The need for apps that engage users in real time is rising and Node.js can help you in building fast, efficient, and scalable real-time apps.

We are in the digital era and most applications we use have at least one real-time feature like notifications or messaging. Real-time apps perform their tasks within a short duration and give the user the feel that it is occurring instantly. These apps are designed to save time and make communications happen in real-time for quick processes. We can see many examples of real-time apps around us such as instant messaging, online gaming, chatting, community storage solutions, and video conferencing apps. Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype and other popular applications are examples of when a user feels that his needs are taken care of in real time, his engagement and loyalty towards the brand increases.

Real-time apps have an important role in enhancing the efficiency of a business and increasing its reach. It helps a business to connect to the customers and provide them instant support through live chat and personalized notifications. Studies show that 79% of customers prefer live chat support during shopping and actually make a purchase from websites that offer this feature. Push notifications have also proven to offer higher ROI when compared to the traditional email notifications. Apart from this the increasing customer preference for live video streaming and the growth of real-time location systems will further increase the use of real-time apps in the modern world.

What role does node.js play in real-time apps?

An important feature of Node.js is its use of non-blocking I/O and event-driven features because of which it can offer high speed and scalability for real-time applications. Data-intensive applications like ad forums, social media, and forums require two-way connections making Node.js an ideal choice for such applications.

Apart from this, Node.js also makes it easy to incorporate several advanced features into real-time apps. A few examples of such features are multiple user collaboration, interactions, and notifications.

Advantages of using Node.js for real-time app development

Some of the key reasons why you should choose Node.js for your app development are listed below:

• Speed – The main highlight of real-time apps are the speed and responsiveness offered to the user. Since Node.js uses JavaScript, it enables the app to be executed fast and provides quick results. Node’js can also use event-loop to handle requests of multiple clients and hence avoids load on real-time app development.
• I/O bound tasks – Since Node.js streams are UNIX based, developers can use it to easily track all input/output activities. It can decrypt any input and quickly redirect it to the required destination.
• Reusability – Another advantage of Node.js is the reusability of the components. Developers can share all Node components among the community and utilize the NPM manager’s support in building a real-time app.
• Module-based functionality – Node.js uses module-based functionality and hence enables the developers to gain maximum advantage from their coding efforts. They can build apps quickly with minimum coding.
• SEO friendly – Node.js provides backend rendering enhances the SEO factors of your real-time apps. It increases the visibility of the app and also improves the app engagement.

Conclusion

Node.js is among the best programming languages you can use for building real-time applications. You can depend on Node.js for a smooth development process because of the amazing features, speed, and scalability the language offers. It supports you in adding enhanced features like remote collaborations that offer a superior experience to the customers and ensures better user engagement.

If you are planning to maximize the user engagement of your business using real-time applications, contact SBL to get started. We can help you build full-fledged and scalable real-time apps that maximize your ROI.