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Why Software Development is so important
5 years ago Many people think that software development is nothing more than writing lines of code late at night, well away from the end users and more eye-catching design elements. The purpose of this article is to correct those common misconceptions, and to show you just how vital software is to so many different aspects of your business. Why are we telling you this? Because we want you to know the importance of choosing the right developer.
It connects your business with a global audience
If you get most your business online then web development is what makes it possible. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that online you’re a brand or a presence that’s bigger than your website — you’re not. People can’t walk up to you and ask something, or come through the door to browse your goods and services. They’re stuck with your website. If it doesn’t give them the insights and information they need, they’ll go somewhere else. The same is true if you try to launch a software suite that just isn’t good enough to have seen the light of day.
It allows your services to be used on every type of device
Common development mistakes are written all over the internet for all to see, but they don’t come much worse than cutting corners when it comes to multi-device development. It might seem obvious that you need a responsive site that works with every browser and OS, but it’s easy to lose sight of that fact when you’re in the thick of it all.
If you want to ensure you get the full benefits out of a software development project, you need to write a simple list of the things you hope to get out of it. You can then constantly refer everyone back to this list to keep them heading in the right direction.
When done right it minimizes costly downtime
Downtime is something that many businesses will have you believe is completely unforeseeable and just comes out of nowhere. In reality this couldn’t be further from the truth. What actually happens most of the time is that poor choices during software development have acted like a ticking time bomb that’s set to go off at any minute. Whilst these types of issues can be very time-consuming to unravel, they could always have been caught early in the development cycle.
Well-made software is a boost to your customer service efforts
Take Subjecto as a great example of what we’re going to talk about here. It’s a simple, easy-to-use, and intuitive site that guides you through everything you need to do, and nothing more. Why is that important?
Well, for starters you need to think about the positive impact this has on the user experience. If you want people to go away happy with the tools you’ve provided, you need to make sure they do what you say they will. And if you want them to come back and use them again, you need to ensure they’re easy to use every step of the way.
On-the-go marketing puts your business in the spotlight all the time
Poor development practices will slow your chances of growth, but the right ones will allow you to take things to the next level far faster than the competition. If you want to fall into the latter category then you need to think about how your business can develop an on-the-go marketing campaign. In this highly competitive field it’s going to be all about maximizing the visual quality of what you have to offer, whilst ensuring everything behind the scenes is easy to use.
Software development can drive customer loyalty
No project can be successfully completed without adhering to the industry’s code of ethics, if for no other reason than they are what ensures everyone gives their best. Without this concentrated application of effort it will be near impossible to create an end product that people actually want to use. This means that you’re not only going to have wasted inordinate amounts of money on software development, it’s also going to have a damaging impact on your customers’ view of your business. Another clear example of how software development can impact every aspect of your business in both good, and bad ways.
A well-organized development project enhances your brand
If you want your brand to have a reputation for being slick, quick, and efficient, you need these 3 things to be reflected in the software associated with it. If it’s buggy, loads horribly, and does a bad job at jumping between different devices, you’re going to be doing damage to your brand. This can be really easy to lose sight of when you’re immersed in the complexity and fine details, which is why it’s at this stage you need to be constantly taking steps back so you can see the bigger picture. If in doubt, ask yourself: is this going to help my customers?
It allows you to deploy content people care about
Software development is like the mouthpiece for your business and the platform for your brand in the online world. If you want to engage people with what you’re doing, you’re going to need to take the time to get the technical details that make it possible right. Without them you’re not going to be able to keep the steady stream of personalized, targeted content flowing that your business needs to survive in the social media age.
Software development gives you a voice to connect directly to your audience
When you take a look at these key software development trends you’ll see they’re all moving towards personalized solutions. This means you need to be thinking more and more about how you can build customization into your software development as early as possible.
If you want to be able to grow and adapt in the ever-changing online world, you need to build solutions that allow you to. It’s no use investing 2 years’ of time and effort into a software suite that’s redundant 6 months before it comes to market. Think ahead, make use of those trends we highlighted above, and think about what your users will want 1, 3, and 5 years down the line.
Successful development will enhance your online security
Finally, you need to remember that software development will enhance the online security of everyone involved. It’s not just your business that it’s keeping safe, but your users and customers, and anyone who then interacts with them online. Software that has easy-to-exploit vulnerabilities but was cheap to develop is certainly the kind of thing you need to avoid. Yes, you may have come in under budget, but does that really counteract the harm done to your reputation when everything goes wrong? Of course it doesn’t, which is why the importance of software development is something no business can afford to overlook.
Final Thoughts
Now that you’ve heard us discuss the importance of software development, it’s over to you to reassess how much importance your business currently places on it. No matter how well established your processes and procedures are, there’ll always be something you can improve on.
