Pro’s and Con’s of Using WordPress

WordPress is the most popular platform for building websites and powers millions of websites. WordPress is very user friendly, simply put, it makes website building easy. WordPress is great because you can customize with thousands of website templates and design that you can choose from. Each template/design comes with different options for customizing which allows the user to create very unique websites.

From experience working at a wordpress development company, Highlighted in this article are some of the pro’s and con’s of using WordPress.

A few WordPress Pros:

1. User Friendly CMS. WordPress is extremely simple to organize content without having a background in website management. It’s easy to navigate through content and the pages on a WordPress site.

2. Plugins. A major bonus for WordPress is that there are over 50,000 mostly free and paid plugins that are available to users. These plugins help the users customize and enhance any WordPress site.

3. SEO. SEO is now more important than ever so best SEO practices follow suit. WordPress does a good job of promoting best practices and offers a wide variety of plugins to optimize content, keywords, and meta tags.

A few WordPress cons:

1. Vulnerability. One major con for WordPress is that’s it’s extremely vulnerable and easy to hack into. Someone was able to hack into our website that we built on WordPress using our website.wp-admin and logged in. Since it is an open-source platform this makes it attractive to potential hackers.Being an open-source platform, WordPress is attractive to potential hackers.

2. Many Updates. Of course, everyone needs to install updates and its important to your WordPress site’s health. That being said, it can also be annoying because there are constant updates.

3. Customization. If you aren’t a WordPress expert and one didn’t build your website, customization can be an issue and become expensive. Mentioned above with the updates, it can cause some problems on your site if they aren’t fully functional.

With any platform or website builder there will inevitably be pros or cons. Many of the cons listed in this article can be resolved with the right ux design agency or person managing your website.

Looking for more insight on UX services or a wordpress theme development company? Are you wanting to develop an app or website and you need to know more information or need a web development agency chicago based? Visit Codal’s blog, or come talk to us here! We’d love to hear from you.

5 Reasons You Shouldn't Be Ignoring Your Websites UX

Web and app developers in Chicago and all over the world will tell you how important it is for users to have a great experience on your website. As an agency that specializes in UX design services, we’ve learned time and again the reasons why your website’s UX should never be ignored. Here are 5 reasons you shouldn’t be ignoring your websites UX.

1) First impressions are everything. Good design and first impressions are important and visuals make up for much of that. In terms of user experience design services, its very crucial to not let your design get in the way of how the user interacts with the site.

2) You want your site to be trusted. The last thing you want your user to feel is uncertainty or ask if they can trust your site with their information. If a user is asking themselves questions and is unsure of the answers they think in their head, they probably want to get far away from your site and won’t want to ever come back.

3) Slow loading site. It’s more than frustrating when you come across a website that takes forever to load. It’s a frustrating experience for the user and if they were unsure about your product/service and wanted more information on it, this is a sure way to make them turned off. UX research services have proven there are numerous ways you can speed up your website even if you have tons of imagery and multimedia or are making it very creative; there’s always a way to speed it up.

4) A positive user reaction. Safe, comfortable, happy; these are the feelings you should want your user to have when they see your site. The user should feel comfortable that they’ll find what they’re looking for on your site and that you’re the website that will make everything good. Feeling validated, that you’ve done the right thing and made the right decision in your click.

5) Lack of contact information for next steps. Picture this, a user ends up on a site that has the products/services their looking for, they go through product information and details and are meticulous about what they’re searching for. They believe the information satisfies their needs so they search for the business’s contact information but its not there. No form to fill out, no physical address, no phone number, no email. This makes the UX crash down.

If you’re a beginner just getting into UX design, or a seasoned vet who’s forgot what the basic tools are, these are some good examples of what you should never ignore in your UX design.

Looking to work with a ux company or a mobile app design company in Chicago? Are you wanting to develop an app or website or simply want more information on our web design agency? Visit Codal’s blog, or come talk to us here! We’d love to hear from you.

Why All UXers Can Benefit From Using Abstract

Working at a UX Company and web development agency chicago based, we have truly seen so many UX tools come and go. One we’ve recently seen come in and make an impact is Abstract. Abstract is a great tool for management and collaboration for Sketch files.

UXers can benefit from using Abstract for several reasons, overall its one place to manage, version, and collaborate their Sketch files. If you’re just starting out with Sketch, or want to learn more, it’s a very beginner-friendly tool that offers easy to understand terminology rather than technical terms, creating an easy workflow.

One major benefit is that when using Abstract, you won’t have to hunt through shared folders because Abstract is a safe storage space for design and library files, a single source of truth for you UX team’s work. Gone are the times of digging around time-stamped folder like Google Drive or Dropbox.

Abstract is also great for collaborating with your UX team. Using Abstract, a team can work on the same set of Sketch files without losing or overwriting anyone’s work. This allows multiple UXers to work on the same exact file without fear that it isn’t the most up-to-date version. The files you work on also automatic sync to the cloud, so you don’t need to remember to upload or download any changes.

Not only is Abstract great for collaborating with a UX team, but you can also share files with fellow engineers, clients, and other stakeholders. Instead of relying on email or Slack for sharing Sketch files, redlining items, or asking for feedback, everyone can easily use Abstract for all project edits and work. Working at a Chicago UX design agency, we’ve noticed this really helps UXers address comments and issues faster than ever.

Another benefit for UXers is that Abstract is a very stable product. Like any great, stable product there are frequent updates and support for new versions and features of Sketch so you’ll always be up to date.

After reading all of the amazing benefits of using Abstract are you ready to make the switch?

If you’re looking for ux services or a web development agency chicago based, mobile application development agency, or simply want more information on our mobile app design agency? Visit Codal’s blog, or come talk to us here! We’d love to hear from you.

Is the Future of Shopping VR?

Going to a store to shop or even browsing online may soon come to an end. Virtual Reality (VR) technology has the power to transform, and is starting to change consumers shopping experience. Working at an ecommerce mobile app development agency we constantly see new technologies changing the way people shop.

Not only does VR let consumers view products in a unique way, in some cases it takes them to another world. These are some examples of how the future of shopping will be changed and transformed by VR, as well as some of the brands that are already testing the new waters.

Some car companies like Lexus are now allowing customers to use VR to test drive a car around a race track. Instead of sitting in the actual luxury car behind the wheel, VR lets the customer see how fast the car goes, look at the interior/exterior and learn about features. This is a great, convenient way for customers to see new models, test them out, and see what the car has to offer.

Trying on or testing merchandise using VR helps customers see product in context. One area where VR is impacting the eCommerce industry is by helping customers visualize the product their looking at and how much physical space the product will take up. Ecommerce web design in usa like IKEA has a VR app and website that helps shoppers visualize how the furniture would actually look in their living room, bedroom, office, etc. Through this app shoppers can change products, switch colors and sizes, and see how different pieces of furniture will complement each other. Because of this, VR can help consumers in their product searches and speeds up the purchase process.

VR helps customers be able to take creative reign and make custom orders based on their imagination. In past years, creating a custom order used to be a time consuming task. Nike’s Makers’ Experience combines AR, object tracking and AI and IoT as well as digital signage to allow a customized, unique design to appear on a pair of shoes that the customer designed. As soon as an hour later, the customer can even go pick up the finished product and walk away with a totally customizable product.

Lastly, Tommy Hilfiger has recently been making headlines in VR through letting customers experience the high end runway show via virtual reality. Not everyone, barely anyone actually can afford a front row seat to a popular fashion show in real life. Through VR, people have been able to explore backstage, see the models up close. This experience is only available in a few Tommy Hilfiger stores for now, but guests can see clothes virtually on the runway before the hassle of trying them on in a fitting room in real life.

In a few years, AI tech will completely change the way that people shop for specific items (if it hasn’t already). Consumers will virtually be able to “try before they buy” making it easier and more efficient to online shop.

As a ux design company and mobile app development chicago based agency, we have seen many instances of VR and AR coming into play. Virtual reality can be used in so many ways to alter how customers interact with products and brands and its really starting to take off. As technology continues to develop, we’re definitely going to see more and more ways that VR transforms future shopping experiences for consumers.

Looking for more insight on UX design services? Are you wanting to develop an app or website and you need to know more information on how this web development agency chicago based company is? Visit Codal’s blog, or come talk to us here! We’d love to hear from you.

10 Signs You Should Invest in a Mobile App

As a ux design company chicago-based we have seen the use of mobile apps really taking off. It seems as though you can make an app for anything and people will check it out!

If you’re a company and questioning whether or not you should make a mobile app for your business; the pros are infinite.

From a app development agency standpoint, the main reasons companies come to us with the need of a mobile app development are the following:

1. Apps make it so much easier to promote your products or services.
Businesses and companies that have a mobile app will make a better impression on their customers, it makes your business stand out from others, and creates better interest in your products/services.

2. You’re finding that getting to your data takes way too long. Data often loads slowing in older data applications, modern companies need to process data in the fastest way that developing a mobile app would solve.

3. It will build brand recognition.A well-designed mobile app effectively promotes your brand without having to use physical advertisements like signs and billboards. User experience design services offer assistance with helping your brand and the sooner customers recognize your brand, the sooner they will begin to purchase your services/products.

4. Your customer base will grow. After you make your app available on the different app stores and do some online advertising, most likely more people than your regular customers will find out about your product/services. This will increase your sales. Iphone development services have pathed the way for how your app can also work with your social media platforms so your business can reach a larger audience online.

5. It’s a great marketing tool. Digital marketing using your mobile app makes selling products/services much easier; using product descriptions and reviews give an edge to your business.

6. It will help you sell faster. If black friday is coming up and you want to get rid of a lot of your inventory, you can send out coupons via the mobile app to customers. Promotions and sales encourage people to want to shop more and brings more publicity to your business. This goes hand-in-hand with #6.

7. Better conversion rate and better payments. If you want to sell something through a mobile app then you have to have a payment feature on the app for customers. There are so many available options for mobile app payments that include wallets, in-app purchase, PayPal, CC & DC payments etc. These are fast and secure payment options for the customer.

8. It gives your business a better image. Having an app makes any business, small or big stand out to customers while making you look extremely tech-savvy. As a ux design agency we’ve heard so many customers say it’s easier to find details about a business (location, contact, etc.) instead of relying on Google, this is obviously a major plus for any business.

9. Mobile is not the future, its present. The entire world has gone mobile, everywhere you look every person has a phone in their hand and almost 24-7 at that. Whether people are online shopping or looking for a service they use their devices to shop, research, and entertain themselves.

10. Overall better customer service. Good mobile app design and development provides customers will all of the tools to find out about your product/service as well as a quick method of communicating with staff.

Conclusion
In 2019 the mobile app industry is thriving, while this is happening it’s worthwhile for every business to invest in mobile app development. If your business isn’t mobile and not thinking about becoming mobile; you’re already behind your competition.

As an apple and android app design company, Codal has numerous ios development services to offer! Looking for more insight on how app developers in chicago, like Codal, can help you with any of your mobile app needs? Visit Codal’s blog, or come talk to us here! We’d love to hear from you.

Your Marketing Website for Your App Needs a Redesign

When an app is being built, many times the importance of marketing is an overlooked step in the process. Codal, a mobile app development agency in Chicago, estimates that the investment in marketing an app will cost between 1.5 and 2.5 the cost of the initial development.

Why is marketing your app so important?

The marketing website of your app is what drives awareness and consideration to the download of the app. Especially in a time where thousands of apps are being developed, your marketing needs to help you stand out in such a crowded space.

Create Awareness

As a marketing website for your app, it is critical that the content included is one that explains the benefits, features and advantages of the app. More importantly, identifying the problem and then how your app solves that problem is an important aspect of the marketing website.

The difference between having a marketing website and just an app description in the Apple store is the connection the website has with the user’s search process. When searching for a solution for a problem, having a website that ranks high on the search results page is critical to drive awareness and exposure.

You need to make sure your app is easily discovered by the general user. Searching endlessly on the app store is not a process the common user is going to take. Rather, they want and require an immediate result when they search their query. Your marketing website needs to be there when they search.

Design Importance

The designing process of your app should not stop with the app itself, but be integrated and implemented on the marketing website.

Their needs to be a rich, engaging, and seamless visual and user experience on the marketing website. Since the site is usually the first impression the user has of the app, the features and design need to mirror of that on the app itself.

Thus, hiring a UX design agency, specifically for your marketing website, it important to ensure you don’t lose potential user converters due to poor UX of the site.

Convert: Get User’s To Download the App

The purpose of the marketing website is to ultimately get the user to convert and download the app. As the ultimate goal, everything in the marketing website should be included to achieve this goal.

For example, incorporating engaging and captivating call to action’s is good strategy to start with in order to persuade the user to download.

If the app requires a purchase, account setup, or other necessary actions at the moment of download, the user experience design service needs to ensure the process is easy, fast, and seamless.

As a marketer, getting the user to click the “download” button is just half the battle. The first interactions the user has with the app is a make it or break it time. Easy usability, fast setup, and a beautiful design will help not only keep that user, but make them a frequent and loyal user.

Conclusion

Regardless of the type of app you are trying to market, having a marketing website for that app is now a standard. Especially as more apps are being developed and the space becomes even more dense, the marketing website is a tool to help your app stand out.

Looking for more insight on UX and UI design services? Are you wanting to develop an app and you need to know the cost to develop an app is? Visit Codal’s blog, or come talk to on go@codal.com! We’d love to hear from you.

Competitive Analysis of the UX Process

The UX which is also known as user experience and it covers an array of different designs and functions of a website or mobile app. It is critical that UX design agencies take into account every aspect of a user’s journey in order to ensure superior UX.

The main areas that a UX designer focuses on is usability, accessibility, usefulness, and findability. The user experience design services need to have the combination and optimization of all these areas when developing the UX of the website or mobile application.

This process is misleading as it seems simple on the surface, but it is in the testing and implementation of variables that the complexity of the user experience is revealed.

How UX is Done

Depending on the UX design company, the process of UX can vary. For the sake of simplicity, this is going to take a dive into Codal’s UX process, who is a mobile app development agency in Chicago.

Codal distinguish the UX process in four distinct stages. Below is a closer look at each stage.

Stage 1: Discovery and Planning

The discovery and planning stage is one that is pretty standard across all types of projects. Some of the steps included in this stage is project introduction, goal definition, design plan creation and sprint planning.

Stage 2: Research and Strategy

The research and strategy phase time duration is significantly varied. The components included in this stage is user surveys and interviews, journey and empathy mapping, rapid prototyping, user testing and define design guidelines.

Stage 3: Conceptual Design

The conceptual design phase is one where the user experience design services utilize their research into the direct development of the app. The four components of this phase is sitemap creation, low fidelity prototyping, user testing and design documentation creation.

Stage 4: Detailed Design

The final stage of developing an app or website is the detailed design stage. The three sections of this stage is high fidelity interactive prototyping, user testing and user interface design. This is the stage everything gets put together and is ready for prototyping.

Is UX Necessary?

The UX of a site can have a significant impact on critical factors that lead to the overall success of a website or mobile app. For instance, if you are looking at your metrics and seeing a high bounce rating or navigational issues, it may be an indication that the site has poor UX.

Additionally, UX that can produce an overall higher ROI. According to Codal, a full stack UX design service, UX research and design can typically yield a higher ROI than the money saved by skipping the step entirely.

Some of the ways that the ROI is raised is by increasing conversions, increasing loyalty, and reducing development inefficiencies.

Conclusion

As technology rapidly grows it is key to place an emphasis on the user experience of every website or mobile application. Especially in a year that million apps are expected to be launched, mobile application development companies need to be on the UX and how their website stands out among the rest.

User’s are expecting to have a smooth and easy journey on a site or a mobile app, one sign of a hiccup and you can lose a user.

Looking for more insight on UX design services? Are you wanting to develop an app and you need to know the cost to develop an app is? Visit Codal’s blog, or come talk to us on go@codal.com! We’d love to hear from you.

Mobile World Congress 2017 is Around the Corner

Mobile World Congress will be back in Barcelona next week, starting on February 27th, running until March 2nd. MWC is the largest gathering in the world for the mobile industry. Last year was a record breaking year for Mobile World Congress. There were over 100,000 attendees, and 2200+ exhibitors across a 98,000 square foot space.

Exhibitors range from mobile app development agencies, to mobile marketing companies, VR and AR companies, as well as smartphone hardware companies. There are companies there for everything-mobile.

Large corporations such as Samsung, Android and Huawei make large announcements and product releases during the extravagant tradeshow. For example, last year Samsung released the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge, while LG released the G5 smartphone.

Although almost every large mobile corporation is present, the conference is also full of smaller, innovative technology companies. The 4YFN hall is stocked with the world’s most upcoming technology startups. Last year we saw a lot of tech around virtual and augmented reality, IoT and robotics.

As a mobile app development company, going to MWC gives us the opportunity to stay on top of the latest trends, and apply the new trends to our current and upcoming projects.

Every year, the Illinois DCEO (Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity) selects a handful of companies from the Chicagoland area to attend and exhibit at the event. For the fourth year in a row, Codal was selected based on the innovative services offered, and the ability to do business with international markets.

Interested in learning more about the conference? Wondering what the cost to build an app is? Schedule a time to chat with us here.

Basics of PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is an open-source DBMS (database management system) developed by volunteers around the world, as it is not controlled by a corporation or private company. The source code of available free of charge, which is one of the many bonuses.

PostgreSQL runs on a range of platforms such as Linux, Moc OS X, UNIX, Solaris, and Windows, and includes programming interfaces for Java, Python, Ruby, C and C++, and Perl.

This open source database has an array of sophisticated and innovative features, some which include:

• MVCC (Multi-Version Concurrency Control)
• Tablespaces
• Asynchronous Replication
• PITR (Point-in-Time Recovery)
• Online Backups
• Tracking for Fault Tolerance

Along with these features, PostgreSQL supports unicode, multibyte and international characters. It is also very scalable in terms of the quantity of data that the database can manage, and the amount of simultaneous users it can shelter.
One of the things that developers, including the developers at Codal love about PostgreSQL is that the source code is available with an open source license. This means that anyone can use the code, modify it and distribute it anyway desired.
If you are looking for the PostgreSQL source code, you can find it here. You can also access the control repository here.

About The Author:
This Article is written by Codal’s Writer. Codal is a full-stack UX design and mobile apps development company with a focus on blending an agile and innovation process with the latest emerging technologies.

Partner with Scrum Masters

What is a ScrumMaster?

A Certified Scrum Master helps development teams properly use the Scrum methodology. The Scrum methodology is an Agile framework that works the best with an innovative project with a complex scope of work.

A Certified Scrum Master keeps a team focused on their end goal throughout the software development lifecycle. In a Scrum process, a project is broken down into different chunks, which is a “sprint backlog.” At Codal, we use 2 week sprints in which the developers complete their work. Once the sprint is completed, it is reviewed before the next sprint begins.

What are the benefits?

Scrum is a framework to maximize efficiency in any type of project. According to theScrum Alliance website, large universities use Scrum to deliver projects, and even militaries have relied on this framework to prepare for deployments.

The project management framework allows for better communication and teamwork, which ultimately drives the best end result possible. Throughout the project lifecycle, adopting the Scrum method will allow the team to consistently stay focused on its goal.

Now What?

If you are looking for a partner who has a team of Scrum experts, you have come to the right place. Codal is a software UX design and development agency whose development team is led my Scrum Masters. Codal delivers web and mobile solutions to companies of all sizes and industries.

You can get into contact with the Scrum Masters of Codal here.

A Guide to the Perfect eCommerce Website Header

Navigation
The user experience of your navigation should be carefully considered. This is where your users are clicking around to find the product they are looking for, and if they cannot find the product then they cannot buy it.

The primary navigation should be pretty simple and should only have 5-7 categories. These categories should be named exactly what they are, instead of being creative with the category names.

Store Locator
If your eCommerce website also has physical storefronts, it is important to note this in the header, and allow the user to search for a location that is closest to them.

In many circumstances, the user will be coming to your website only to search for the closest store, instead of making an online order. If you have a search bar on your website, you can also allow the user to search a location or zip code to find a location nearby.

My Account
Your customers should be able to create an account through your website in order to track their order and view past orders. If the user has already created an account, this should be a ‘My Account’ link, or a ‘Login’ link. If it is a new user, this link should bring the user to a registration page

This is also a great place to show a promotion, if a user has an account. For an example, the website can offer free shipping if the user creates an account. Being able to create an account is also way of showing trust, because the user can check the order status at any time.

Search Bar
This is an important function for an eCommerce website. In the case that the user cannot find what they are looking for through your navigation links, the search bar is an additional way for the user to find a desired item.

In 2016, where the internet is full of impatient consumers, if a user cannot find what they want they will simply leave.

Customer Service
A customer service link, or phone number on the header of your eCommerce website will give your users a sense of trust and will allow your consumers to feel comfortable when shopping with your brand.

Not only will having this bring a sense of trust, but it will also serve as a resource for when your customers need help and cannot find their answer on your website.

About The Author :This Article is written by Codal’s Writer. Codal is providing RoR, Python, iOS, Android and PHP Development Services.  It is a full-stack UX design and development agency with a focus on blending an Agile and Lean innovation process with the latest emerging technologies.

Codal Inc
http://www.codal.com