What Goes Into Building Camping Apps? (And How You Can Help)
Sometimes it may be difficult to see how the lines cross between camping in the outdoors and sitting behind a computer writing code, but for us developers at The Dyrt these two ideas are constantly being intertwined into new and innovative ideas. The Dyrt is a perfect example of how technology can make your experience of the natural world better and more enjoyable.
Why does camping need technology?
First and foremost most developers gravitate towards working and building products that are in-line with their own passions. This is true for me and others on my team at The Dyrt. We are passionate about camping, so we want to build something that will help us camp. But this is not a purely selfish endeavor — it also creates a bridge between us building the product and you as a consumer. Because we are able to see the app through the lens of a user we can clearly see new and innovative ways to improve the user experience, which will also improve the product and our community at large.
For a practical example let’s take one small, but powerful aspect of The Dyrt: the user review. Being able to get first-hand reviews from other campers in our community offers word-of-mouth knowledge that can be very helpful for campers to know what to expect on an upcoming camping trip. We understand the value this offers to you as a camper because we rely on reviews to find camping, too. And then we not only must make this easy for you to access on your desktop but also on any device you may be using at the time — whether it’s your phone while following your Route Planner in The Dyrt app or a tablet you may have next to you at the campsite.
Reviews may seem like a one-way communication for spreading knowledge of campgrounds but at the Dyrt we are always trying to add to the entire camping community so everyone can benefit and grow together. This is why it is also important to make sure not only that campers can benefit from reviews but also the campground owners. Connecting campers reviews to campground owners creates a feedback loop that offers a real impact to all sides of the camping industry. This way, together we are creating a better, more knowledgable camping community.
What does developing the #1 camping app take?
On the surface, The Dyrt website or app might look straightforward. Underneath, there are a million wires connecting dozens of different databases to give you the experience you have on your computer or phone. To put it into perspective, from just July to September of this year we released over 40 new versions of our data infrastructure, website, and apps. That’s almost one new version every 2 days! Another way to think of that level of output is to look at what we did: we fixed over 50 bugs, completed over 40 new feature tasks, and completed over 40 exploratory investigations or updates. In total we added over 500,000 lines of code to The Dyrt during just those 3 months — all to help you find better camping. And we’ve got a lot more coming.
How can campers help develop The Dyrt?
At the end of the day we are doing our job to enhance the product for you, the camper. We are always looking for ways to enhance The Dyrt through new and innovative features that you will notice when you consistently use the Dyrt. Because of this we are always appreciative of any feedback if you should notice anything working in an unexpected way.
We prioritize this feedback channel and make it easy to communicate with us via using the support link you can find at the bottom of our site. Thank you again for being a part of The Dyrt and a part of the outdoor community that is so important to all of us!
The post What Goes Into Building Camping Apps? (And How You Can Help) appeared first on The Dyrt Magazine.
