August 23, 2017 By: Praveen Kumar
Creating a beacon app comes with a number of challenges for sure. For instance, for a business that should really profit from the app, it is mandatory that the app functions as intended in terms of factors such as accuracy and likes.
But given the fact that developers are required to work remotely on their workstations, the scope for research in such a scenario is limited although extensive research is what is of the utmost essence here.
However, like every other problem in the world, there are solutions for this one too. Developing a beacon app takes a sheer amount of patience and the developer must work keeping some significant, probable issues in mind. Listed below are a few challenges and solutions that can go a long way in creating a flawless beacon app.
- Challenge #1: Picking the Right Set of Features That Are Most Appropriate for the Target Business
The right set of features are the foremost aspects of an effectual business app, needless to say. Requirements from a beacon app are likely to vary from store to store, which is why it is essential that the app is tailored to suit the precise needs of the target business. Furthermore, the app should be able to do more than just showing the customer around. Some special attributes such as a navigation feature offers based on the customer’s shopping habit, a strong beacon range within the store, etc. could prove to be beneficial in terms of driving in more traffic. As such, the app should have the potential to identify the user and be able to accumulate vital information like his/her location, time spent in a particular department, etc. to be able to proffer precisely tailored offers. - Challenge #2: Seeking Permission for Device Access
Beacon apps need permission from the user to gain access to Bluetooth and location services in order to relay essential information and work accurately to the benefit of the customer. Matter of fact – the app should be able to ask for access permission via a push-notification. A subtle reminder for the user to turn on Bluetooth and location services serves not only as a polite request, but also convinces the user that the store takes customer info security quite seriously. - Challenge #3: Meeting the Compliance Factor for Devices with Different Hardware Specifications
Beacons are ideally transmitters and hence certain factors such as signal strength, the distance between a device and a beacon, etc. come into play. Now, what you need to note down here is that different devices will have different hardware specifications, and so what may be ideal for one doesn’t necessarily have to be for the other. For instance, some devices will have Bluetooth 3.0 while others may have older versions of the same technology with lesser capacity. Therefore, it is mandatory that you keep these factors in mind and do all the math before setting out to create your beacon app. - Challenge #4: Getting the App Through the App Store Review Process
Once you are through with the process of building the beacon app, the next step will be to have your app cleared by the app store review team. This is in fact quite a challenge because the app store review process is a stringent one. However, others have got their apps through, and so will you. What you need to do here is explain clearly the working mechanism of your app and provide a demo account and some beacon UUIDs to enable the reviewers to try your app out. A video demonstration of the app’s uses will go a long way. You will also need to mention relevant warnings and disclaimers so that the users can know what to expect.
