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Gingee Launches Cross-Platform App Development Tool

Published on February 27, 2014
Tags: Web Development London

According to an article on the Venture Beat website I read recently, an Israeli start-up called Gingee has rolled out a cross-platform app development tool that will give developers the chance to create one app for devices running on iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, the eight different versions of the Android operating system and other platforms.
 
While app developers use cross-platform development tools for just 5% of the applications they develop, 68% of developers expect to be able to use those tools by 2015, according to a study from mobile market research firm Research2Guidance. However, the complexity of the app development process is limiting app makers' potential to align expectations with reality, which results in longer development periods and higher costs.
 
Gingee believes that its tool is truly cross-platform and can be even installed free of charge. The Israeli company says that its solution reduces the complexity by offering a drag-and-drop user interface, which in turn allows app makers to develop apps in a more intuitive way, without the need of coding for all Android OS versions, for iOS, BlackBerry devices and the mobile web.
 
The technology is based on an in-house algorithm which analyses object relations and links them identically to all devices and operating systems, ensuring a consistent user interface and experience across all devices. Gingee's development environment generates automatic high-end code, which can improve the speed of the app development process by 57% per operating system.
 
The company says that the solution delivers 96% native performance as it communicates directly to the operating system. An application can have hundreds of objects appearing on the screen, but this will not have a negative impact on the performance. For instance, when an operating system gets an update, app developers need to optimise their app to the latest version, but this will no longer be an issue, as with Gingee's technology this will not be needed.
 
Gingee's tool also includes a physics engine, animation editor, asset manager, social connection tools, and over 40 highly optimised, preloaded components and widgets, such as dynamic texts, buttons, scrollers and much more.
 
Gingee was founded in response to the challenges app developers face in light of the wide variety of devices, versions and operating systems, says Roei Livneh, chief executive and co-founder of Gingee.
 

By Chelsey Evans

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Online Marketing For Your Offline Business

Published on January 8, 2014
Tags: Web Development London

Do you own an offline business? Do you have a suitable online presence to go with it? If the answer is no, you need to rethink your marketing strategy. Some brick and mortar businesses – especially small companies with a limited number of staff – simply don’t think they need an online presence; they assume that their shop already does enough to attract local customers. And while this may be true, if you’re not online, you’re cutting yourself off from a large number of shoppers.

Why Does Online Marketing Sometimes Get Ignored?
This happens particularly with businesses who don’t actually sell any of their products or services online; they think that there’s no point in spending a lot of time and money on a website, when the only way to purchase an item is to come into the physical shop. People may not be able to buy online with you, but they may want to see what stock you carry – and what prices you’re charging – in order to compare you with your competitors. If you’re not even listed online (let alone have no official website), they’ll be completely unaware of your existence.

Another reason is the cost; small businesses may not have enough in their budget to embark on a huge online advertising campaign or a web development company, but it doesn’t have to cost the earth to market yourself on the web. Start small: list your business on the online version of Yellow Pages, and ensure you’re visible in the Google Places for Business results. If you’re really strapped for cash, make your own free website using an online template, and sign up for business and social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Google + and LinkedIn. These are all free, and they’re great ways of reaching out to your target customers.

Why You Should Be Embracing Online Marketing
The way consumers search for products and services is changing. These days, people simply don’t have the time to spend hours on the High Street, hunting down the best prices and trying to track down that perfect gift; they’d much rather spend a few minutes on the internet first, so they know exactly which shops to visit when they do go out. 

It’s worth noting that, because of their busy lifestyles, consumers are now often searching for products using mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones (rather than being tied to their desks and their desktops). You therefore need to be aware of responsive web design development if you want to reach as many customers as possible; this just means that your site will be user-friendly and quick to load no matter what device (or size of screen) your potential client is using to access it.

Coming Up With A Digital Marketing Strategy
If you want to create an online presence for your business but don’t quite know where to start, there are hundreds of digital marketing specialists & web development companies out there who can help you. They’ll be able to give you advice and support on what’s best for your business, and will also be able to create a bespoke website or blog to help you attract those all-important customers.

By Chelsey Evans

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Responding to Responsive Web Design: When Do You Need It?

Published on January 8, 2014
Tags: Web Development London

In the past year or so, responsive web layouts have been hailed as the ‘future of web design’, and while this could be correct, it is still very much in its infancy. How do you know if a responsive website is something you should be investing in? Here are a few tips to help you.

What Is Responsive Web Design?
Responsive web design has become popular due to the increase in demand for smartphones and tablets. With more and more people moving away from their laptops and desktop computers, it has become imperative for websites of all shapes and sizes – and business sites in particular – to accommodate the different dimensions of all the various screens out there. It’s a front-end development approach with the aim of providing easy navigation and reading on a range of devices, no matter what type of screen it has, resizing the page elements and changing the menus accordingly.

What Are The Advantages?
The main advantage is that with a responsive layout, you won’t need to develop completely different sites for each type of computer or device; it’s a sort of one-size-fits-all approach to web design & development. This means that when you need to update or change your site, you only need to do it once – a big time and money saver. Responsive designs are also useful in terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): for example, you won’t get penalised by Google for having duplicate content (something which can happen when you have several versions of the same site).

What Are The Disadvantages?
Some people see the cost of having a responsive web design developed as a disadvantage, but this isn’t necessarily so. As has been mentioned, once you have the site, any updates you need making only need to be done once, saving not only money, but time as well. There can be issues with advertising: as responsive layouts move around depending on the device used, a placed advert won’t always appear in the same position – something which some advertisers may not want to pay for. Loading times can also be a problem on some mobile devices, but a good responsive design should take this into account – for example, by using fewer images and videos.

How Do I Know If It’s Right For Me?
One way of deciding if you should invest in a responsive web layout now is to look at who visits your website. The Google Analytics Mobile Overview feature will tell you how many of the users who visit your site are on mobile devices. If it’s more than a few percent, it would be a wise move to start looking at responsive design options.

Whatever you think of the above points, it is clear that there is a definite future for responsive web designs. As the industry moves forwards, we’ll see even more of an increase in smartphone and tablet sales, and if you’re not moving forward with it, you could start to lose out.

 

By Chelsey Evans

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Targeting Ads on Twitter: How To Make The Most Of Your Tweets

Published on January 8, 2014
Tags: Web Development London

Many business have incorporated PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising campaigns – such as using Google AdWords and adverts on Facebook – into their online marketing budgets, and while these are popular with companies of most shapes and sizes, they now have a new rival on the scene: Twitter.

What’s New On Twitter?
Last week, Twitter announced that they were changing the ways their ads worked. In the past, advertisers could target users by physical location, interest filters and mobile devices, but now they’ve added keywords to their arsenal. These will be based on the recent tweets of users (it isn’t yet known exactly how far back they mean by ‘recent’) and will allow brands to specifically target people who will be interested in their products and/or services. For example, a fast food chain could target users in their area who have tweeted about being hungry, especially if they’re using a mobile device and are already out and about looking for somewhere to eat their next meal.

Who Will Benefit From It?
If you’ve got a budget for online marketing, it doesn’t matter what size or type of company you have, as long as you know which keywords you want to target (if you already run PPC campaigns and have ads on other social network sites, you will have already done all the research you need). Large brands such as Walgreens and EE have trialled Twitter’s new advertising campaign, but it can work just as well for small, independent businesses. The users themselves will also benefit from this new upgrade; they will only be shown ads that are targeted to their tweets, meaning they won’t have to put up with an endless supply of irrelevant adverts. As with promoted tweets, they can also dismiss the ads if they do happen to get ones that aren’t relevant to them, keeping everyone happy.

Looking At The Future
In order to keep up with the likes of Google and Facebook, Twitter are looking at updating the way the site works in several ways in the future. With the introduction of Twitter #Music, we can already see the different ways in which the site is expanding its functions and therefore its user base, and there will no doubt be many exciting updates in the months and years to come that online businesses should watch out for. 

Businesses who use Twitter shouldn’t just rely on ads, however; tweeting, retweeting, and engaging with customers and potential clients on an individual level will help boost your profile. With the amount of users that are signed up with sites such as Twitter and Facebook, you can’t underestimate the power of social media sites when it comes to advertising, building up your online presence, and expanding your brand in general. In 2013 alone, Twitter is expected to generate over $580,000,000 in global advertising revenue, reaching up to $1 billion in 2014, so get in there now and start targeting your ads.

By Chelsey Evans

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Twitter Ads And Amplify – How The Social Media Site Can Help Your Business

Published on January 8, 2014
Tags: Web Development London

This month saw an announcement from social media giant Twitter that got everyone talking: their ad platform is now open to all U.S. based users, including large and small businesses, online marketing specialists, the self-employed, and more. This exciting news was announced by Kevin Well (Twitter’s Senior Director for revenue) during a conference in New York at the end of April. Before this, the ad platform was more exclusive (by invitation only, in fact), and required a minimum spend level per quarter. While this is currently only open to American businesses, UK based companies will no doubt be keeping an eye on Twitter to see if their future advertising updates include the rest of the world. For now, U.S. businesses can start using Twitter advertising by logging into the business portal and answering some questions on the self-service page.

Other Twitter Advertising News
Even more recently, Twitter announced ‘Twitter Amplify’. This new feature is based on the knowledge that Twitter users like to utilise the social media platform in order to discuss what they see on television – you’ll no doubt notice the hashtags that pop up on a lot of TV shows these days. In fact, it’s said that out of all the online interaction regarding TV, 95% of it happens on Twitter; an incredible amount. Twitter Amplify is a new advertising product which relies on this connection between TV and the internet, as consumer brands can now promote television clips on the social media site – just short clips of 10 seconds or less – which are accompanied by an advert from an advertising partner of theirs. This is then, in turn, promoted by Twitter, increasing its potential online reach. Twitter users are reminded of their favourite programmes by the ads, and because of this new advertising opportunity, communication surrounding TV on Twitter is set to rise even further. 

How Can Twitter Help My Business?
With this cross-platform advertising, Promoted Tweets reach new audiences all over the world. If you’re in business and want your company to benefit from this new feature, there’s also a dashboard which advertisers can view to see when and where an ad for a certain brand is running on television, allowing timely Tweets to be sent to their followers. Along with the new adverts and Twitter Amplify, the social media site is a great platform for targeting potential customers both in your geographical area and with similar interests – just search for hashtags and see what people are saying about your field of industry, then you can either contact them to help with their questions, or offer them special deals if they go to you instead of a competitor. You can also make use of online contests and encourage customer communication… the possibilities are almost endless.

Don’t Have The Time To ‘Get Social’?
If you don’t have the time or resources to focus on building your brand via social media, seek advice from an online digital marketing specialist or a web development company; they’ll be able to answer your questions and point you in the direction of the best social media platforms for you and your business.

 

 

By Chelsey Evans

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