To reach a wide audience, you need to consider your iOS, Android and mobile web users. To store and retrieve data across platforms you will need a backend server to store data and support the apps. In case you are expecting a lot of users, your backend will have to scale. Then after you have solved your scaling problems, you to have more ways to spread the word to get new users. But have you found a way to measure all this activity? And, the common bug bear – your app is crashing and causing service melt down and you haven’t even made a dime yet.

 There is an easier solution for these issues – Firebase.

Firebase was created with the express purpose of solving the numerous backend complexities related with building complex apps.

It has all the tools you need to build a successful app. It helps you to reach new users, keep them engaged, scale up to meet that demand, in addition to getting paid.

• From the beginning you’ll have Test Lab and Crash Reporting to prevent and diagnose errors in your app.
• Your backend infrastructure problems are solved – with Realtime Database, File Storage and Hosting Solutions.
• Acquiring new users is easy with Invites, Adwords and Dynamic Links. And using the authentication component you can get those users logged in with minimum friction.
• Once installed you can keep your users involved with cloud messaging, notifications and app indexing.
• Then with Remote Config you have the freedom to experiment with new features and optimize the user experience in real-time.
• And ofcourse you can earn money with the same Admob component that’s been monetizing great apps for years.
• Last, but certainly not least, the all-new Analytics component, designed uniquely for Firebase, brings insight into how well these components are working for you and your users. With Firebase Analytics you can measure and optimize your advertising campaigns, discover who are your most valuable users and understand exactly how they are using your app.

Now all these components work great on their own and provide a solid infrastructure to build out your app. But they work even better when combined in creative ways. So let Firebase handle the details of your backend infrastructure, user engagement and monetization. This will allow you to spend more time building the apps your users will love.

The post Why Choose Firebase For My App Backend appeared first on Radikal Labs: Latest News on Web, Mobile App & Game Development Services.

What is App Engagement?

Engagement is the number of active users in your app. Considerable number of users returning to your app within 3 months (since its launch) can surely be regarded as a ground breaking achievement. Identifying the time and minutes of use is a key factor helping you to decide whether to make changes in your marketing strategies, user experience or other features.

Keep track of the percentage of returning users in the initial period. Compare this with the following months and you will get your user retention rate. Downloads are important but time spent on apps is more important in the present times. If your app takes longer time to use then you might require changes to improve user experience and engagement.

User engagement depends greatly on the type of app.  Taxi booking apps will have shorter periods of time spent on the app but there would most likely be see more sessions (if it has successfully attracted users’ interest levels). This will indicate that people are falling back heavily on the app’s services.

Another distinguishing character of app engagement can be found in content driven news apps. Publishers of similar apps are on the lookout for more sessions as well as more users spending longer periods of time.

Create an App that you will love to use

You must love what you do. Believe in this motto while developing and publishing a mobile app. When you do you have an edge over your competitors. If you love your own app you can rest assured that your users (at least a small percentage) will also love using it.

Give your app the most stunning UI and UX features and let the users fall in love with your app.

Companies giving importance to audience engagement reflect on growth and improvement. The maddening race in the present times has led business houses to put persistent efforts into branding and market positioning. It has become necessary to engage oneself in latest technological pursuits to present one’s business in a bigger and better manner. There are various techniques in regard to mobile apps and customer engagement:

Social Media Promotions

Social media has gained importance over the years and turned into a powerful means of marketing, branding and promotion. With several micro blogging websites and social media communication platforms in the run people have become busier, chattier and great networkers.

Users of all age groups stay hooked on to their profiles and social media accesses. This (social media activity) has been utilized by numerous businesses to gain momentum. Mobile app development companies are not falling short of promoting their products with the help of short videos, teasers and other forms of social media advertisements. If you want to keep your user engaged to your app then you must use social media ads. Social media ads placed across Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter and other platforms can be of great help in holding up user engagement. Today’s users usually remain addicted to using the social media websites. Spreading the word about your app features and functionalities can heighten your app’s presence on the internet.

In order to take part in advertising and promotional campaign on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram you need to register yourself before setting up your advertisement work. Social media ads support deep linking which is effective in boosting your app’s presence on the internet. Your app gains a worldwide user base because users click on your ad and get redirected to your apps download zone (the play store and the app store).

Related Blog: 5 Simple Ways to Retain App Users And Increase Mobile App Engagement

Identify the Shift in App Marketplace

A major shift has taken place in the world of mobile apps. Most of the apps published today (whether on Apple’s app store on Google’s play store) are ad-supported or free versions that come with future updates (containing ads). Developers do not only stick to selling but take part in various other app monetization processes.  Developers have started focusing on monetizing app engagement.

This is a tremendous shift as previously app developers were solely inclined towards developing great apps but with time consumer preferences have seeped in and considering user experiences have become integral part of app development.

A Harris Interactive study carried out in 2010, found that 95% of the entire U.S. adult population having Smartphone devices preferred free apps. This was a trend also found with affluent users.  96% of individuals in the earning bracket of $75 thousand plus were found to prefer free apps.

Ads in apps increasingly give rise to user-engagement metrics. Developers can measure app engagement in numerous ways such as – user sessions spent on apps, regularity in which users update their apps and number of times an app gets referred to the user’s friend. Each of these actions has direct impact on monetization efforts and mobile app revenue statistics. A developer can assess these metrics and survey figures (based on user engagement) before deciding whether to continue a free version of their app or to choose a paid one. User engagement is a reflection of the market trend and the app marketplace is a volatile zone where decisions need to be made instantly to gain maximum.

Push Notifications

An app requires pre-paunch and post launch promotions. Push notifications promote apps before their release in the market. You must be ready with your users much before you present your app in the market. Making people aware of your app is important to gain a stronghold in the marketplace. Push notification sent to users is meant to gain user retention and build a sense of curiosity. Users must remain hooked which is important since mobile users are impatient and believe in fast action and attention. Your app’s details must be finely placed in the minds of the users. This will help you to get impressive number of downloads when your app is launched.

Promotional Campaigns for User Re-Engagement

As an app publisher you will be constantly worried about gaining or losing your users. Your fears are quite natural and they will continue to hog you even if your users have downloaded your app. You need to perform a comprehensive mobile app engagement campaign. Re-Engagement Campaign is an integral part of app promotion. It is an effective means to regain user interest in your app. Re-engaging him/her will let him stay on your app for a longer span of time.

The mobile market asks for persistent user re-engagement efforts in order to make huge profits and bring in huge ROI (Return-On-Investment). CTR (Click through Rates) is also a valid means of re-engagement.

Agencies working in app development for several years gain huge practical knowledge. Outsourced agencies like us boast of app developers who are highly skilled and work on varied range of app development projects. We have dedicated Android and iOS Developers who are highly specialized in handling all kinds of projects that demand extreme client satisfaction.

Gamification Approach for Promotion

Promotion is the only way to gain people’s attention towards your app. The more buzz around an app is created the more downloads it receives. It is comparatively easier to generate more downloads for your app than keeping your user hooked onto your app. The general trend is such that people download an app but if they fail to find it interesting enough they uninstall the app without further consideration.

Gamification and promotion trend is an interesting way to grab your user’s attention. Gamers will always love to play games that have amazing graphics and sound support. General users also find high level of interest in apps that are loaded with stunning graphics and excellent visual navigation features. When your users feel better by getting awards or winning game levels your app gets returning visitors. Promotion increases the scope of an app and makes its presence felt strongly. This is useful in gaining engaged customers.

Building a good quality product is not sufficient anymore. It is important for businesses to focus on optimization, promotion and viral marketing techniques for mobile app engagement. Mobile app developers around the world are working on growth hacking methods to make their app existence longer. Adopting market relevant app features will help you retain your users. Setting real business goals is the key to success.

The post How Important is Mobile App Engagement? appeared first on Radikal Labs: Latest News on Web, Mobile App & Game Development Services.

Looking for a project quote, please share your requirements with us http://www.radikal-labs.com/consulting !!!

The post How to Bring Your Game Idea to Life? appeared first on Radikal Labs: Latest News on Web, Mobile App & Game Development Services.

 The trend started with HQ trivia which went viral and continues to be one of the leading live trivia game apps in the US.

The game format is very simple – correctly answer a series of questions (usually 10-12) and win a share of the pool prize for that day. For an incorrect answer most games offer a lifeline. And the next incorrect answer means that you are knocked out of the game. So typically each question is a knockout. Questions are usually simple which leads to several winners and the wining pool being shared amongst several players. The winnings are usually paid out via digital wallet like PayPal, Paytm etc.

 So while there are quite a few players in the Indian market like :

• Loco
• Brainbaazi
• Video GK KBC quiz game- Mob Show
• IQ Live

Among others

 The popular trivia games on the international scene include :

• HQ Trivia
• Live.me Quiz Biz
• The Q
• SwagIQ

Brainbaazi and Loco are the currently the most popular trivia games in India. Each of the games usually attract about half a million players on a daily basis, and their payouts start at Rs 100,000 per game.

This format of game lends itself to interesting possibilities and can be extended to various requirements and applications including :

1. Social trivia games
2. Corporate  & business games
3. School based games
4. Live quiz for tutorials.

This format lends itself to endless possibilities for wherever you need a live game with it without a live quiz master / compere.

For corporates and businesses there are several ways in which this could help them to enhance the business functioning :

1. Live quiz to test sales force on product knowledge.
2. Live quiz trivia games for improving social interaction as well as motivation.
3. Closed group interactive conferences
4. Live product rollout to a closed audience or extended audience. Segmentation could be done based on requirements.
5. On demand Video conferences  – from anywhere.
6. Skills training / orientation to a distributed group.
7. Virtual meets for sales / distributor channels.

The possibilities are endless today when you have good quality networks at relatively low costs &  Great live streaming APIs. When these are combined with realtime databases and applications, you can virtually stitch together any requirement that require people to come together and communicate in realtime.

The post Live streaming games and apps appeared first on Radikal Labs: Latest News on Web, Mobile App & Game Development Services.

In-App advertising : Banner advertisements is based on revenue earned from the ad network depending on Cost per Click(CPC) or Cost per Mille (CPM)

In-Game product or brand placement : Revenue can be earned directly by promoting brands by placing their advertisements / branding directly in the UI / game play environment.

Incentive based advertisement : Allow the player to earn virtual currency, game play requisites or access to the game by watching advertisements.

Purchase / pay per download : Upfront charge for download and access to the game. This is the most straightforward system and works well for niche, in demand games and apps.

Freemium / upgrade model : Free to download and use a limited part /tries of the game. Player is charged for full access and unlocks all features, characters, levels etc. This is probably the most sensible model for new games or get traction with new users.

In-app purchase : Gamers pay to unlock virtual objects or virtual currency. This model works for complex / popular games in which the gamer would need to purchase some virtual objects to progress (faster) in the game.

Subscription model :  This could be an monthly or annual subscription for access to a package that could be virtual objects, extended access to the game or a combination of these. This generally works well for device/ platform based access.

Online gaming industry has started to increasingly deriving revenues through ‘Paid by Ecosystem’ and ‘Paid by Online Gamers’.

Most developers are still dependent on the advertisers and publishers for monetization. Today, online gaming industry has started to adapt to the market and is increasingly deriving revenues through ‘In-app advertisement’ and ‘Incentive based advertisement

As the market grows in terms of volume and usage over the next five years, it is expected to move to a ‘Freemium’ model to recognize a better balance of revenue realization from the ‘Ecosystem’ and ‘Online gamer(s)’. ‘Freemium upgrades’ and ‘In-app purchases’ are expected to see an improved growth in future.

The post GAMING AND MONETIZATION appeared first on Radikal Labs: Latest News on Web, Mobile App & Game Development Services.

In the future, India is expected to move towards value driven consumption and comprehensive local content development. The industry is expected to gain momentum and reach a market value of 1 billion USD with 310 million online gamer(s) by 2021. This 28% CAGR growth will be driven by

• Rising Disposable Income
• Youthful demographics
• Affordable new Technologies
• Localized content
• Internet Penetration
• Smartphone Penetration
• Ability for masses to make Digital Payment
• Growing local Developer ecosystem

The key driver of market volume was proliferation of low cost smartphones amongst urban and rural population. 75 percent of the market is dominated by entry-level or sub-INR 10,000 smartphones.

As compared to 31 per cent today, the internet penetration is expected to reach 53 per cent of population by 2021. The smartphone users, projected to be 470 million by 2021, are expected to enable this rise in internet penetration. The availability of affordable smartphones is expected to prompt a shift from the current feature phone users to smartphones.

The surge in volumes of mobile internet users is likely to be complemented by a five times rise in data consumption and 1.6 times increase in disposable income of our country. Hence, the market is expected to be enhanced with young population, high internet volumes, engaged online users and improved paying propensity by 2021.

With background of such developments, the industry is expected to gain momentum and reach a market value of USD one billion and 310 million online gamer(s) by 2021. This growth is expected to be further supported by the comprehensive rise in digital payment user base, launch of new technologies at affordable rates, increase in local developer base and focus on development of content with local themes, Indian languages and global standards.

If the game bug has bitten you and you are wondering whether it is the right time to start your first game, we feel this is as good as it gets. While there will be many opportunities opening up in the future, the proverbial saying that the early bird catches the worm always holds true.

The post An Overview Of Online Gaming In India appeared first on Radikal Labs: Latest News on Web, Mobile App & Game Development Services.

Since a lot of the content and apps available are free to a large extent, getting users to pay for apps is getting increasingly difficult. It is fairly common knowledge that many apps depend primarily on ad revenue as their primary source of income. With these significant numbers, building an app based on ad revenue is feasible and possibly the way forward.

While there are several ad networks available today, choosing the right is key to getting the most out of your app eyeballs. There are 2 key factors that decide on the revenue that your app is going to pull in.

1. eCPM or the rate per thousand impressions that the ad network offers
2. The fill rate – the rate at which the network returns or displays an ad when it is supposed to.

eCPM – explained :

eCPM stands for  “Effective Cost per Mille.” Mille in Latin means 1,000. eCPM in mobile advertising terms translates to the advertising revenue generated per 1,000 impressions.

Impression as defined by Google is the count of each time an individual ad is displayed in an app.

eCPM = Total Earnings / Total Impressions x 1,000

Assuming that your app has registered 150,000 impressions, and this has earned you $300 in ad revenue, then applying the formula, you would get an eCPM of $2. Now this is important as this is the basis for calculating and forecasting ad revenues as well as deciding which ad network to choose.

It is a good idea to use ad mediating service like Admob that allows you to plug in different ad networks into your app. This would allow you to compare different ad networks and decide which one giving you the best return.

Fill Rate – explained:

The next important concept that needs to be understood is the fill rate. This is also an important factor that determines your ad revenues. Simply put, this is the rate at which the network is returning ads for each request that your app sends to it. One might assume that every request should return an ad. But this is not always the case. To elaborate further, the app developer decides on certain criteria of age, category, geographical market etc that the app is listed under. On the other hand the advertisers can also set preferences as to which markets, categories, age and other demographics against which the ad is shown. So while the network might have enough advertisers, it might not always have enough to show for a particular profile of app and user. In which case the fill rate might not always be 100%. We have also seen that in some markets and apps that fill rate could go down to as low as 25%.

There are several ad networks in the market today  including Admob, UnityAds, Chartboost, Inmobi, Revmob, Heyzap, Applovin, iAD to name a few.

It’s always good to do some research of your own across a few credible sites to assess what their eCPM and fill rates are.

A mediation network helps to compare different networks and then focus on what works for you. This is an ongoing exercise and you would need to recalibrate /shuffle your network/s from time to get the best returns.

The post How to calculate Mobile Ad Revenue appeared first on Radikal Labs: Latest News on Web, Mobile App & Game Development Services.

By following these 6 tips you can improve your website speed. If you need any help regarding this don’t hesitate to contact us at info@radikal-labs.com.

The post How to Modify Your Website Design to Enhance Your Web Speed? appeared first on Radikal Labs: Latest News on Web, Mobile App & Game Development Services.

This question is typically relevant to clients who are outsourcing projects to remote teams or freelancers.

These questions become more relevant for developers who have been shortlisted via a web search or any of the myriads of online platforms like Upwork, Guru etc. While most of the better platforms have provisions to handle both kinds of projects, with inbuilt checks and balance the confusion still remains and more so with clients who identify vendors online without the ability to decide one way or the other and are left to the guidance of the vendor to make a call.

There are a few guidelines that need to be taken into consideration, before deciding how you would like to get your project executed.

Has the project been fully defined. A full definition of the project reduces the risk of working on a project on hourly basis and not getting work done in budget and on schedule.

It might be a good idea to invest in the definition of the project using an independent consultant.  A business analyst would help you to convert your ideas into specification document. He/ she should be help you to validate the business ideas / concepts as well as guide you on the general technical feasibility. Please remember that a Business Analyst doesn’t usually deal with specific technology capabilities. Being independent means that they should not have a vested interested in taking the project in one way or another. But again you should validate the capabilities of the consultant before hiring him /her, as the success of the project could hinge on their project definition.

The project definition should include at least a Functional Requirement Document and Wireframes / User stories. User stories are particularly useful for non-technical clients, as they clearly define the app functioning in a visual format.

Have you got a quotation from multiple vendors. This helps to evaluated the effort / cost between vendors. Typically for the same capability of vendor, the variance in effort( hours to be worked) should not be more than 20-30%. Though the hourly rate can vary widely between vendors.

The rate variation could be boil down to simple economics like country of origin. Some countries are simply more expensive that others. Its unlikely that you would have vendors offering low cost services from Singapore, New York or London. Typically lower cost vendors are concentrated in south East Asia, China and Eastern Europe.

In many cases, the project cannot be fully defined at the outset, in which case the broad contours of the project should be laid down. Even so, one should try and define aspects of the project to the greatest extent possible and as well as create an understanding of what are the areas that need more study/ research to get to the point of clarity.

In many cases, clients take on vendors for adhoc jobs that are usually limited in nature and the billing for a week or month are based on a series of small tasks. This engagement is best done an hourly basis, as the tasks are disjointed and adhoc. But even in this case, diligent review of the tasks will provide some clarity to the effort needed for each task and allowing for budgeting and financial prudence.

At the end of the day every project would have some limits in terms of budgets. So it would be impractical to assume that a project can continue ad infinitude without achieving its goal. So even while a project might not be fully defined, it is only practical for the project owner to assign some kind of effort / budget to each aspect of the project.

Typically validating the effort for any technical specification should be in the realm of a competent technical lead with specific knowledge or experience in the specified domain. So for the purpose of proper budgeting it is prudent to have a competent technical resource evaluate the specification document.

With a proper definition and estimation of effort done, the decision to run a project as a fixed priced project or an hourly project becomes a lot easier.

Payment protocols become a significant consideration while deciding on how a project is run. Working with a new vendor and signup to an hourly project paid weekly without validation can lead to unfulfilled deliverables. Payments should be linked to deliverable that can be validated.

Hourly Projects

• Most traditional software vendors prefer to run projects on an hourly basis to mitigate the risks and with good reason.

• Hourly projects allow the vendor to devote additional time to aspects of the project where it might be necessary, rather than close the tap on unfinished work just because the time allocated (cost) for that aspect has run out.

• With scrupulous vendors, it is possible that you effort might actually come in below what was originally estimated.

• Certain aspects of software project development make it very difficult to define a project in specific terms. While other projects can evolve as they progress, thus making it imperative to run them on an hourly projects.

• Logically fixed priced projects are priced out above hourly projects since the vendor has to complete the project within the defined cost / effort estimated for, so to reduce the risk, they would certainly add some buffer.

Fixed Priced Projects

• Fixed prices projects should be the second option in case of software development projects.

• Projects should only be run as fixed priced projects if they are clearly defined and one does not expect to make any significant changes to the scope.

• It does give the client some confidence that the project cost has been set and there should not be much (any) variation.

• Fixed priced projects do a bring a certain level of discipline for both vendor and client.

In summation, the choice of whether the project is fixed price or hourly is not really very important, as long as you have few things sorted out before that :

1. Proper scope definition
2. Proper evaluation of vendor
3. Understanding of the hourly rate.
4. Clear communication and understanding of expectations
5. Defined milestones and deliverables
6. Proper testing and delivery protocols
7. Milestone / deliverable linked payments.

With this is place, the choice becomes much easier and the decision to go with one or the other can be discussed and agreed between client and vendor depending on the nature of the project.

The post Fixed Price or Hourly Projects: Which Should You Choose? appeared first on Radikal Labs: Latest News on Web, Mobile App & Game Development Services.

If you are looking to build your own mobile app for your business, then feel free to contact us. We’ll be happy to help you for the project’s cost estimation, development time and more.

Take a look to our portfolio to get an Idea – http://www.radikal-labs.com/portfolio

The post Common Reasons Why Apps Fail and How to Succeed appeared first on Radikal Labs: Latest News on Web, Mobile App & Game Development Services.