What Do People Want In A Health And Fitness App?

The health and fitness app has become a permanent fixture in most people’s lives. And you can tell that this is true by merely observing the people around you. Nowadays, most people wear smartwatches — but that’s not surprising — considering the global smartwatch market grows consistently by 13% year-on-year

But even if someone doesn’t own a smartwatch, they certainly own a smartphone. And most decent health and fitness apps will work on both types of devices. However, smartwatches are ideally suited for tracking health and fitness due to their wearable nature.

Yet our focus of attention isn’t on which device to use. Instead, we want to uncover what people want in a health and fitness app. And how developers can respond to these wants in a competitive mobile app marketplace.

1. A Health And Fitness App Must Have Personalization Features

All good health and fitness apps have user profiles. And these are necessary as every user has unique health attributes, exercise routines, and goals, to name a few. 

Moreover, these user profiles should protect the privacy of the user, especially if they share their smartphone or smartwatch with someone else. And make it easy to access health stats and progress reports via an intuitive user interface (UI).

2. Social Media Integrations

There’s no better way for people to stay motivated than by sharing their results with others. Some may like to brag when they reach a new milestone or break a performance record, but most prefer camaraderie and support from like-minded people. 

Thus, social media integrations are absolutely essential, as they’ll allow users to easily and quickly share results on their favorite platforms. Furthermore, developers can add chat and group-based activity features to further enrich their health and fitness app.

3. Streaming And Video Sharing Capabilities

Offering a live streaming capability is an essential feature nowadays. Fitness instructors can share videos with others that use your health and fitness app, to help them practice proper exercise techniques.

However, users can also share videos of themselves with instructors and health practitioners. These experts can then examine these videos and ascertain whether or not users are following proper health and fitness procedures. And then, offer feedback and suggestions directly to users via a live chat feature.

4. Gamification Will Enhance Your Health And Fitness App

Another effective way to motivate people to reach their goals is with gamification features. By offering rewards within the health and fitness app, most users will push themselves harder to reach set milestones. 

These rewards can come in the form of prize money if it’s financially feasible. Or they can take the form of virtual prizes, such as trophies and digital reward tags. It’s also possible to penalize users when they fail to reach certain goals, by removing rewards or lowering their score associated with their progress.

In Conclusion

The more people use health and fitness apps, the more features they’ll desire and demand. But the good news is that there are many ways to evolve these kinds of apps, and even innovate on existing ideas. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you develop a leading-edge health and fitness app that will help improve your users’ lives. 

Do You Have A Great App Idea? 5 Tips To Get It Validated

Coming up with a great app idea can seem easy at times. But what may not seem easy is ascertaining if that app idea is truly feasible. If most developers were honest, they’d admit they lucked out on some of their best and most profitable ideas. Instead, they’d like everyone to believe they’re geniuses for coming up with winning ideas.

Of course, some top-tier app developers have a methodology for brainstorming ideas and validating them. And that’s what we want to focus on right now!

We’re not interested in revealing tips aimed at opportunistic appreneurs and developers that want to make a quick buck from current trends. And that’s because this is not a sustainable way to push out compelling apps at a regular cadence.

Instead, we want developers to work systematically to achieve consistent results regularly. We also want developers to think of themselves as problem solvers and not simply studios that push out code.

While working with new technologies is always fun, we should never lose track of the fact that we’re here to provide solutions. Our goals should always align with those of our clients and users. And that’s to make life easier for them by solving problems that hold them back or impact productivity.

However, you may be at this point now where you have a great app idea that will solve a problem users experience. But how do you validate it to know for certain that it will serve your target market well? Read on, as we’re about to reveal several handy tips to help you through the validation process.

1. Market Research Is A Must! 

Never commence planning and developing an app without conducting market research first. And that’s because you need to know if your app is unique or improves on existing ideas. And if the market already has competitors, can you compete by offering something different or better?

Moreover, you should clearly define your app’s unique selling point (USP). Ask yourself what sets it apart from competing apps and how your users will benefit.

And possibly, create a prototype to show your team, company stakeholders, or even a small focus group. Then, ask them for feedback on what they think of the app and if they can pinpoint its USP and potential target audience.

2. The Early Stages Of The Validation Process

As a startup with limited time and money, going through the validation process may seem challenging. But we recommend that you don’t skimp on this step, as it will help determine if you have a great app idea or not.

We mentioned earlier about building a prototype and showing it to relevant parties. However, you can take things further by setting specific validation goals. 

For example, you may decide not to build a prototype but focus on pitching your idea to investors. If you manage to convince five or more investors about the virtues of your app idea, then that’s a good sign. Or you can work with another metric: if 100 or more potential users view your concept design on social media and react positively — you may want to greenlight the project. 

As you may understand by now, there are several ways you can go with this. And by setting several validation goals that you can measure, you can gain real-world feedback without breaking the bank. But only doing the above won’t be substantial for most projects, even though it’s a good starting point.

3. Effective Ways To Validate A Great App Idea

Real-world feedback is an ongoing theme with app validation. And that’s because there’s no better way to determine if there’s interest in your app concept or idea.

So, focus on ways to receive user feedback from potential users. But also ensure that you research the size and value of the market you’re targeting. And no matter how much you like your idea, don’t invest in developing it into a full-fledged app without thorough market validation. 

But how do you thoroughly validate the market? Well, one of the best ways to do this is with a minimum viable product (MVP). An MVP is a stripped-down version of your app with the bare minimum of functionality. And the main advantage of this is that you can deliver an MVP to your users cheaply and quickly. 

Should it prove popular with users, you can scale it into a fully-fledged app and implement the features that users have suggested. However, if it fails to gain traction, you can scrap the project or implement changes that may make it more appealing to users. The latter may be the way to go if there’s still middling interest and users have made suggestions.

4. Conduct User Surveys

Another good way to ascertain if you’re on to a great app idea is via user surveys. Start by creating a customer profile that represents your ideal users. Your customer profile may have the age, demographic, education, hobby, location, and spending attributes.

If your customer profile slants to the younger ages, you may want to find users on a platform such as TikTok. And if they’re older professionals, you may want to track them down on LinkedIn. Either way, you should have a clear picture of your target group so you can survey them properly. 

Ensure that you tailor your survey for your target group and use language and tone that appeals to them. Moreover, respect their time by not asking more questions than you have to or asking complicated questions that are too difficult to answer. Ideally, you want these users to complete your entire survey and not give up halfway through.

5. Pre-Selling And Pre-Registration 

Another effective way to test your app idea is by setting up a pre-selling landing page. This landing page will feature a description of your app, screenshots, and a promo video to create buzz. Furthermore, visitors can easily register and submit their email addresses to stay updated. 

What’s so compelling about this approach is that it’s a way to attract early adopters. And the higher number of these early adopters, the more validation you receive for your app. Moreover, it can act as a revenue stream if you need to generate income before launching your app officially. 

But if setting up a landing page and maintaining an email list isn’t your thing, there’s no need to despair. Google Play offers pre-registration for your app so that you can build hype and user relationships before launch. This is done directly on the Play Console and is implemented 3-6 weeks before the launch date. 

It’s an effective way to drive traffic to your app’s store page. And it’s possible for Google Play to automatically deliver your app to users and auto-install it on their devices on launch day. Thus, it’s almost certain that you’ll have users on day one with a limited amount of work on your end. You can also use Google’s pre-marketing tools to boost interest further.

The Bottom Line

When you have a great app idea, you’ll want to validate it as soon as possible. The good news is that there are several ways to go about this, as we’ve already covered above. However, there’s a bit of additional work involved, which may increase your costs and time to market (TTM).

But if you work with experts, such as NS804, you’ve got a partner to help you navigate this process. Contact us today to learn how we’ll help you validate your best ideas and turn them into phenomenal apps!

Make Your App Simple to Navigate with These 6 Design Tips

Mobile app design is not all about looks and beautiful aesthetics. It’s sometimes about how easily users can communicate and interact with your app.

Think about app design as a concept that merges looks and interaction – aesthetics and functionality. And app navigation is like interactions or a conversation with an app.

So, making your app navigable is critical to the overall design work.

Here are six design tips to make your app simple to navigate:

1. Thumb navigation

Research has suggested that 49% of app users use only one thumb to navigate the phone’s interface. When designing, remember that your app will be used in numerous ways.

So, ensure that when designing, you place the most crucial features at the bottom of the app. This way, users can reach these features when using the phone with a hand or two.

2. Bottom tab bar

Many reputable apps, including LinkedIn and Instagram, place their primary features on the bottom tab bar. For instance, Instagram’s core functionality tabs are accessed through the tab bar, making switching between features easy.

So, when designing an app, ensure you do the following:

  • Avoid using icons of different colors at the bottom
  • Avoid scrabble icons at the tab bar
  • Show only the most frequently used destinations

You can always display a badge at the tab bar to show new information.

3. Card-style design

Cards are critical elements to use in your mobile interface design because they can display actionable features. The card-style design allows content to reveal itself to the targeted audience, making navigation easy and fast.

The card-style design further gives users the fun feeling of swiping left and right. For instance, the Google Primer App allows users to tap on each card and swipe the cards away anytime they are done reading what’s written on each card.

4. Avoid clutter

It’s advisable to keep your app clean and succinct. And by avoiding clutter, you make the app cleaner and easy to navigate. In addition, by removing clutter, you prioritize content, and the space, whether white or black, contributes to readability.

5. Full-screen navigation

Full-screen navigation means you don’t save any space on your screen. This type of navigation can be beneficial and equally powerful for some mobile apps. The full-screen navigation is simply a navigation platform that lists all the navigation elements, and it’s great for simplicity and coherence if you select the colors properly.

6. Search box

Your users can feel locked in a dark room if you omit search navigation. Ensure that you incorporate a magnifying glass icon at the top of the app to give your users the liberty to search for whatever they want.

Adding a search box means liberating your users and letting them explore every nook and cranny in your app.

NS804 – App Navigation Made Easy!

NS804 is a trusted provider of superior mobile app design solutions for Android and IOS. NS804 seeks to provide clients – individuals, businesses, corporations, and organizations – with clean interfaces and functional apps that answer difficult questions.

In addition, NS804 apps meet the criteria of simplicity and functionality allowing consumers to enjoy all that an app has to offer.

Contact NS804 for superior mobile app design in Richmond Va.

7 Emerging App Trends Business Are Tapping Into Right Now

There’s no denying that the mobile app revolution is underway. In 2021, there were a whopping 7 billion mobile app users globally. The following year, this number rose to 9 billion and was projected to reach 10 billion in 2023 as smartphones and wearables become an integral part of our everyday life.

The shift from e-commerce to m-commerce did not happen by accident. While e-commerce presented a digital model for online shopping, m-commerce seemed to respond better to consumer needs given that it was integrated into mobile devices like smartphones, wearables, and tablets.

This post examines seven mobile app trends that businesses are tapping into to maintain a competitive edge in their industries.

1. 5G Technology

Mobile apps have proven to be a game-changer in the industry. They’ve helped transform markets, tap into new customer pools, and boost the bottom line.

Unfortunately, the app development landscape is forever changing, making it hard for businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to keep up with emerging trends.

One of these emerging technologies is the 5G. 5G offers 100 times faster internet connectivity than its predecessor, 4G LTE. This particular trend of faster internet connectivity speeds will significantly transform the mobile app development landscape.

Already, businesses of all sizes and sophistication are looking at how they can leverage this new technology to transform themselves and redefine their competitive positioning.

For instance, 5G technology could enable businesses to develop more immersive AR and VR technologies, provide improved data analytics, and transform their efficiencies on numerous fronts.

The 5G technology remains a game-changer in the mobile app development landscape, and enterprises must look into how they can optimize this new technology to drive value.

2. Internet of Things (IoT) App Integration

The Internet of Things is no longer a complicated term or concept. The IoT simply refers to the interconnectivity of devices and the information or data that flows among interconnected devices.

The rise of mobile penetration across multiple sectors has created seemingly endless possibilities for the internet of things. The Internet of Things refers to the increasingly high number of devices connected to the internet, and the information or data supported or emitted by these interconnected devices.

A classic example of IoT app integration is the rise of smart home technology. Mobile apps, for example, can be used to activate thermostats in remote homes. Mobile apps can also activate alarms, security cameras, and automated gates or entrances remotely.

Refrigerators, ovens, cookers, and other appliances can also be controlled using mobile apps, providing countless control and automation possibilities.

Credible research indicates that the global internet of things market will reach $264 billion in 2022. These statistics show that $190 billion of this income will come from interconnected mobile apps.

3. Augmented and Virtual Reality

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent transformations in the global business landscapes, businesses are expected to embrace mobile app development.

That’s because mobile apps provide a tangible way for businesses to reach their target audience and grow their brands despite the economic turmoil of the pandemic.

Integrating augmented and virtual reality is one of the most reputable mobile app development trends in 2022. This integration involves using immersive technologies to create engaging customer experiences.

For instance, businesses are using augmented reality technology to show customers what products will look like in their homes. In addition, augmented and virtual reality technologies are being embedded to provide a realistic preview of products.

4. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

As we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses are looking at ways to remain competitive in an ever-changing global landscape. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are one of the hottest words in the tech world right now, and they’re just beginning to get famous.

The reason machine learning and artificial intelligence are the two most important concepts right now is that they possess a huge capability to process huge amounts of information and data quickly and efficiently.

This capability is especially valuable to businesses that want to process huge amounts of information and make informed business decisions based on available customer behavior data.

And by incorporating artificial intelligence in their mobile apps, businesses can not only mine critical customer information – they can equally draw meaningful insights from collected data.

Also, artificial intelligence can create more interactive and engaging customer communication information and data or content. The creation of engaging content is a critical element of mobile app development.

So, businesses looking forward to staying competitive in an ever-changing business landscape must consider integrating machine learning and artificial intelligence in their mobile app development efforts.

5. Blockchain

Blockchain is another emerging mobile app trend that’s promising to make an impact in the coming years. Already, we have witnessed the success of blockchain in creating a secured and seamless cryptocurrency market, and its application in other industries and sectors continues to be lauded.

The blockchain, which essentially represents a distributed ledger technology, promises to revolutionize and transform the way businesses operate by offering a secure and water-tight way of storing information.

And while blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, it has a wide range of applications for businesses of all types and sizes. For instance, blockchain can streamline supply chain processes, track inventory levels, and create secure digital contracts.

6. Apps for Foldable Devices

It’s not a surprise that you had, or maybe you knew someone who had a flip phone a long time ago. The first generation of flip-flop phones was replaced by touch screen phones and smartphones with one or two buttons.

However, at the start of 2019, we witnessed a generation of foldable smartphones. 2019 saw the release of foldable smartphones like Huawei Mate X, Samsung Galaxy Fold, and Motorola Razr.

These smartphones fold to expand or compress the screen size based on the user’s preference. For instance, the user can receive a call with the phone closed but watch a video with the device open.

That means that from an app development perspective, developers must account for these changes in mobile design. The idea is that an app must seamlessly update its display as the device unfolds and closes.

The key highlight of any app is to offer a superior and user-friendly viewing experience regardless of whether the app is open or closed.

7. Development for Wearable Devices

Wearable devices have taken a toll over the last decade, defining trends in the healthcare sector. Wearable devices nowadays monitor heart rate, record blood pressure, and keep tabs on pulses.

Some wearables go a notch higher to show important body variables and statistics like disease diagnostics, patient therapy delivery, and early disease diagnostics.

It’s important to note that wearable technology has come with devices such as trackers, fitness bands, and smartwatches, signaling a new wake for wearable devices.

However, emerging statistics show that the wearable market has not reached its full potential. There has been a year-to-year increase in wearable adoption from 2017 to 2022, signaling that the market is yet to exploit its fullest potential.

The evidence shows that while we are not witnessing a year-to-year jump, the growth rate is steady, a clear indication of the hidden potential of this market.

For instance, Apple Inc. made a big announcement about wearables and app integration at its 2019 WWDC. The newly launched WatchOS 6 brought the Apple Store to Apple Watch. This trend shows that new apps are being built specifically for these devices.

In the future, more mobile apps will be made with wearables in mind. Users with wearables will be able to download thousands of apps directly from their wrists – reinforcing the mere fact that mobile app development is gradually shifting towards wearable technology.

NS804 – Transforming The Mobile App Development Landscape!

NS804 is a trusted provider of custom-built mobile app solutions for individual businesses and corporations. NS804 provides expertise in mobile app development, allowing enterprises to approach their app projects with diligence.

So, if you want to tap into emerging app trends or integrate emerging solutions in your app development project – look no further!

Contact NS804 to know how exactly you can integrate emerging app trends into your mobile app.

App Performance: How To Tell If Your App Is Succeeding

If you’re not continuously monitoring app performance, you won’t have a clear picture of app quality and success. And that means you won’t know if your app meets or exceeds user expectations. Moreover, you can’t correctly evaluate your app since you’re not measuring its key performance indicators (KPIs).

So, what should you do to ensure you know everything about your app that matters? And more importantly, how do you do so without hurting your brand? After all, there’s nothing worse than releasing an app — even as a beta for testing purposes — that delivers a shoddy user experience. 

Read on as we’re about to reveal the steps you need to take to monitor app performance — the right way!

1. Implement App Performance Metrics For App Quality

First and foremost, you need to know if your app runs flawlessly or is a buggy mess that upsets users. Thus, you’ll need to implement the following app performance metrics that will furnish you with reports in real-time:

  • Crash analytics – To help you identify when and why app crashes happen
  • Performance – Collect data related to load speeds, device configurations, operating systems, and screen resolutions
  • In-app feedback and ticketing – An effective way to gain feedback and respond to app issues without hurting your brand
  • Testing – Use an SDK such as Firebase to build and test apps across multiple devices and platforms 

2. Measure KPIs That Determine App Success

You’ll also need to know how well your app is performing in the app stores. And there’s quite a bit of data that you’ll need to collect and analyze, such as follows:

  • Number of downloads – This is one of the most important KPIs and helps determine app growth or stagnation
  • Reviews and ratings – Positive reviews and ratings bolster downloads as users often look at these first before trying out an app 
  • Track active users – It’s crucial to know how many users continue using your app after they download it from the store
  • The average duration of user interaction – User engagement directly correlates with higher usage times
  • The frequency of user sessions – This is another important metric that determines user engagement
  • Retention rate – This metric helps determine whether or not users remain interested in your app
  • Churn rate – Another important metric that indicates how many users leave an app

3. Mobile Game Considerations

All app performance metrics discussed above also apply to mobile games. Given the viral nature of mobile games, it’s also crucial to measure the K factor. So, what is the K factor, and how does it impact a mobile game? In a nutshell, the K factor refers to the number of users that talk about your game and recommend it to others.

An easy way to work out the K factor is with this simple formula (i = average number of invitations sent by a user, and c = conversation rate of those invited): 

k-factor = i*c

In Conclusion

Always implement app performance metrics, as these will help you gain a 360-degree view of your app. The more data you collect about your app’s performance and how users interact with it, the better informed you’ll be to make the right changes — and when they’re necessary. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you create phenomenal apps that truly succeed! 

What Are The 9 Best Education Apps for Children?

App developers are now capturing children’s imagination by making learning fun through cool, educational apps. Today, there are many educational apps for children that make screen time beneficial. Your children’s skills will increase across a variety of topics and regions with the aid of these apps. There are study apps for practically any subject, from science to social studies and foreign languages.

This post brings you the best 9 education apps for children:

1. Khan Academy

This app is free and packed with a number of programs for children of all ages. It is one of the best education apps for children. For the majority of disciplines, Khan Academy provides YouTube tutorials.

There are comprehensive visuals for different classes, including math, business studies, science, AP courses, arts, humanities and exam preparation. Students can work at their own pace and use visually appealing content like images, maps, and other visuals. Khan Academy is well-liked by students, parents, and teachers.

Features:

  • Interactive learning path that supports learning at the child’s pace
  • Provides a wide range of topics
  • Suitable for basic and supplemental education
  • Junior version available for learners under five years

This app remains critically underpinning for offering diverse learning opportunities on a wide range of topics.

2. PBS Kids Games

The PBS Kids app is perfect if you want your child to experience learning through play. Kids can pick from hundreds of games that cover a range of topics, including arithmetic, reading, language, and science.

PBS Kids Games contains features that allow parents to be on the lookout for their children’s actions and performance. Parents can also manage their accounts to provide their kids with a safe and secure environment.

Features:

  • Regular updates with new games
  • Offline games available to play on the go
  • Friendly and secure playing experience
  • Relatable characters inspired by popular shows

This app remains the coolest app for experiencing learning through play.

3. Duolingo

How do you say “hi” in Portuguese? Children and adults can master many different languages that Duolingo presently provides. Children are kept interested and engaged through constant feedback and simple lessons with fun online learning material. One of the most well-liked educational apps available today is Duolingo. It has a system that enables children and adults to learn a new language at a personalized pace.

This cool app uses technology to provide individualized instruction and private tutoring for over 30 foreign languages. There are a variety of different games to play that will test your writing, speaking, and reading skills.

Features:

  • Uses scientifically established teaching techniques that promote long-term language retention
  • Tracking progress and achieving goals is made exciting with incentives and achievements
  • Fun characters and game-like courses make sessions productive and amusing
  • Ideal for children and adults

Duolingo is perhaps the most intuitive language app for honing linguistic skills in children.

4. Hopscotch

Hopscotch is a programming app ideal for beginners to explore and learn the basics. The app allows children to design programs with vibrant characters using the drag-and-drop editor.

Kids can create amusing characters that move, change looks, and respond to commands using a comparatively basic platform. By selecting characters, they may personalize their programs. They can also save and share their creations with the Hopscotch society, as well as leave comments on and play other people’s works.

It is a fantastic method for children to express their creativity and begin learning about computer programming without worrying about complex, technical code language. Kids can go from this basic coding app to more difficult ones like Scratch on a desktop or laptop.

Features:

  • Child-based programming
  • Offers play-along video instructions
  • Supports creativity through art, tales, and games
  • Provides children’s privacy and security

5. Elmo Loves 123

Elmo Loves 123 is a great app for preschool, kindergarten, and older kids. With this app, children can learn to trace and recognize their numbers and eventually add and subtract, which makes learning numbers much more fun.

It is jam-packed with exercises and games. The app includes videos and coloring pages to enhance the joy and excitement of the experience. It also captures snippets from the original Sesame Street program.

Parents can also use a tracker to keep tabs on their kids’ academic progress. The latest version offers the highest level of parental security.

Features:

  • Children can discover new features by tracing favorite numbers
  • To unlock the number of games with Abby and friends, press the Abby button
  • Sessions include number tracing, object identification, and group object counting
  • Children can learn to solve problems, create art, and be creative

This app can make the difference between learning at home and attending conventional schooling. It offers far more content than what’s offered in conventional kindergarten schools.

6. Epic!

Children under 12 years can access this digital library on their mobile devices. Epic allows its users access to more than 40,000 high-quality books. Even more reading tests and educational movies are available in this infinite library. Kids may take this digital library with them everywhere they go, expanding their knowledge bank. This app is ideal if you wish to improve your child’s reading habits and skills.

Features:

  • Provides users with four customizable child profiles
  • Considers children’s reading preferences to provide individualized book recommendations
  • Provides multilingual books and read-aloud novels
  • Children can read both offline and online

The fact that children can read both offline and online makes Epic a darling for many.

7. ABC Mouse

ABC Mouse has numerous interactive reading, math, science, and art-related games, exercises, and movies. In addition, it is a multi-platform program that works on both computers and mobile devices. The program provides animated videos, games, novels, music, crosswords, and coloring pages. It includes the full curriculum. However, because it is not a formal educational setting, your child can progress at his or her rate.

Features:

  • Complete online curriculum
  • Step-by-step learning paths
  • Entertaining visual material and activities
  • Allows for progress tracking

ABC Mouse remains one of the most integrated and educationally-diverse apps for children.

8. Prodigy Math Game

Ideal for children at elementary level and over, the Prodigy app adopts a fun fantasy approach. The role-playing game encourages kids to tackle more math problems as they advance through the levels.

Students tackle curriculum-based problems to complete adventure quests, win battles and earn rewards. Prodigy Math Game’s flexible algorithm is designed to adapt to the student’s level of learning. The personalized approach ensures kids stay engaged and do not get frustrated by tough questions.

Features:

  • All lessons are in line with the curriculum
  • With more than 1,400 skills available, children can study more and become stronger in the topic
  • Parent accounts enable tracking of the child’s development and comprehension
  • While children practice math, there are possibilities for setting goals

Prodigy Math Game remains a leading app for honing mathematical skills in children.

9. YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids provides a more protected and secure setting for kids to view all the fun, educational videos they adore. They will learn new and interesting stuff, and you will feel more at ease.

Parental powers allow the limitation of children’s screen time. Adults can also control the information their children consume and sort according to age. The app is loaded with entertaining videos ranging from science activities to funny cartoons for different age groups.

Features:

  • Parental powers allow you to control how your child uses apps
  • Movies that encourage inner creativity and playfulness
  • For their children, adults can design a particular experience that is special
  • Guarantees security from inappropriate content

There is no doubt that children love spending time on digital devices. Most of the time is spent playing games or watching funny videos and cartoons. It is time to squeeze learning and fun into that screen time with these amazing education apps.

NS804 – Streamlining Your Educational Apps For Children!

NS804 is a trusted provider of superior mobile app design solutions. As experts in the design of mobile apps for organizations across multiple sectors – finance, insurance, manufacturing, legal, entertainment, healthcare, and retail – NS804 now provides children’s mobile app development solutions.

So, if you’re looking forward to developing the best education app for children, look no further!

NS804 is your number one, trusted mobile app developer!

What Can Your App Metrics Tell You About Your Customers?

App metrics will help you succeed as an appreneur or even as an enterprise releasing one or more apps. After all, it’s never a good idea to push out an app without monitoring its key performance indicators (KPIs). And that’s because you’ll be missing out on crucial information that impacts your app in its entirety.

Just think for a minute that you’ve spent a lot of time and money on a food ordering app. Many users download it, but you receive very few orders. Having failed to add mobile app metrics, you’re left bewildered as to why this occurs. To top it off, you’re left guessing about what needs to improve, apart from a few negative user reviews.

The hard truth is that you should never have to guess what’s wrong with your app. Instead, you should know how it performs during its entire lifecycle. And app metrics will also help you learn more about your customers, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.

Learn More About Customer Device Specs

You should add metrics that monitor your app’s performance and user experience (UX) from the get-go. But why is this so important when your app runs fine on your test devices? Your test devices only offer a limited view due to the massive variety of devices available, especially in the Android space. It’s a technical impossibility to test your app on the thousands of different Android smartphones, tablets, and TVs that your users may own.

However, your mobile app metrics will let you know how your application performs after the user installs it. You’ll gain access to valuable data, such as the user’s device operating system (OS), screen resolution, load times, and crash reports. Moreover, you’ll have a granular view of this data to allow you to pinpoint issues and fix them. Occasionally, you may detect these issues before most of your users do.

Mobile App Metrics Reveal Customer Engagement KPIs

Is your app engaging users, or are they uninstalling it in droves? Believe it or not, that’s one of the most important questions you should be asking. But it’s also one that you should be getting answers for immediately. And that’s because engagement rates directly impact your app’s revenue, so never leave this to chance.

Your customer engagement KPIs should reveal the following: average number of screens per visit, session length, stickiness ratio, retention rate, and churn rate. Furthermore, you should have detailed data on daily, weekly, and monthly engagement per active user. 

Monitor Customer Spending Habits

Your app’s supposed to make you money, so you need to know if your customers are actually making purchases. Also, integrate the necessary application programming interfaces (APIs) to facilitate and monitor all payment methods. Nowadays, users like to make payments using Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal — and several other payment services.

But what customer revenue metrics should you monitor? You’ll need to look at the following: average revenue per user (ARPU), number of purchases, time to first purchase, customer lifetime value (CLV), conversion rate, and cost per install (CPI).

In Conclusion

Mobile app metrics, when properly implemented, reveal much about your customers. And the data you collect and analyze will help you to pinpoint issues that impact your app negatively. Thus, allowing you to make fixes and roll out updates that actually make sense. Contact NS804 today to learn how we’ll help you integrate app metrics to unlock the true potential of your applications!

How to Make an App User Friendly

Mobile applications continue to be critical tools for our everyday lives. Many factors must be considered when creating an app including; services provided, layout, design, features, and user experience.

Development of mobile apps requires a lot of effort and ingenuity with each app designed to solve a particular problem. However, what makes an app stand out is the user experience which can make a significant difference in making an app successful and stand out from the rest.

There is growing competition for app developers to create quality popular apps. With so many apps out there, users have a wide array to choose from. This makes app retention crucial by not only making the experience awesome but also being functional by solving the user’s problem.

So how do you make your app user-friendly in a highly saturated space? Well, making an app user-friendly requires some elements to collectively work together to achieve this goal.

1. Keep it Simple

The most important tip for making an app user-friendly is simply making it simple. The end user is likely to stay on an app that is simple and easy to navigate. Instagram and Tik Tok are some of the most popular apps which is because of the basic functionality that makes them easy to use.

A basic design must hook users who are not particularly tech-savvy and appeal to those with short attention spans. The average user is usually not interested in all the features of an app. Most users are focused on functionality and convenience when using the app.

They want to navigate the app seamlessly without feeling overwhelmed with information or complex features. An easy-to-use app means a new user can jump straight into the app with zero familiarity yet be able to navigate with ease.

Keeping it simple with an easy-to-understand layout and design creates a pleasant experience.

2. Understand the Target Market

The user interface and experience are based on user demands and behavior. User demands are typically the issues, difficulties, or obstacles that users are trying to address with the app.

User behavior on the other hand is the general pattern of characteristics that the target market shows while attempting to solve the issues.

For instance, younger users heavily rely on apps for on-demand services, whereas elderly users enjoy the personal touch of phone conversations. To make an app user-friendly, it is essential to comprehend the subtleties of user wants and behavior.

Making an app with the preferences of your target users as the top priority will ensure that you are creating something they will enjoy and use repeatedly.

3. Make it Safe and Secure

People are becoming more aware of the threat of hackers and the potential dangers of information getting leaked to the wrong hands. Users want the assurance that the data shared on apps are secure and will not be accessed or used illegally. This is especially true for apps that collect sensitive data like credit card information, medical data, or bank details.

For such apps, the consideration of security cannot be overlooked. Any app with security breaches is going to have a negative outlook with users who will avoid it completely.

Therefore, you should take all necessary steps to ensure that users of your application do not suffer any security breaches. Many apps employ a Facebook or Google sign-in as a method of contracting out their security procedures to a trusted vendor.

The first thing users notice once they launch an app is a design, color, and layout. A basic color scheme is appealing and user-friendly as opposed to a clash of various bright colors. The design should be attractive yet simple without being overbearing for the users.

The layout should be clean without too much going on to convey an application with extraordinary visual appeal. All in all, the design and layout should be simple with icons and paths that make it easy for users to navigate the app.

NS804 – Making Your App User-Friendly

NS804 is a trusted provider of superior mobile app solutions. We help individual businesses and large companies navigate the difficult process of developing an intuitive and user-friendly app. At NS804, we work together with clients to identify their different business needs and deliver mobile app solutions that address these issues.

Contact NS804 for superior, user-friendly mobile apps.

How Do Free Apps Make Money

The mobile app market is highly lucrative. In 2021, the mobile app market was estimated to be worth $187.58 billion and is projected to reach $207.53 billion by 2022. According to PRNewswire, the mobile app market witnessed year-over-year growth of 20.45% in 2021 – a clear indication of its potential as an industry.

So, the mobile app market is a productive and high-income sector worth considering. Today, more than ever, people are turning to mobile apps for almost everything – shopping, communicating, gaming, social interactions, chatting, and even trading.

But how do these apps make money given that 97% of Google Android apps were downloaded for free in July 2022? How do free apps make money if most people download these apps for free?

Freemium vs. Free Trial Apps

The free app market is broadly segmented into freemium apps and free trial apps. Freemium apps allow users to access an assorted list of features for free, but the free trial apps let users interact and access the full functionality of all apps for a limited period.

According to reports, freemium apps have an app conversion rate of 30% while free trial apps may attract up to 50% conversion rates. Either way, these apps end up making handsome incomes for their developers and even founders.

So, here’s how publishers monetize free apps.

1. Paid ads

Interestingly, paid ads are among the leading income-generation strategies today. The same is true for most things, including mobile apps. Free mobile apps leverage paid ads in the following ways:

  • CPM – The app developer is paid a certain amount of money for app impressions
  • CPC – Revenue is generated based on the number of clicks achieved in an ad
  • CPV – Revenue is determined by the number of views per app user
  • CPA – This revenue is gained when users directly install the app on their devices or when they purchase products or services directly using links attached or embedded in the app.

So, it’s advisable to subscribe to some paid ads if you’re not charging your app users. However, always remember that when you take the advertising route, you don’t downplay the user experience with excessive ads.

Excessive ads may greatly impair the user experience, thus being counterproductive to your app monetization strategy.

2. Subscriptions

Subscription is the most cost-effective and straightforward way of monetizing an app. Think of any free app, do you pay to access additional features or do you access all features for a limited period? Either way, you end up wanting to pay for a subscription.

An obvious and straightforward approach by app publishers is to give the apps free of charge and then charge subscriptions for users to continue using the service. That means you only get to access the app’s full functionality after you’ve secured a paid subscription.

Tinder, Disney, Pandora, Netflix, Hulu, Twitch, ESPN, and HBO Max are some of the most popular paid app subscriptions globally.

3. Direct selling

Selling merchandise is a proven way of monetizing your app. Most app publishers build or design free versions to sell products such as clothing, apparel, toys, and accessories.

Most of these products are sold through email marketing or sold directly using the app. So, if you’re considering an innovative way to push your new clothing or toy brand, look no further, a free app can be a hidden ingredient to a potent cocktail.

Contact NS804 for inquiries on app costs and app development solutions.

How To Create A Mobile App That Makes Money In Today’s Market

If we’re completely honest with ourselves, a key reason to create a mobile app is to make money. And there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, as developing an app is costly. Whether we like it or not, we need to recoup those development costs unless we have money left to burn. But most of us are not in that position and need our apps to turn a profit.

While all this may sound sensible, it’s not what often happens. Many first-time appreneurs decide to create a mobile app and release it on a whim, hoping it will become a huge hit. And then see the poor reception and low download numbers of their app quash their entrepreneurial dreams.

And even experienced appreneurs often have to come to terms with disappointing results. That’s because releasing several money-making apps doesn’t mean their next app will perform similarly. The truth is that it’s hard out there for app developers. Moreover, many users suffer app fatigue nowadays, whereby they’re not too keen to install yet another app.

So what should app developers do now? Should they stop making apps and move on with their lives? Or should they look at things from another angle? Well, it’s best not to be defeatist and start looking at apps differently and pragmatically.

It’s not easy finding success in the app stores, as these are tightly controlled walled gardens. Furthermore, these app stores have a plethora of apps that seem to cover every niche. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t new opportunities waiting for savvy developers to discover. Below, we go into greater detail on how to create a mobile app that will find success today.

Understanding App Monetization

A common mistake of first-time appreneurs is releasing an app without the correct monetization model. They usually either overvalue their app and release it as a paid app, or they undervalue it and release it as a free app with no clear monetization strategy further down the road. Thus, leaving money on the table that more savvy developers will grab!

Now, let’s quickly cover the paid app model briefly. Most developers shouldn’t consider this avenue unless their app is undoubtedly premium or a high-quality game aimed at true enthusiasts of the game’s genre or franchise.

Two good examples include Adventures of Mana by Square Enix and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City by Rockstar Games. These titles already have a solid fanbase and were developed by reputable companies. Therefore, users already trust these companies and want to play their games without the hassle of watching ads, so they opt to pay the asking price without any qualms.

However, most developers are not in that privileged position and must adopt different app monetization strategies such as:

  • In-app purchases: It’s a model where you provide the basic functionality free of charge, but users unlock extra features via in-app purchases.
  • In-app advertisements: Probably one of the most common ways to monetize an app using platforms such as AdMob. At regular intervals and on certain parts of the screens, ads will appear that the user may decide to tap. And you, as the developer, will earn money depending on the click-through rate (CTR) when ads appear.
  • Subscriptions: Users pay a recurring fee to enjoy the full functionality of the app or some functionality based on a tiered pricing structure.
  • Sponsorships: If your app serves a niche market, you can partner with a brand that will likely appeal to your audience.

When Should You Create A Mobile App With In-App Purchases?

If you’re developing an app or game that works well by offering functionality or additional stages gradually, then in-app purchases make sense.

For example, your drawing app could offer the most basic drawing tools from the get-go. These should satisfy most of your users as they get a feel for your app. But users that want to do more advanced things with your app will want to unlock its additional features.

You can also combine in-app purchases with advertisements, as long as this doesn’t frustrate users or inhibit the usage of your app. You don’t want a banner ad to cover part of your drawing app’s user interface (UI). Or have an ad pop up when the user wants to save an image. These are surefire ways to lose users at a record pace!

But avoid in-app purchases if you’re making a food delivery or any on-demand app. That counts double if this app represents your brand or one that belongs to your customer. And if there are any ads in this app, these should be related to the brand’s product offerings. After all, it wouldn’t make sense if your restaurant’s food delivery app displays advertisements from a rival.

Furthermore, the amount of in-app purchases will differ on Android and iOS, with the latter likely having more. And that’s because iOS users are more affluent and can afford to spend more on in-app purchases and even premium apps. However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore the Android market, as there are significantly more users, and you can tap into more app marketplaces.

In-App Advertisements Vs. Sponsorships

In-app advertisements are a viable option for most startups, as they’re a quick and easy way to monetize an app. But its ad revenue largely depends on the number of downloads it receives and the regions it’s made available. Western countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America have higher cost per thousand (CPM) rates than developing countries.

Furthermore, CPM rates differ depending on the types of ads shown and whether they’re on Android or iOS. Traditionally, iOS CPMs have been higher, but lately, it’s not uncommon for Android CPMs to surpass iOS.

But in-app advertisements may not be worthwhile if downloads are too low. An app with a few thousand downloads won’t likely recoup its development costs. So, it’s best to look at another monetization model, such as sponsorships.

However, sponsorships work best if the app serves a dedicated audience in a niche market. For example, you may have developed an app that helps fishermen locate good fishing spots in North American lakes and rivers. And these fishermen love using your app because of its easy-to-use UI and no-nonsense approach to delivering accurate information.

Given that you’ve amassed a small but dedicated group of users, a fishing shop or brand could make for a good partner. They can pay a fee to promote their brand or offerings within your app. And if you manage to establish a long-term partnership, it could generate revenue that far surpasses your development costs.

Create A Mobile App With Subscriptions In Mind

Subscriptions have risen in popularity recently, as users have become accustomed to paying a recurring fee for their favorite apps. Adobe popularized subscriptions when they shifted to the software-as-a-service model over a decade ago.

But will subscriptions work for your app? Well, that depends on what you have planned for your app long-term.

You may launch a mostly fully-featured app for free to grow your user base quickly. And once you reach a certain threshold of users, you can switch to a subscription model that offers additional features. However, these features must be so good that it incentivizes users to move from the free tier to a paid tier.

In Conclusion

It’s an exciting time when you get to plan and create a mobile app. But at the back of your mind, you’re wondering if it will make you money. And while there are no guarantees if your app will succeed in a highly competitive market, you can increase your chances with the right strategies.

Taking a hard look at your app monetization strategies early on and adopting the ones that best suit your app will make a huge difference. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you develop apps that succeed in today’s market!