iOS and Android subjugate the mobile app development industry with 2.22 million iOS apps at the Apple App Store and 3.48 million apps at Google Play Store. But selecting any single OS for app development isn't a worthy decision for any business, so cross-platform mobile app development is crucial to consider.
While several distinct cross-platform mobile frameworks are available, 46% of app developers use Flutter in 2022, followed by 32% of developers who employed React Native. On the other hand, the global mobile market stands today with over 71.4% share of Android apps and approximately 27.9% share of iOS. The outdated mobile OS systems, such as Symbian and Blackberry, have been buried. It's time for cross-platform app development!
So, what's cross-platform app development? What are the benefits and challenges of cross-platform app development? Simply put, cross-platform app development is a practice regarding software services and product development which operates on multiple platforms. It entails using various techniques to support the app product across numerous operating systems.
Best Practices For Building High-Performance Cross-Platform Apps
Mobile app development has become an integral part of today's businesses. It's vital to have an application that operates seamlessly throughout multiple platforms. To obtain this goal, Android and iOS app development services will aid you in developing applications using the top cross-platform app development tools and frameworks.
These are the best practices for building high-performance cross-platform apps:
Opt for the appropriate cross-platform development framework
Businesses can build high-performing applications that function nicely on several platforms by selecting the best framework.
Improve the user interface for every platform
While maintaining a consistent user experience throughout all platforms is vital, optimizing the UI for every platform separately is crucial. By the way, 21% of consumers stop using a mobile application after just one session. Businesses may enhance customer satisfaction and keep clients by customizing the user interface for all platforms.
Consider code reusability
Code reuse represents one of the main advantages of cross platform app development. Developers can cut the duration and energy needed to create a mobile application by designing reusable code. According to a Forrester analysis, cross-platform development can help firms save up to 33% of their development expenses.
Experiment with your application on several devices
You must evaluate the software on several devices to verify that it functions perfectly across every platform. According to a Perfecto survey, 44% of consumers will remove an application if it freezes, crashes, or is erroneous. Testing on many devices may therefore assist firms in preventing adverse feedback and increasing customer retention.
Optimize your app continuously
Companies can find development opportunities and implement modifications required by evaluating client input and app usage statistics. 86% of consumers are willing to shell out extra for an improved customer experience, according to Daniel Newman in his 2020 Forbes article. Thus, businesses may offer enhanced user experience, attract clients, and boost revenue by continually upgrading the app.
How To Choose The Right Framework For Cross-Platform App Development?
As you continue to assess key considerations for cross-platform app development frameworks for your projects, it's vital to choose the innovative requirements and select one:
- The heart of your venture is the team working on it. Ensure that they are familiar with the framework's needs and tool selection. The acquisition process will be slowed down, and time will be saved.
- UX, overall development time, budgetary constraints, and additional maintenance needs are crucial considerations.
Top Frameworks for Cross-Platform App Development
Several cross-platform mobile application frameworks can help create top-notch apps:
React Native
This leading framework for cross-platform app development integrates the best features of React.js and JavaScript. It is renowned among the developer community due to the below-mentioned reasons:
- The Hot Reloading characteristic of React Native lets you observe changes to the source code right away sans saving it.
- The majority of the top third-party plugins are functional with it.
- React Native prioritizes the user interface (UI) and allows programmers to construct an extremely responsive UI experience.
Facebook is the most significant example that chose React Native for cross-platform mobile app development. It used this framework to build its ads manager app for both Android and iOS. From the design viewpoint, Facebook's interface is clean, with straightforward navigation and intuitive UX.
Flutter
It's the most well-known cross-platform app development framework available in this era. The straightforward UI of Flutter, which uses Google's Dart programming language to provide a robust approach to creating applications, is adored by programmers. The leading features of Flutter are the following:
- Starts a quick development process, which makes it affordable and the ideal alternative to release a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
- Flutter encourages using portable GPUs with UI power, assisting programmers in creating the newest user interfaces.
Nubank is the best example of a company using Flutter. This banking industry expanded, but there weren't sufficient native mobile application developers available to bring out new services. Various platforms had different functionalities due to a shortage of outstanding talent.
They selected Flutter after carefully considering their choices for platform-agnostic development. Flutter did better than any other platform concerning reliability, documentation, and development expertise.
Difference Between Native and Cross-Platform Mobile Development
These are the factors to consider while differentiating cross platform mobile development vs native:
Cost
As far as cost is concerned, native app development is platform-oriented and has consistent UI/UX. The cross-platform app has combined UI/UX for all platforms with reduced consistency.
Code reusability
For native app development, code is platform-dependent, and for cross-platform app development, a single code is used on several platforms.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Cross-Platform Development
Cross-platform applications have numerous advantages for both startups and well-established businesses. The benefits and challenges of cross-platform app development are the following:
Pros: Hassle-free to maintain
Like native applications, you don't have to rectify multiple codebases; instead, you resolve the typical codebase. This is how you can save time, effort, and cash.
Cons: Complexities of code design
When writing the code for cross-platform apps, developers must consider various circumstances to ensure the program works on all hardware and operating systems.
A significant problem arises from a single code that has numerous diverse adaptations. This could make it tough to discover individuals with the necessary skills for dealing with this kind of coding.
Pros: Resuable code
One of the best advantages of cross platform app development is effectiveness since cross-platform apps' code is interchangeable. By using a single code for every platform, for example, you can save time during the app development phase.
Organizations must consider creating cross-platform apps to get their products to market more quickly and at a lower cost in the contemporary digital age's challenging and fiercely competitive marketplace. Prevent spending money and time on creating native apps. Instead, create applications that combine the most features with the soothing touch of native consumer interfaces, such as cross-platform apps.
Explore here The Benefits of Custom Mobile App Development for Your Business