the traffic to your web page. People prefer websites that are unique and that reflect that brand’s ethos, only custom website design can truly reflect the same in a website. Did you know that 75% of perceived web credibility comes from design elements of the website?. This fact emphasizes the importance of customized web designs in this day and age.
Enjoy high SERP ratings
A custom built website is more likely to be SEO compliant; aiding in better Search Engine ranking like in Google. These websites are fast, easy to navigate, tick all the right boxes when it comes to SERP parameters. Even affordable custom web designs, when done right, can meet the basic SERP requirements. When all the right boxes are ticked the website will be ranked top in the organic search, helping you get more customers and business at a cheap rate.
But why is using website templates instead of a custom design bad for ranking in search engine results?
Usually, website templates are clunky and filled with unnecessary features to cater to a variety of businesses. As a result, they are slow, have low onpage scores, and are difficult to rank in SERP. Ultimately this will lead to 89% of customers shopping at your competitors’ websites due to the poor quality of your website.
Mobile-friendly websites reap the benefit
Mobile accounts for about 50% of the global website traffic today. About 74% of people are likely to come back to your website if you have a mobile-friendly interface. This is because as per the statistics available people spend about 70% of their internet time using mobile phones.
To capitalize on this opportunity, it is important that your website is mobile-friendly. If you choose custom web design services over ready-made templates, you have more control over offering the best mobile experience to your customers.
For example, if you are looking for a custom eCommerce website design, you can make sure that the front page is tailored to your customer interest, the inner pages are aligned with the sales funnel and it is easier for your customer to find the products they need, add them to cart and complete the order by making payment the most convenient way for them.
We should not forget that there are thousands of mobile-friendly templates available for websites that are built on platforms like WordPress. But are they able to showcase your business’s value and ethos? Can they incorporate the identity of your business as it is?
Also remember that in order to convert high traffic to more sales, the sales funnel should be properly planned and implemented. It is quite common that these sales funnels may vary from industry to industry and business to business. So, to make your website an effective conversion tool, it is better to go for a custom web design that focuses on your customer, their interest, and the brand identity and strength of your business.
Custom websites help with creating engaging websites
Websites need to be engaging. Only an engaging website can retain traffic. Only when the customers are engaged the traffic gets converted to sales figures.
95% of the internet users testify that a good user experience is an important factor while consuming content from the website. Hence, creating and displaying engaging content is a necessity for any website to sustain. Only a custom-made website allows you to develop a website that disperses information in a logical manner that engages the users and presents value and facts in a clean and crisp manner.
AlignMinds has more than a decade of experience designing best-in-class custom websites that are tailored to fit the interest and preferences of end-users. If you are in search of a competent custom web development company, contact us now!
The internet has revolutionized the lifestyle of humans to a great extent.
A British computer scientist named Sir Tim Berners-Lee paved the next step in internet technology. His invention, popularly known as the WWW (World Wide Web) and HTML (HyperText Markup Language) transformed the usage of the internet to a whole new level.
The last couple of years have seen many improvements in internet technology. The invention of the WWW led to the development of web pages. Later it developed into the combination of web pages known as a website.
Web applications or web apps is the most recent advancement in this field.
Websites and web apps have made tasks such as booking tickets and buying commodities much easier.
But what is a web app?
What is a web app or web application?
A web app uses a remote server to store data and has functions and interface similar to a native app. Users can access a web app through the internet. It is done with the help of a compatible web browser which is already installed on the device.
A web app is different from mobile applications installed on mobile phones.
Web apps are popular among individual users and business firms due to its easy access through mobile phones. eCommerce shops, webmails, social networking sites such as Facebook are some of the businesses that use web apps. As the majority of people use mobile phones, business firms hire web application developers to change their websites into a more interactive web app. Offering their services and products through a more user-friendly and preferred platform helps these business firms to widen their reach.
There are two types of web applications- static web apps and dynamic web apps
A static web app is a basic type of web app. Interactivity features are less as compared to a dynamic web app.
A dynamic web is much more complex than a static web app. Updations are easily done in dynamic web apps.
What’s a website?
A website is a collection of related web pages.
The interlinked web pages of the website have a single domain name. Website is publicly accessible. Individuals or business firms create websites to carry out many functions such as business branding, to showcase and sell their products etc.
Now, a question may arise.
If a web app and websites are using the same basic structure, what is the difference between the two?
Difference between a web app and a website
Web apps differ from websites in terms of features and functions. Web apps have interactive elements while a website has static content.
Web apps offer more features and options than a website.
Regular updations are necessary for websites to keep the content authentic.
The user can control and use the features of the web app.
Storing and accessing customized data, according to the needs of the user is possible in a web app. But websites do not have this option.
Is web app and mobile app the same?
Difference between a web app and a mobile app
Native mobile apps are those developed for a particular platform such as Android or iOS.
Some of the difference between a web app and a native mobile app is as follows:
The development cost of native mobile apps is higher than that of developing a web app. This is because native apps use platform-specific designs for development.
To develop web apps, You need to hire a web app development company or web app developers who are proficient in programming languages such as JavaScript, CSS or HTML5 etc. For native apps that will be working on an Android platform, mobile app developers widely use Android Studio for development. An iOS native mobile app developer uses Swift or Objective-C to develop an app for the Apple platform.
Templates are available for the web app developers but do not have access to any development kits as available for native mobile apps. Web apps are easier to build than a native mobile app.
Native mobile apps have more advanced features than a web app.
There is no need to download the web app as other mobile apps. You only need a compatible web browser to interact with a web app.
The loading time of a web app is slower when compared to a native mobile app.
‘Progressive web app’ is another type of web application that is widely used nowadays as it is having the qualities of both native and web-based apps. Progressive web apps can work in low connectivity and load faster as a native app.
Why do businesses now prefer to hire web application developers over websites developers?
There are many advantages of using a web app.
Advantages of web apps
As web apps use a supported internet browser to function, there is no need to download the web app. Thus, a web app does not affect the external or internal storage of the mobile phone.
A user always has access to the updated version of a web app. This is because changes made in the server get reflected in the web app. The user does not need to update a web app as compared to a native mobile app.
A business firm using a web app can easily change the contents according to their growth and change in demand when they hire web app developers who are having the required expertise in this field. Web apps are easily customizable and scalable, so a business can add or remove functions from the app within a short time.
As mentioned earlier, web apps store information in a remote server. So if the device gets stolen, the user can retrieve his/her personalized data from another device with the help of a supported web browser.
Many types of mobile phones with different screen sizes are available in the market. When you hire a web app development company with the right talent, it makes a web app equally functional and customizable for a wide range of devices.
Websites and web apps are both cost-efficient ways to deliver your content to the users.
But which is a better option for your company- website or a web app?
Which is better: a website or web app?
There are some factors to keep in mind while choosing a website or web app for your business. To an extent, cost and features have a role in deciding whether to go for a web app or a website.
Websites, compared to web apps, do not integrate well with other online tools or third-party apps. Integrating with other software is one of the basic functions of a web app. Web apps provide a better user experience than websites by combining with third-party applications.
All websites need a good internet connection to function. But web apps have offline compatibility. This is a function which most users prefer while browsing the internet.
Personalizing web apps based on user needs is a comparatively easy process. Different users see different content while using a web app that gets personalized to his/ her needs. A website hosts content that is publicly accessible by any viewers. As usually, personalization is not possible, every user sees the same information on a website.
A variety of functions are available in web apps and they are more responsive to customer choices. Users can manipulate data while using a web app and receive information based on their request. Websites are usually not that responsive to a user’s request.
A website is a good choice while looking for cost, cutting strategies. If you are looking for developing more interactive, secure and personalized content for your business, opt to hire web app developers. Also, a web app is a feasible option in the long run.
But what are the important points to keep in mind when you hire web app developers?
How to hire web app developers?
It is a simple task to hire web app developers if you have a correct and detailed analysis of your business challenges and purpose.
While hiring web app developers, you should give preferences to the one that uses modern technology and development methods. Hire web app developers who know and follow the latest trends in the industry.
Hire web app developers who are having experience and expertise in their field of work. This will help in ensuring that the app will meet all the industry standards.
Checking skills and qualifications is important when you hire a web app developer. There are mainly three types of web app developers.
They are:
Front-end web app developer
Back-end web app developer
Full-stack web app developer
Each of them has different job roles.
1. Front-end web app developer
Front-end is the part of the web app where the users directly interact with.
Front-end web development is also known as client-side development. The tools required to develop web front-end constantly changes. This is the main challenge faced by front-end web developers.
Front-end web app developers develop the design and layout features of the web app. Hire web app developers who have exceptional working skills at the front-end to make the interface of the web app an eye-catching one.
The main duties of a front-end web developer include the following
Front-end web app developers analyse the UI/UX designs and make sure if it is technically feasible.
Client-side development also finds suitable ways to optimize web application for peak speed and performance.
Front-end web app developers confirm all user input and submit it to the back-end for further actions
2. Back-end web app developer
The back-end is what determines how a web app works. This part of the website is responsible for the structure of the application.
Back-end development is also called server-side development. The back-end web developers write the code that helps the front-end communicate with the database.
Some of the responsibilities of back-end web app developer are as follows:
The back-end web app developer creates and maintains the server-side of the application or website. Back-end web app developer is also responsible for checking and resolving errors at the back-end.
The back-end web app developer makes sure that data and other services are delivered promptly when requested by the front-end.
The creation and integration of the database are managed by the back-end web developers.
3. Full-stack web app developer
Web app developers who have expertise in developing both front-end and back-end are called full-stack developers.
You will get a full package when you hire web app developers who have very good knowledge about front-end and the back-end. Which means that hiring full-stack web app developers is the most suitable option for startups.
The main objectives of a full-stack web developer are as follows:
As they are well-versed in the client-side and server-side languages, they can analyse and provide solutions to problems in the server, network or hosting environments.
Hiring full-stack web developers help to cut costs and improve efficiency. Since you hire web app developers who have the expertise to handle both the front-end and back-end, the cost of hiring separate web developers can be reduced.
The workflow of the team improves when you hire full-stack web app developers as there is no need to collaborate with more members of a team and there is no chance for error due to a flaw in the communication.
There are three choices you can opt for when you hire web application developers for your business. You can pick any one of the following according to your requirements and budget:
Hire a web app development company
Hire a freelance web app developer
Hire a dedicated web app development team
But, which is the best option?
Hiring web app development company vs freelancer vs dedicated development team?
To choose the most suitable option for your company, you need to get a clear understanding of these three choices.
Let’s start with hiring a web app development company.
1. Hiring a web app development company
Mobile phone users are increasing day-by-day. Major companies have turned to concentrate more on developing web apps as it will generate a wide market and reach.
The growing demand for web apps has produced more web app development companies. You will get exceptional web app developers to work on your project when you hire a web app development company.
1.1 Advantages of hiring a web app development company
1.1.1 Hiring a web app development company is time-saving
Hiring a web app development company that has the required experience and expertise in the field of web app development significantly reduces the development time. Understanding and fixing errors become easy or there is no scope for errors while hiring an expert web app development company.
1.1.2 Hiring web app development company helps in developing a more reliable web application
An experienced web development team will help you in creating a perfect web app with the right structure and code. Crashing and breaking issues of a web app is least while hiring a web app development company.
1.1.3 Hiring web app development company gives an insight into the latest technologies
A good web app development company equips itself with the latest technology and tools. So hiring a web app development company also helps you in bringing innovations to your web app that a user would like.
To hire a web app development company that suits your business challenges, consider the following aspects.
1.1.2 Consider these points before hiring a web app development company
Conducting a proper search on the internet helps you in hiring a web app development company which is the best according to your requirements.
After searching the internet, compile a list of the best web app development companies based on their years of experience and expertise, ratings and reviews of past clients, awards and other recognition etc. Hire a web app development company, which is the best according to this evaluation.
Contacting the past clients will help you in knowing more about the web app development company, you chose to hire. Enquiring about the work satisfaction of the former clients will help you in your decision.
Hire a web app development company according to your budget. Pricing is always the deciding factor. Price is decided mainly by three factors
The experience of the company
The expertise of the employers
Technology used
A right-minded web app development company follows all coding standards and guidelines. So hire a web development company that writes clean and consistent codes.
2. Hiring freelance web app developers
Hiring freelance web app developers is the best option if yours is a startup business and if you are looking for cost-cutting strategies.
Searching the internet helps you hire freelance web app developers with the required skill set. Some of the search platforms and coding communities that help you in hiring exceptional freelance web app developers include DevTeam.Space, Upwork, Hired, StackOverflow etc.
Your professional contacts from the industry can help you to hire web app developers who do freelancing. Compare their rate and quality of work before hiring a freelance web app developer.
Some of the advantages of hiring a freelance web app developer are as follows
2.1 Advantages of hiring a freelance web app developer
2.1.1 Less project turnaround time
An experienced freelance web app developer is always working on one or another project. This makes him/her more experienced than a fresher. Freelance web app developers do not need to spend time on routine tasks such as documentation and communication like employees in a company. This helps in the significant reduction of project turnaround time.
2.1.2 Knows the latest trends in web app development
Due to their continuous exposure in the field of web app development, freelance web app developers are up-to-date with the latest trends. This will help in providing a good user experience to users.
2.1.3 A good contact with expert web designers and testers
Experienced freelance web app developers will have contact with many web designers and application testers who are exceptional in their work. Freelance web app developers can team up with web designers and testers to develop the perfect web app for your business.
2.2 Consider these points before hiring freelance web app developers
Always conduct initial screening and tests before hiring a freelance web app developer. There are many freshers who take up freelancing and poses as an expert. Hire web app developers with the necessary skill-set. Also, check their previous works before hiring a freelance web app developer.
While hiring a freelance web app developer through the internet, closely examine the ratings and reviews of the previous employers. The rate of hiring freelance web app developers also differs based on the geographical location. So consider the geographical location as well.
Freelance web app developers work hourly or per the project basis. Hire web app developers according to your project needs.
Hire freelance web app developers who provide proper support and maintenance after the deployment of the web app.
3. Hiring a dedicated web app development team
Hiring a dedicated web app development team is the best choice for developing a quality web application at a low cost.
Opt for hiring a dedicated web app development team if the project needs to be started soon. As a dedicated web app development team is equipped with a workspace, the project can start the next moment an agreement is signed.
Hiring a dedicated web app development team have some of the following advantages.
3.1 Advantages of hiring dedicated web app development team
3.1.1 Flexible and transparent hiring process
You can directly take part in the selection of the team members while hiring a dedicated web app development team. You can also increase or decrease the number of team members at any stage of development.
3.1.2 You will have total control of the dedicated web app development team
You have direct control over the team members. A project manager is always available for proper communication. This helps in delivering proper updates and project status. You can also make changes in the requirements of the project at any time.
3.1.3 Security is not compromised
A chance for data breach is minimal as you are directly involved in every stage of development. Hiring a dedicated web app development team that follows strong data encryption protocols ensures better security.
3.1.4 Hiring dedicated web app development team is highly economical
If you hire the dedicated web app development team for a project, he/ she needs to pay only for that individual project. You do not need to spend money on bonus and other perks of the employees.
A dedicated web app development team also updates themselves with the most modern tools, technology and training. So there is no need to spend money on these aspects.
3.2 Consider these points before hiring dedicated web app development team
Always verify the quality and expertise of the dedicated web app development team by contacting past clients. An initial screening that consists of tests and interviews of the team members help you to check whether they are the right candidate for your project.
While hiring a dedicated web app development team from another country, consider the difference in the time zone. It is better to confirm the availability of the team according to the time zone you prefer. Also, make sure that the dedicated web app development team is having proper communication skills.
From the very initial stage itself, you should make clear the requirements and intended results of the project to the team members. This will reduce confusions and help with developing a perfect development roadmap for the project.
Best place to hire web app developers
When you hire web application developers of your choice, you should have a clear-cut idea about your project- size, scope, intended results and future developments.
The internet can help you hire web app developers who are having the skill-set and experience you are looking for. When you want to hire web app development companies and dedicated web app development teams, you can also search B2B directories such as Clutch and GoodFirms.
Before you choose to search and hire web application developers from B2B directories, you can create a framework which includes all the relevant details. This can include budget, salary, required skill-set etc. This will help you to cross-check your requirements while searching for hiring a suitable web app developer.
Always double-check the reviews and ratings before hiring a web app developer considering that there are web app developers with fake reviews. Reliability and quality should be your prime concerns while hiring web app developers.
To hire a web app developer, you can also seek help from your professional contacts. This is a more reliable option than the internet because your contacts might have worked with a web app developer in the past and know the quality of their work.
Hire web app developers who have the perfect knowledge of programming languages and understand UI/UX and design principles.
You can hire a web app development company from another country or can develop your own in-house team. There are many advantages and disadvantages when you opt to hire web app developers from another country and when you develop your web app through your in-house team.
Developing web app: in-house vs offshore team
An in-house team is your internal team, where you hire web app developers and other team members such as project manager, UI/UX designer, QA analyst etc. to work for your company.
When you hire web app developers for working on your project from another country, it is offshoring. India and China are some examples of Asian countries that are famous for offshoring.
There are many merits and demerits for an in-house team and offshore web app development team.
1. Benefits of in-house web app development teams
Your internal team devotes all their working time towards the development of your web application. This will ensure that the web app is completed under the specified time.
You are in direct control of the in-house app development team. You have total control of the workflow and will have an insight into the daily status of the work. There are no focus issues for your employees as they work only for you.
You can individually give salary to your team members according to their performance, expertise and experience.
An in-house web app development team will understand the target audience, goals, brand voice and competitors in the field of work better than an offshore web app development team.
In-house web app development team does everything promptly. As everyone is working in the same office, approvals and reviews happen in a time-bound manner and at a faster rate.
While developing a project with your in-house team, you can have any number of revision checks that increases the quality of the web app. But when hiring a web app development company, you are having limitations of the budget, so you can have only a certain number of revisions.
2. Disadvantages of in-house web app development
2.1 Recruitment
The main disadvantage of an in-house app development team is that it takes time for the recruitment process.
To hire web app developers and other team members, you need to have an initial screening such as tests and interviews. After hiring the right team members, you need to give them proper training for the execution of the project. This increases time and budget.
2.2 Cost
Hiring in-house web app development teams are more expensive than hiring web app development companies and hiring dedicated web app development teams.
You will need infrastructure and office space. You will also incur extra expenses like taxes, rent etc. You also need to pay for various types of software and hardware that are essential for work. There are also expenses for maintaining an in-house development team.
2.3 The team
When an important member of the in-house team resigns, you may need to put the project on hold.
You can only resume the project only after finding a replacement. You may also need to train the employee, which further increases time.
2.4 Expertise
If you hire web app developers without the proper knowledge or expertise, it will have negative impacts on the project.
You may not deliver a quality web app if the employees are not up to the mark. Costs could also go up unexpectedly as you may need to give more training to the employees who are not up to the mark.
Hiring an offshore web app development team makes up for some of the disadvantages posed by in-house web app development teams. The advantages of an offshore web app development team are as follows.
3. Advantages of offshore web app development team
You get access to a good number of talents while hiring offshore web app development teams. You can hire web app developers who can build quality web applications at a low cost.
The vendor company will take care of project management activities such as human resource management, hiring and onboarding employees etc.
There is no need to spend money on office rents, recruitment and training, insurance benefits, provident funds etc. while hiring an offshore web app development team. This will drastically reduce the cost and time needed to develop a web app for you.
Hiring an offshore web app development company is very beneficial for a start-up. A startup has less workforce than an established firm. They can save a lot of time and money on hiring and managing manpower. Thus, they can concentrate more on the actual business.
Hiring an offshore web app development company can help you analyse the competitors in the field. As an offshore web app development company will have an understanding of the global market, they can have a better evaluation of the competition. They have professionals who are working in the field for many years. With their help, you can develop one of the best web apps using the latest technology, market data and the newest trend among consumers.
4. Disadvantages of offshore web app development team
4.1 Time Zone
You and the offshore web app development company are in different time zones.
This is one of the major drawbacks of hiring an offshore web app development team. Reporting issues to the web app development team and getting them solved will take time.
4.2 Communication
While hiring an offshore web app development team, always give importance to communication. English is commonly used by offshore web app development companies to communicate with you. But there can be a communication barrier arising due to cultural influences and English being a second language to many.
There will also be issues related to phrases, usages, style of communication etc. For example, if a team member uses the sentence structure of his/her native language while communicating in English, you may have difficulty in deciphering it.
4.3 Geopolitical conditions
The geopolitical conditions of the offshore web app development team will affect their work and could increase the completion time. So you should have a proper understanding of the situations in the country to which the development team belongs. You should have a contingency plan if there is a probability of geopolitical unrest.
4.4 Cultural and social practices
While hiring offshore web app development teams, it is difficult to overcome the cultural barrier. The culture will have an influence on the attitude and behaviours of the people and can influence the product quality.
How much does it cost to hire web app developers?
There are many factors that determine the cost of hiring web app developers. Some of them includes the following:
1. Experience and expertise
When you hire web application developers, one of the prime factors that determine the cost is experience and expertise.
A project is divided based on its complexity level such as simple, advanced, complicated etc. It is always economical to hire web app developers with different seniority levels. This helps in dividing the payments and the project according to their expertise.
2. Location
When you hire web app developers, always have a look into the geographical location.
There are web app developers from many countries such as India and Ukraine who develop quality web apps within a low budget. It is very expensive to hire web app developers from the U.S. You can hire web app developers from the US in the price range between $75-$115. If you are looking to hire web app developers from the Western European countries, they charge between $65-$80 for an hour.
Hiring web app developers from Asian countries such as India is the most suitable choice in terms of rate and quality. It is very economical when you hire a web app development company from India, as they only charge between $25-$40 per hour. The quality of web apps is also not compromised when you hire web app developers from Asian countries.
3. Billing models
There are two types of billing models which decide the cost when you hire a web app development company. They are
Fixed price model
Time and material model
3.1 Fixed price model
In the fixed-price model, the budget will be fixed before signing the contract with the web app development company you hire. You cannot modify the requirement once you sign the contract. Or a new contract or additional contract will be made if there is a change in the requirement.
This type of billing is most suitable for a short term project with a clear understanding of the requirements. You only need to pay the rate which was finalized before signing the contract. A development roadmap and date of delivery of the product will also be discussed prior to signing the contract.
3.2 Time and material model
In the time and materials model, you have to pay for the time and resources used. This type of billing guarantees a quality end product. It involves paying for the work completed. You can modify the requirements of the web app while using this model. It is suitable for developing a complex web app with more functionalities. So it is flexible compared to the fixed price model.
4. Features and functionality
The functionalities are another factor that determines the cost when you hire web app developers. Web apps with simple functions have a lower rate of development compared to a complex web app.
5. Other factors
While developing a complex web app, there is a possibility for more bugs and errors. Fixing them also increases the cost of development.
Using the latest technologies reduces time. But it increases the cost of development as money is needed to be spent on buying these technologies and training the team.
Security is users’ top priority. To enhance the security features of the app, you need to invest some money and in most cases it is unavoidable.
Having a web app for your business is better than a website. But to develop one, you need the expertise and skill set of a remarkable web app developer. You can choose to hire dedicated web app developers or a web app development company. You might need inputs from the best web app development company to build a web app that will generate more revenues for your business.
AlignMinds Technologies is an award-winning mobile app development company with a decade of success stories. We offer digital product engineering services that include strategy and design, web and mobile app development, DevOps and cybersecurity. We can help your businesses to get an edge in the competition through innovative solutions. Contact us now!
Innovations in technology have brought many changes in the lifestyle of humans.
One of the examples involves that of the internet. The internet has brought many innovations such as eCommerce, eLearning, etc. Earlier, the internet was accessed through a computer. Now, anyone can access the internet through a mobile phone.
The following survey shows the market position of various languages used in web development.
A huge market is created by websites or web applications. When used correctly it can bring good revenues to your business.
These web applications and websites are powered by many programming languages. Some of the examples include PHP, JavaScript, Python, etc. PHP is one of the most favoured programming languages of developers.
What is PHP?
PHP is the commonly used programming language in website or web app development.
PHP is an open-source language. This means that anyone can use PHP without any cost. The source code of PHP is released to the public for studying, modifying, and also for distribution.
Some of the websites that use PHP include Facebook, WordPress, Wikipedia, Yahoo, etc.
PHP is used for server-side scripting, unlike HTML which is used for designing the layout of the web page.
Difference between server-side scripting and client-side scripting
Server-side scripting
Server-side scripting is a process in the back-end of the website or web application. Server-side scripting helps in various operations of the website or web app such as customization, accessing application databases, etc.
Server-side scripting requires server interaction. The server-side scripting helps in establishing a connection between the server and the user.
Some of the most used server-side scripting languages include PHP, ASP.net, Python, etc.
Client-side scripting
Client-side scripting is a process in the front-end of web apps or websites. This scripting happens on the end user’s device. This may include all those that a user sees such as text, images, etc.
Client-side scripting does not need server interaction. It uses the web browser as a host program. Client-side scripting can minimize the load to the server
HTML, CSS, JavaScript are some of the examples of client-side scripting languages.
PHP and server-side scripting
PHP is one of the most popular server-side scripting languages.
Server-side scripting happens on the server-side and helps to connect to the databases in the webserver. HTML or HyperText Markup Language is the basic language used to create websites. Creating interactive features is not possible with HTML. But by using PHP, one can integrate interactive elements into a website.
As PHP is an open-source language, anyone with the proper knowledge can use it for bringing more innovations. There are no specified rules to use PHP and can build features according to the PHP programmers.
PHP supports a wide range of database management systems. MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Sybase, Cubrid, etc. are some of the popular examples of databases that can integrate with PHP.
Originally, the full form of PHP was Personal Home Page. Now it is changed to Hypertext Preprocessor.
Rasmus Lerdorf is a Danish-Canadian programmer. He wrote many CGI (Common Gateway Interface) programs by using the language C in 1994. This was used to maintain his personal homepage. This Personal Home Page (PHP) was later developed into Hypertext Preprocessor.
A blue elephant is the mascot of PHP. It is stylized as ‘elePHPant’ and was created by Vincent Pontier in 1998.
According to a survey, about 78.8% of websites work on PHP. This shows the popularity of PHP among developers and businesses.
Why is PHP favoured the most?
PHP is a reliable scripting language and one of the most affordable options that assist you in creating a website.
PHP works on every platform, be it Android, Windows or iOS. Most of the browsers also support PHP.
PHP provides foolproof security. PHP provides protection against viruses and threats.
Anyone with a sound knowledge of HTML can learn PHP very easily.
It is a very simple process to change your website that is based on HTML to PHP. PHP programming and HTML rendering are easier than other languages like ColdFusion, Python, etc.
Nowadays, PHP programmers use version PHP 7. PHP 7 shows improvements in performance and better memory usage. The newest version, PHP 8 is scheduled to be released on November 26, 2020.
The good thing about PHP
It is affordable for both startups and established firms to hire PHP developers. It is better to hire PHP programmers who are experienced rather than a trainee.
There is a large community of PHP programmers all around the globe who are connected. So there are always solutions to problems while using PHP.
PHP is a flexible language. The flexibility of PHP helps to integrate with application databases and develop advanced web apps.
PHP is seamlessly used in any platform without any issues.
PHP can help in creating a more SEO-friendly website than other languages like Ruby, Perl, etc.
Hiring PHP developer
If you are looking to create a perfect website, it is important to hire PHP developers.
PHP programmers are an essential part of a website or web application development team. PHP programmers help in combining your web project with other services. They also assist front-end developers in developing an ideal website or web app.
Why is a PHP developer a vital part of web development?
PHP programmers write the scripts for the back-end. The PHP programmers also make sure that the web infrastructure is working as intended. You can also hire PHP developers to modify scripts and also to test the code for errors.
How to hire PHP developers?
When you hire PHP developers for your business, make sure that they have the required experience and expertise along with good technical skills. There are three levels of seniority in the PHP programmer’s community. They are
Beginner
Mid-level
Senior-Level
1. Hiring beginner level PHP developer
A fresher who does not have prior experience in the field of PHP development is called a beginner-level PHP programmer. Good guidance and training can help a beginner-level PHP programmer to polish the skill-set. You can hire a beginner-level PHP developer to help with data manipulation and other simple tasks.
2. Hiring a mid-level PHP developer
A mid-level PHP developer is more experienced than a beginner. Mid-level PHP programmers have good knowledge in the field of work. They can smoothly work under senior-level PHP programmers with little supervision.
3. Hiring senior-level PHP developer
A senior-level PHP developer is having advanced knowledge and vast expertise in the field. Many years of experience will help a senior-level PHP programmer to quickly find solutions to problems while developing. He/she is highly skilled in every aspect of PHP.
Hire PHP web developers who have good knowledge in other languages such as MySQL, XHTML, etc. This will help in the proper integration of PHP with these frameworks that are usually used in website or web application development. Check the quality of the work by referring to the past works before you hire PHP developers.
When you opt to hire PHP web developers, always be sure that he/she is a good team player. The PHP programmer can effectively collaborate with others and ensure a proper workflow and quality of the product.
Hire PHP developers who can upgrade themselves according to the newest trend in the industry and who have all the required skill-set.
When you hire a PHP developer, you can go for any of the following options.
You can
Hire PHP development company
Hire freelance PHP developer
Hire dedicated PHP developers
Hiring PHP development company vs hiring freelance PHP developer vs hiring a dedicated PHP developer
The three choices mentioned above have their own merits and demerits. You can compare the three options and hire PHP developers that are best suited to your needs.
1. Hiring PHP development company
There are many PHP development companies that offer good quality work. Before hiring a PHP development company of your choice, you should understand its advantages and disadvantages.
1.1 Advantages of hiring a PHP development company
Experience
When you hire a PHP development company you get PHP programmers who are having years of experience in this field. There is no need for giving any training and can start the project once an agreement is made between the development company and you.
Expertise
When you hire a PHP development company, you get PHP programmers who are having excellent expertise in various fields of web development. Educational portals, eCommerce sites, news portals, NGO websites all make use of PHP to develop a better website.
Timely delivery
PHP development companies usually follow an established workflow. This makes sure that the product is delivered on time. So, hire PHP development companies with positive reviews of past clients and ensure that they can deliver the project under the specified time.
Best development practices
A good PHP development company will ensure the delivery of a quality product by following good development practices. This includes proper documentation, clean written codes, troubleshooting for errors, etc. A PHP development company also uses the newest technologies in developing your PHP program.
Certified PHP developers
PHP programmers are having a worldwide ever-growing community. Hiring PHP developers who are the best in this community is a difficult task. But when you hire a PHP development company, you get access to certified PHP programmers. The PHP development company will conduct interviews and tests to know the skill level before they hire PHP developers.
There are some disadvantages as well while hiring a PHP development company.
1.2 Disadvantages of hiring a PHP development company
If you didn’t perform a good background check before you hire a PHP development company, you might incur extra charges. Some PHP development companies can overcharge the client based on the increase in their employee salary or other office expenses.
Before the start of the project, an agreement might be made by the PHP development company and the client on the number of revisions. If the client needs more revisions in the future, he/she is bound by a contract that allows only a certain number of revisions.
The cost of hiring a PHP development company is higher than that of a freelance PHP developer. The client should pay for all the expenses while hiring a PHP development company. But when hiring a freelance PHP developer, he needs to only pay for the service.
There are some advantages and disadvantages of hiring freelance PHP developers, which are discussed in the next section.
2. Hiring a freelance PHP developer
Hiring freelance PHP developers are the best option if there are budgetary restrictions. Some of the advantages of hiring freelance PHP developers are as follows.
2.1 Advantages of hiring a freelance PHP developer
As a freelance PHP developer cost less compared to other available options, this is a good option for a startup. The startup can invest the saved money on other core objectives of the business.
A freelance PHP developer can work without any supervision or guidance. To be the best in the industry, a freelancer updates themselves with the newest technologies and practices.
Usually, a freelance PHP developer works on a global level. So the freelance PHP developer knows the different kinds of trends practiced by different businesses. A client can use this knowledge to the advantage of their business.
A freelance PHP developer may not follow a 9 to 5 work schedule. So a client can appoint time slots according to his/her choice. Therefore flexibility of communication is an advantage of hiring freelance PHP developers.
There are many search platforms available on the internet to find the best freelance PHP developers.
2.2 Disadvantages of hiring a freelance PHP developer
A freelance PHP developer who does not have any ethics would drop out from your project mid-way for more profitable work. So it is important to sign contracts between you and the freelance PHP developer.
A client has full control over the working of an employee in the in-house team. But, the client has little control over a freelance PHP developer.
There are only some freelance PHP developers who are experienced professionals in their field who give the best output. Quality of work is affected when you end up hiring a freelance PHP developer who does not show any professionalism and skill.
There are freelance PHP developers who post fake reviews and ratings of themselves. Confidentiality issues and disputes based on payments is a problem while hiring such freelance PHP developers
A freelance PHP developer might be working on multiple projects at a time. So meeting the deadlines is a problem while hiring a freelance PHP developer.
3. Hiring dedicated PHP developers
When you hire dedicated PHP developers, you can be sure that you get quality work for a reasonable price. Unlike freelance PHP developers, a dedicated PHP developer is like a member of your in-house team. You have direct control over the dedicated PHP developer. You get the following advantages when you hire dedicated PHP developers.
3.1 Advantages of hiring dedicated PHP developers
Quick completion time
When you hire dedicated PHP programmers, the project turn-around time can be significantly reduced. It is because the requirements are already understood and the dedicated PHP developer will be hired based on the required skill set to complete the project on time.
Easy management
Hiring dedicated PHP developers will help you greatly in team management. Dedicated PHP developers are flexible, which means that you can increase or decrease the size of the team according to the need. A project manager will be responsible for smooth communication between you and the dedicated PHP developers. You can hire dedicated PHP developers if you want to develop a quality product under your supervision, just like an in-house team.
Cost-effective
Cost is significantly reduced when you hire dedicated PHP developers. There are no additional costs incurred for training the employees as in an in-house development team. You also don’t need to spend any additional costs for equipment, allowances, annual bonuses, etc. These all expenses are implicitly covered in the service rate of dedicated PHP developers.
Experience and expertise
Hire dedicated PHP programmers to get a team of employees who are experienced in working on various areas of web development. Due to their level of mastery, they can come up with solutions to problems within a shorter span of time.
High level of security, reliability, flexibility, and professionalism
Hire dedicated PHP developers who are very professional in their approach. Dedicated PHP developers will mostly have the experience of working for several clients and projects at a global level. They can help you with the conceptualization of ideas that best suit your project.
Hire dedicated PHP programmers who follow proper documentation procedures and data protection protocols.
There are also some disadvantages when you hire dedicated PHP developers.
3.2 Disadvantages of hiring dedicated PHP developers
If you hire dedicated PHP programmers from another country, different time zones might cause problems in communication. If there is something important to communicate regarding the product development and if it is not possible due to network issues or one party being not available, it could increase the delivery time of the product.
Dedicated PHP developers might not always have a project manager to oversee the work as in the case of an in-house development team. You might need to also hire a dedicated project manager to oversee the work of dedicated PHP developers.
When you hire dedicated PHP developers from another country, always analyze the geopolitical situation. The development of the project would be stopped or delayed If there is any situation of geopolitical unrest such as wars or terrorist attacks.
Best place to hire PHP developers
You can hire PHP developers mainly from the
The internet
PHP communities
Referrals from your professional contacts
The internet
There are many freelance/B2B platforms that help in hiring freelance PHP developers from around the globe. Some of them include Freelancer, Truelancer, We Work Remotely, etc. If you want to hire dedicated PHP programmers, you can search in Toptal, Hired, Upwork, Clutch, etc.
If you have a LinkedIn account, you can use it to connect with PHP programmers who have the required skill-set.
PHP communities
PHP is having a large community of developers. A client can look in PHP communities to hire PHP web developers with the desired skill set. PHP communities and groups can be found in social media networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, etc., and also on internet forums. You can also attend PHP conferences where you can meet exceptional PHP developers.
Referrals from your professional contacts
You can seek help from your professional circles to find the best PHP developers. They might give you the contact details of experienced PHP developers who they might have worked with in the past.
Cost of hiring a PHP developer
There are some factors that influence the cost of hiring PHP programmers. Some of them include the following:
Experience
Geographical location
Skill-set
Complexity of project
Experience
As the experience of a PHP programmer increases, the rate of hiring also increases. For example, a junior PHP developer, on average, charges about $20 an hour. The mid-level PHP developer charges about $30 per hour and a senior PHP developer may charge $40 and above.
Geographical location
When you hire PHP programmers from developed countries such as the U.S., it could cost between $10,000-$15,000 for a one-month-long project. The annual salary of PHP programmers from the U.S is about $103,000.
Some countries such as India and Ukraine have PHP developers who could help you with your web project at a very low rate. A client may need to spend about $5000 for a project in these countries, or maybe more, depending on the size and complexity of the project. The PHP developers from Asian countries have an annual salary of about $50,000. It is less compared to the salary of the PHP programmers from the U.S.
Skillset
The required skill set will vary depending on the nature and requirements of the project. You can hire a mid-level developer for a simple project that does not need the expertise of a senior-level PHP developer.
For a more complex project, you will need to hire a senior-level developer who is equipped with the knowledge of different areas of web development, for example -back-end, front-end, SEO, technology architecture, web security, etc. So, the rate of hiring PHP developers differs according to the type of project and the skill level of the PHP developer.
Complexity of project
The rate of hiring PHP developers is influenced by the complexity of the project. For a simple project with fewer features, the cost of developing is in between $1500-$3500. A mid-level project can be completed in between $5500-$10,500. For a complex product with advanced features, it may cost $15,500 and above.
To develop a web-based solution that stands out from the competition, you need to hire PHP developers who are exceptional in their field of work. In other words, the experience, skillset, and expertise of developers are the backbones of any good web-based solution.
AlignMinds Technologies is an award-winning mobile app development company with a decade of success stories. We offer digital product engineering services that include strategy and design, web and mobile app development, DevOps, and cybersecurity. We can help your businesses to get an edge in the competition through innovative solutions. Contact us now!
An era without software seems to have been a millennium ago. We are used to software like never before. Be it creating a meeting appointment or switching on your air conditioner before you get home, software is an integral part of our life.
What is the future of app development and what will be the role Microservices Architecture?
Traditional software development has been following a monolithic approach. Any change will require the whole system to be updated. For example, if you run an ERP software and you want to make a change to the purchase module only, you’ll have to upgrade the rest of the software as well. It’s a single code base with multiple modules bundled together. However, this approach brings in a lot of disadvantages
Over a period of time, this becomes complex and impossible to manage.
Developers find it difficult to understand.
Modules are tightly coupled, eliminating the possibility of reuse.
Increases the risk of failure.
Testing is slow due to the higher amount of regression to be performed.
IDEs and Web servers tend to get overloaded due to monolithic code.
A high degree of coordination is required to scale development.
Results in long term lock-in of technologies.
Difficult to scale the application.
The result is that it takes ages to develop and deploy even small releases or bug fixes causing huge expenses and missed market opportunities.
The smartphone revolution in the latter part of the last decade has placed cutting edge software in the hands of the consumers. People are using mobile apps for everything they do – shopping, health, entertainment, work and securing their home. Every enterprise out there is looking to woo the consumers and get a share of the pie. Global IT spend is expected to touch $4 Trillion in 2022 after factoring in the expected decline in 2020 due to COVID-19 situation.
In today’s dynamic and competitive market, it is all the more important for software providers to be able to quickly and continuously release product updates and bug fixes. And where the traditional methods fail to deliver, newer ideas like Microservices are taking centre stage.
What are Microservices?
Microservices, by definition, is an architectural style in which the application is a collection of loosely coupled services. In Microservices architecture, a large application is divided into small modular services and have the following characteristics –
Services are technology agnostic and use light weight protocols to communicate.
Services are organised around specific business capabilities.
Services are small in size, autonomously maintainable and independently deployable.
Services are built and released with automated processes.
What are the advantages of Microservices?
The advantages of breaking an application into different smaller services are numerous.
1. Modularity and simpler development
Each Microservice is a small module. Hence it is easy to understand, develop and test.
2. Scalability
Microservices are implemented and deployed independently of each other. Since they are independent processes, they can be monitored and scaled independently.
3. Empowered teams and distributed development
Microservices can be developed, deployed and scaled in parallel by small autonomous teams. Each team is empowered to make architectural decisions. The architecture of each service evolves independently to achieve the best results.
Microservices architecture helps with building and deploying application faster.
4. Build and deploy faster
Microservices architecture employs continuous integration, continuous delivery and deployment. This significantly reduces time to market and human errors.
5. Isolation of services and reduced risk of failure
Since Microservices are modular and independent, there is a reduced risk of overall system failure. Isolated services are easier to debug and fix.
6. Freedom to try different technologies
Since Microservices are technology agnostic, each service could be implemented in a different technology, whichever is best suited to the business function being performed. Sometimes, the choice could be based on the knowledge levels of available developers. A service written in Node.js works harmoniously with one written in Go. The focus is on implementing the business capabilities and not technology.
7. No long-term lock-in of technologies
Microservices are sufficiently small and independent. Hence it is easy to implement a service in new technology and replace the old one when the technologies become obsolete. It is easy to upgrade without impacting the system.
Companies like Amazon, Netflix, eBay, Coca-Cola, PayPal, Walmart, Spotify and many more have refactored their applications into Microservices. We are seeing deeper integration of microservices offerings in Google Cloud, AWS and Azure. AWS Lambda is a great example of serverless microservices. Microservices style of architecture is gaining traction quickly as the preferred method of implementing applications throughout industrial verticals. Companies are embracing innovation to increase the efficiency of product teams and reduce development and deployment times. With its rapid adoption rate, it is predicted that Microservices will become the default architecture for applications in the years to come.
We are always having a massive amount of data to deal with today. A visual representation is more perfect to express the data in a more meaningful way.
D3 is a successor to the earlier Protovis framework by Mike Bostock and team. Rather than any other libraries, D3.js allows great control over the final visual result and hence can be considered as a flexible way for data visualization.
What is D3.js?
Based on the data provided, the JavaScript library D3.js, manipulates documents. D3 stands for Data Driven Document. D3 helps us to bring life to data by using HTML, SVG and CSS.
We can certainly point out that D3 efficiently focuses on interactions, transitions and transformations which are making it more impressive and thus providing some awesome features for interactions and animations.
Why D3.js?
D3 is told to be data driven as it can use static data or can convert and use it from different formats like Arrays, Objects, CSV, JSON, XML etc… so as to produce different types of charts. Document Object Model (DOM) can be manipulated according to our data with D3.
More than 1000 different charts of D3.js are available on this site. You can easily look and use them for the different graphs you required and can also make changes in codes to get desired graphs.
How to work with D3.js?
As D3 is written in JavaScript someone who has experience in basic JavaScript coding can easily understand and learn it.
If you use npm you can install it as, npm install d3
To link directly to the latest release, you can copy this snippet on to your code:
Now, as we have created the directive let’s call the directive on the component HTML template of angular. We can call the directive name ‘appPiechart’ within division where we require the chart.
Within the input properties ‘chartOption’ we are supposed to provide the data, colour and radius.
Easily we could create a pie and donut chart which is animated. Similarly, we can create many more charts with little effort. The wide availability of the different type of animated graph examples of D3 helps to put much effort into creating and modifying for better visualization.
Accelerated Mobile Pages is an Open Source Initiative to overcome the slow and frustrating experience of web pages and to provide fast mobile experience. Google together with other publishers and technology companies found this solution – AMP Project to bring the whole internet to your mobile really fast – be it images or videos. AMP is a fantastic approach to make the mobile web faster.
How does Accelerated Mobile Pages work?
AMP basically has three components
1. AMP HTML
These are a subset of HTML designed to create “reading” contents than interactive contents. This strips out most of the elements that make the app pages load slowly in mobile devices.
2. AMP JS
It strips down third-party JavaScript and manages resource handling and asynchronous loading.
3. AMP CDN (Content Delivery Network)
Cache and optimize AMP-enabled pages for better performance.
Pros and Cons of AMP
Pros of AMP
Instant speed
Increased performance and reliability
Increased customer visits
Excellent support for ads
Improved ranking
Cons of AMP
Rewrite your template to accommodate the restrictions (like, CSS must be inline and less than 50 KB).
A custom amp-imp element must be used for images and width and height must be included explicitly.
Custom tag amp-video must be used to embed videos via HTML 5. Amp-YouTube must be used to embed YouTube videos.
Is using Accelerated Mobile Pages good or bad?
Performance is crucial for a website to be successful. If the web pages cannot load fast, the user will simply leave your website and try somewhere else.
AMP provides the free flow of information and works faster and better for everyone and everywhere. However, it comes with the cost of removing sometimes your most desired piece of code because AMP does not allow some form elements and third-party JavaScript as they really slow down your pages.
Therefore, for the developers who are interested in exposing their website features to the fullest, rather than relying on a stripped-down version of their code, there are so many performance gauging tools available online that provide recommendations on how to improve performance. It provides you with a list of blocking JavaScript files, large-sized images, resources requesting for an HTTPS connection, the order of display of items in your web page and every other information that is required to improve your website’s performance.
Instead of using AMP to shorten your piece of code, focus on finding slow areas that affect your app performance and think of ways to fine-tune and optimize your code. You won’t end up displaying the stripped-down version of your code and can utilize the power of your website to its fullest. In other words, AMP is not of much importance for developers who aim for code optimization and for those who are not interested in integrating a third-party concept to their code.
Before we begin with the vulnerabilities in web applications, it is good to know there are several open communities like OWASP that are always looking out for vulnerabilities and are dedicated to resolving these vulnerabilities. Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is an open community dedicated to enabling organizations to develop, purchase, and maintain web applications and APIs that can be trusted.
Now let us check the top 10 vulnerabilities in web applications and how to tackle these vulnerabilities.
1. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
It is a very common application-layer web attack. XSS targets scripts embedded in webpages that are executed on the client side (i.e., the scripts run on the user’s web browser). XSS is a threat for client-side scripting languages like HTML & JavaScript. It works by controlling the client side to work as desired by the attacker. Such an attack may, for example, use a script to run every time page reloads or on any other events.
XSS is mainly used for tampering and stealing user sensitive data. XSS usually targets the user and not the application.
We can prevent XSS by separating untrusted data from active browser content. We can also use frameworks like React JS or Ruby on Rails that automatically escape XSS by design.
2. SQL Injection
It’s an application security weakness that allows the attackers to alter the data in the database or just read confidential data such as a password. The vulnerability occurs when we enter untrusted data to the database from web forms or when it is part of a SQL query.
Web applications use SQL query to communicate with the database. SQL injections occur when the application fails to validate the data in a SQL query (from web forms) and hence, an attacker can trick the database to execute unexpected commands.
Using LIMIT and other SQL controls within queries are a way of tackling injections.
3. LDAP Injection
This is similar to SQL injection. Here also, the attacker place codes in user input fields to gain unlimited access. It may lead to information theft, browser or session hijacking, defacement of the website or even other problems.
LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) injections work by inserting harmful codes to client provided data in LDAP statements. If a web application does not properly validate the input fields, attackers can construct LDAP statements which execute with user permission. Such queries can modify or delete anything in the LDAP tree and cause disastrous results.
To handle these injections, it is advised to use safe API, that avoids interpreter entirely and provides a parameterized interface, migrates to use Object Relational Mapping Tools (ORMs).
4. Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Usually, a website sends an application a request that a user is authenticated from another website. An attacker can use this to access data and functionalities of the web application as the browser is already authenticated using the user’s credentials. Attackers may use XSS to defeat CSRF defence the application might employ. So, avoiding XSS will prevent these types of attack to some extent.
5. Insecure cryptographic storage
It occurs when sensitive data is not stored securely. Make sure all sensitive data are encrypted while storing & secured key management must be adopted.
Use a good encryption algorithm.
Make sure you do not use cryptography of your own since you can never predict whether it is secure or not. Do not ship or deploy with any default credentials, particularly for admin users.
6. Broken Authentication
Broken authentication happens when application functions related to authentication and session management are often implemented incorrectly, allowing attackers to compromise passwords, keys, or session tokens, or to exploit other implementation flaws to assume other users’ identities temporarily or permanently.
Practice implementing multi-factor authentication for web applications to prevent automated, credential stuffing, brute force, and stolen credential re-use attacks.
7. Sensitive Data Exposure
Many web applications and APIs do not properly protect sensitive data such as financial, healthcare, and PII (Personally Identifiable Information). Attackers may steal or modify such weakly protected data to conduct credit card fraud, identity theft, or other crimes. Sensitive data may be compromised without extra protection such as encryption at rest or in transit and requires special precautions when exchanged between browser and server.
We can prevent such situations by applying controls as per classification. Classify data stored processed and transmitted by an application.
Don’t store sensitive data unnecessarily. Discard it as soon as possible or use PCI DSS compliant tokenization or even truncation. Remember, data that is not retained cannot be stolen.
8. XML External Entities (XXE)
Many older or poorly configured XML processors evaluate external entity references within XML documents. External entities can be used to disclose internal files using the file URI handler, internal file shares, internal port scanning, remote code execution, and denial of service attacks.
Points to keep in mind are, whenever possible, use less complex data formats such as JSON and avoid serialization of sensitive data.
Also, patch or upgrade all XML processors and libraries in use by web applications or on the underlying operating system. Use dependency checkers. Update SOAP to SOAP 1.2 or higher.
9. Broken Access Control
Restrictions on the privileges of authenticated users are often not properly enforced. Attackers can exploit these flaws to access unauthorized functionality and/or data, access other users’ accounts, view sensitive files, modify other users’ data, change access rights, etc.
The possible solution to overcome this problem is to implement access control mechanisms once and reuse them throughout the application. Also, Minimize the use of CORS.
10. Security Misconfiguration
Security misconfiguration is the most commonly seen issue. This is commonly a result of insecure default configurations, incomplete or ad hoc configurations, open cloud storage, misconfigured HTTP headers, and verbose error messages containing sensitive information. Not only all operating systems, frameworks, libraries, and applications should be securely configured but also, they must be patched and upgraded in a timely fashion.
We can avoid this by checking none of the default accounts credentials is the same.
The aim of this article is to give a good insight into common flaws that can lead to modern data breaches and could make web applications vulnerable to various attacks.
As the saying goes “Prevention is better than cure”, proactive and defensive security steps must be adopted beforehand than making it a practice only after a security breach.
As the name suggests, Progressive Web App is a combination of features of web and app. It uses the modern capabilities of web and app making it very powerful, providing a user-friendly experience. Progressive Web Apps can be accessed via URL, are fully responsive and secure.
Native apps are rich in user experience, but they must be deployed through app stores. The Web apps – easy to access, but as it runs over the internet and if the internet is not available, these cannot be accessed. Even though there were attempts to implement offline web apps, the attempts failed to provide solutions for complex offline app scenarios. However, the setbacks of Native and Web Apps were overcome by the introduction of “Service Workers” in Progressive Web Apps that could handle every network request even when the user is offline and provide a rich user experience. Rapid growth has now taken place in browsers.
The biggest gain of Progressive Web App is that if the mobile browser does not support the features of the web app, just nothing happens!! It will ignore the features of a Web app and it will behave like a regular app and will redirect it to Play Store to download the app – elegant fallback, isn’t it?
Features of Progressive Web Apps
1. Feel like an app
App-style interactions and navigation are provided as it’s built on app shell model.
2. Responsive
Desktop, mobile, tablet – works well in all of these.
3. Easy installation
Appstore is not required anymore to download the app. You just open the app via browser, and you get the feature “Add to Home Screen” that adds an icon to the home screen of your device.
4. Offline mode
Use of Service Worker code in Progressive web apps enables the web app to be used in offline mode or over low-quality networks.
5. Push Notifications
Push capabilities in these web apps provide native-like experience to the users.
What is required for Web Apps?
For a web app to be “progressive”, the browser must implement these three things:
1. Register a Service Worker
Service Worker is a powerful API that helps developer build site to work offline or help speed up by obstructing the network requests to deliver cached responses. Service Workers are currently supported by Chrome and Firefox. Safari does not support Service Worker code though.
2. Run on HTTPS
This is mandatory for Progressive Web Apps to prevent third-party attacks.
3. Create App Manifest file
JSON file where a developer can specify attributes like name of the app, display (full screen, browser), orientation (portrait or landscape) etc. to display the app to the outside world.
Future of Progressive Web Apps
Will Progressive Web App gain popularity and be the king in this mobile age?
This is still in question since this will have a considerable impact on the app business market and even the Google Store due to its hybrid features. Another setback is if your requirement needs access to hardware capabilities of the device and if the mobile browser does not support those features, in that case, you don’t have a choice than have to build a native/hybrid app anyway.
Also, time and amount of work needed to implement progressive web apps are quite high – due to the requirement of HTTPS in the API. However, since it bridges the gap between the performance of web and apps, it can still provide a better solution that is fast and reliable in the modern technology world and meet user expectations.
The Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) is a scalable, high-speed, low-cost Web-based service designed for online backup and archiving of data and application programs.
Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) is simple storage for the Internet. You can configure it very simply and quickly in the AWS console. In S3, there’s no initial charges, zero set-up cost. You only pay for what you utilize. Unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, pay as you use and full control on file privacy are the most key features of S3. Amazon S3 also provides options to host static websites.
Why I find Amazon S3 great?
Most of the Websites are having Dynamic contents which are a collection of many Images, Videos and Audio, etc. These images will be either uploaded by the Users or the Admin of the website. Some websites will be having hundreds or even thousands of images depending on the Market they are focusing on. Storing the whole images inside Server will run out of the disk space and causes server issue. So, it will be good to save it directly in the Amazon S3.
How to Configure Amazon S3?
Amazon S3 is very simple to configure and use. This can be configured from the AWS console.
In S3 you can create Buckets. Buckets are very similar to Folders in our PC. It helps us to organize the files. S3 generates random URLs for each and every file uploaded to it. Each file is objects in S3. These objects can be accessed from the Web. S3 provides you with different policies and permissions to secure the contents stored in it.
Amazon Web Service (AWS) console provides you with the ability to create an IAM user. IAM user this the centralized user account provided by the AWS in order to access the AWS service remotely or through API calls, etc.
When we are using PHP code and if we wanted to access the objects from the S3, we need to use IAM user credentials to get the object from S3 bucket, if public access to the object is not allowed.
How S3 is used with a PHP web application?
As we have already mentioned that the S3 can be used for storing static contents like Pictures, Videos, Audio, etc. Let us see how it work in a real-life scenario.
Source (awsmedia.s3.amazonaws.com)
As the Image displays, when a user is trying to access a Webpage, the requests hit the Webserver. The Webserver sends a request to the Amazon S3 asking for an Image stored in it and the S3 returns the Image that is used in that particular Webpage.
How to set up Amazon S3?
Let us assume that we have a Web server running. We have a PHP site running in it with thousands of images as part of the content in it. We need to make sure there will be no storage issue due to running out of hard drive storage space.
Choose the following steps to mount S3 on an EC2 instance.
Create a new directory under that Webroot of the PHP Application where you wanted to mount the static contents.
Now you need to download and install s3fs from the source. S3fs is used to mount the S3 bucket to the system.
In-order to connect to the Amazon S3 bucket we need to authenticate. For that, we need to create a password inside the user home directory and pass the AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY which we got from the AWS console.
Now, after mounting the Drive we can start using it as a local drive that is attached to the PC.
What are the PROS /CONS of using Amazon S3?
We understood Amazon S3 and its features, also how we can configure it. Now let us discuss the Advantage/Disadvantage of using S3, in the perspective of a web application.
PROS
S3 is that it can be mounted to an EC2 instance and can act as a local drive attached to a system.
S3 can be used as a Backup Volume where we can store the backups. This can save the EBS (Elastic Block Storage) space which is the main storage.
S3 can be used for many servers at the same time. Whereas EBS can only be attached to an instance at a time.
Highly Available, Redundant. Basically, data loss is not possible (99.999999999% durability, 99.9 uptime SLA).
S3 storage provides up to 5TB storage space.
CONS
S3 is an object store it is not a file system.
Hence S3 is not a file system it does not have file-system permissions.
S3 is slower than the EBS volume which is directly connected to the instance. Hence it is good to store static contents like Photos, Videos, etc.
Conclusion
Amazon S3 is the best way to Host web sites cost-effectively. Since the price of physical drives is huge, Amazon S3 will be a good option to store static content.
You might see the Ads with the top row results in the Google search. What are they, why they differ from the other results?
Those are Google ads that a company paid for so that people will notice their business whenever they’re searching Google. And, the company only have to pay whenever someone clicks on the ad. This is known as cost-per-click advertising (CPC).
How to show your Ads on Google
Go to http://tinyurl.com/pevnb3j and create your own Google ads account. Then you can create your Ads with your preferred locations, keywords, etc. For help on creating managing your Google ads account go to http://tinyurl.com/qy6kuq7
Google ads API
The Google ads API allows applications to interact directly with the Google ads platform. You can build applications to more efficiently manage large or complex Google ads accounts. If you want to use Google ads API in your applications, first you will have to create an MCC account.
What is an MCC account?
MCC (My Client Center) Account
An MCC account -manager account- is a Google ads account that lets you easily view and manage multiple Google ads accounts –including other manager accounts– from a single location.
You can create a new MCC account here – http://tinyurl.com/q9n7gsh
After downloading go to the following path? “..\utilities\OAuthTokenGenerator\bin\Debug\”. There you can see a file named ‘OauthTokenGenerator.exe’. Run the file and you will get the following screen:
Submit Client ID and Client Secret you have handy then click OK, and it will show you the Refresh Token for your account.
Find the .dll files inside – “..\examples\AdWords\CSharp\bin\Debug\”.
Please note: You can use the Developer Token only after your MCC account is verified by Google Team. This process is done by humans and it needs long time so. (sometimes it takes more than two months!)
Want to start coding right away?
MCC test Accounts comes for help.
MCC Test Account
MCC test accounts allow developers to execute AdWords API requests against the production environment for development and testing purposes. The MCC Test Account will not server the Ads on real Google search.
You must use a production (non-test) MCC account’s developer token to make AdWords API calls against a test account. You can use the production developer token against a test account even when the production developer token is pending approval.
The search module is a vital component in today’s web applications. Its importance, as well as user-friendliness, is very critical in the growth of the business.
Two most important, most discussed, and widely used Search Engines are Apache Solr and Amazon CloudSearch. Both Solr and Amazon CloudSearch are search platforms that enable you to search your data by submitting HTTP requests and receive responses in either XML or JSON.
Apache Solr is open-source software. It is written entirely in Java and uses Lucene as the “engine” but adds full enterprise search server features and capabilities. Highly specialized search solution companies like lucid works, search technologies etc may prefer creating plugins and modules using open source code which gives more flexibility and control. The current, released, stable version of Apache Solr is 3.3.
Why need search engines?
So, why we really need a search engine?
Do the direct search in the database is not enough?
This is the first question that came to my mind when I was about to integrate Solr to one of our projects. I went on with some researches based on these questions.
What the search engines actually do?
Search engines go through each and every data and find a match if exist. If for a small web application direct database search is fine. But for applications with huge data, if we do a direct database search it will be a heavy process to perform a search.
What search engines like Solr do is, they read the data from database and keep a local index with that data. Periodically or when some data update occurs, we update the index also. And, when we perform the search, the search is done in the index and matching results are fetched from the index. Since the index and the code lie on the same location, search becomes tremendously fast and easy.
First, download the latest version of the Service from the official site. Solr is written in Java so you also need Java Runtime Environment to run it.
$ cd solr-4.1.0/example/
$ java -jar start.jar
Once JRE is installed and started, Solr will be available with a web interface on port 8983. Open a web browser and go to http://localhost:8983/solr/(assuming Solr is installed in your local server). You can see something similar to the following image:
If you look at the left-hand side navigation you will find “collection1″. Collections in Solr are something similar to a database table. You can query it. Click on the collection and choose “query” from the submenu.
The first option is called “Request-Handler (qt)” with default value “/select”. Request handlers are sort of pre-defined queries. Next parameter is a query and its default value “*:*” selects everything. If you execute the query, it will select all data from the index. For now, since the index is empty, it will give zero results.
Now, we need to insert some data to the index from our database, right? First, include the Solr service.php (the config file that reads and writes data to the Solr Index). Now, fetch the current index and save it to a new array say $results_old. So $results_old->response->docs shall contain all the data in the Solr index (if there is some data, for now, no value will be there). Fetch whatever data we want to index from the database and map it to the Solr index fields. Once all data are mapped, write them to the index in a key->value pair format.
If you do a normal select query from the web interface, you will get a result similar to the following:
Now how to use Solr with your PHP project? You shall be having the PHP library called solr-php-client. It offers an object-oriented interface to Solr, somewhat like the PHP Solr extension. This library is however fully implemented in PHP so it can easily be used on any PHP environment. You may download it from : http://code.google.com/p/solr-php-client/downloads/list .
Once the library is added along with your project files, go to the file SolrPhpClient/Apache/Solr/Service.php . This is the main configuration file.
To connect your project with Solr, include the service.php file in your code. Then you will be able to access the Solr object as:
$solr = new Apache_Solr_Service(SOLRHOST, SOLRPORT, SOLRNAME);
Now, we need to write our data retrieved from the database to the Solr index. First initialize the Solr document as:
$document = new Apache_Solr_Document();
Save each of your data as a key-value pair (if multiple tables, using multidimensional array structure so that, the table names fall on the parent key-value pair.). After adding all your data to the Solr document,
These are the basic steps, to integrate Solr with your project. You have connected your project with Solr, added your data to it and performed search too.
Distinctive advantages of Solr in my experience
Solr is one of the most widely used Search Engines in the current world. Here follow the major reasons for why Solr is most opted.
Apache Solr has multilingual support. So, you can make it useful for your websites which are not necessarily in English.
Faceting is one of the important features used in eCommerce website search modules. Faceting allows you to categorize your results into sub-groups, which can be used as the basis for another search. Solr supports Faceting to a minimal level.
When you do a search, as you type you will be able to see suggestions of popular queries in relevance to the input are presented as shown in the following image like what we see in Google Search.
This feature is called Auto Suggest. This feature can be implemented at the Search Engine level or at the Search Application level. Apache Solr has the native support for the autosuggest feature. It can be facilitated in many ways using – NGramFilterFactory, EdgeNGramFilterFactory or TermsComponent. Usually, you can find this feature of Apache Solr is used in conjunction with jQuery for creating powerful auto-suggestion experience in applications.
Ecommerce sites can benefit from the “Find Similar” feature as research suggests that users typically compare products before making a transaction and are likely to buy a product which is better. Apache Solr implements the “Find Similar” feature using handlers/components like MoreLikeThisHandler orMoreLikeThisComponent.
Sometimes when we type the search term spellings go wrong, then the search engine automatically corrects the spelling and present you with even the search result. This feature of presenting the user with spelling corrected suggestions is called “Did you mean…” feature. Apache Solr implements the “Did you mean…” feature with the Spellcheck search component.
Apache Solr has many algorithms including cache implementations such as LRUCache and FastLRUCache. Solr, being open-source, it can be extended by adding your own algorithms.
Solr is a free service. All you need to do is install the Solr to your server, add the Solr-php-client library, and write some small codes to connect your project to Solr.
Market research has shown that 95% of users assess the value of your website based on its visual appearance. Websites must be creative and innovative enough to keep users attracted to your website.
When someone visits your website, their first question would be “Why must I access this site when I have other real worth websites? What is so different about this site?” and that’s where your website must stand out from the crowd dominantly, clearly and convincingly answering user’s queries and making them stay on your website.
Parallax Scrolling is one such hot design technique used in most of today’s websites providing its users close interaction with the site and making browsing more interesting. Parallax effect was more popular in 2D video games in earlier days, but with the advancement in JavaScript, one can successfully use effects of Parallax in their website to give completely unique experience.
How Parallax Scrolling works
Parallax scrolling is achieved by having the background image (or elements) move slower than the foreground image giving an impression of 3D depth. Different elements move at a different speed, creating a sense of animation and enhanced interactive user experience. Content is marked up using HTML tags, while jQuery checks how far the user has scrolled and move different elements at a different speed.
The Parallax movement started in the web using two simple layers. Thanks to advancement in JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS3, now foreground and background elements can be grouped into different layers and speed of these elements can be controlled based on their layers.
Pros of Parallax Scrolling
Holding visitor interest
As a user scrolls down the page, he is taken to the next level of information without having the user to click anywhere to see the information. This feature keeps user attracted to your website, stirring their interest and wanting them to view more of the information.
Better product display
Instead of just displaying your product as a static image, Parallax scrolling can help the user explore your product in a totally new and different way. It gives 3D view presentation controlled by their own scrolling behaviour.
Bagigia is a classic website where user gets totally different experience of viewing products. 3D presentation of the product is shown with the user controlling the scrolling behaviour.
Visual narration (Storytelling) made more efficient
Storytelling is the best way to communicate a message to a human mind. A well-designed, one-page website can prove powerful storytelling equipment because scrolling through it will be like reading an interesting book that you cannot put down unless complete.
With the right amount of animation and scrolling, Parallax scrolling can effectively communicate your message about your product, their effects and the audience. Parallax provides a nice overview of your website by letting the user visualize the website through scrolling efforts.
Unique Design
Using the Parallax effect, you can design a website that is visually appealing and user-friendly and make your website more fun place and interactive thus, making it stand out from the crowd.
Cons of Parallax Scrolling
Parallax site takes longer to load
JavaScript/JQuery is used to calculate the position of every element in the page and every time there is a scroll, position of all elements needs to be re-calculated that could slow down page load.
Parallax Scrolling does not always work
Parallax effect does not always work well with mobile technology. You might need to make sure you have a separate mobile-optimized version of your website if your parallax scrolling website does not play well on mobile devices.
Too much scrolling
Too much scrolling may irritate the user that would tempt them to leave the site before viewing the main contents of your website.
Conclusion
Parallax scrolling is just sweeping the entire web community and is expanding across the web. Parallax scrolling websites are the future of tomorrow’s website design. It has become the biggest trend in the design world today and when done right and with the right amount of Parallax scrolling, it can no doubt, put your website ahead of the curve providing that extra edge over your competition.
AlignMinds recognizes that every product engineering project has specific requirements. They work closely with their clients to understand their needs and objectives, ensuring that the AR and VR solutions are customized to meet those requirements effectively.
