Mobile app development is trending as new applications arrive in the tech market daily. Mobile apps are responsible for 88% of a user's mobile time. Google Play Store has approx 2.87 million apps, whereas Apple App Store has a complete 1.96 million applications. With several attractive statistics supporting mobile app development, companies should consider app-first in case they want to boost engagement.
Flutter app development is creating native apps for iOS and Android from a single codebase, which is becoming significantly famous as it enables Flutter application developers to build cross-platform apps with Flutter in record time.
Is Flutter the best-in-class framework for mobile app development? According to statistics for Flutter app development, 42% of app developers use Flutter worldwide. Flutter is used in one of every five fresh applications added to the Play Store as of January 2023, surpassing all other cross-platform development frameworks combined.
There are currently more than 700,000 apps in the Play Store that were created with Flutter. Other cross-platform frameworks, which have seen an unchanged or dropping market share over the past year, are losing market share to Flutter.
Build a Mobile Application With Flutter - Step-by-Step Guide!
Flutter is a robust and renowned app development framework. Here is the detailed Flutter app development process listed below:
Step 1: Create an app concept
Conduct market research as you have an accurate application idea. This is the best way to know if your application can win the competition.
Step 2: Android studio installation
Android Studio provides a stunning IDE for Flutter app development, aka Integrated Development Ecosystem. Leading features, such as a debugger and syntax highlighting, are beneficial during this process.
Step 3: Installation of Flutter & Dart plugins
You must install those plugins, commence a brand-new Flutter project, and roll out the Android Studio.
Step 4: Commence your Flutter project
Hit the Flutter application to open a new screen. Here you will need to mention the Flutter SDK path and essential details of the project. Select a domain name for the package.
Step 5: Run the Flutter Doctor command
You need to open the terminal and use this Flutter Doctor command. It's crucial to employ Flutter with a working IDE and a linked device, such as a physical or emulator.
Step 6: Experimenting the build on an Android platform
You need to link the physical device through a USB cable by allowing USB debugging. Yet, create a virtual device in case you use an Android Emulator. Opt for the chosen emulator or device, and hit Shift + F10. Or, you may hit the run button.
Step 7: Experimenting the application on an iOS platform
If you're considering using an iOS simulator, use the dropdown device menu. But, testing could be challenging on a physical iOS device. Hence, link with it through a USB, unlock it, and open the iOS module in Xcode.
Step 8: Code the Flutter application
Creators of apps typically alter lib/main. Dart, where the Dart code is located.
Step 9: Employing an external package
To simplify your process, select an open-source package name.
Step 10: UI & UX
Flutter allows countless UI/UX options, and platforms have no restrictions.
Step 11: Minimum Viable Product
Because Flutter is open-source, it offers a platform conducive to MVPs.
Step 12: Deployment & Launching
Create the application now that you have chosen Flutter as the development environment. With Flutter, assessing apps is simple because you can only evaluate them on a single platform.
Advantages and Challenges of Flutter App Development
As we have discussed the steps of the Flutter app development process above, it's time to analyze the challenges and advantages of Flutter app development.
Advantage: Cross-platform support
Google has developed Flutter to aid in creating near-native apps for cross-platform development from a single codebase. The leading issue in this app development is the appearance of the app transforms on different OSs. As Flutter employs the Skia rendering engine, the cross-platform applications created using Flutter appear similar on Windows, iOS, and Android.
Challenge: Bigger file size
One of the more enormous challenges with Flutter app development is the larger file size of Flutter apps. They take higher time to download or upgrade. Moreover, they consume bigger storage space.
Advantage: Hot reload in Flutter
Hot reload is one of the best features and architecture of the Flutter framework. It lets professional Flutter app developers insert the source code moderation into a running application. According to Google, Flutter's hot reloading competency significantly impacts the Flutter app development service providers globally.
Challenge: Shortage of third-party libraries
Because Flutter is a relatively emerging technology, only a few third-party libraries have been published. Implementing third-party libraries might quicken up the creation process. Thus, this is a drawback of using Flutter for app development.
Advantage: Minimal development cost
To develop identical functionality for both the iOS and Android operating systems, recruiting two separate teams is unnecessary. You can produce the code for every platform, including Android, iOS, web applications, etc.
Advantage: Optimum quality in less writing
The hot reload feature can detect Code abnormalities and bugs, letting developers fix them quickly. It leads to minimal time spent experimenting with the application, accelerating the time-to-launch. Moreover, fixing anomalies leads to a top-tier app, which loads quickly and functions better throughout devices.
When to Select Flutter Framework for App Development?
Given its benefits and drawbacks, Flutter is a solid option for practically every kind of mobile project. Flutter app development services are excellent for startups and building MVPs for medium and large enterprises.
Thinking of when to use Flutter for app development? It's your ideal choice if you don't require intricate communication with native elements. Also, you would like to reduce cost and development time. Therefore, consider this tool when you intend to develop eCommerce, retail, on-demand, healthcare, and travel apps.
Flutter Best Practices to Consider in 2023
The best practices and tools for Flutter app development are enormous. Hence, Flutter app development practices must adhere to distinct code structures, layout, navigation, and performance. The practices are the following:
- Comply with the proper naming conventions
It's a genuine suggestion for app developers, although it's often overlooked. It might seem time-consuming initially, but it might save much code assessment time and coding.
- Employ dark code metrics
It helps with improvisation and paying close attention to the code quality.
- Write reuse and transparent code
You must ensure that your Flutter code is readable and clean. Therefore, it's important to use reusable code and widgets.
- Fewer layout passes are required because of inherent functions
Flutter must go through a single layout pass while organizing its widgets. However, a second pass is needed frequently. A Flutter app developer must retain the number of access to some extent, as several passes might impact the Flutter app's design and performance.
- Arrange depending on the feature list
While arranging a project, you need to consider the list of features. This folder layout aids in arranging and ascending the files in the features folder.
- Neglect rebuilding widgets
You need to update what requires building. Therefore, you may employ the BloC pattern or other external packages.
- Employ constant widgets
The premium Flutter feature lets you declare a widget as an ongoing one, which triggers it timely. It helps developers avoid pointless and uneconomical rebuilds.
There are many benefits to adopting Flutter while creating an app. The fact that Flutter is still expanding shows how much the developers believe in it. The best mobile application development firms use Flutter to create apps for businesses and consumers. The ongoing backing from Google gives Flutter programmers the assurance they need to create their best products utilizing Flutter.