5 Ways to Stay On-Top of Ever-Changing UI Innovations
This is a rather complex topic to describe, so let’s just get into it – and if there are any uncertainties or concerns you can – as always, LEAVE A COMMENT below and we can discuss further what it could mean for you, or your organization. None-the-less, below are 5 things you can do to stay on-top of the ever-changing amount of UI innovations that seem to become mainstream every few months.
Single-Page Apps
In short:
Keep things on the same page as often as possible.
In detail: Because single-page applications can leverage the capabilities of a mobile device to deliver a rich user experience, it’s worth utilizing the camera, accelerometer, and/or GPS for specific and contextual experiences whenever possible. With responsive design being as ubiquitous as it is it’s important to recognize that
the way single-page applications can display content visually is practically limitless.
Client and Server (The Great Divide)
Exposing services and creating distinct separations between the client-side and the back-end services, allows developers to create much richer applications. More so, a clear separation between client and server, often using a REST interface and/or JSON payloads, lends both sets of developers to focus efforts in their areas of expertise. Whereas normally they would be dealing with data-sets they’re unfamiliar with.
Real-time updating
Generally, web apps are only updated as users refresh or move to new pages. Unfortunately, while the user is viewing a said page the data could ‘technically’ already be out-dated on the server, this leaves the user viewing old information. Needless to say, this doesn’t make for a rich user experience.
This statement is especially true when we consider apps like: GoogleMaps, Gmail, and Facebook (to name a few) could you imagine trying to drive from Point A to Point B with directions that were prime for the hours of 7am-9am, yet..you’re traveling at 4pm. I think that would create some frustration if you’re caught in bumper-bumper traffic, yet Google Maps says there is “Light traffic”. No?
Predictive Scaling
The last thing you would want to have happen is have your web-site or application mentioned by several high profile PR sites and then crash after the influx of traffic (visitors) you receive. This is known as the “Oprah Effect”, and it’s actually more common than you might imagine. Needless to say, the solution you implement should allow the app to meet increased user demand, volume, and other increases of actions – and, it should be automated.
Using high-level concurrency models like Akka’s Actors enables you as a developer to build a high volume system that can scale as needed. You can even write applications that block threads only in certain instances, and instead rely on asynchronous execution that maximizes the utilization of the physical resources on the machine(s).
Stateless Architectures
Stateless web applications have become rather important when creating fault-tolerant and scalable systems. It allows for transparency across web requests and balances loads across a number of servers. On the contrary, not having any state contained in these servers can cause the web tier to become elastic and easily succumb to failures.
With the above being said, it goes without saying that there are several things that need to be taken into consideration when working with this type of architecture. But, also as illustrated – better to ‘be ready’ and implement these types of things now to actually HAVE that Rich UI/UX so you can continue building from there as opposed to an extremely out-dated one that will only be more of a hassle to update as every passing day goes by.
One final benefit that comes to mind when using single-page apps is that you can have a seamless customer service experience (if you have the proper SDK integrated with your app).
Kevin is an Online and Mobile Marketing Strategist who has worked with companies of all sizes over the last 6 years. You can follow Kevin on any of the social platforms below.
