• Read more about How To Make A Mobile App In 7 Steps

As a mobile application development company, we get a lot of questions around the processes required to create an app. One of our director's had the privilege to speak at a recent event, LEAD, which was created by local entrepreneurs and youth sports experts Steve Sclafani and Rob Naddelman, who turned their passion for sports and helping kids into Factory Athletics – a company that holds over 1,000 camps across America in a variety of sports (Baseball, Softball, and Volleyball) that has helped over 100,000 athletes earn 1 billion dollars in college scholarships over the past 20 years.

We were able to give an overview on the process that it takes in order to make a mobile application, these are just basic guidelines that can help you define your process.

Establish your goals: 

In order for companies and successful entrepreneurs to solve their problems, they first need to establish goals. When you look around you, every product and service you use were all created to solve a problem. You wanted to get from one place to another faster, you have a car. You want to get from one country to another faster, you fly.

Do your research: 

Before you start your app design, look at the market and see what's already out there. How will you compare to others? How will your mobile app stand out versus your competition? This is the point in the process that you can really start digging in and looking for inspiration and design ideas.

Start sketching: 

By developing sketches you are laying the foundation for your future interface. In this step you visually conceptualize the main features and the approximate layout and structure of your application.

Create a storyboard: 

While you are working on your wireframes you should also create a storyboard for your app. The idea is to build a roadmap that will help you understand the connection between each screen and how the user can navigate through your app.

Revert to your wireframes and ask friends, family, colleagues, and experts to help you review your prototype. Grant them access to the wireframe and have them give your app a test run. Ask them for their honest feedback and to identify flaws and dead-end links. If possible, invite them to your studio and have them try out the prototype in front of you. Monitor how they use the app, taking note of their actions and adapting your UI/UX to them.

The goal is to concretize your app concept before it goes into the design process! Once you start designing it is much harder to change things around, so the clearer the prototype from the start, the better.

Design the "skins":

"Skins” are what designers and developers call the individual screens needed for the mobile app. Your app designer’s job is now to come up with high-resolution versions of what were previously your wireframes.

In this step it is crucial to include all comments from your prototype testers (see Step 6). After all, you are trying to build an app your target audience is actually going to use, therefore their feedback should guide you toward to the perfect UI - User Interface.

Develop: 

App marketplaces have very different policies when it comes to publishing a new app. Android, for example, does not review newly submitted apps right away. They’ll pass by at some point and check it out but you are able to instantly add your app to Google Play.

iOS, once again, is different here. Apple reserves the right to review and approve your app before it can go live. There is no set timeframe for this, but you can expect at least a week before you hear back from them.

Test & Release: 

As you continue to build you will want to constantly look at your new app to make sure there are no bugs or major issues with it. For example, on Android it is easy to install your app file on a device to test its functionality in a live environment. IOS is different, you will have to get a platform like TestFlight to download and test your app as it proceeds.

Tell us about your major pain points - are you in the market for a new app? Be sure to let us know your ideas, we love helping companies create awesome. In the meantime, check out the presentation so that you can think through your process.

[slideshare id=63783361&doc=howtobuildanapp-160706160637]

• Read more about Mobile Strategy: Website Or Application?

Every company should have a mobile strategy but first you need to decide what's right for your business - a mobile application or a responsive website? Sometimes companies have one or the other or they may have both. This is all depending on the company and how they reach their users.

Some businesses have to choose between a mobile website or a mobile app based on their budget, let's discuss the pros and cons so that you can make the most educated decision whenever you're deciding on your mobile strategy. 

Mobile Website

Reach: Probably the biggest  benefit the mobile website has over a mobile app is the amount of reach you have; you’re able to access a much larger audience because of its discoverability and marketing potential, and it has low barriers to entry.

Content Sharing: If your primary goal is content consumption, a mobile website will usually suffice. While apps have the ability to make content sharing easy with a great design, a website can do these things with less overhead.

Ships Fast: Generally, obtaining an model view presenter (MVP) for a website requires less resources than launching a mobile app.

Marketing: Marketing a mobile website is easier and more effective than marketing a mobile application. Two tactics in particular work very well with website: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC).

Some disadvantages are:

Functionality: Products with singular functions are generally better delivered via a mobile application than a mobile website. If you think of calendars or email, Uber or Instagram, you'll likely agree that these functions are more effectively delivered through mobile applications than a mobile website.

Mobile Application

User Experience: The biggest benefit of a mobile app is the rich experience it delivers. Think of the UX on Facebook, Spotify, and some of your other favorite apps. Chances are the experience on the mobile application version is much more satisfying than their website versions.

Stand alone services: Applications are ideal for products that offer stand alone services. Weather, health, and banking apps all provide singular services to the user.

Re-engagement: While marketing an application via App Store Optimization is not very effective, apps offer push notifications. Push notifications are a great way to call the user to act even when they’re not actively engaged with your brand or product.

Some of the disadvantages are:

Storage: There is a limited amount of space on a user’s phone and your app is taking up some of that valuable real estate, I think we can all say we’ve seen the message “Storage Full”. When a user gets that message, they are then forced to decide whether or not to keep the app. Generally, apps get deleted before photos, emails, or other personalized storage.                                                                                                                                                                            

Best of Both Worlds

If you’re unsure which route to take (and you don’t have the budget for two builds), then Progressive Web Apps are a great alternative.

By combining the best of the web and the best of app, Progressive Web Apps maintain a website’s far reach and an app’s exceptional UX. Some of the benefits:

If you have questions about which mobile strategy is right for you, feel free to reach out to us! If you’d like to learn more about some of the mobile strategies we’ve put into place, check out the mobile apps and responsive websites we’ve developed.

• Read more about Ionic Mobile Framework Featured at ModevCon

Modev started in 2008 as a Meetup group and over the years they have led the industry by organized conferences,strategic initiatives and provided executive leadership coaching to ensure those we engage with operate at peak performance.We were thrilled to have the opportunity to speak at the fifth annual Modev Conference on December 10th. Adam presented on the Ionic HTML5 hybrid mobile framework, where he talked about the framework’s background, as well as provided a quick dive into Angular.js, the popular javascript framework it’s built on.  

Be sure to visit http://withinsight.github.io/modev-ionic/ to see the full presentation 

• Read more about Takeaways from Microsoft IPC’s Bitcoin Breakfast

By: Malena Lopez - Project Manager

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak at Microsoft's Innovation and Policy Center on Bitcoin and the potential for banking the unbanked with some awesome people - Brian Forde from MIT's Media Lab, Brian Hoffman from OpenBazaar, and Jerry Brito from coincenter. While I consider myself a Bitcoin novice, I have quickly noticed the equalizer this digital currency can be in the financial landscape. It's truly a breath of fresh air as long as we keep the conversation inclusive and diverse.

That said, Bitcoin and the Blockchain are changing the way we think about currency, digital assets, and identity. During the panel, all speakers touched on thought-provoking and telling points.

1. Bitcoin is freedom for currency.
In a place where regulation is second nature, freedom brings us home to the realization that we can take control of our currency with its decentralization and permission-less trade.

2. Bitcoin can bank the unbanked -- using mobile.
McKinsey estimates that worldwide “2.5 billion of the world’s adults don’t use formal banks.” Let’s compare that with mobile penetration worldwide. At the end of 2014, there were a “total of 3.6 billion unique mobile subscribers.” That’s over 50% for mobile Bitcoin potential.

3. Bitcoin has a future.
Think about the Internet - It eliminated the middle man to access and put out information. You no longer had to be a doctor to learn about heart disease; you could do it yourself. Today, we depend on this decentralized model. Bitcoin finds its future in this same way.

• Read more about 5 Apps for Sanity this Season!

Paperless Post | For planning.

Paperless Post is an ecommerce company with a focus on design-driven online and printed stationery. E-cards can often feel subpar to the “real thing”, with personality driven options though, Paperless Post makes the digital card world aesthetic and beautiful. In addition, not only are the cards custom and unique, but PP offers a variety of features from tracking and internal updates to community event boards.

Uber | For time.

If you haven’t heard of these guys yet - you’re missing out. Uber is an on-demand taxi service that can be requested at any moment. Got a relative coming into town, but nobody to pick them up? Request an UberX for them via your phone and give your relative minute by minute updates as to the ETA of their car’s arrival.

Airbnb | For space.

Yes, we love our families, but sometimes extended stays can be a bit stressful. This year, why not book an Airbnb in the area? It’s better than a hotel, will give you space after hours with Uncle Arty, and will keep the family in a happy, stress-free state.

Seamless | For the inevitable hangry moments.

Seamless is your personal delivery food site and as the name would suggests - takes the headache out of online orders. With Seamless you can search for restaurants in your area, create an order, pay online, and get updates on your delivery status by the minute.

YogaStudioApp | For your health.

If there’s any time you shouldn’t skip out on health - it’s the holidays. Make time to take care of yourself. YogaStudioApp is a great resource with custom workouts based on the # of minutes you’ve got, your experience level, and the space you’re in. There’s no excuse, take time to refocus and keep yourself healthy!

What's your favorite app for the holidays? We'd love to hear from you!

• Read more about NASA Launches Orion On First Step to Mars

At 7:05am EST today, the world watched as NASA released its unmanned spacecraft, Orion, into the ether. With Captain Kirk (in doll form) at the helm, the massive capsule soared from Cape Canaveral with countless hopes attached. This new spaceship was built with one goal in mind: deep space exploration.

Orion’s 4.5 hour flight test was a critical step toward eventual near-Earth asteroid excursions, trips around the moon, and--most significantly--manned missions to Mars. That's right: with the success of Orion's launch would come “the beginning of the Mars era,” as NASA Administrator, Charles Bolden, remarked before blastoff.

And succeed it did! Completing two orbits and going farther than all rockets designed to carry astronauts have in the past four decades, Orion passed with flying colors, and landed in the Pacific Ocean at 11:29 this morning. Our biggest congratulations to NASA on an incredibly successful flight test! Mobomo is proud to be part of the team supporting NASA.gov.

• Read more about Claim Your Money: Mobomo Builds Federal Fund Search Site

Does Uncle Sam owe you money? One of Mobomo’s latest websites will tell you!

Unclaimed Money is a search engine that allows U.S. citizens to find out whether they are owed money by the government. By scanning three different databases, Unclaimed Money provides users immediate results that could lead them to unknown or forgotten funds.

Mobomo very much enjoyed the particular challenges of building this site. First, we had to interconnect Unclaimed Money with MyUSA, a federal website project driven by Presidential Fellows: connecting the two was an exciting feat. Next, we were tasked with making the entire site 508 compliant, allowing accessibility to citizens with cognitive and learning issues. With the 508 revamp we facilitated, users who may be colorblind, blind, have ALS or other control-limiting disabilities are able to navigate Unclaimed Money without using a physical keyboard or mouse.

Finally, we automated the deployment with no access to a server. For those who may be unfamiliar with development, this is akin to driving from the passenger seat: we had no access to the site’s “steering wheel” (or, the production server), but we had to successfully drive the car. And we did!

Visit Unclaimed Money and discover whether you have free, federal money to claim!

• Read more about Mobomo’s Navy App: Making Waves

At Mobomo, nothing excites us more than making smart mobile apps to solve our clients’ complex problems. Well, nothing except for media coverage.

This past week, SIGNAL magazine—a leading news source on all things defense, intelligence, and global security communications and information technology—featured the cutting-edge news app we created for the U.S. Navy. In light of the fact that America’s sailors, their families, and the general public were increasingly seeking a way to connect and stay abreast of Navy-related news, the Navy decided that it needed an app.

Enter Mobomo: the multiplatform app we built allows users to access frequently updated Navy news, blogs, and videos, amongst other highly relevant content. The app even offers an interactive map for users to receive status updates for all fleets, helping them keep track of loved ones at sea.

For the full read, visit the article here. We’re humbled to have created an app for one of our Nation’s greatest defense arms, and excited to seamlessly connect them with their families as they serve at sea. Go Navy!

• Read more about First headstand with Google Glass

Chris Watchman of mobomo.com doing a first headstand with Google Glass. Many thanks to Antonio Zugaldia, Google Glass pioneer at Silica Labs.

• Read more about Distributed Working Made Easier with Music Sharing App

When you work as a (mostly) distributed team you depend on really efficient communication and collaboration software to bridge the distance between developers, designers, writers, and managers. At Intridea we're accustomed to working together - apart, and productively so. We depend on a mix of solutions we've built ourselves (like our new Socialspring suite) and trusted apps from others (like Hipchat, Highrise and Skype). This week Michael Bleigh introduced a new app, Turntable.fm to the Intridea team that has nothing to do with productivity or communication, but has a whole lot to do with camaraderie.

For the past two days Intrideans have been hopping in and out of the Intridea room on Turntable.fm and taking turns DJ'ing and listening to each other's music. It's so simple, and yet it's a powerful tool that allows us to feel like we're in each other's offices, hacking together, eating lunch, consuming caffeine, and rocking out. And since we're all busy coding away and working hard to meet deadlines, it's a nice way to feel connected to the people that we're working so closely with. It offers a sense of permeating presence, despite the physical distance between all of us.

Every now and then you come across an app that you never knew you needed. For the music junkies at our company that are always using Mounce (Music Announce, a command-line script that Adam wrote to update Presently chat with the name of the song you're currently listening to), Turntable.fm has become a fun source to share our musical tastes live-action style.