Overview
Team
3 software developers
1 QA engineer
1 project manager
Platform
Mobile app
Country
Kyiv, Ukraine
Industry
Mass media, News, Podcasting
Services
Mobile development (iOS/Android), dedicated team, QA testing.
Time
October 2020 - present
About the client
NV is a Ukraine-leading media resource and podcast application delivering easy access to information from geopolitical situations to celebrity gossip on the go.
Project idea
In 2019, NV has engaged Apiko for custom web application development to share the distinctive, world-class programs and content which inform, educate and entertain millions of people in Ukraine and around the world. Moreover, their in-house team has leveraged monetization models to generate income through a method of limited access and developed the paywall system - one of the most successful strategies, which is used by the most influential world newspapers, niche magazines, and publishers.
Story
Our team was contacted by the project manager to assist the in-house team with custom app development and adding complex functionality to the application. The scope of our work may be divided into 2 parts:
1. Developing the podcast mobile app from scratch
2. Debugging and optimizing the news app
We had to integrate the website with paywall and localization systems, develop heavily tailored constructor module for podcast app to empower in-house team to handle minor changes on their own, scaffold the project, set up basic in-app navigation and manage many other options to rollout flying, top-notch platform with seamless performance.
Challenges & solutions
See the challenges, and solutions we’ve offered to our clientsOur tasks on optimizing and bootstrapping the NV news app were:
- Update the React Native version of the news app to the latest one, perform manual review & testing and fix bugs
- Extend the functionality by adding new features, including paywall and subscriptions
Main features of the NV podcast app
During custom app development, we used mobile deep linking for funneling users deeper into the app through the URL. By means of this practice, we redirect users from the mobile browser to the particular screen of the app and push them to take specific actions.
Remote notifications were set up to push small amounts of data to devices on which the app is installed, even when it isn't running to keep subscribers and readers informed.
Architecture
Our team developed project architecture, using MobX library to make state management simple and scalable by transparently applying functional reactive programming.
We developed the constructor module for creating various components and comprising different views with ready-made elements.
A well-functioning application should gracefully handle when users attempt to navigate to any part of its structure. The in-app navigation has been initially designed for users’ satisfaction and energy savings.
NV News App
From the very beginning we’ve done a lot of bug fixing to correct software defects and provide smooth performance of the website.
Our QA engineers have checked the web application for functionality, usability, security, compatibility, performance measurements and potential vulnerabilities.
Integrations
During custom app development, we’ve integrated the news platform with the following services
