Mobile app development takes a lot of money and effort, not to mention the time and focus away from business development. We help with a list of hybrid app development frameworks that will help you save on all of them.
As per reports, more than half the world already owns a smartphone and an average smartphone owner uses more than 10 apps per day. Mobile app development for small business as well as corporates thus, form an important part of their futuristic endeavors for businesses.
As an app owner, once you get set on mobile app development, you need to get through it in time. Developing Hybrid Apps ensures that one code helps you develop mobile apps in less time and cost for several platforms including mobiles, laptops, tablets, web apps, etc. in one go itself.
Features of Hybrid Apps That Could Be of Advantage To You and Your Business
‘Hybrid apps will not perform as well as native apps’, is amongst the many common digital transformation myths doing rounds for most business mobile app development cases. In fact, do you know that developing a hybrid app might actually help you get published sooner on the App stores than you expect?
Confused? There are basically Native Apps and Hybrid Apps. The major difference between the two is that Native Apps require separate coding for each platform, delivering high code efficiency. For example Java for Android development, etc. With time, technologies evolved and gave way to Hybrid apps, wherein one code was enough for developments spanning various platforms. For instance: Flutter and Ionic are such frameworks. Development of Hybrid Apps:
- Requires lesser development time as one code is sufficient for various platforms.
- Is cost-effective as it requires lesser app developer time and expertise.
- Owing to the various libraries and widgets involved, Hybrid Apps offer a seamless UI/UX experience to the users.
- Since there is just one code, it is much easier to maintain and update on a regular basis.
- As hybrid apps enable greater flexibility even when offline, they provide a comparatively more friendly user environment.
Rating the Various App Development Frameworks
Hybrid mobile applications are nowadays very essential for businesses to gain a competitive edge. We herein help you enumerate the best mobile app development framework currently in the trend that shall help you get mobile app development done easily and efficiently within the best mobile app budget plan.
1. Ionic
By far and large, Ionic is the most effective and widely utilized mobile app development framework. A large development community available for support and its support for HTML, CSS, and most of all JavaScript (the most common programming language in the world) makes it the most favorable choice for this slot. Moreover, Ionic is Angular-based and thus, it does not require the developer to learn a whole new language. It comes with UI components and predefined elements for an overall easy development procedure. It also has a live reload system and app in-built development server. Due to its evolution in due course of time, Ionic is by far the most preferred hybrid app developer platform.
2. Flutter
Launched in 2018 by Google, Flutter is a hybrid app development framework made from scratch by the company. Unlike Ionic, Flutter does not support Java or other common developing languages. Rather, it only seems to support developments using Dart, another Google Product. The best part about flutter is that it is extremely fast and has its own set of widgets which enable easy implementation of functionalities like buttons, sliders, switches, dialog boxes, tab bars, loading spinners, etc. within the app. The platform is compatible with Fuchsia, Google’s mobile OS, and comes with a hot reload feature that enables easy and instant viewing of changes. Due to the wholesome backing of Google, the framework is now the second-most obvious choice for developers the world over.
3. React Native
React Native enables the development of mobile apps that look and feel like the Native apps (It also uses JAScript for developments). React Native basically relies on the reusability of the code, wherein 90% of the overall code is reused for development on another platform as well, instead of having to create separate codes for Android and iOS developments. But the framework takes time to get used to and to initialize runtime the first time around. For the functionalities not directly included within the framework, react-native allows third-party plugins like JavaScript modules, etc. It also allows live and hot reloading for easy compilation of changes made to the app. With an inherent modular architecture that enhances the reliability and stability of the apps, react native is one of the choicest mobile app development frameworks out there.
4. Native Script
Just like React Native, Native script enables the reuse of codes developed using JavaScript. It also enables API and library access just like React Native. The framework is easy to understand and enables the compilation of code down to native code, which then runs as a native app. Its negative part is that there exist differences between the end-results of the same native script code with Android and iOS platforms. But, as its utilities evolve, it is finding more and more takers in the developer community.
5. Quasar
The Quasar framework is basically developed on Vue.js. It includes several state-of-the-art UI effects for innovative website and apps developments. The framework supports mostly all desktop and mobile browsers, including iOS Safari. The apps developed on Quasar are also customizable (CSS) and extendable (JS). But, somehow the framework is unable to garner the following it deserves, and thus, there are comparatively fewer developers available.
6. Xamarin
Xamarin is the mobile app development framework supported and owned by Microsoft, since 2016. It is an open-sourced development toolset that enjoys immense popularity due to its easy integration with C#, .NET, and Visual Studio family. The framework enables easy code sharing with 60 to 90% of reusable code. However, there is a steep price attached to the Microsoft Visual Studio integrated development environment version that is required for most business-related developments.
7. PhoneGap
PhoneGap is the mobile app development framework developed and owned by Adobe Systems. As a famed platform, it allows the development of a single application, and then its conversion to several other platforms. Differences in end-results however might pose an issue to some extent. As it is compliant with HTML, CSS, and Javascript coding, it does not require the developers to learn a new language. However, the framework is not much recommended for developing high-performance graphics included apps.
8. JQuery
Jquery mobile is recommended framework for out-of-the-box mobile app developments as it does not try compiling mobile apps like a native version. The framework design includes convenient menus and enables app development adapted to several screen sizes, making it quite developer-friendly. However, owing to its issues in .NET synchronizations, it is not much recommended for complex app developments.
9. Kendo UI
Kendo UI is a mobile app development framework owned by Telerik. More than 135 companies including Deloitte and TeamViewer use this framework for their app-based developments. Kendo UI is basically an HTML5 based UI framework that inculcates a library of 70+ UI widgets, an abundance of data-visualization gadgets, a client-side data source, and a built-in MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) library, making it easy to use for developers. However, most of these functionalities are only available to commercial licensees. The free version can only be utilized for simple SPA developments.
10. Corona SDK
Corona SDK is the framework of choice for most game developers as it enables the easy inclusion of high pixel graphics. With easy install and initialization of the environment and a well-developed API system, the framework enables easy, efficient development of apps wherein changes can be instantly viewed. However, its code (mostly written in ‘Lua’) is not very reusable and does not support several libraries.
Look Out for Your Requirements First
As an app owner or app developer, you should first look at the requirements of your mobile app and then choose a framework from the list given above.
Author Bio
Jason Camaya loves carrying his camera wherever he goes. When he doesn’t click pictures, Jason loves to write, play video games, and procrastinate. He has been writing for the technology vertical for quite some time now, and as talented as he gets, he is giving tough competition to his fellow writers. He has been featured on many websites and blogs.
Website wireframe sketch -DepositPhotos
