DEV Community: Aleksandra

What is the Difference Between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality App Development?

Aleksandra — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 13:56:26 +0000

These two terms are often confused, in spite of the differences between augmented reality and virtual reality app development.

AR applications let 2D or 3D graphics elements be put into a real-world environment and interact with it based on the position and orientation of the camera. VR technology provides an interactive artificial world for a user acting within a simulated environment.

AR works with special algorithms and needs sensors to determine the position and orientation of the camera. In such a way it is possible to render any 3D graphics at any location and see the content on a device’s screen. Besides, devices can locate graphic elements with high accuracy, as a result, it is possible to interact with life-size models in real time, walk around them, come up to, move away from, or even go through them.

VR also needs much work with math algorithms and sensors. Virtual reality is a simulated environment where users are immersed and can see everything with their own eyes. Graphics move together with the users so they can see a totally realistic environment.

These technologies have many application areas where they can be useful.

Augmented reality expands the borders of the real-world environment and creates new opportunities for business. AR could reach $70-75 billion in revenue by 2023, but the revenue for VR could be around $10-15 billion according to research by Digi-Capital.

Its popularity and forecasts of further growth must motivate entrepreneurs to consider AR app development to create a digital business. If you have ever considered this possibility, then you’ve thought about augmented reality app development cost.

I suggest you should take a look at this article to find out more about AR development, how to create augmented reality apps, and their cost.

Best Ways to Create a Fitness App

Aleksandra — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 14:32:07 +0000

Fitness applications are gaining traction as more and more brands invest in mobile and web development. Creating a fitness app gives your business a powerful competitive edge.

If you are in doubts to create a fitness app or not, then think no more.

Last year health and fitness apps were in the 8th place among the most popular apps in the Apple App Store with 3.01% of the market share (Statista Survey, 2018)

Health and fitness apps were in 11th place with 2.94% of the market share in Google Play (Statista Survey, 2018)

It is expected that the global fitness app market size will reach over $14.7 billion by 2026 (Polaris Market Research, 2018)

According to health and fitness app statistics, users are loyal to their favorite apps. About 96% use only one fitness app. More than 75% of active users open their apps at least two times a week. Also, 25% of users open health or fitness apps more than 10 times a week (Flurry Analytics Survey, 2017).

Fitness applications are becoming very popular and more and more brands invest in mobile and web development.

If you are still in two minds about building a fitness app then continue reading.

The Most Popular Types of Fitness Apps

The following fitness app ideas should be considered:

Workout or exercise apps

Mostly users of mobile fitness apps use them to track workouts and weight loss. These apps usually make 73% of all health and fitness app sessions. If they are combined with fitness wearables, they can act like custom workout apps. They also can give recommendations for building fitness programs, which are based on the collected activity and health data.

The workout app category has a few sub-categories:

Exercise apps
On-demand personal trainer apps
Yoga and gym fitness apps
Apps to plan workout

There are many apps like these, but the most popular of them provide a unique user experience.

Freeletics gives personalized AI-based recommendations for workouts and nutrition based on your fitness goals, age, weight, height, etc.

Nike Training Club has many workouts which focus on strength, endurance, and mobility. Many filters make it easier to find workout categories.

Activity tracking apps

This kind of app gathers data about users’ activity including solutions for running and cycling; they track steps taken, distance covered, and other fitness metrics. Such apps provide users with easy-to-understand charts and demonstrate the overall daily, weekly, and monthly activity.

Usually, physical activity tracker apps are integrated with wearable devices they can pull the useful information from.

They have a number of sub-categories:

Running trackers
Cycling apps
Activity trackers

The most popular sports activities are running and jogging. Only in the USA, almost 60 million people practice running, jogging, and trail running. This is a very competitive area which offers unlimited opportunities to entrepreneurs, businesses, and the app development companies they hire.

Such running fitness apps rely on GPS in order to track covered distance, speed, and elevation. They can be compatible with wearables, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches.

The best example of this type of app is Strava, which is also used for cycling tracking. This fitness app has gotten more than 10 million downloads all over the world. This is the best social fitness app where users are able to share their achievements, motivate each other, join clubs, and monitor their friends’ progress in running and cycling.

Other examples of the best fitness applications are Runkeeper, Runtastic, and Nike+ Running.

Nutrition apps

They are top-rated because almost 26 percent of users age 18 to 29 (Statista Survey, 2017) use them. Nutrition apps help users gain or lose weight and better control healthy eating habits.

There are a lot of examples of nutrition apps, including popular names like MyFitnessPal and Lose It!

How to Make a Fitness App: Features

The best fitness tracker apps are rich in features. While creating a fitness app, there are certain features you can’t go without. Read on to learn about them in detail.

Core Features Used to Create a Fitness App

User account & login

User account and login is a must-have feature on your list. If users can’t view personal achievements in retrospect and compare them, then fitness and nutrition apps are useless. A user account can store data, not only on user’s devices, but also in the cloud.

Make it possible for users to register and login through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, and sign up via email. If you want to develop a fitness app with on-demand content or a paid subscription, then billing information and an integrated payment system should be present.

User profiles should have fields for data about age, gender, weight, and height. Don't forget to include different units of measurement for different countries, like kilograms vs. pounds, and meters vs. feet.

Wearable connectivity

Wearables, which collect various types of data, have become an integral part of the fitness market. Use HealthKit and Google Fit APIs to access data from Apple Watch and a number of Android gadgets, when you create a fitness app.

These devices gather and store a lot of useful information you can use in your application:

Number of steps and covered distance
Heart rate
Calories burned
Type of exercises
Duration and intensity of physical exercises
Activity tracking

The biggest number of fitness apps are focused on activity tracking. They provide information about steps made, the number of calories burned, distance walked, run, or cycled, time spent on physical activity, and so on. Activity tracking can be done with the help of integral smartphone sensors or using a wearable device.

Learn more here

What Does Website Design Cost?

Aleksandra — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 10:37:23 +0000

You should know that 75% of users judge the credibility of a company based on its website design. Of course, user-friendly and attractive web design is one of the main assets in any software project.

3 Options for Website Design Cost

It is worth mentioning that the website design cost is based on your website type, its features, and business goals. It is essential that the selection of the design should come from the chosen web technology stack. If the web project is complex, then more custom web design should be created to showcase the necessary functionality.

In the beginning, think how the website is supposed to operate, because if your website looks great, it must work well too.

Below you will read about the options to create web interfaces and the potential website design cost for each of them.

1) DIY Website Design Cost

DIY Services: Wordpress, Wix, Shopify (for e-commerce projects), etc.
Website design cost (included in website package): $0 - $500+

Such services as Wix, Wordpress, Shopify, or Weebly have already pre-made web design templates included in their website development pricing plans. Depending on a project type and industry, you can select a necessary design layout and configuration.

An average cost of website design for a small business is from $300 to $500. Besides web design pricing, you also receive configured hosting, web servers, and domain. DIY solutions also have additional design elements and plugins ranging from $15 to $200. Usually, you get monthly or annual invoices, which are based on the web design price list of the chosen platform.

You should remember that any website needs regular updates and support. The cost of maintenance varies from $60 to $3,500+ per year, depending on the website design package price.

It is a good idea not to use any free website design templates because they usually come along with ads, malware, functionality and bandwidth limits.

It is recommended to use DIY website builders for:

simple, one-page websites (landings)
web projects without scalability plans
personal portfolio sites
personal blogs or services

The main benefit of this option is low-cost web design and its quick setup.

On the other hand, most businesses switch from DIY sites within a few years, because of the following weak points:

generic website design
challenges with website consistency, updates, and maintenance
high dependency on third-party service
low level of website customization and flexibility
limited scalability
possible website freezes and slow operation
no application of new technologies on a design layout

It is recommended to consider the website design cost and options precisely not to spend a bigger budget in the long run.

2) Website Design Pricing for Freelance Services

Hire a freelancer: locally or on freelance platforms like Upwork, Freelancer.com, etc.
Website design cost: $500 - $2000+

A professional web designer will help you to create a more custom web design or design your own template to fit the Wordpress website. He can also help you with branding materials like a logo, banners, etc.

You can find these specialists locally, on freelance platforms like Upwork, Freelancer.com, or on design-specific sites like Behance and Dribbble.

The cost of website design depends on the level of experience, skills, and location of a freelancer and can range approximately from $65 to $140 per hour in North America.

Remember that freelance services and outsourcing are two different things. You must understand very well what you need to transmit this vision to the web designer. That is why, you need to set up a clear guide and management process for the freelancer you are working with.

You should involve a freelance web designer in such cases:

small web projects or minor web design works
only website design is needed
branding materials

The advantages of hiring a website designer on freelance platforms:

ability to adjust your web design concept
mid-priced website design cost
proper web design quality
additional branding materials
meetings and communication

The disadvantages of a freelance web designer are the following:

hard and long process of finding a good and reliable web designer
project management process is on the client’s side completely
additional expenses and management efforts involved with hiring a web developer
potential issues with communication
potential issues in keeping up with the deadlines
risks involved with distributing project materials or other inappropriate actions of a freelancer
risks connected with unsatisfactory end results

Custom Website Design Cost when Hiring an Agency

Hire a software development agency locally or work with an offshore company
Website design cost: $2,000 - $5,000+

Custom web design is your best choice if you need extra functionality, plan to scale the website, or want to apply modern technologies. You should realize that the custom website design cost will be higher, but you receive a turnkey solution with website design and development.

Professional software development agencies allocate a team of specialists for all areas to create great websites. As a rule, a team consists of designers, web front-end developer, web back-end developer, quality assurance engineer, project manager, and business analyst.

You can hire a pool of these professionals at a lower rate, but with the same capabilities when outsourcing. For instance, the rate for a professional web designer in Eastern Europe (e.g. Ukraine) is around $30 an hour.

Hiring an agency requires minimum effort from your side. You must only choose a reliable partner, keep up with the process, and send your timely feedback.

The pros of creating a custom web design for your web project:

ability to scale the web project easily (add & adjust web pages)
application of SEO and marketing practices
creation of a unique design in order to stand out from the competitors
independence from third-party services and design templates
creation of a web design to fit the target audience portrait
application of custom visual elements (animations, illustrations, icons)
development of well-thought-out user navigation
ability to quickly adjust the design to meet emerging technologies
ability to devote time to the core business needs (project management is on the agency’s side)
custom website design is fully your property

A custom website design should be created for:

web projects with further scalability needs
sites that want to experiment with technologies
complex websites, web platforms, or e-commerce sites
websites with extensive back-end management (admin panel)

So, what is the cost of hiring a professional web designer from an agency?

It depends on the vendor’s location and service rate. The following map shows the average hourly rates for website design service worldwide. Eastern Europe is a well-known region for website design and development with reasonable pricing.