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How to Use Pivot Table to Create Web Reports in Different Styles. Inspired by #CodepenChallange

A collage of four web reports in different styles: bento, neo-brutalism, Y2K, and gradient glow.  
When it comes to web reporting, the main focus is on the performance and functionality of your software. Still, visual styling can also positively impact your reports or dashboards. It can enhance key points, highlight hierarchy, and even give you the vibe of the epoch. 

Our pivot table component comes with eight predefined themes, but sometimes, it’s not enough to create a unique style or to adapt to your existing brand style. Webdatarocks has great potential for customization of your report as you need. To prove it, we participated in the CodePen challenge dedicated to styling. We wanted to show that our component can be a part of any style solution, no matter how diverse or creative. And what better way to do that than to join a challenge that tests your coding skills and imagination?

But first, a little bit about what Codepen challenge is. 

CodePen gives you a new task every week based on a monthly theme. We decided to try the November challenge about Style Trending, which covered such styles as Bento Style, Neo-Brutalism, Y2K Style, and the Gradient Glow Style. The template included the very basics of a fitness app dashboard and style was on us.

Bento Style

The first task was about Bento Style, an ode to digital minimalism. This style emphasizes simplicity, order, and elegance. It is not overloaded with details, so it gives full focus on your data to get valuable insights from it. In our demo, we did exactly that. Our dashboard echoes the Japanese art of bento box arrangement with simplicity and no mess. Each element is where it is supposed to be without any unnecessary decorative elements. Everything is clear, intuitive, and easy to understand, living up to the “less is more” principle.

This style can be excellent for data reporting and analytics thanks to its structural and stylish presentation of information.

Use cases: BI dashboards, financial and executive reports (highlights key insights).

Check it for yourself. 
A web report in Bento style showing a fitness dashboard with data.

Neo-brutalism 

The next style was Neo-Brutalism, so we switched from elegant/structural minimalism to a rebellious style. This style takes its roots from the “raw” brutalist architecture of the 50s-80s, which you can see in hard shapes and strict lines. Nowadays, this style is about bright colors, clean lines, bold fonts, and geometrical shapes.

We managed to implement all this in our demo, which was inspired by Rubik’s Cube. Our dashboard features eye-catching geometric shapes and a vibrant color palette, making the data stand out. 

Use cases: Public awareness campaigns, social impact dashboards, scientific visualizations ( it helps to make a strong impression and highlight the contrast between different data segments.).

Take a look. 
A web report in Neo-brutalism style showing a fitness dashboard with data

Y2K Style

The third style was Y2K Style great style for old schoolers that works almost as a time machine and makes you nostalgic. It’s the place where the analog and digital worlds meet – bright colors, bold fonts and patterns, and a modern twist. 

This style can be fun and engaging for web reporting and data visualization, especially if you want to target a younger or more nostalgic audience. It can also add some humor and personality to your data presentation. It can give the feeling of the early 2000s era.

Use-cases: marketing, educational, social media and trends reports( to give the vibe of the 2000s and retro it can help soften complex data, and increase user interaction) 

Begin to time travel with this demo. 

Gradient Glow Style

Our final stop was Gradient Glow Style. This modern trend, rooted in early web design, adds depth and vibrancy to digital spaces. Explore the dashboard, capturing attention with a deep green gradient and matcha-colored accents that soften the seriousness of the report.

It can also help you emphasize the most important data points using colors and gradients. 

Use cases: investment dashboards, market research web reports ( it can help make data hierarchy more understandable, improves comprehension.) 

Here is our demo to check. 

Conclusion

No matter what style you need, the WebDataRocks pivot grid can be customized to it.  Explore more examples in our CodePen collection. This is not all customization opportunity, WebDataRocks can also integrate with third-party charting libraries, such as amCharts, Highcharts, Google Charts, or FusionCharts. This way, you can create both eye-catching and interactive data visualizations. If you want to learn more about how to do that, check out our list of tutorials below. 


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Choosing the best tech stack for mobile app development in 2024Are you trying to figure out how to make a profitable mobile application? It entails many difficulties and factors to be considered, such as determining the budget, particular project specifications, features and functionalities, and more. Nonetheless, picking the right combination of powerful tools and technologies is essential to developing an app. 

Your mobile app’s budget, performance, and maintenance will all be significantly impacted by the tech stack your mobile app development company decides to incorporate within. This emphasizes choosing the right mix of technologies for efficient app development that gives your company a competitive edge.

There are several factors to consider when choosing the best tech stack. Therefore, you should read this guide to choose the appropriate tech stack for creating your project.

Mobile App Development Tech Stack: 4 Main Pillars

A tech stack, a set of tools and technologies, is decided and arranged as per the development needs of software or an application. These development platforms are strategically used to create well-oriented and feature-rich mobile apps. It can include tools for data storage, security management, user interface design tools, and various other frameworks.

This tech stack is bifurcated into four central pillars to make the mobile app development process seamless, as given below:

  1. Back-end

In the back-end development of mobile applications, the decision of technologies depends on the smooth functioning of server-side code and the database. The work of backend developers is to store and manage data, respond to user requests, and ensure frictionless communication between the server and client side. The back-end tech stack supports them in controlling these tasks effectively. 

Back-end Development Programming LanguagesPython, Ruby, Golang, PHP, or Java
Back-end FrameworksDjango, Ruby on Rails, or Laravel
Database Management SystemMySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite
  1. Front-end

The front end is at the forefront of any application or software. This is an interface where your users can interact with a digital product. The tech stack chosen to develop the front end of the application manages the user interface and the client-side code running on the device. Developing a mobile app layout includes elements such as buttons, animations, user flow, and links. 

Front-end Development Programming LanguagesHTML, CSS, JavaScript
Front-end Frameworks React, Vue.js, and Angular
  1. Platform 

Your choice of mobile app development tech stack depends significantly on the platform you choose to deploy the app (such as iOS or Android). Here, all libraries and interfaces are pictured as part of the mobile app design and development. Depending on the mobile app platform, specific technologies are selected. 

iOS PlatformDevelopment Tools: Apple Xcode and AppCode, iOS SDK
Programming Languages: Objective-С, Swift
UI Frameworks: SwiftUI, UIKit
Android PlatformDevelopment Tools: Android Studio, Android SDK
Programming Languages: Java Kotlin
UI Frameworks: Android UI, Jetpack Compose 
  1. Hosting

The hosting environment ensures the server-side code runs smoothly on the application as the input-output function depends on it. The fundamental purpose of a hosting platform is to 

  • store data,
  • hosting APIs,
  • scale applications,
  • implement robust security measures,
  • and enhance reliability by minimizing downtime.

Numerous hosting platforms such as Linux, Apache, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are popular choices in mobile app development. However, cloud hosting services have been the most in demand recently due to their many benefits.

How Do I Choose the Best Tech Stack for Creating Mobile Apps?

The robust tech stack you position will influence how effectively you are able to build the app. However, it requires meticulous planning, a clear vision, and familiarity with the features to ensure you have chosen the right tech stack.

  1. Types of Apps

The choice of technology stack is also driven by the varying features and levels of complexity of various application categories. 

For instance, an app for on-demand meal delivery will provide push alerts, real-time tracking, and smart search and suggestion features. Therefore, you should pick technologies that facilitate easy integration with external parties.

FacebookPHP, Jenkins, LAMP Stack, HHVM, Cassandra, React Native, and GraphQL
AirbnbJavaScript, React, Java, MySQL, Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, Ruby, Rails, Google Analytics, Braintree, and Twilio
UberPython, JQuery, Node.js, React, Java Golang, Kafka, Swift, Objective-CMySQL, EC2, and Hadoop
InstagramObjective-C, Swift, Java, KotlinReact NativeAFNetworking and Facebook SDK
TwitterObjective-C, Java, JavaScript, React, ScalaAWS, GCP, and Microsoft Azure

Note: Remember that these are the primary tech stacks used in developing these apps. An application uses a vast set of technologies for app development. Moreover, technological trends keep changing with time, and thus, companies adopt new tools and frameworks. 

  1. Platform Choice

The type of platform on which you choose to deliver your application has the most influence on the tech mobile app development stack. As mentioned above, iOS and Android applications will have platform-specific technologies. 

In contrast, if you choose to develop a hybrid app, you can use cross-platform frameworks (such as React Native, Ionic, Xamarin, and Flutter).

  1. Features and Functionality

The next factor you need to consider while selecting a suitable tech stack is the features and functionality you decide to integrate into your mobile app. This is because some technologies are better fit to create or embed features like games, augmented reality, or machine learning.

  1. Budget and Resources

Make sure to define your budget and resources (time, expertise, and development team) in the initial stage of development. With a fixed budget, you can ensure your team utilizes the tech stack fully within that cost. 

For example, native app development can be costly and requires more effort. Whereas hybrid or cross-platform app development can be done with open-source frameworks, ensuring a faster and more cost-effective process. 

  1. App Maintenance and Scalability

You must consider whether your application can be scaled with the tool or framework you choose to integrate. Go for the technologies that support a stable system architecture with an increasing user base and traffic. Here, you can select your server, hosting service providers, databases, and programming languages wisely. Ensure they are not getting outdated soon and facilitate app scalability.

Conclusion: Get Experts Help

As mentioned in this article, technologies are growing at an unprecedented rate; thus, it requires the mobile app development company you hire to be updated with the latest tech trends. In conclusion, different types of project requirements, such as budget, app types, technical expertise, and, most importantly, platform choice, affect your choice of tech stack. 

Therefore, as you initiate your project with your partnered app development team, begin with a thorough analysis of the app idea and discovery phase. With this, not only will you be able to decide on a robust technology stack but also ensure your mobile app developers are on the same page. 


Webhooks work as an integral part of web development as it helps in facilitating real-time communication between two applications. The objective of this comprehensive guide is to demystify the process of exploring the functionality, implementation, and various use cases in the development arsenal.

What are Webhooks?

Webhook is an approach that helps one system notify another system about events occurring in real time instead of a traditional API process where data needs to be pulled at intervals. Webhook is an automated way that pushes the data automatically when specific events occur. 

The event-driven architecture of Webhook enables seamless integration between different services and software applications by triggering data based on event occurrence. 

How do Webhooks Work?

Once you’ve got to know “What are Webhooks? Exactly, now let’s talk about its working procedure by jumping down your eye-ball a little on the below content. 

Centrally, a webhook contains two main components for its functioning: a sender and a receiver. The sender sends an HTTP request to a predefined URL (called webhook endpoint) whenever an event occurs. On the other hand, the receiver processes the incoming data and takes an appropriate action based on the event payload (information that one URL sends to another).

The Key Components of a Webhook Functioning

Here are the following key components of the webhook that help the webhook platform function. Let’s upgrade your knowledge on each separately.

  • Event Source: 

Event Source refers to the system that creates events, like a new message or a status change, prompting the webhook to activate. Basically, it is the origin of the trigger that sets the webhook in motion.

  • Event Payload: 

Payload is the data that gets transmitted during the event in the form of context and information.

  • Webhook Endpoint: 

The Webhook endpoint is the (second) URL where the event data is sent.

  • Subscriber or Listener: 

The subscriber or listener is the system or application that receives and processes the incoming data.

How to Implement Webhook?

To get to know how you can implement the process of webhook and start its functioning, here are some of the initial steps: 

  1. Create a Webhook Endpoint: Explain this point in simple terms:

To create the endpoint of the webhook, first, the developers need to set up a designated web address where a server can receive data (payload) automatically. Additionally, allows seamless communication between two software applications or systems. For security purposes, webhooks use HTTPS and request a verification process. 

  1. Event Payloads:

In webhook, when an event happens, as a new message or a status gets changed, then that data is sent in a structured format called JSON to a predefined location. Not only that, it also provides details about what occurred for further processing or action. The action of the payload will not be the same every time, instead, it will vary based on the webhook’s purpose and the services involved.

  1. Handling Webhook Requests:

In handling the webhook request, the application inspects the incoming data requests to extract the relevant information. Later, the application acknowledges the receipt of data by sending HTTP status codes as confirmation of the events triggered by the webhook.

How is a Webhook Beneficial For You?

Webhooks offer a powerful and efficient way to enable real-time communication between two applications. In addition, webhooks automate the workflows and enhance the overall performance and reliability of software applications and systems.

  1. Real-Time Updates:

Webhooks is an ideal application since it provides instantaneous updates to applications that require real-time data, like messaging apps or collaborative tools.

  1. Automation and Integration:

Webhook provides efficiency to the interconnected systems and automates the workflows by triggering actions in response to specific events.

  1. E-commerce and Payments:

With the webhook, applications like Paytm, Shopify, and more receive instant notifications for order placements, payments, and shipping updates. Moreover, it ensures timely actions as well as communication.

  1. Customization: 

Webhook enables developers to customize the webhook payloads. This flexibility of webhooks allows developers to transfer the data efficiently. Furthermore, it helps reduce the amount of unnecessary data that gets transmitted between two systems.

  1. Scalability:

Webhooks are so scalable as they have to trigger the request instantly to one system, get a response from another, and make the workflow efficient. Not only that, but also, webhook handles the events’ occurrence without putting unnecessary strain on the system and by supporting scalability in both small and large-scale applications.

  1. Enhanced Security: 

You have no need to worry about security while using Webhook as it offers encryption and authentication mechanisms that ensure the protected data exchanged between systems. However, in the polling mechanisms, it is crucial to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive information.

  1. Reliability: 

As in the prior time, polling mechanisms were used where reliability was very low. However in the webhooks process, the process is more reliable because it initiates communication only when events occur. Therefore, webhook ensures that only relevant information is delivered promptly without the risk of missed updates or delays.

  1. Social Media Integration:

Webhooks help social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and more, to respond automatically when certain events occur, like new posts, comments, or gaining new followers. This makes the integration process easier by integrating social media activities with other applications or systems.

  1. Alerts and Notifications:

Since the webhooks work so quickly and offer great services for sending immediate alerts or notifications when important events happen. The category of the important event includes system failures and other issues, security problems, important updates, and more. Therefore, the speed action of webhooks ensures timely awareness and operation in response to critical situations.

  1. Reduced Latency: 

Webhooks provide instant updates that significantly help reduce latency compared to polling-based approaches. This is very useful, particularly in scenarios where timely information is critical, such as financial transactions, stock updates, or real-time monitoring systems.

Conclusion

Webhooks allow two applications to communicate with each other with complete security by providing a strong solution for real-time integration as well as automation. Webhook is an all-in-one solution for developers. Consequently, helps to understand the architecture, implementation, and potential use cases of webhooks. As the digital landscape continually increases, webhooks play a crucial role in shaping the interconnected nature of modern web development.

What else to read?

An illustration representing the article's topic of building a high-performance tech stack

Whether you’re developing software, web apps, or websites, you need a high-performing tech stack as a reliable tool. If you create them often, then it’s even more vital that you have built a tech stack for you.

With that in mind, here are some components your tech stack should have if you are a developer.

1. Robust Infrastructure

At the heart of any decent tech stack is a robust infrastructure that’s reliable and easy to navigate. Although we said, it’s the heart of a tech stack, a rich infrastructure forms the foundation of this tech stack like a backbone, ensuring that the software performs optimally and meets the demands of users.

A high-performance tech stack comprises various components, including programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and databases. However, even the most advanced technologies can only fall short with a solid infrastructure to support these components.

So, what exactly constitutes a robust infrastructure? It encompasses several vital elements, one of which would be your infrastructure’s ability to scale.

As your software grows and attracts more users, your infrastructure should be able to handle increased traffic and data volumes without compromising performance.

Reliability is another crucial aspect of a robust infrastructure. Your software should be available to users round-the-clock with minimal downtime or disruptions.

Security should always be a part of your tech stack, but we’ll cover that later.

With an excellent infrastructure, you ensure your application delivers optimal performance under varying loads while maintaining reliability and security standards.

2. Front-end Tech Stack

A front-end tech stack focuses explicitly on the client side of web development, meaning that it involves what users see and interact with when you’re developing or coding something. The goal is to prioritize user experiences overall instead of just focusing on looks.

When choosing a front-end tech stack, developers should consider various factors such as performance, scalability, flexibility, preferences and capabilities, and ease of maintenance. Some go-to choices for front-end tech stack languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript exist.

There are also frameworks such as ReactJS or AngularJS, which are pre-built components and libraries that simplify building complex user interfaces and speed up the development process for the developers.

You’ll create a more aesthetically appealing design by carefully picking your preferred front-end tech stack while ensuring your users don’t feel confused navigating your software.

3. Backend Tech Stack

If the front-end tech stack is about the user’s perspective, the backend is about the server-side or what the developers themselves see. It encompasses everything from the programming languages and frameworks used to build the server logic to the databases and servers that store and deliver data.

Your backend tech stack should think about data processing, managing user authentication, handling requests, and delivering responses. You should be paying more attention to your backend tech stack.

Some elements of your backend tech stack that you should be paying attention to should be:

  • APIs
  • Databases
  • Frameworks
  • Logic
  • Programming Language
  • Servers

You have to strike a balance since you want them to be lightweight enough so your programs don’t load too slowly. On the other hand, you also may need heavier frameworks and tools for the backend tech stack if you’re developing a more complex application.

4. Frameworks and libraries

Frameworks are the pre-built structures or templates that provide a foundation for developing applications. Think of them as the structure encompassing your entire program or software or what have you.

By using frameworks, developers can save time and effort by leveraging existing code and best practices and not trying to reinvent the wheel when creating the initial structure of your program.

On the other hand, libraries also consist of collections of pre-written code but only for part of the structure. Usually, they’re a collection of code for specific functionalities and tasks for a closer scope of work. For example, WebDataRocks is a JavaScript library that explicitly makes it easier to create pivot tables whenever needed for free.

Together, these tools help you develop your software more efficiently. By having the right frameworks and libraries to reference, you can accelerate the development process while ensuring code quality and reliability.

5. Efficient Database Management

Another crucial part of your high-performing tech stack would be how you manage your database. Since you will be retrieving and using specific datasets at any time as you create your code or program, you want to ensure an efficient database management system.

Some examples of a database management system would be Oracle, MongoDB, MySQL, Database Labs, and more.

6. Seamless Integration

You can enjoy a genuinely excellent tech stack if there is a smooth integration between all elements and features in your tech ecosystem. Including third-party software and other tools in your tech ecosystem ensures no conflicting elements can affect your end-users and your program overall.

7. Programming languages

Different programming languages have strengths and weaknesses that you must weigh before pursuing them. Consider your preferred programming language based on impact speed, memory usage, concurrency support, and overall performance.

For instance, if you need high-speed processing or low-level system access, C++ or Rust are good. On the other hand, if you prioritize developer productivity and ease of use without compromising performance too much, Python or JavaScript are viable options.

Note that some programming languages also evolve so that you can enjoy more functionalities over time.

8. User-Friendly Interface

Your front-end tech stack should contribute to that user-friendly interface your end-users will enjoy. With a clean and easy-to-navigate user interface or UI, your users won’t find it painful to use your software at the very least and would want to keep using it at the most.

9. Runtime environment

A runtime environment is a software framework that provides all the necessary tools and resources for executing and running the apps you made.

Consider compatibility, stability, and performance optimization when choosing a runtime environment for your high-performance tech stack.

It’s also good to look into the community support and ecosystem surrounding the runtime environment. A vibrant community ensures ongoing updates, bug fixes, and access to helpful resources that can aid in troubleshooting issues or optimizing performance.

10. Web Servers

If you’re developing a website, part of your web development tech stack should have web servers. The servers are responsible for responding to requests from the browser to retrieve information about your website from your database.

11. Security and Maintainability

When developing software, you must ensure your processes are secure so malicious entities don’t attack your end-users and servers. You also want to care about the maintainability of your tech stack because it ensures no downtime for your programs.

You should have an in-house cybersecurity team. However, you can hire a reliable external  software support service provider to help with maintenance and troubleshooting issues for more extensive operations and projects.

By prioritizing security and maintainability in your high-performance tech stack, you are working more on preventing security breaches than just dealing with them if they come. Aside from that, you also ensure the reliability of your software for your users.

Importance of a High-Performance Tech Stack

When you have a high-performing tech stack, you can start and end your projects faster without compromising on the quality of your software. Your programs then meet the demands of your users while optimizing your development process altogether.

That tech stack isn’t just something you will benefit from for one project. With a tech stack that you can rely on at any time, you can continuously finish projects efficiently, and it can scale with you and your projects, too.

Conclusion

These components are all going to boost your ability to create software not only faster but also with better quality results. That’s why, if you plan on formalizing and systematizing your tech stack, ensure these elements are in them.

This is a hyper-competitive era for mobile app development as startups and well-established enterprises are looking to transform their business digitally. Building human-centric custom mobile apps provides them with the ability to offer their services more creatively and conveniently. 

Consequently, companies that want to enhance their digital focus with a data-driven app strategy hire a reliable mobile app development company. Their expertise enables the digital transformation of complex and conventional businesses to achieve quantifiable success and ROI. 

Do you have a growth-accelerating app idea that you want to convert into a full-functioning mobile application? Read this blog to learn the comprehensive guide on mobile app development, including its process, trends, costs, etc.

What Does it Mean by Mobile App Development?

A mobile application or app is software built to run on a smartphone or tablet. The process of making this software for a mobile app, web app, online app, iPhone app, smartphone app, or hand-held device is called mobile app development. 

Based on the nature of the application, this software can be preinstalled on the device (utility app), downloaded from the App Store/Play Store, or accessed via a mobile web browser. 

Quality of the app development process and speed-to-market are critical for business success when the competition is at an all-time high. Therefore, the Agile development methodology is widely accepted for mobile app development due to its wide range of benefits, such as pragmatic and comprehensive processes, efficiency, improved quality, adaptability, flexibility, etc.

Mobile App Development: A Market Overview

The number of mobile applications is increasing with every passing year. With 1.8 million apps available on the App Store and 3.7 million Android apps on the Google Play Store, mobile apps are becoming a lucrative business opportunity.

In terms of revenue, Apple iOS is winning the race with $83 billion in revenue generated in 2022 and is expected to generate $125 billion by the end of 2027. Hence, if you are an entrepreneur or own a startup, you can look for a business opportunity in the mobile app market. Moreover, an enterprise can also build an app to expand its revenue stream or benefit from an increased audience. 

When we talk about the monetization strategy, premium apps, in-app purchases, and subscriptions are turning out to be some of the most revenue-generating streams. It is forecasted that $233 billion of app spending can be seen by the end of 2026 based on the given monetization methods. Therefore, you must carefully consider your strategy to generate incremental value from your mobile apps.

The number of subscriptions for smartphone mobile networks is increasing rapidly. It is expected to reach 7.7 billion by 2028 when countries like China, India, and the United States are at the top. This states why businesses focus on mobile app development to leverage an extended customer base. Given the stats, it is no wonder mobile apps have such a profound impact on businesses as well as our daily lives.

Top Mobile App Categories Popular in the Market 

It is possible that some of you have already come up with a basic idea or concept. Those who are starting from scratch may have no idea where to begin. Competitive analysis is one of the crucial parts of building a successful mobile app. You can take inspiration from the various apps available in the market to find out the features integrated, technology used, monetization methods, etc. 

Get inspired by the best mobile app ideas given below:

App Category Essential Features and Popular App Examples
eLearning App for the EdTech Industry
  1. Interactive Learning Modules
  2. Live Virtual Classes
  3. Progress Analytics and Insights
  4. Gamification for Engagement
  5. Offline Access to Course Content
Examples: Duolingo, Evernote
On-demand Grocery Delivery App
  1. Smart Shopping List Generator
  2. Voice-Based Ordering
  3. Real-time Inventory Status
  4. Personalized Product Recommendations
  5. Recipe and Meal Planning Integration
Examples: Instacart, DoorDash
eCommerce Mobile App
  1. Augmented Reality Product Preview
  2. Livestream Shopping
  3. In-app Chat Support for Customer Queries
  4. One-click Checkout with Digital Wallet
  5. User-generated Product Reviews with Photos and Videos
Examples: Amazon, eBay
On-demand Food Delivery App
  1. Dynamic Delivery Time Estimates
  2. Group Ordering and Bill Splitting
  3. In-app Table Reservation at Partner Restaurants
  4. AI-based Dietary Preference Recommendations
Examples: Uber Eats, GrubHub
Courier Delivery App
  1. Dynamic Pricing Based on Delivery Urgency
  2. Smart Route Optimization for Couriers
  3. In-app Photo Proof of Delivery
  4. In-app Instant Messaging with Couriers
  5. Parcel Locker Integration for Secure Pickup
Examples: FedEx Mobile, UPS My Choice
Healthcare and Fitness App
  1. Health and Fitness Assessment Tools
  2. Personalized Workout and Diet Plans
  3. Wearable Device Integration
  4. Virtual Coaching and Training Sessions
  5. Integration with Health Records for Health Professionals
Examples: MyFitnessPal, Fitbit
Mental Health and Wellness App
  1. Mood and Emotion Tracking with Insights
  2. Guided Mindfulness and Stress Reduction Exercises
  3. Teletherapy and Online Counseling Sessions
  4. Gratitude Journals and Daily Affirmations
  5. Community Support Groups and Forums
Examples: Headspace, Calm
Social Media App
  1. Advanced Content Discovery Algorithms
  2. Live Streaming with Interaction Features
  3. Augmented Reality (AR) Filters and Effects
  4. Ephemeral or Disappearing Content
  5. Personalized News Feed Based on User Interests
Examples: Instagram, Facebook
Cab/Taxi Booking App
  1. Dynamic Surge Pricing Alerts
  2. Split Fare with Friends
  3. Real-time Traffic and Road Closure Updates
  4. Multiple Stops for Multi-destination Rides
  5. Preferred Driver Requests for Frequent Users
Examples: Uber, Lyft
Online Video Streaming App
  1. Picture-in-Picture (PiP) Mode for Multitasking
  2. Cross-device Continuity (Seamless Switching)
  3. Adaptive Streaming Quality for Bandwidth Optimization
  4. Download Quality and Offline Viewing Preferences
  5. Co-watching and Virtual Watch Parties
Examples: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
Digital Wallet App
  1. Contactless In-store Payments (NFC)
  2. Integrated Budget and Expense Tracking
  3. Instant Bill Splitting and Payment Requests
  4. Loyalty Card Aggregation and Rewards
  5. Peer-to-peer Lending and Microloan Features
Examples: Apple Pay, Google Pay

Types of Mobile App Development

The types of mobile app development can be typically divided into 3 categories: 

  1. Native App Development: Generally divided into iOS and Android App Development, where the app is built for both mobile platforms separately using their Native app development technologies. 
  2. Hybrid/Cross-platform App Development: Here, the app is built using cross-platform app development frameworks like React Native, Flutter, Ionic, etc. Hybrid apps are also developed using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. 
  3. Web App Development: Web applications are accessed using mobile web browsers. These types of applications are famous, too, because they ensure that the application developed for the web offers a fast and responsive experience to mobile users.

Step-by-Step Guide to Mobile App Development

Remember that mobile app development is an iterative process, meaning you can move from one or two steps back and forth to generate a quality result.

Here are the steps to build a mobile app:

Planning This is the first phase of the app development, which includes requirement gathering.
  • Initial Conversation
  • Scope Review
  • Sprint Planning
  • Task Breakout
  • Initial Release Planning
Designing In this step, building the UI/UX design of the app is included.
  • User Flow
  • Brand Integration
  • Mockup
  • Prototype
  • Demo
Development This is the actual building part of the app development process, including coding.
  • Coding and Implementation
  • Version Control and Collaboration
  • Code Reviews
  • Testing Integration
  • Documentation
Testing Here, QA engineers will be checking the quality and performance of the application.
  • Regression Testing
  • Load Testing
  • Device Testing
  • Usability Testing
  • Status Report
Deployment After the app is developed and tested, it will be deployed on the App Store/ Play Store or the client-server as per their request.
  • Release Notes
  • Operation Sign Off
  • Launch on the Google App Store
  • Launch on the Apple App Store
  • App Maintenance

Refine the Mobile App Idea With MVP Development

Do you have an app idea but don’t know whether it will succeed in the market? What if you can launch it in the market with less budget to gauge the response from potential audience or target users? 

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development is an approach to building a software product or, in this case, a mobile app with essential features that represent your core idea or functionalities. This is a launch-ready version of the app; consider it as the first step towards ensuring the success of a mobile app. 

Once you get a positive response from the audience and gain enough traction, you can start with the scaling of the application. It minimizes the risk and expenditure before the full-fledged mobile application development.

Tech Stack Used in Mobile App Development

Here are the frameworks, platforms, and technologies used in building mobile applications.

Android App Development  Swift, Java
iOS App Development  Objective-C, Swift
Hybrid App Development Framework React Native, Flutter, Ionic
App SDK Xcode, Android Studio
UI Frameworks UIKit (iOS), Android XML Layouts (Android)
Server-side Languages Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java, etc.
Databases MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL
Payment Gateway Integration Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, and Square
Cloud Services Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud
Notifications and Messages Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), Apple Push Notification Service (APNs), In-App Messaging (real-time chat), Firebase Realtime, Socket.io
GPS Tracking Core Location (iOS), Google Location Services (Android), Google Maps API

Top Mobile App Development Service Providers

Here are the top companies providing mobile app development services:

  1. Successive Digital

It is a CMMI-3 certified next-gen digital solutions provider with over a decade of experience. With their domain expertise on various industry verticals, cloud consulting services, and commitment to delivering value-driven solutions, you can build scalable mobile apps.

  • Clutch Ratings: 4.9 (77 Reviews)
  • Hourly Rate: $25 – $49 / hr
  • Number of Employees: 1,000 – 9,999
  • Founded: 2012
  1. Naked Development

It is one of the most creative app development agencies you can find to hand over your app development project. You can get end-to-end app development solutions from them, including planning, designing, development, testing, and maintenance.

  • Clutch Ratings: 4.9 (28 Reviews)
  • Hourly Rate: $100 – $149 / hr
  • Number of Employees: 10 – 49
  • Founded: 2018
  1. Mercury Development

One of the oldest companies on our list is Mercury Development, making it a reliable source for app development services. From startups to enterprises, it provides its services catering to the needs of a wide variety of business sizes.

  • Clutch Ratings: 5.0 (25 Reviews)
  • Hourly Rate: $50 – $99 / hr
  • Number of Employees: 50 – 249
  • Founded: 1999
  1. CodigoDelSur

It is one of the best-known mobile app development companies with more than 15 years of experience. Moreover, this company has won many awards and accreditations for their exceptional services.

  • Clutch Ratings: 4.8 (40 Reviews)
  • Hourly Rate: $50 – $99 / hr
  • Number of Employees: 50 – 249
  • Founded: 2007
  1. Utility

This specialized company has a team of experienced and skilled professionals crafting custom mobile and web applications. They have experience working with various industry sectors, creating successful applications catering to users’ needs.

  • Clutch Ratings: 4.8 (25 reviews)
  • Hourly Rate: $100 – $149 / hr
  • Number of Employees: 50 – 249
  • Founded: 2013

What is the Total Cost of Building a Mobile App?

When you select an app idea and decide to build it, your next concern must be how much mobile app development costs. The total cost of developing a mobile app depends on its complexity— a simple app with basic functionality can cost you anywhere from 30,000 to $60,000. When you increase the complexity, the cost can range anywhere between $60,000 and $150,000. However, an advanced mobile app with a high level of complexity, features, API integration, and ample storage can cost you as much as $300,000 or more.

Other factors influence the mobile app development cost, such as app category, platform selection, app design, app security, testing cost, selected features and functionality, the cost of hiring mobile app developers, and more. Therefore, it is challenging to find out the exact cost of mobile app development. To give you an idea, the average cost of building a mobile app can range from $40,000 to $300,000 (or more as per the complexity).

How to Generate Revenue With Mobile Apps

As a business owner, you must be looking to make it a source of income. Fortunately, there are many methods to generate revenue through your mobile app, and you can select any one of them or use a combination of two or more methods. 

  1. Freemium: This model allows your users to access and utilize your application for free while keeping the selected features paid.
  2. Subscription Model: You can set the price of the paid subscription tiers with various features and functionalities for your user.
  3. In-app Purchases: In this type of model, you offer certain services or content to users for a set amount of price. This is one of the widely used revenue models combined with other ones.
  4. Advertisements: This is a simple trick of monetizing your application by approving ads in your application. However, your application must already be popular and have a set customer base to ensure this revenue stream works for your business.
  5. Affiliate Marketing: You can offer some affiliate links inside your application via advertisements to earn money. The benefit of this model is that you can negotiate with the brand you are affiliated with on how much commission you want.
  6. Collaboration With Brands: This model requires you to have marketing skills, as you have to be careful with brand positioning. You can build an app in collaboration with some brands or collaborate with them if you find your application niche.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to unpack regarding mobile app development, including budget, goals, timeline, technical skills, and app complexity. Moreover, it is essential to partner with a reliable and experienced company that you can trust to get custom mobile app development services. Ensure the company you hire has a proven track record of delivering best-in-class mobile apps for a wide range of industry verticals. Moreover, make sure to judge them based on competitive pricing, quality assurance, and maintenance services that can fulfill all your mobile app development needs.

What else to read?

Do you think building interactive data dashboards is difficult? 

We’ll prove exactly the opposite by walking you through the concept to a stunning dashboard creation with the help of WebDataRocks and AnyChart

What is WebDataRocks Pivot Table?

It’s a free JavaScript pivot table component that is compatible with all popular frameworks, server-side technologies, and other data visualization libraries. Being easy to set up, it provides all reporting features at hand – aggregating, filtering, sorting, and exporting to PDF, CSV, or Excel. Once you’ve connected to the data source, you can start getting meaningful insights.

What is AnyChart?

AnyChart is a JavaScript charting library that is easy to embed into any app. A lot of companies all around the world use its charts for the data visualization layer of their projects. Its API properties and methods allow for defining the custom appearance and behavior of charts. 

Another thing we’d like to highlight is its rich gallery of ready-to-use samples and the Chartopedia guide, where you can learn about the structure and purpose of all chart types.

What do you get after completing this tutorial?

A responsive business dashboard that can be embedded in any project. The pivot table aggregates the data while the charting library turns it into intelligible visualizations. 

Required technical skills

This tutorial presumes you are well familiar with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. For starters, this will be enough to create the following dashboard, as we will guide through all of the process.

Alright, let’s get started!

Collect your data

The first and foremost step we need to take is to retrieve the data from available data sources and save it in a single CSV or JSON file. Make sure the data is cleaned and standardized. On top of that, data should be complete and accurate. Otherwise, we may end up with misleading results of data analysis. Learn more about JSON and CSV formats supported in WebDataRocks.

Define goals and your target audience 

Before moving to practice, an important step is to identify the goals of your data analysis and ask the questions we want to get answers for.

Let’s imagine we work in a retail company that needs to analyze its annual profit by months, countries, and product categories. To satisfy its reporting needs, we need to implement a simple BI solution that shows critical metrics. 

Install WebDataRocks

Now it’s time to set up your reporting tool

There are three ways to carry this out. 

  1. Download a package and add its files to your project.
  2. Add WebDataRocks scripts and styles to the <head>section of your page.
    <link href="https://cdn.webdatarocks.com/latest/webdatarocks.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <script src="https://cdn.webdatarocks.com/latest/webdatarocks.toolbar.min.js"></script>
    <script src="https://cdn.webdatarocks.com/latest/webdatarocks.js"></script>
  3. Install WebDataRocks via npm
    npm install @webdatarocks/webdatarocks  

Additionally, you can add styles of report themes to prettify your component.

If you need more details, please refer to the Quick start guide

Create a Pivot Table

Add the container where the pivot table should be rendered:

<div id="pivot-container"></div>

Embed the component in it using new WebDataRocks() API call: 

var pivot = new WebDataRocks({
    container: "#pivot-container",
    toolbar: true,
    report: {
        dataSource: {}
    }
});

Now we need to tell the component from where to catch the data. 

We have at least two ways of doing it:

  • Specify the link to the CSV/JSON dataset.
    dataSource: {
        filename: "URL-to-data"
    }
  • Set the name of the function that returns the JSON data.
    dataSource: {
        data: getData()
    }

Build a report

The pivot table component is filled with the data. Let’s start exploring it!

Firstly, we need to organize the data on the grid so that it is comprehensible for the end-users. To achieve this, we define which hierarchies we want to see in the rows and columns as well as measures that should be at the center of attention.

Here is a sample of the slice object that describes a subset of the data:

"slice": {
        "rows": [
            {
                "uniqueName": "Country"
            }
        ],
        "columns": [
            {
                "uniqueName": "Product Category"
            },
            {
                "uniqueName": "Measures"
            }
        ],
        "measures": [
            {
                "uniqueName": "Profit",
                "aggregation": "sum"
            }
        ]
    }

This particular slice answers the following question: “How much profit did each country bring?”

If we sort the data, we’ll discover which country brought the most/least profit. Also, it’s possible to filter the data and create calculated values to measure custom metrics.

Note that we can change this slice anytime to get a different view of the data and answer other questions. This is what makes this tool so flexible

Highlighting report metrics

To draw attention to the most important values, we can apply conditional formatting to the cells. 

We can format the numbers tidily via the UI as well:

Save the report

Save the tabular report in a JSON file to be able to pick up where you left off later.

Install AnyChart

To get access to charts, we need to add the script file to the <head> section of the page:

<script src="https://cdn.anychart.com/releases/8.6.0/js/anychart-base.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

And a container where the chart should be rendered:

<div id="chartContainer"></div>

Process the data

The next step is to transform the data into the format that is suitable for the chart type we are going to use.

Our goal is to write a code which does the following:

  1. Retrieves the data from the pivot table.
  2. Processes the data to the appropriate structure.
  3. Sends this data to the newly created chart.
  4. Sends updated data to the existing chart if the grid’s report is changed.

But how do we find out when the pivot table is ready to provide the data?

This is where reportcomplete event comes in handy. It’s triggered once the pivot table is rendered and ready to show the report.

Let’s attach an event handler to it and create the function that implements the above-mentioned scenario. 

reportcomplete: function() {
    pivot.off("reportcomplete");
    createPieChart();
}

In createPieChart(), we use webdatarocks.getData() method to request the data from the specified slice and pass it to callbackHandler and updateHandler. callbackHandler defines what should happen as soon as the pivot component is created and the data is ready to be passed. It accepts one argument – a rawData object which has to be processed for the selected type of chart. You can do it by implementing an additional function (e.g. prepareDataFunction()). After the data is prepared, we initialize the chart and fill it with this data.

updateHandler is called once some change occurs in the report (the data is updated/sorted/filtered). We’ll use it for updating the chart’s data at change.

To keep the tutorial brief and simple, we don’t include all code here – please refer to this demo. There you’ll also see how to implement prepareDataFunction().

Results

It’s time to enjoy the results of your great work!

You are ready to use an interactive data dashboard that can assist as a BI tool and provides insights into the levels of profits of a particular company. It looks simple yet it’s very effective when it comes to decision-making. 

We encourage you to experiment – change the slice interactively, drill through the values to see which records are hidden behind.

Check out the CodePen demo!

Wrapping it all up

In this tutorial, we learned how to set up a dashboard in your app using JavaScript and two free data visualization libraries that perfectly complement each other – WebDataRocks and AnyChart. We do hope these tools will make a positive impact on decision-making in your business.

Dive deeper

If you have any questions about the structure of a rawData object returned by getData(), please refer to this article.

If you are interested in creating multilevel hierarchies, check out our guide

In case of any other questions related to WebDataRocks functionality, please post them on StackOverflow.

Do you have a React, Vue or Angular app? Read our available tutorials on integrations.

What else to read?

pivot table js with Chart.js

Data visualization is the key 21st-century skill. It’s crucial for making information easier to perceive and holding the interest of an audience longer.

A dashboard is a preferred tool for building effective data visualizations. Dashboards help to fully reveal insights about your data and share them among departments easily. Most often, they present an interactive way to visualize the data and contain charts, graphs, controls, grids, and pivot tables. Such a combination of elements enhances the understanding of the data.

This step-by-step tutorial is aimed at mastering your visualization skills using two free & flexible JavaScript libraries.

Prerequisites

To go through this tutorial, you need to have a bit of understanding of JS and HTML.

What will you get

As a result, you’ll get a dashboard with well-crafted charts and an analytical pivot table, which is ready to be embedded into an app.

Tools for data visualization

The first tool is a pivot table component.

WebDataRocks is a free JavaScript pivot table control that integrates with various frameworks including React, Angular, Vue and works smoothly in any modern browser. It supports connecting to CSV & JSON data sources. The essential functionality for effective web reporting is at your disposal: aggregation functions, calculated values, multiple filtering options, sorting, exporting to PDF, HTML, and Excel. The features are available both from UI and a broad API.

To make your pivot table even more visually appealing, you can customize it:

The simplest way to get started with WebDataRocks is from the Quick start guide. For React, Angular and Vue developers, there are npm packages available.

The second tool is a charting library.

Charts.js is an open-source JavaScript charting library. Its charming visualizations managed to steal the hearts of many developers, data analysts, and designers.

Being extremely lightweight and responsive, it offers eight basic types of charts: bar, line, pie, radar, polar area, bubble, scatter and area.

What makes this library stand out is its out-of-the-box customization options:

You can find everything about installing it in your project and configuring your first chart in the comprehensible documentation. It covers various aspects of working with charts.

Let’s move on to powering up your project with analytics and visualization!

TL;DR: If you are eager to play with the demo, hop right to the last section with examples.

Prepare your data

Every data visualization starts with the data. Once you’ve collected your dataset, you are ready to move on.

Step 1: Install WebDataRocks

You have three options of adding a pivot table to your project.

  1. Download a package into your project.
  2. Use a CDN to add WebDataRocks scripts and styles to your HTML page:
    <link href="https://cdn.webdatarocks.com/latest/webdatarocks.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <script src="https://cdn.webdatarocks.com/latest/webdatarocks.toolbar.min.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn.webdatarocks.com/latest/webdatarocks.js"></script> 
  3. Install WebDataRocks as an npm package:
    npm install @webdatarocks/webdatarocks

Next, add the container where you want to display the pivot table:

<div id="pivot-container"></div>

Initialize the pivot table instance on your page by writing this JS code:

var pivot = new WebDataRocks({
    container: "#pivot-container",
    toolbar: true,
    report: {
        dataSource: {
            filename: "https://cdn.webdatarocks.com/data/data.csv"
        }
    }
});

Step 2: Create a report

Now that you see the pivot table is rendered on the page and filled with data, it’s time to define a slice – a fundamental part of the report that specifies the hierarchies for the rows, columns, and measures. At this step, choose an aggregation function to apply to your measures. You can change it anytime later. If you want to create a custom measure, take advantage of calculated values.

Define a slice like in the snippet below:

"slice": {
    "rows": [{
        "uniqueName": "Country",
        "sort": "asc"
    }],
    "columns": [{
        "uniqueName": "Measures"
    }],
    "measures": [{
        "uniqueName": "Profit",
        "aggregation": "sum"
    }]
}

Step 3: Customizing appearance

To highlight the values on which you need to focus, apply conditional formatting via UI:

Step 4: Install ChartJS into your project

You have two options of adding this library to your app:

  1. Use a CDN to add the link to the library to the <head> section of your HTML page:
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/Chart.js/2.7.2/Chart.js"></>
  2. Or use an npm package:
    npm install chart.js --save

Then, define where the chart will be rendered by adding an HTML5 Canvas placeholder and set the size of this canvas:

<canvas id="polarChart" width="800 height="500"></canvas>

Adding an ID to the canvas element is necessary for the library to know in which container chart will be rendered. When adding multiple charts, every ID must be unique.

Create a canvas context:

var ctx = document.getElementById("polarChart").getContext('2d');

Step 5: Pass the data from the pivot table to the charts

Let’s add a bit of real-time interaction between the components.

We need to do the following: wait until the data is ready, get the data from the pivot table, prepare it to the format required for charts, and create a chart.

Firstly, we get the data from the pivot table as soon as the pivot table is rendered (line 74 in our example):

reportcomplete: function() {
	pivot.off("reportcomplete");
	createPolarAreaChart();
}

The second step is to define createPolarAreaChart() which will get the data we need from the pivot table (line 82 in our example). To achieve that, we used the getData() method. It requests the data from the current report and asynchronously passes this data to callbackHandler and updateHandler. Additionally, you can define which data you’d like to get. callbackHandler should draw the chart and updateHandler should redraw the chart on updates.

The third step is to draw the chart. We prepare the data to the format required for the polar chart (line 121 in our
example), set the necessary options for the chart and render it (lines 122-164).

Final step

Hooray! Now you have a responsive dashboard with data visualization capabilities of charts and pivot table:

Feel free to embed it into any project and share with your colleagues. Experience real-time interaction: rearrange the hierarchies by using the drag-and-drop feature of the pivot table or set different aggregations. Filter the records and see how immediately the chart reacts to these changes.

Try experimenting to get fabulous results!

Thank you for reading!

Try it on CodePen

About WebDataRocks:

About Chartjs:

Integration with other charting libraries

If you are still wondering what is the best charting library for you, you can try amCharts, Highcharts, Google Charts and FusionCharts in a combination with WebDataRocks.

What else to read?

PHP remains popular for web development, with new trends emerging.

PHP holds a market share of 49.47%, which sets it as one of the most popular programming languages. With popular languages like Python, JavaScript, Golang, and other languages being developed, the need for PHP still stays. With more than 70% of web pages still developed using PHP, businesses hold on to scripting language to utilize the extensive performance track for PHP.

PHP offers numerous benefits for developers to build superior web applications per the client’s requirements. It is important to choose the right PHP website development company as a key source to develop robust web development solutions.

At a Glance: PHP

PHP works as an open-source scripting language that stands for HyperText Preprocessor. As a widely recognized language, it can be used for developing neoteric web solutions ranging from a simple blogging website to a full-fledged eCommerce website. PHP can be embedded with HTML to develop varied web pages and applications. 

High-end brands like Facebook, Tumblr, Wikipedia, Mailchimp, Swiggy, and many more count as users of PHP. Initially, the framework was known as a personal home page, and in later stages, it got a professional name and interface. With 78.9% of businesses using some of the best-known frameworks, Laravel, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, Phalcon, etc.

Latest PHP Development Trends to Look Around

PHP holds a dynamic future in the coming times. With the latest updates and technical advancements, here are some of the latest trends that build around PHP.

Cloud Web Application With PHP

The storage of large data sets is a concern for businesses today. Cloud-based infrastructures are being built by the majority of firms. Various studies found that cloud services and PHP work well together. Due to affordability and the ability to create scalable and secure online applications, PHP tends to be the preferred technology partner.

Voice Search Optimization

Searching via voice is a popular PHP development service. Web designers are integrating speech features into websites as a result of the widespread of digital voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. The larger sections of consumers prefer using voice search over writing search queries, as per the surveys. It is possible to develop feature-rich and innovative web applications using the top Frameworks for PHP. There are several PHP frameworks that include a templating engine, which makes it possible to build visually appealing user interfaces.

Creating Smarter Chatbots

Chatbots are the best example of machine-based languages and artificial intelligence that have gained a ranged popularity in recent years. As per the sources, PHP-based tools and frameworks are the best way to build chatbots all due to open-source language that is an easy use for developers.

As an innovative tool that can help in creating user chatbots for websites in a cost-effective manner, a PHP development company can exclusively use the scripting language for “Conversation Agents,” as it impresses with many libraries available for you to choose from the API.

Improved Security Interface of Website

PHP development tools can be utilized to embed robust cybersecurity solutions to secure your web pages effectively. With the gradual change, it has been seen that people prefer online shopping, and with online portals comes the risk of cyberattacks and security breaches. Paytm Wallet, Amazon Pay, and PayPal are some popular mobile wallets that are commonly used by people. If the application of your business is based on mobile commerce, integrating a payment structure gateways works as a secure medium.   

Concluding Thought

PHP sets as an easier and cheaper to deploy into compatible servers. At edge, it also holds a server of different scripting languages and operates on Linux and Windows integration without hassles. With its simple and flexible coding interface, a PHP framework is embedded with avant-garde technological developments to date. PHP development services aim to provide powerful server-sides for building web pages and applications effectively.

With the rate of growth, it shows positive signs to rule the web development with its dominant presence. The given trends give a glimpse into the latest on-go dynamic interface that can keep developers connected with transformative technologies.


Thank you our writer author Adam Parker a PHP developer at HTMLPanda. He loves to write and create write-ups that can inculcate PHP-based updates and the latest trends.


What else to read?

In the ever-evolving software development landscape, having the right backend tech stack for your project is pivotal. Your choice can significantly impact the project’s delivery, performance, scalability, security, and success. 

According to Sytian, a leading web designer philippines company with expertise in web app and software development – tech stack is basically the tools you will use for your product development. It is an array of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, APIs, and more, is the foundation upon which you and your team members will build your software product. 

In this article, we’ll explore eight essential tips to guide you in making the most informed decisions on choosing your tech stack.

What is a Tech Stack?

A tech stack, or technology stack, represents the combination of tools and technologies developers use to create a software solution. 

The tech stack has two main components: the client side and the server side. The client-side, or frontend, pertains to what the user interacts with, while the server-side, or backend, manages data, processing, and server operations. 

Choosing the right tech stack is a critical early step in the development process.

Let’s begin! 

1. Project Requirements

Defining project requirements is essential to begin with. Selecting the right tech stack for your software project starts with a comprehensive understanding of its unique requirements. 

It’s important to consider factors such as the scope of functions, application size, and complexity to make an informed choice. 

Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) can be a practical approach if you’re looking to test or validate an idea. A small MVP developed with open-source Content Management System (CMS) technology can be a cost-effective and efficient way to test the feasibility of your concept. 

Considering these factors, you can make an informed decision and choose a tech stack that meets your project’s needs.

2. Scope of Project

Regarding smaller-scale projects, delivery speed can be a top priority, often taking precedence over advanced technologies and frameworks. 

In such cases, building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) quickly may be an attractive option to present to the customer and obtain valuable feedback. 

Utilizing simple tools and open-source platforms can help you achieve this goal effectively. Opting for simpler technologies can save time and money while still delivering a functional product. 

This approach may benefit startups and small businesses looking to test the waters with a new idea or concept. Often, MVPs are also used in getting funding for a project.

3. Scalability and Flexibility

Thinking ahead to your project’s long-term goals is crucial. Consider whether you will need to scale the application in the future or integrate it with other systems or technologies. 

Selecting a tech stack with scalability and flexibility ensures your system can adapt to changing business requirements and user needs. It keeps you ahead of the competition and enhances the user experience. 

Opting for a cloud-ready tech stack can save you time and resources by reducing the need for on-premise infrastructure and facilitating easy scaling.

4. Security and Privacy

In the digital age, ensuring the security and privacy of your application and its users is paramount. While no technology can guarantee absolute protection, you should be discerning about the technologies and practices you implement to safeguard data. 

Choose frameworks that regularly release updates and provide additional support, as this can help protect your application from emerging threats. 

Consider implementing security tools such as static vulnerability analysis tools (SAST), vulnerability scanners, container analysis, and dependency analyzers to enhance your project’s security posture.

5. Development Time

Time to market is often a crucial concern for businesses. To expedite development, consider a tech stack where the front and backend technologies are aligned. 

Using JavaScript throughout the tech stack can streamline development, as it allows for full-stack development and easy data exchange between client and server. 

You can take this further by using a JSON-Object-based database like MongoDB, further simplifying development and data management.

Always consult with a senior team member to come up with a timeline. Consider this step an integral component of the project’s discovery phase. Calculate the necessary hours for each endeavor and meticulously document them, as this information will prove valuable in the subsequent stages of the project.

6. User’s Experience

A positive user experience is crucial for any software project’s success. That’s why selecting a tech stack that enhances the user experience while enabling rapid product upgrades is essential. 

Delivering a high-quality experience and promptly gathering user feedback for product enhancements can set your project apart in a competitive landscape. 

By prioritizing user experience, you can create an intuitive, easy-to-use product tailored to your target audience’s needs. Users are more likely to return to a product that provides a positive experience, leading to increased engagement and higher customer satisfaction. 

Therefore, choosing a tech stack that prioritizes user experience and enables quick upgrades to meet evolving user needs is important.

7. Cost Implications

When selecting a tech stack, being mindful of the financial aspect is crucial. Not all technologies are open-source, and licensing costs can vary, making it difficult to predict the overall project cost. That’s why it’s wise to outline a budget you’re willing to allocate for your tech stack. 

This proactive approach helps prevent financial issues and ensures that your project remains on a stable financial footing. By setting a budget early on, you can make informed decisions about the technologies and tools you use in your project. 

Getting honest with the budget can help you avoid unexpected costs and ensure that your project is financially sustainable in the long run.

8. Development Team Expertise

The skills and experience of your development team play a significant role in tech stack selection. Ensure that your team possesses the expertise to work with the chosen technologies and tools. 

Evaluate their familiarity with the selected stack, as a skilled team can significantly impact the project’s efficiency and success.

Conclusion

Choosing the right backend tech stack for your project is a crucial decision that can influence its performance, scalability, security, and overall success. 

By carefully assessing project requirements, considering scalability, prioritizing security, and aligning your tech stack with your development team’s expertise, you can set your project up for success. Keep the user experience and budget in mind and stay agile to adapt to future needs. 

Ultimately, your tech stack should be a strategic asset that empowers your project to thrive in a dynamic digital landscape.

Thank you our writer Lili Griffin a Web Developer and Adwords specialist by day and a binge Netflix watcher at night.


What else to read?

Today, businesses look for novel methods to improve consumer experiences, optimize processes, and maintain competitiveness. In order to accomplish these goals, application development is essential, and Laravel is a potent PHP framework that has revolutionized the field. 

Hire dedicated Laravel app developers who use special features such as routing options, session management, verification, capture, etc., for transforming enterprise web applications. Because of its templates, functionalities, and simplicity of use, Laravel is a favorite among most developers.

Additionally, Laravel is the preferred framework for the majority of PHP programmers. Here, you will see the way businesses create applications is changing because Laravel has powerful capabilities and a developer-friendly approach, which are listed in this article.

But what is Laravel?

Modern PHP applications can be built using tools and resources provided by the free and open-source Laravel framework. With a full ecosystem utilizing its built-in capabilities and a range of compatible packages and extensions, Laravel has witnessed a sharp increase in popularity in recent years, with many developers choosing it as their go-to framework for an efficient development process.

Websites, online stores, ticketing systems, dashboards, ordering platforms, and administrator backends for real-time web applications all use it.

The framework was made for growth and is very scalable. Laravel incorporates the greatest features of numerous web frameworks, including those built using entirely different programming languages.

Tips on how Laravel is transforming the development of Enterprise applications:

  • Effective ORM for rapid development:

Database administration is made easier by Laravel’s Eloquent Object-Relational Mapping, which enables developers to communicate with databases using an easy-to-use syntax. This functionality substantially speeds up application development for businesses.

With Laravel handling the core database processes, Laravel developers can concentrate on business logic and functionality. For enterprise applications, this leads to shorter development cycles and speedier time to market.

  • Open-source:

Laravel is an open-source, free framework that may be used by commercial organizations wishing to invest in a web application. Its popularity among developers is partly due to its advanced features.

An open-source framework has several advantages, including no license fees and being modified to meet specific project needs.

You are all well aware of how different aspects of a business determine how an enterprise application must function. Laravel is your best option in that circumstance.

  • Highly-secure:

Laravel is a very secure PHP framework that prevents any attempts by malware from infiltrating the web application. It protects website data and code from all types of hacking activities. Your web application will be secure against cyberattacks if you employ a dedicated Laravel developer. The excellent performance of Laravel’s web applications is another benefit.

It makes use of several tools to assist the developers in enhancing the functionality of web applications. That means if a business uses the Laravel framework to create a web application, it will perform far better than other web apps.

  • Modern Architecture:

As a result of their diverse business requirements, businesses usually seek complex, feature-rich applications. Laravel’s modular architectural approach makes building scalable and simple-to-maintain applications easier.

Laravel equips developers to break down large projects into more manageable, reusable components by leveraging technologies like Composer for effective package management. The organization of the code is improved by this modularity, which also encourages more effective team cooperation.

Large-scale corporate projects are subsequently much easier to manage, allowing teams to collaborate effectively and create sophisticated, adaptive solutions that perfectly match the enterprise’s changing needs.

  • Effortless Data Migration:

It is a difficult task to do database migration for transforming web applications. When given the duty of database migration, even the most experienced developers need help with difficulties. As a business owner, you may want a database migration service to develop an enterprise application.

It is crucial to hire a Laravel development company with the tools necessary to increase the database structure without starting from scratch to handle situations like this. As a result, there is a far lower chance of losing any crucial data.

  • Scalable and performance optimization:

The need for reliable applications increases as businesses grow. To properly satisfy these expanding needs, Laravel is a PHP framework that provides remarkable scalability features. In order to handle increasing workloads across several servers, it supports distributed systems.

While content caching speeds up response times by saving frequently accessed material, database clustering ensures data performance and dependability. Hire dedicated Laravel app developers who use performance-enhancing techniques that only load resources when required and query optimization, which optimizes database queries for effectiveness.

The combination of these strategies helps to make faster response times and a more seamless user experience possible.

  • Robust testing and debugging:

It is essential to guarantee top-notch quality when developing enterprise applications. As a PHP framework, Laravel goes above by offering a full complement of testing tools and a very clear syntax for creating test cases.

The duty of development teams in confirming the dependability and stability of their apps is made easier by this potent combination. Laravel’s skillful error handling and strong logging features further stream the debugging process.

This improves the enterprise system’s overall resilience and dependability by decreasing downtime and the negative effects of problems in production situations.

  • Unit testing infrastructure:

Any process used to develop a web application is lacking without adequate testing. Before the application’s official release, testing it once the coding is complete is crucial. The web application’s performance, speed, and security will be evaluated.

Django vs. laravel 2023 is more appropriate for huge, complicated projects, whereas Laravel is more typically selected for smaller, lighter applications.

Any programming framework you use nowadays will have a variety of development tools. However, Laravel is one of the few frameworks that can be tested. You don’t need to test the web application separately because it can run numerous unit tests.

Summing it up

In developing enterprise applications, Laravel has grown to be a formidable force. You will learn how businesses create and manage their apps is changing due to its modular architecture, security features, support for APIs, testing tools, scalability choices, and active community.

Laravel has contributed to change in enterprise application development that is expected to become even more significant in the upcoming years. Hire Laravel experts who are better equipped to address the evolving needs of the digital ecosystem and provide their customers with enhanced experiences.

Thank you to our guest author Maulik Shah, CEO of BiztechCS. He often takes the front seat in the company’s development projects as he enjoys solving problems through technology. Maulik ensures that his interaction with development is frequent enough, and his industry knowledge is ever-evolving so that he can share it.


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