Maintaining the work of a large online store is not an easy technical task. It is necessary to integrate many different IT-systems and maintain their steady operation. Among them are payment systems, inventory accounting, storefront management, etc. There are two ways to do this: Use the CMS prepared for online store or write your own.
When the result of such online store is in the idea of developing a mobile app, it has come to know that this is another difficult task. Such an app should be compatible to integrate with the online store structure and system.
To do this, top ecommerce app development companies need to know what is involved in the project. With it, they can make accurate estimations of the cost of the project. Based on this knowledge, they can begin the development.
What to do to start development
Design one normally; this process can be divided into four steps:
- Developers study projects - research projects and describe all those systems with which it is integrated;
- What do analysts and designers want from those apps - they create prototypes of the interface with the customer;
- Developers find out how all this will work - design API architecture and server-side;
- Designers attract what content management looks like - design an application's admin panel.
In this article we will talk about the main issues of the first phase - it is the most important. All subsequent steps depend on what the top mobile app development companies have already figured out. A detailed analysis of design interfaces, administrative panels, API architecture, and servers will be discussed.
Research Systems and Details of Project Systems
Here, it is important for developers to understand how the application will be organized, i.e. what services and systems in online store need to be integrated into the app API.
What is an API and why it is needed?
APIs are a set of agreements that the various services, systems and parts of the applications should exchange data with each other.
When it comes to mobile apps, the API is required to connect to the online store server and client in the IT system, i.e. the mobile app. The API helps in negotiating the way to exchange data.
Top mobile app development companies cannot transfer data from the server to the app and vice versa. To do this, you must agree to the data transfer format.
When compromise, i.e., the API is ready, apps and servers can communicate. The server collects data from the IT system, converts it into a readable format and sends it to the mobile app and vice versa.
So what should be integrated into the API?
In order to design an API, you will need to know the systems with which it will be integrated and how these systems are built.
- List accounts system
It tells the app what products are on sale. This is necessary to prevent order for the products actually existed. This system integrates and receives data from the stock balance accounting system.
Stock of goods
It gives a person the opportunity to choose a delivery address where a particular online store distributes goods.
Prototype Interface
When the developers have studied and understood the project, you can start describing the tasks of future apps and drag the interface prototype.
What do you need to know about this step?
The way a person interacts with a mobile app, it differs from how it interacts with this site. In addition, the app cannot show the same amount of luggage or banner on the desktop screen, because mobile devices have their limitations on screens. In the design phase, you have to understand the content to immediately show the user, how to create navigation through the mobile app's catalogues or functions. Developers will recognize this and create prototype interface.
In addition, users of different platforms - iOS and Android - have their user habits. For example, Android smartphones have a back button, and this does not happen on iOS smartphones. IOS users are used to push "back" buttons inside the app, and Android users do not need it. Users of different platforms interact with apps in a variety of ways, so the app design guidelines for each platform will
be different. Mobile app designers know all these features and keep them in mind while creating the interface. The knowledge and experience of web designer is not enough here.
Functions that incorporate developers into the interface prototype affect the data that the app needs to get from the server. That's to say, services and systems are included in the API architecture. After designing the interface, design the API and server side.
This process will affect the interface prototype. After that, only the administrative panels are designed.
Administrative Panel Design
Why is this forum important? Mobile app is an additional showcase for an online store. Unlike the site, the app has a different size, format, and method of conversation. People often see sites sitting on the table, while applications are used in transport and on the go. At the same time, a person understands different information.
There are various technical capabilities in the applications. For example, push notifications can be sent to an app user. It creates an additional communication channel that needs to be managed through administrative panels.
What to do with all this?
Working on a mobile app for a large online store is a complex and unorthodox process. Before developing an application for e-commerce site, customers need to understand how content is organized. It is advisable to prepare for long term communication with the contractor, and then the communication will be very easy and fast. This is worth it because the profit is before profits increase.
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