Questions to Ask the Software Development Company Working on Your Custom Software

If you are having custom software made for your business, there are a few things you need to ask your chosen software developer. These questions will help you determine if your developer is heading in the right direction that you want. These will also help you find out how they will tackle the creation of your custom software.

Finding the right software developer for your custom software needs is crucial to your company since you will be using what they create for your business. What they produce for you will directly affect your bottom line, so knowing how they will tackle your project help you see if they understand what you want and what you need from them.

Ask about project timelines 

This should be asked at the beginning of the project. Knowing when to expect certain updates in the development of your custom software is important. This will give you an idea as to when your software will eventually be delivered.

Ask about how they are planning on tackling the project 

A good software company will let you know how they address a project and what their first step will be when they begin work. The best companies usually assess the needs of your business before starting anything, and this usually involves a discussion with you regarding requirements.

Ask if they will develop your software in-house or if they outsource 

While this usually does not create any problems regarding development and quality, it can cause issues if rework needs to be done and the contractor cannot be reached. It can also be a source of maintenance worries if the contractor that worked on your project can no longer be reached since maintenance is an ongoing task for custom software.

Ask who your point person will be 

You will also need to know who you will need to contact for issues regarding the development of your software. This same person will also be the one you can ask about updates, ask questions from, and discuss any changes with. Having a single point person rather than a few different individuals to contact will help reduce the chances of anything getting lost in translation.

Ask about the future development of the software and possible updates

As your business grows, there will be a need for your software to grow with you. Changes that occur with your processes should be easily translated into your custom software and asking your developer about this will help make things easier for you. This way, you won’t need to worry about the need to find someone else to help create new software for your changing needs.

Ask about intellectual rights 

This can be a touchy subject, particularly if you have processes that you don’t want your competitors to get a hold of. If your processes are not exactly top secret, this should not be a cause for worry. It is common practice for software developers to retain intellectual rights to the software that they create. This is to help them utilize any element in the development of other software in the future. This is also what helps them develop your software faster since they get to use elements that were used in previous projects similar to yours.

Ask about changes in your software needs mid-development 

Sometimes, this is unavoidable. Changes in what you need your custom software to do can arise when breakthroughs and developments on your side occur. Asking about this beforehand will help prepare you for possible additional costs when changes need to be made. There are some developers however who give their clients a more flexible arrangement, as long as it is within scope and happens early-on in the project and not a few days before delivery.

These are just a few of the things you should ask your custom software developer. Companies like Custom Software by CS Preston understand the need for transparency and being upfront when it comes to discussions with clients. This will help prevent misunderstandings and wasted time as well as effort in putting together what you need. Getting things squared away before work starts, and opening a line of communication that remains open during this working relationship, is also crucial to the success of such a project.

To get the kind of help you need from us for your software requirements, contact us at 919 689 6022. You can also reach us via our contact page or email us at dev@cspreston.com with your queries.

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Mistakes People Make When Buying Custom Software

The main reason why businesses end up ordering custom software is due to off-the-shelf software not meeting their expectations and needs. Sometimes, the reason why custom software development is considered is due to the growing needs of the company, which can no longer be addressed by generic software. No matter what reasons your business may have for buying custom software from a developer, there are a few mistakes that you should avoid.

Thinking that you are buying a product similar to off-the-shelf software

Companies that have custom software made for their business need to understand a number of things regarding this particular purchase. When you buy off-the-shelf software, you are buying a product that everyone else can use. When you order a customized system for your business, you are having something made specifically to your needs that not everyone in your industry can use.

In short, you are having software that only your company can use, crafted specifically with your processes and needs in mind. This is in no way similar to off-the-shelf products that cannot be tweaked to your specifications. What you are essentially buying is more of a process rather than a product.

Setting deadlines that are immovable

This is another mistake that some companies make when buying custom software to be developed. They set deadlines that are too rigid and end up complaining that it does not work as smoothly or as efficiently as they expect it to. While it is understood that there is a need for a delivery date, a few days or weeks over such a delivery date should be expected, particularly if the software’s features are not as common as those found in off-the-shelf options.

A little leeway should be given to help iron out bugs, kinks, and issues that often arise with custom software. A testing period is crucial to getting any of these issues out of the way.  This can make developers overshoot deadlines. The result, however, would be software that will give your company the edge it needs over its competitors.

Not specifying exactly what you need for your business

Some people order custom software to be made but are vague about what they want.  These to actually do for them. They talk about what they need and what features they want their customized software to have.  Don’t explain what functions and processes they need these to do. This can create problems when the software is delivered and it does not address what the company actually wants it to achieve.

Talking with your developer about what you need your software to do and achieve instead of just talking about design, features, and generalities can help them give you exactly what you need. It will also help if you specify what your software’s goal is and what you want it to do for your company.

Over-negotiating the cost of development

Who does not like a bargain? When you buy stuff, you often check the price before you head for the cashier. If an item is on sale, you usually purchase it immediately.  Particularly if the markdown is more than half of its original price. What people may not realize is that markdowns are usually done due to a number of reasons.  The product is outdated, it has flaws, or it is not as good as it looks.

This same logic can be applied to custom software. If you over-negotiate the cost of buying custom software, don’t expect it to be what you want it to be. Some things can end up being compromised when rates are chopped down. This means necessary steps have been skipped.  Inexperienced coders that don’t get paid much were used.  Extensive testing was not done to weed out bugs due to budgetary constraints.

These are a few of the mistakes people make when they buying custom software for their enterprise. Avoiding these will help you get the kind of software that will help your business thrive. It will also help you find the right developer for your company.   Since quality software development companies do not subscribe to this way of thinking.  Often educate their clients regarding such faux pas when it comes to having software made.

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Software Development Trends for the Coming Year

As the year 2018 is about to come to an end, the predictions for software development trends in the coming year are beginning to emerge. Every year, experts in the field give enthusiasts and fellow coders their list of software trends that they feel will dominate in the coming year. These lists often consist of technology innovations that are deemed to be the ones most companies will want to have developed for their businesses.

Software developers predicted that there would be a rise in the development of software that focused on AI.  Will also focused on cryptocurrency or blockchain technology, and smart software. Sure enough, these predictions came true and lots of software developers focused their energies on these 2018 trends. In 2019, which of these will continue to become the focus of programmers worldwide and are there new trends that you should look out for?

 

 

2018 Software Development Trends That Will Continue in the Coming Year     

Of the many software development trends of 2018, there are about 4 or more that are seen to carry over in the coming year. These are those trends that are deemed to be still worth exploring in the coming year and are also seen as necessary by many programmers as well as software companies. These include:

Artificial Intelligence 

Automation will be a necessity by many corporations.  Primarily because it speeds up processes which help increase revenues. With automation comes the need for AI that can easily perform tasks that don’t require too much thinking. These include email responses, answering commonly asked basic queries, setting schedules, and solving basic problems.

Blockchain Technology 

This is another trend that is seen to stretch into 2019 by software experts and enthusiasts alike. Whoever said cryptocurrency is on a downward slide is wrong.  More and more people seem to be getting on this bandwagon.  They have the belief that it is the money of the future. Aside from cryptocurrency, blockchain can also be used to record anything of value. This means it can be used to do just about anything, with companies like IBM and Oracle.  Amazon is also among those seen to utilize this.

Cybersecurity

With all the hacking and breaches going on, it is no wonder that cybersecurity will continue to take center stage in the software development arena in the coming year.  So this means that there will be more effort into creating a more secure online environment for your information. This is because those who aim to get a hold of your info are not resting on their laurels. Continuous attacks on various institutions online guarantees improvement of cybersecurity software will be focused on.

Progressive Web Apps 

The continued development of sites that act like applications on your browser will continue in 2019. Those who want their sites to translate well on browsers often look to this trend. This is because these allow them to give their users the same usability and ease-of-use that they can get from a custom app, even when what they are accessing is a website on a browser.

These are just a few of the software development trends that became popular in 2018.  We are expecting this to continue on this wave of popularity in 2019.  Also, there will be a few new trends in software development that will make their appearance in the New Year.  These ones from the previous year won’t fade away that easily. 

If you want to have customized software developed for your company or want to know more about custom software that you might be able to use for your enterprise, there is also a company in Chicago that can help you with this. CS Preston is also a software development company that specializes in a variety of services, with custom software development being its primary offering.

We are CS Preston and we can help you figure out what your company needs in terms of custom software, website development, and custom web design.  So don’t hesitate to contact us today at 919 689 6022. You can also contact us via our email dev@cspreston.com.

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Why Your Company Will Benefit From Using Custom Software

Not all companies consider using custom software for their business. Some simply rely on off-the-shelf software for their company’s needs, without realizing that there are better alternatives. While ready-made software can work for you and your business, it does not guarantee that it will effectively do what you need.

Some of the software that you buy may do one or two tasks that you want it to do. This cannot accomplish all the things that you need to have done. This means you will need to buy more than one type of software to get all the tasks you want to get done accomplished. This means you will need to spend more than you expected.

Aside from that, more software means more tools for your people to learn how to use. This also means that work will take longer to finish since each process will require a shift from one tool to another. While these reasons should be enough to encourage you to use custom software, there are actually more reasons why customized software should be considered for your business.

What is custom software?

Before tackling more reasons why customized software should be considered, let us first understand what it is. In a nutshell, custom software is specifically for a business, with functionality that covers any process that a company needs to have covered. Also called bespoke software, these help a business go through processes without the need to shift from one program to another.

Software that is not tailor-made for your business only serves to add to the workload of your personnel. They end up doing a lot of tasks manually, track and analyze data the old fashioned way, and even end up with tons of paperwork that could be avoided. Sometimes, simple tasks become too complex due to the absence of custom software.

Benefits of Custom Software

There is a lot that you can gain when you decide to have custom software made for your business. Here are some of the top reasons most businesses cite:

• Cost-effective 

  When you have custom software made to cover all of the processes your company needs to have covered.  You essentially streamline the works you can complete. This helps reduce your costs considerably due to the fact that people work more efficiently. This does not mean that a custom software is cheap. Rather, it means that the cost of having one specific software for everyone to use to do a multitude of tasks will benefit the company in the long run.

• Secure 

  Off-the-shelf software is easy for hackers to break into. Why? Well, for starters, it is readily available. This means they can easily get a copy, figure out what defenses these have.  Find a way to get through these defenses. When you opt for custom software, security is higher and you end up with a system that is not easy to penetrate. This is because hackers won’t know what vulnerabilities to take advantage of.

• Scalable 

  Custom software is also easier to alter and adjust according to your needs as these change along the way. This is, of course, dependent on the company that you commissioned for the job. When you choose to use ready-made software, you cannot alter and update these according to your growing and changing needs. This can equate to added costs due to the need for new software to cover new processes and additional training. This can eat into your bottom line since it will require people getting off work to train.  Also, purchasing new software every now and then.

• Efficiency 

  Of course, the best reason why you should consider getting custom software for your company is the efficiency it brings to your process. It streamlines everything, giving your workers an easier time to complete things. This equates to them using less time and effort to accomplish business goals, which in turn is a boon for your business since you get to accomplish more things in a short amount of time.

These are just some of the things that you can expect from having custom software for your business. Other reasons some companies cite as to why they are happy that they want custom software.  These include reliability, adaptability, and exclusiveness. Also worth noting is that custom software actually offers better support and maintenance since companies like CS Preston in Chicago make it a point to offer clients after sales support.

When you need custom software to be made for your business, don’t hesitate to contact us at 919 689 6022. You can also get in touch with us via email at dev@cspreston.com. Aside from software development, we also offer website development for those companies that need to create an online presence.

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Part III: Videos and Online Games that Raise Mental Health Awareness

TECHNOLOGY has always worked in parallel with progress and innovation.

The rapid improvement of custom software development has paved the way to creating better programs and systems geared not only for the entertainment of people but more so for the public’s social, environmental and even mental health awareness.

One of the most entertaining tools various mobile add development companies‘ promote is the videos and online games.  

So, who says these videos and games cannot be all entertaining, informative, influential and educational?

Ellie Johnston (2012) from Climate Interactive gave the respective main ideas of these videos and games that raised mental health awareness:

Actual Sunlight

“Contrary to almost every video game, Actual Sunlight tells of a protagonist who doesn’t achieve, who never improves, whose lack of agency, inexplicable to both himself and others around him, has become the defining part of his character. Anyone who’s laid awake at night wondering what they’re doing with their lives.  One who’s noticed their ambitions receding in slow motion. Also, managed only a shrug in response — they are Evan Winter.

“This is not a game about success or the karmic rewards of personal struggle. Created by Will O’Neill, an independent developer also from Toronto.   Actual Sunlight is the story of a career you never wanted, a gym you never joined, the novel you didn’t even start.”

• Smith, 2015

The Cat Lady

“For Susan Ashworth, suicide is meant to be a way out, but it instead becomes a way forward.

“If you seek horror, The Cat Lady may sometimes freak you out, though probably not outright scare you. But that horror is in service of a touching character portrait — a portrait that’s authentically, poignantly askew.”

• GameSpot, 2014

The Town of Light

“Based on real accounts from the 1930s and ’40s, The Town of Light focuses on Renee, a young woman who’s suffered from severe mental illness for the majority of her life.

“Her struggle began with sporadic blackouts as a child and eventually developed into bouts of anxiety and the sounds of strange voices in her head.

“Pushed over the edge by the horrors of a sexual assault, Renee callously commits to the real-world Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra, an understaffed, overcrowded asylum in the Tuscan town of Volterra, Italy.”

• Hester, 2017

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Mobile App Development Trends You Can Make Money From

Videos & Online Games that Raise Environmental Awareness

WITH TODAY’S rapidly growing technology and custom software development (e.g. Chicago Custom Software Development), gaming already has the ability to not only entertain people but influence them as well.

As such, gaming, among other forms of online interactions and activities is a powerful tool which can pivot social and environmental change for the sake of mother earth, and hence, the future in general.

So, who says video and computer games cannot be both entertaining and educational? Clearly, they have not heard of these thrilling and fun-filled yet environmentally-aware games.

Ellie Johnston (2012) from Climate Interactive gave the respective main ideas of these climate change-combatting games:

Climate Challenge

“The player acts as a European leader who must make decisions for their nation to reduce CO2 emissions, but must also keep in mind public and international approval, energy, food, and financial needs.”

 Fate of the World

“A PC game that challenges players to solve the crises facing the Earth from natural disasters and climate change to political uprisings and international relations. It is available on Steam.”

My2050

“An interactive game to determine a scenario for the UK to lower its CO2 emissions 20% below 1990 levels by 2050. The user can select from adjustments in sectors from energy to transit.”

In addendum, Saikat Basu from Make Use Of talks about environmental education through these children’s strategy online games that present ecological problems to the young gamers and let them design the solutions to combat these dilemmas:  

ClimWay

This game aims of combating climate change by providing the hands-on experience to the young minds through an interactive strategy game. In this game, players are given greenhouse gas emissions problems and are tasked to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent, decrease the use of energy by 40 percent, and increase the share of renewable energy by 60 percent.”

NOAA Games

NOAA, which stands for the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (who happens to be the brain of these games) focuses on the oceans and the air themes. They provide a site that serves a portal. “Each game addresses the key concerns of our planet and also demonstrates solutions that can work in the real world.”

 

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Top 11 Trends In Mobile Apps Development

Having a mobile app designed for your business is a no-brainer. Mobile users have long-ago surpassed desktop users, as reported by SearchEngineLand. So, if your business has yet to take advantage of the mobile apps then you are missing out on an opportunity.

CSPreston is a custom software company that specializes in mobile apps development.  Certainly, they can help you grow your business and engage your audience.  CSPreston can work with you to develop an app that will bring your business to the next level.

When you are designing your mobile app, consider how some of these hottest mobile app trends may benefit your business.

1.Mobile Apps that Save Time

People are always in a hurry these days, no matter what they are doing.  So make sure that your mobile app is designed to save the user time. Even more, create simplified experiences that don’t require multiple steps and too many inputs. Therefore, creating a more streamlined experience.

2. Mobile Apps that Guide

Offer guidance assistance in your app if applicable. Add an instruction booklet built-in to the app letting the user know what to do next. Certainly, CSPreston can offer great solutions and suggestions.

3. Mobile Apps that Locate

If you are creating an app that requires a delivery address consider adding location services
instead of input fields for the customer to input address information.

4. Mobile Apps that Leverage the Device

Mobile devices have many capabilities these days. Consider utilizing some of these different
technologies for your app capabilities so you can save user-time. This can improve their
experience, like face recognition, fingerprint login, etc.

5. Mobile Apps that consider Design

From colors to typography and photography, all of the elements at use in your mobile app are incredibly important in your mobile design. You must translate your brand from your
business and website through to your mobile app design while creating a great user experience.
Animation in mobile app design is also an important factor as it keeps the user’s attention and provides a great experience.

6. Mobile App Personalization

Providing personalized content for users is growing more challenging as users are inundated with so much content on a daily basis their experience needs to be more tailored than ever. Consider integrating technology into your mobile app that would give the user information about your restaurant specials, as they are in the area, or sending push notifications as they are nearing your location.

7. Mobile App Payment Options

Convenience is key, and when it comes to not having to pull your wallet out at a store to have to pay for something and instead, hold your phone up, which already happens to be in your hand, that is pretty great. Consider designing a mobile app that integrates the features of Apple Pay or Android Pay. These are systems that many people have integrated into their phones and are readily using. Remember, people want ease of use and to save time.

8. Mobile App Augmented Reality

Another hot trend in mobile app design is an AR. If you have the kind of business that you think could benefit from incorporating AR into your mobile app then definitely take the leap. E-Commerce businesses and businesses wanting to build a gaming app could benefit from this type of trend in their mobile app design.

9. Mobile Apps for Health and Wellness

There are over 100,000 mobile apps designed to track health, and they are downloaded like crazy. CSPreston has an amazing team that can fully customize your mobile experience for your customers. Consequently making your mobile app a more successful experience in the health in wellness app market.  

10. Mobile Apps on Demand

Apps like the giants UBER and Lyft and other on-demand apps are huge. Even if you aren’t in the kind industry for developing a powerhouse business like Uber or Lyft consider other industries. They could develop an on-demand app like food, haircuts, or other services people look for in a pinch.

11. Mobile Apps that are Cross Platform

With cross-platform mobile app development, means that you can use your mobile app across any device. Designing a cross-platform app for your business means that you increase your user reach. Hence, you can improve your marketing and are being cost-effective.

Mobile application development is important for growing and developing your business. It’s important to push the boundaries of design while creating a great user experience.  CSPreston can help you to achieve a superior mobile app experience for your customer.  Above all, they are dedicated to helping you grow your business.  

Contact CSPreston for all of your Mobile Application and Web Design needs today.

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What to Expect When You Retain SEO Services for Your Site

So you finally decided to have a website made for your company. Good for you! Putting your company on the internet map, so to speak, is something businesses should do to get a leg up on the competition. Without a site, you lose out on potential clients that your competitors will easily snap up if they have an online presence.

You should know however that having a site is only the first step in gaining clients online. In order for people to come to your site and order from you or hire you, you need to be discoverable first. This means that you should do what it takes to help people find you easily, and that takes a bit more effort than putting up a website. For this to happen, you need what is called SEO.

SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization, and this is a task that involves a few methods that are geared towards making your site discoverable on search engines like Google and Bing. If you are planning on optimizing your site, you should find a reliable SEO company to help you. You can try to do this on your own by studying the many nuances of such a task, but why bother? Hiring an expert to do this for you will save you time and effort, and will give you the freedom to concentrate on improving your business while someone else optimizes your site for you.

What Does an SEO Company and Specialist Do?

When you hire someone to optimize your site for you, there are a number of things that they can do to make your site discoverable by the people who need what you have. Here are some of the things you can expect a company that specializes in SEO services to do for you:

• Make your site more appealing to visitors – no, we are not talking about visual appeal. That is in the hands of a web designer. What we are talking about is the structure of your site. An SEO will give you advice regarding the structure of your site, the navigation aspects, and other similar concerns. They can do this by telling you how your visitors behave on your site and use that insight to improve and restructure your navigation and pages to make people find what they need quicker and help you convert.
• Give your content a much needed boost – content is king when it comes to SEO, and this is because content is what Google and Bing base their recommendations on when it comes to the sites that they put on their search engine results pages (SERPs). SEO companies can create amazing content for you which can drive your site to higher ranks on SERPs, or they can simply recommend what kind of content you need for this to happen. They can also help you find pages with poor content on your site and tell you what to do with these.
• Drive targeted traffic to your site – SEO companies and specialists have the knowledge and skills needed to get people to come to your site. They use an arsenal of online tools and techniques to get not just any people to come to your site but people who are looking for what you are offering. They do this with the use of, among other things, social media portals, posting on other sites relevant to your site, posting videos that people will find interesting, and other similar tools.

These are just a few of the things you can expect from an SEO company or specialist when you retain their services. Other things they can do is to give recommendations on what you can do to improve your site’s design, what you should not do to avoid penalties from search engines, and how to maintain your ranks on these search engines.

 

 

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What is the Future of Mobile Apps and Mobile App Development?

If you have an android phone or an iPhone, then you know what a mobile app is. This term is used to define applications that are used on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, but mostly on the latter. People have become pretty dependent on these applications for just about anything, such as shopping, banking, booking flights, and even for their lovelife.

With all the apps that people use and depend on nowadays, what future does the development of mobile apps have? Is there still a future for mobile apps with the rather saturated landscape that we have now? What kind of a future do mobile apps and mobile app development have?

Trends, Predictions, and Future of Mobile App Development

In the past, the trends that mobile apps followed were centered on entertainment and convenience. This is why numerous apps were developed in recent years to cater to the entertainment needs of the public. Movie apps, games, and even apps that allowed users to purchase tickets for their entertainment needs were the most popular applications in the past few years.

Other applications that saw numerous downloads being made in the past 5 years included banking apps, shopping apps, and other applications that made life convenient for everyone. These included dating apps, food delivery apps, and recipe apps for just about any kind of food. Weight loss apps, exercise tracker apps, and even applications that helped you find a person via their mobile phone were also very popular in the past few years.

This year, and in the years to come, the direction that these applications will be taking, according to experts and analysts of the industry, seem to be in refining whatever apps are already in existence. The integration of AI into the apps that people are now using is becoming more prevalent and seems to be the direction a lot of mobile app developers and the companies that work with them are taking. It has also been noted that there will be no slowing down of the development and use of these apps, given that people are becoming more and more dependent on these.

The Internet of Things, Smart Homes, and Mobile Control

It has become evident that controlling all aspects of life with the use of a mobile device is fast becoming the norm everywhere. More and more people are relying on their smart phones and mobile devices to control everything around them. You can now do almost anything with your phone even if you are nowhere near the device that you are controlling with an app.

Security cams and the checking of home security systems can now be done from across the globe with a security app. You can turn on your AC way before you arrive home with another app that you can download on your phone. You can even open your door at home via your app before you get to it, have your shower running to the right temperature while you are undressing, and have coffee brewing even before you get out of bed.

People are indeed becoming increasingly dependent on apps, which is why it is safe to predict that there will be more of these in the future. There will also be better versions of the apps you already have on your devices. You can also be sure that mobile app developers will have lots of work from this day forward since they will be the ones companies will rely on for their app development and improvement needs.

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Where to Find the Best Custom Software Developers for Your Needs

Businesses that require special software for their specific needs try to find software developers that can help them create what they need. The problem is, with all the companies and independent developers to choose from, where do you find the best custom software developer for your company? And even more important, how do you choose the right one for what you need?

In finding the best custom software developers, there are a number of avenues you can check. For starters, you can ask people you know for recommendations. You can crowdsource on Facebook to find out if your friends can recommend someone or a company that they know can do what you need and can do it well.

Another avenue you can try when you are looking for software developers who can create the software your company needs is to search online. To find a developer that can create exactly the kind of software you need to have developed (payroll, inventory, etc.), you can integrate these words into your search. You can look for “custom payroll software developers” or “custom e-commerce platform software developer” on Google, and you will be given a list of companies that can help you with what you need.

How to Pick the Best One for Your Needs

Once you have a list of prospective companies to trust with your software development needs, you will have to sift through them to find the right one for your company. To do this, here are some things you need to do:

• Ask for a portfolio – ask each prospect to show you a portfolio of their work and what companies they have worked with in the past. This will help you to see if their style fits what you need and the branding of your company.
• Check their process – ask the company or freelancer to walk you through their process so you understand what exactly it is that they do and how they do it. If they cannot explain to you in simple terms what they do to get you what you need from consultation to planning to execution and delivery, there may be something off here.
• Ask for their rates – some companies work in similar ways and can show you similar portfolios, but some are more expensive than others. If one company or freelance software developer can give you what you need at a lower cost with guarantees that they can deliver on time and within specifications, then this is the company for you.
• Check to see if they offer excellent support – when you hire a custom software developer, their work does not end with the delivery of what you commissioned them to create. In fact, it essentially does not end. This is because you will need them to be available to you when bugs emerge from your custom software and you need to have them fix it for you.
• How do they communicate – you also need to know how to communicate with them and if you can get in touch with them via the many different portals available to you. You will also need to be able to communicate with them at any time since this is how you can tell them if there are changes in the design if there are things you need to have added, etc.

Finding the right custom software developers for your company is no walk in the park, but with some careful scrutiny and a little help from others, you may just find the right partner for your software development needs.

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Exercising Your Options When it Comes to Custom Software Development

The age-old adage that “the customer is always right” may not really apply to software development, particularly if you are not a tech person and you don’t know how to create your own custom software. Of course, this does not mean that what you want for your custom software development won’t be honored by your chosen software development company or freelancer. It simply means that not everything you want may be ideal for what you need.

When it comes to custom software development, it does help if you a know a bit about this particular industry and what it takes to create the kind of useful software that you need. In custom software development, the customer does dictate what it is they want their software developer to make for them, but it is not guaranteed that their developer will do everything they ask. This is because there are some things that will work with what you are having made and some that may seem good but actually are not.

What are Your Options as a Customer of a Custom Software Development Company?

When you hire a company to create your custom software for you, you have the right to reject any designs and ideas that they present to you, as long as there is a valid reason for why you are rejecting it. You are, after all, paying for the software development. Therefore, you have the freedom to pick through the many suggestions these companies make for your software creation plans.

You have the right to choose the color scheme of your software, the functions that are to be added, what functions to automate and which ones need to be done manually, and whether it is scalable or not. You will need to provide input on how you want your software to look, how it operates, what it can do, and how soon it should be delivered. You will also need to provide feedback every time you are asked to test the first few prototypes of your software.

Limitations to Your Options

Of course, even when you have all of these options, you should also be aware that you have limitations. These limitations include when you can contact your developer for your input on what else to add to your software and when you can try it out. You will have to give your developer enough time to put together your software and to test it before you as to see a working sample that you can test.

Other things you need to remember to include the need to defer to the expert advice of such companies or individuals when it comes to what can and cannot be added or done to your software. If a company says that what you want is impossible to achieve, you cannot throw a tantrum and insist that they do it. Listen to the reasons why and back off if you think the reasons are legit. If the reasons seem superficial to you (meaning they don’t want to put in the extra work needed to get what you need), you may insist on what you want or tell them that you will ask another company or freelancer if what you want can be done by them.

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Tips on Finding a Chicago Website Design Company to Work With

Whether you are trying to find a website design company in LA, one that works out of New York, or a Chicago website design company, the same routine applies when you are trying to find the best company to work with. Before you sign on the dotted line and commission a company to build your site for you, there are a few things you first need to do.

The first thing is to find a few companies that fit what you are looking for regarding website design and creation. How do you do this? You just go online and search for website companies that have a list of services that you need and want for your site. Next, you will need to narrow down the selection by comparison shopping.

When it comes to comparison shopping, what you do is you compare the packages and offerings that one company has with another. Compare the prices, analyze what is included in the packages, and compare the samples that they have on their site. When you have narrowed down the list of possible companies that you might see yourself working with after this step, you can now get down to the nitty-gritty.

At this point, you will need to get in touch with the few website design companies that you choose and email them for more information on the website design packages that you are interested in. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. This is where you get to ask all the important ones that cannot be answered by what you see on their site. Some of these questions will give you an insight on how much attention to detail these companies pay when it comes to what you want and what your site needs.

If the companies that you have shortlisted offer to give you a mock-up of the site that you are thinking of putting up, let them do so. This will help you see if they were able to get what you want from discussing things with you. You can also see if their vision for your site matches with yours. When you find the web design companies that seem to understand precisely what it is you need, you can make your final selection with a few fundamental questions.

Final Selection Tips That Can Get You the Best Design Company

Before you pick a Chicago website design company to work with from your list, there are a few more things you need to consider. First, ask them if they know or can do responsive design. This is important if you want your site to do well on search engines and go across as user-friendly to your site visitors.

Next, you should ask for referrals and links to sites that they have worked on before. If you can get in touch with the owners of these sites, try to ask how their experience working with such a company was. This will help you get some insight on how the company works with the people who hire them for website creation.

These companies should also know the importance of optimization since you are not the only site in your niche. You need to compete with others, and a website design company that does not know how to optimize your site or understands what it is won’t help you get on the first page of Google.

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Getting The Best Mobile App Development Company For You

Finding “the one” is not reserved for finding your soulmate or that one person that you can spend the rest of your life with. Finding “the one” can be used for a lot of other things, such as finding that one car that you have wanted all your life, or that one steak that you can call the best you’ve ever had. It is also a term that can be used when you are trying to find mobile app development companies to work with.

How do you find that one mobile application development company to trust with your brilliant app idea? Here are a few tips that may be useful:

Checklists for some of the best app developers collated by tech sites 

A lot of tech sites have lists for everything related to technology, and a list of app development companies is one of them. Check out the lists that tech sites put out and compare each one to see which companies appear on more than one list. Write these down and proceed to the next step.

Research the profiles of these mobile app development companies 

This is where your researching skills come in. Check samples that they post on their website. You can also ask for information on the apps that they have built in the past and referrals to confirm that they are indeed the company that helped create such an app.

Put together a list of possible candidates 

Since you are spending hard-earned money on the creation of your app, do not hesitate to really narrow down the search by putting together a list of companies that you think you can work with. Base your decision on the factors that are important to you. This can include pricing, what they offer, their guarantees, the samples that you saw, and other similar reasons. When you have your list, you can now weed out the ones that don’t meet your final criteria one by one.

Ask about details regarding their process and what they can offer you that other companies cannot 

The decision you make should hinge on how they answer the questions you throw at them regarding what they can do for you. Ask about how they can assure you that your app will get done the way you want it to get done and delivered on the due date that you and the company agree on.

Don’t forget to ask about non-disclosure and the protection of your intellectual property 

You should also ask about their non-disclosure policies while the app is in production (this is important since app ideas can be pilfered and a competitor can develop a similar app which can then be released ahead of yours). If they cannot guarantee that your idea will be safe with them, with clauses in their contracts stating that any breach of an NDA is grounds for a lawsuit, you are better off finding another mobile app dev company.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions and to grill these companies when it comes to how your apps will be made, what your assurances will be, and other important issues regarding your app. Always try to find out what you can about the company and trust your instincts when the answers to your questions come in. If you feel that they are not the right fit, no matter how fantastic their work seems to be, look for another one. “The one” may be just around the corner, and you would not want to settle for a company that you don’t feel a connection with.

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USA Web Design Company versus Outsourced Web Design Companies

When you are thinking of putting up your own website, you have the choice to work with a local company or work with one that is overseas. If you are unsure of who to choose, there are ways to determine which one is best for your needs. Let us compare a USA web design company with an outsourced one so you can see which one you should choose.

Communication

when you hire a local company, you will find that communicating with them is easier than with a company that is located on the other side of the globe. The time differences can make things a bit difficult, although a lot of overseas web design companies do shift their work hours to fit your time zone. The difference is the time zone is not the only problem when it comes to communication. Sometimes, differences in the primary language can cause communication problems as well.

While most companies overseas that work with English speaking countries can speak well enough in English, there are some expressions and terms that may get lost in translation. With a local company, there is less likelihood of miscommunication because of language barriers.

Control

working with a local web design company as opposed to an outsourced on located hundreds of miles away in another continent may also benefit you in terms of control. With a local company, you have better control over who works on your project than you would with an outsourced one. There are some overseas companies that do allow you to pick who of their people you want to work on your project, but this can be rather difficult at times.

Another way you can easily control a USA web design company versus one that is overseas is that you can easily travel to the offices of this company. Even if it is located in another state, all it takes is one short plane ride (which is cheaper and faster than if you were to fly halfway across the globe) and you can meet with your site developer to dictate what you want.

Involvement

with a USA web design company, you can be as involved as you want to be. Want to be there when they are brainstorming about your site? Simply schedule it with them and you can sit in on these sessions so you can share your ideas directly with them in real time and in person. With an outsourced overseas company, while you can do this via video chat or you can also fly over, you can’t do so all the time and at every step of the development process.

Cost

this is where outsourced companies have an edge over local ones. Most US-based web design companies charge more for their work than outsourced ones. There is a caveat though. While you do get lower costs for development overseas, you don’t get the protection that US law can provide you if you are not given what you paid your web design company to do.

Of course, you have to take into consideration the fact that not all USA web design companies are the same and not all outsourced overseas web design companies are the same too. There will always be exceptions to every rule, and the same goes for these web design companies. The choice you make, whether local or abroad, will depend on a number of factors that include reputation, reliability, and ability.

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Steps for E-commerce Website Development

With the highly publicized success of e-commerce giants Jack Ma of Alibaba and Jeff Bezos of Amazon, it is no wonder that more and more people are putting up their own shopping websites. Developing a website for e-commerce is not as easy as it may seem. Whether you are working with an e-commerce website development company or doing this on your own, there are a few steps that need to be followed to ensure the success of your site.

In developing your own selling site, the key steps you need to follow are:

• Determine your niche and target market – some people tend to jump the gun and think about creating an e-commerce site that sells everything. This is not the way to go. What you need to do is to first choose a niche, conquer that niche and market, then expand. Don’t plan on selling anything and everything under the sun just because the big players in the industry are already doing so.
• Choose the right domain name – this will be your brand, so to speak, and finding the right name to go with your online store is crucial to your success. Look for a catchy name that people can easily remember and associate with what you are selling. Take your cue from those who have gone before you and succeeded in this kind of venture to come up with the perfect name for your site.
• Choose the right platform – also called a CMS (content management system), this is what you use to put together your site and what people will see when they visit your pages. Find one that has all the features that you want and need to be able to sell your products effectively. Also, try to choose a CMS that has a secure payment gateway, great support, and is easy to update and customize.
• Choose the right design – how you capture your market’s attention and retain it is not just in the pricing or images that you post for the items that you are selling. It is also in the overall design of your site. Put some thought in how easy it is to navigate, how concise your search is, and how the colors of your site play to the senses of your target market.
• Don’t forget marketing – if you want to reach as many potential customers as possible, marketing should always be part of the planning process of your site. It is important to have a marketing plan even before the site is launched. This will help you establish a following even before you open your doors, so to speak, to your buying public.
• Optimize as you go along – optimization is something people do after the site has been running, and this is a mistake. This should be integrated into the creation of the site in order to give your e-commerce site a chance to be seen in the first pages of search engines soon after it is launched.

These are just the initial stages of the development of an e-commerce website. If you find that doing this on your own would be too difficult or taxing on you, you should look for a reliable web development partner that can help you realize your vision for your own shopping site while you focus on other aspects of the business.

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The Role of Mobile App Development in 2018

JUST RECENTLY, giant home electronics Japanese maker Panasonic announced that they are currently designing and working on a bedroom that will provide users a comfortable experience and a good night sleep. So, how does this work?

The room will be equipped with electronics that are connected to the internet, and through this connection, the lighting system will be controlled automatically depending on the user’s mood and feelings. At the same time, the air-conditioning system will increase and decrease in degrees depending on the user’s body temperature to provide them with a comfortable environment for a great slumber.

With this concept, the company said they have embraced the Internet of Things (IoT) in their latest product lines of home appliances and electronics. With the use of the internet technology, everything will be made easy with automation through the human-technology connection.  

Another example of this is a microwave oven that can detect the dishes’ ingredients with their right measurements and cook the food according to how you want it to be or depending on your health condition. It also has a special function that can detect your sugar and cholesterol level, and thus, decide on the proper diet ideal for your needs. It can even order food online. Amazing, isn’t it?

But of course, this will be done through the internet and it would be impossible to make the connection of these appliances and equipment work without a software to program it with. Now, this is where and when the mobile application comes in the picture since we need to have something to be able to control the IoT environment.   

As the internet technology becomes big this year, mobile applications will surely create a huge demand. With huge companies targeting IoT in their creations and services, demand for mobile app development will surely increase this year.

In fact, according to Forbes on their article released in January this year, the IoT will be massive in 2018. As the percentage of connected devices is expected to reach 20.4 billion by 2020, this technology will continue to be a hot item.

With this increasing demand on IoT, we would – most often than not — need our smartphones, laptops or tablets and smartwatches among other devices to integrate such connectivity and control the things we use at home.

Several sources online would show us the further increase of the usage in IoT. Thus, the world will need more and more people and companies to develop custom mobile applications to keep at par with the internet technology.

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