Why Web-Based Software Matters

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Web-based softwares are fast, cheap, and convenient. Running of a browser, these web applications bring much of the power that traditional software usually brings. And thanks to faster internet connections and more advanced browsers, web-based softwares are great alternatives for businesses looking to stay efficient but not wanting to invest all their cash into IT.

An Easy Way To Save $700.00

With the popularity of company websites, knowing how to manage a website is a good skill to have. Even at a basic level, understanding how to use photo editing software (photoshop) is important in building a good looking website. But it costs ~$700 for a legal copy of the software, and who wants to spend the cash on a software that'll end up croping and formating images (obviously this does not count if your a full on designer). Instead you could always try this web-based version of photoshop Pixlr. This web application will do most of what your looking for and for free.

What You Need To Know About Web-based Software

On a higher level web-based softwares can do a a lot more than just replace desktop software: 

Automate: Many web-based applications are built to automate process that would otherwise be done by hand. For example, automatically generating invoices and sending them off to clients.  

Frees Up Time: Web-based softwares can make your internal systems more efficient, leaving you with more time to dedicate to growing your business.

Savings: Although there is an initial investment to worry about, web-based software costs little-to-nothing to maintain, so over the long term you’ll save money. Compare this to having to buy a new version of a software every few years.  

Stored In Secure Servers: Instead of your company’s important data being stored on inner office servers or stray USB drives, everything is online, protected through secure logins and in remote servers. 

No HTML Needed: You don’t need to be a techy to understand how a web-based software works. Everything is built for you to easily interact with, all you need to do it click a few links or buttons and it’ll all work perfectly.

No Downtime To Update: Adobe updates can be annoying, so can Java, so can everything. Web-based applications are updated seperatley, all the user has to do is refresh the browser.

Complete Access: Traditional softwares, for the most part, are fixed. Custom built web-based software are yours to be tinkered with. 

Custom To Your Needs: If something does not work perfectly with your business then it can easily be tweaked and updated; you never have to settle for a useless tool or a overly complicated interface.  

Systems Can Talk To Each Other: Thanks to the nature of the internet, web-based softwares can easily talk to other systems. This means that one application can pull information from one application and apply it to another.

Want To Learn More About Web Applications. Request A Set Of Case Studies And See Real Examples Of How Web-based Software Can Improve Business. 

Easy Fixes For Creating An Effective Mobile Ecommerce Website

Here’s a shocker, your desktop website won’t render perfectly on a phone. For many this might be one of those tidbits that doesn't really matter. Like how 90% percent of bananas go uneaten. Shocking, but it's not really going to affect your banana buying habits. (It's made it up by the way, well it might be true, I just didn’t look into banana eating habits.) 

However, trends are pointing towards the reality that mobile traffic will start to seriously compete with traditional desktop forms. Mobile devices might even take over traditional internet traffic soon. Businesses without mobile website in the future could start to see a drop off in traffic, but also those who rely on ecommerce to generate revenue could be in a bit of trouble. 

If ecommerce-based businesses aren’t updating their sites to be compatible with mobile decides they could potentially be loosing traffic and therefore business. Hoping that users will be able to interact with the same website on two different devices will just result in frustrated users and exiting ones. Also, if your website does not look professional customers might not be comfortable trusting you with their credit card. Fortunately there are some easy fixes that can help to create an effective mobile ecomerce website.

Seven Easy To Fix Design Issues:

1. Portrait to Landscape: A website that cannot effectively switch between portrait and landscape mode will come across as awkward and harder to use. 
2. Images: Not all mobile devices are connected to fast networks, although with technology such as 4G this could still change, but till then heavy images are just going to slow down your website, making it less accessible to those who you need to be reaching.
3. Text: Text that is too big requires the mobile user to constantly be pinching and swiping at the screen, which can get very tiresome. This also applies to images, if an image of a product is too big it’s going to get in the way.
4. Links: The great thing about a mouse is that it can be very precise, down to the pixel-precise, and sometimes a finger or thumb just isn’t. If links on a mobile website are not properly sized they can either be impossible to “click” or in the way that the user might accidentally press on one, navigating them away from the page. 
5. Dropdown menus: Sometimes dropdown menus made for a desktop website will not load onto a mobile device well. 
6. Certification: Whether you use a third party system or develop your own payment processing system, it's a good idea to make sure your show the badge of security. Mobile websites prize few images and speed, but this is probably one you don’t want to eliminate in favour of speed.  
7. Flash: Flash can make any retail site look great, and since desktops have more hardware and faster connections they can handle these heavier sites. iOS mobile devices can’t load flash, even those OS’s that can will be under extra strain; all this leads to slow and clunky navigation. Developing a mobile website to use an alternative to flash (HTML5) or just avoiding the stylistic look for a more streamlines ones might be a better idea. 

Fortunately, mobile websites are only getting easier to build. From custom built websites, to more standardized versions, there are solutions available for every business. In addition, there are mobile ecommerce web applications which can help to create a better experience for your customers on their phones. 

As more traffic starts to come through mobile devices, making sure your online store is compatible is going to keep you ahead of the curve and maybe even get you a few more customers. 

Interested In Finding Our More About Mobile Websites Or Mobile Ecommerce? Request A Set Of Case Studies And We'll Show You What They Can Do.  

Related articles

Mobile Websites - Do We Need Them? How and Why?

Web App VS Native App Which Is Better For Small Business?

Cross Platform Compatibility: Native App Versus Web App

When Web Apps Replace Mobile Apps

I've talked about the benefits of web apps over mobile apps before, and while we can talk in an abstract way, nothing beats a good example. Unfortunately examples are a little difficult to find. The scarcity of concrete evidence is due to the fact that most web apps work behind the scenes. Preferring to stick to making sure that websites and businesses run more effectively, web apps don't typically seek the limelight.

The more public world is dominated by native apps: they are popular, convenient, look better, faster and don't eat into your data plan. Just open up your email app on your phone. Your emails will likely sync up immediately. Compare this to logging into your email through your phone's browser. Odds are the native app is faster. 

But not for long. Faster mobile speeds are coming, and like when everything went from modems to broadband, will only get faster and faster as time goes by. This could be one of the reasons why the signs are starting to appear that web apps will become a truly competitive alternative to mobile apps.

This article on Techvibes profiled a Toronto based start-up, Sandglaz, that is bypassing building a mobile app and instead is developing a web app. One of the reasons cited in the article for choosing a HTML5 based app was the cost.

For the most part web apps are cheaper to develop. This is due to the fact that all mobile browsers can read and render HTML5, so you only need to write one version of the app. If Sandglaz was developing a native mobile app then, they'd either have to develop for one device in mind, or develop multiple distinct apps.

Some might point out that Sandglaz would run faster if it were a native mobile app. From looking at what Sandglaz does (helps organize tasks and projects) the constant internet connection helps to keep everyone updated. Also it does not appear to be running any heavy components – videos, large images, etc..., so browsers and internet connection on mobile devices can probably handle the stress. 

That's one reason why mobile web apps have not really captured the public's attention. Until recently internet connections on mobile devices have not been fast enough to handle the processing needs of a web app. While mobile apps have access to comparatively faster hardware on the mobile device, so they can do a lot more.  

The existence of Sandglaz hints that as speeds increase more web-based apps will start to crop up and replace their more expensive to build counterparts. 

Related articles

Web App VS Native App Which Is Better For Small Business?

Cross Platform Compatibility: Native App Versus Web App

Easy Fixes For Creating An Effective Mobile Ecommerce Website

Mobile App vs. Mobile Web

Mobile Apps Increase Retail Customer Engagement