Custom Asp.net Application Development for Great Web and Mobile Apps
ASP.NET is a powerful web application development platform and these days most custom ASP.NET application development companies target mainly mobile devices when building websites as it allows leveraging most of the features in the mobile apps also.
Development in .Net is still challenging for most of the developers all around the world. Mobile application development does not differ substantially from the web development. ASP.NET provides System.Web.Mobile namespace to create mobile applications. The only complexity that comes during the mobile development is in terms of device detection and screen size.
The enterprise users rely on the browser, tablet and there will be a considerable increase in the use of mobile devices in the coming future.
Types of apps
Mobile apps have changed the focus of users from the web to the apps on the mobile devices. There are different types of apps: Native apps, Web or HTML5 apps and Hybrid apps.
Native Apps
Native apps are specific to a mobile platform like Android or iOS. The apps are created using the development tools like Xcode and Eclipse for iOS and Android apps respectively.
The native apps provide
Better usability
Features like double taps, UI gestures
Best overall mobile experience
Ease of use
Built-in components
Fast graphics API
The apps are developed using IDE (Integrated Development Environment) that provide various tools for developing, debugging and version control of the code. In order to create native apps, the developers need more experience and it is challenging for them as it is not a copy-paste approach that is possible in languages like Objective-C.
The benefits of native apps include faster performance and consistent look & feel.
Web Apps or HTML Apps
Web apps or HTML5 apps use different technologies to create web apps. HTML5 is being used to create responsive apps. The use of HTML5, CSS and JS follows the approach of writing the code once and using it anywhere. This approach is best for creating cross-platform mobile apps. There is no doubt in the performance of the apps created using this approach, but there are some vital limitations like the security of offline stored data and access to the native functionality of the device.
HTML5 app is basically a web page that runs on a mobile screen. The apps can be opened using any modern browser. The developer is comfortable making web apps as compared to native or hybrid apps.
Hybrid Apps
Hybrid apps are basically developed with the best or worst features of both the native and the web apps. It is a web app that is built using HTML5 and then it is wrapped in a native container that provides direct access to the native platform of the mobile device.
Most of the developers are taking experience in these apps by optimizing JavaScript and using CSS for beautiful layouts that works on any mobile platform. There is no need to compromise on the amazing features for the mobile app.
The hybrid app can be implemented using two ways. The first method is to keep the code inside the mobile binary similar to a native application code. REST APIs are used in this case and the other method implements complete web app from the server.
Why need a mobile engagement platform?
A custom ASP.NET application development company must offer great apps that run cross-platform and connect a set of backend data. The developers must use mobile-optimized APIs and real time mobile analytics to improve user engagement.
An engagement platform is necessary because:
The mobile engagement demands an innovative set of capabilities
The engagement platform improves new design principles
Provides best-of-breed options
Open APIs and ease of integration
Data protection
Challenges of custom application development
Despite the emerging enterprise mobility, there are some significant challenges that are being faced by a number of organizations.
Resource restraint
The corporations usually have the in-house programming talent, but most of the talent is on Windows, not on the mobile platforms like Android and iOS.
Organizational challenge
The link between IT corporations and the LOB is very weak and it becomes difficult to even organize meetings in both the groups.
Client challenge
The biggest challenge in custom application development has been the ever evolving business and technology requirements.
Lack of metrics
Many companies are yet to make standards for measuring the success of mobile apps.
Applications across multiple platforms
Line-of-business applications will be available on mobile platforms in the near future. Fragmentation is the biggest challenge in such applications. Mobile application development also has its own set of challenges.
PhoneGap is one of the latest platforms to create mobile applications that work with JavaScript, HTML and CSS.
Visual Studio is an amazing collection of tools along with services that are used to develop applications for different platforms like desktop, web, cloud and mobile. It provides the best development environment that is required to build applications for these platforms.
Windows desktop applications
Powerful desktop applications can be created using .Net managed code. WPF desktop applications are the most popular ones and can be created using Visual Studio IDE. The .Net framework provides the full windows capabilities to create various desktop technologies.
Windows phone
Windows phone apps can be created using Visual Studio and languages like C++, XAML, etc. Games can also be developed using the IDE. Portable class libraries are available that allows to build cross platform apps.
Websites
ASP.NET is the most powerful framework to create web applications and services. Dynamic web apps can be created using ASP.NET MVC. RESTful web services are available to create web APIs. The powerful design of ASP.NET framework allows the rapid development of the websites using an event-driven model.
SharePoint development
SharePoint apps can be created by using ASP.NET as the backend technology. The apps can then be hosted in Windows Azure or in the datacenter.
The SharePoint apps can be published in the corporate app catalog and distributed at the Office store.
Windows Azure
Windows Azure services can be created, debugged and managed in the Visual Studio itself. Web applications can also be developed that shows the broad range of Windows Azure hosting.
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