HTML5 development could drive e-commerce app success

Mobile devices have been established as a regular part of life for both consumers and employees, becoming a tool that innovates processes and encourages more functionality for the user. Due to this trend, people are increasingly expecting an application to be available for virtually every aspect of life. Some organizations are even relying solely on online platforms and mobile apps for their income, demonstrating the importance of this technology. With e-commerce shifting to more of the preferred shopping method, businesses will need to develop programs that allow their customers to easily complete transactions and find the products they are seeking.

Application development has changed in approach and focus over the past few years. Most programmers are no longer using a step by step method, but are testing the software and interacting with stakeholders throughout the process for the best results. WhaTech contributor Jay Patel noted that creating an e-commerce app is especially important because it will help interact and retain customers, while better suiting a growing population that searches for products straight from their phone. In fact, smartphones are used to buy or research products by 94 percent of consumers. With this much of a potential audience base on their mobile devices, it is becoming essential to create a program with these uses in mind. With the ease of e-commerce software, businesses can work on attracting more customers and promoting more purchases.

"The biggest advantage of an e-commerce app is that it is truly easier to find products from an app," Patel wrote. "Whatever we are searching for can be found in seconds through an app."

Using HTML5 for app building
While it's been established that e-commerce applications are a must, it will come down to user needs when considering how to build the program. A major requirement is that the software must be completely compatible with the owner's device, otherwise potential shoppers will abandon the app for competitor services. WhaTech contributor Vipin Jain noted that HTML5 is starting to be leveraged more frequently over legacy Flash programming. In fact, 78 percent of app builders believe HTML5 development is one of the best approaches for mobile apps. Although the language is still relatively young, it's making substantial headway and is proving to be a major asset to organizations that want to fuel the mobile effort without breaking the bank.

Although some developers question HTML5's capabilities, it has been able to do what many component suites have not: provided a cross-platform coding system. By being interoperable with a range of devices and operating systems, HTML5 significantly reduces that amount of time and resources required for app development processes. These can then be put toward other projects to further innovate operations. Traditional programming often needs recoding for each instance, which can waste significant assets that could be leveraged in testing and deploying a successful product.

"With more and more business owners and organizations realizing that mobile apps are excellent marketing and revenue generation tools, HTML5's use as a cross platform app development tool is on the rise and is likely to see further growth," Jain wrote.