Do you know why smartphones have gained popularity in a short time? With smartphones, you could accomplish several things like sending emails, watching movies, social networking, and more. More people are using a smartphone because it is making everyday activities easier. The growth of smartphones in recent years has increased the demand for mobile applications.
When it comes to developing a mobile application, especially when you are a beginner, you come up with several options existing in the market. What do you think makes an application with a native solution the right choice? Should you look at the latest trend only with web technologies? Then why do people go for hybrid solutions? Several questions arise when you begin with a mobile application.
If you are thinking of building a mobile application, then picking the right solution should be the top priority. Building an application depends on several factors, including the budget, target audience, plan of action, and more.
Native, Hybrid, and web applications are three common genres of mobile applications. Let us discuss them in brief, and then you would understand which type of application would fit your business and meet your goal.
What Do You Understand by Web Applications?
A web application uses web technology and the web browser to perform anything over the internet. It is a client-server computer program that runs in a web browser.
Online banking and auctions are common examples of web applications. It is less secure than other types of mobile applications and operates at a slower speed.
What is Native Mobile Application?
Native applications are those applications that are written using native development language. The apps are accessed through icons that are present on the home screen. These applications use GPS, cameras, and more, and use the latest technology.
Native Applications are developed using the platform’s defaults solutions; therefore, the coders have full access to the device capabilities. With Native apps, you need time, high-budget, and higher maintenance. All these limitations are covered in hybrid applications, which is a mix of native and web applications.
What is Hybrid Mobile App Development?
Now let us learn about a different form of mobile app development, i.e., Hybrid mobile app development. Hybrid apps are nothing but a combination of native and web applications. The code in Hybrid apps is written using several web technologies, including HTML, Javascript, and more.
Nowadays, working in hybrid apps has become the preferred choice of developers. The code in this app form is to be written once and then could be run on different platforms with no extra effort. What’s interesting is it could be run on iOS and Android and then could be reused for
progressive web applications.
So, let’s now understand the benefits and the importance of Hybrid Mobile App Development for business.
Pros of Using Hybrid Mobile Applications
Before you hire a Hybrid mobile application developer, make sure that you know the benefits of using it.
1. Better User interface
The hybrid app offers consistent user experience across several platforms. Native apps might set a standard in terms of performance, but hybrid has overcome this in terms of speed. Attractive design and user interface are the core elements of any application.
With the hybrid app, you could be sure of delivering the best performance to app users. They do not have to worry about the loading time when they run applications on different platforms. It doesn’t matter, whether the user is running an app on iOS or Android, he/she would get the same feel from hybrid apps. Thus, any business could attract customers on Android and iOS devices.
One best example of a hybrid app is Twitter. It could handle a large amount of traffic that shows its faster performance.
2. Best Offline Support
Hybrid apps are best for those who have limited data plans and have a poor internet connection. Offline support in a few hybrid apps keeps the user connected to the app features even when they lost the internet.
Also, in hybrid apps, due to the device’s APIs, the end-users could store data as offline storage.
3. Minimal Development Cost
Hybrid apps are cost-effective in comparison to native and web apps. Organizations do not have to hire different mobile developers and to spend separately for multiple platforms. This mobile app development form allows developers to write a single code and to maintain that for several platforms.
The development team must know HTML and Javascript. With a common code, extra charges are cut, and this also saves the developers time. Furthermore, the code could be reused, and you don’t have to re-build the app from scratch.
4. Simple Backend
No doubt, the native app delivers a great user experience, but hybrid mobile apps also keep the back-end structure simple. You could build a hybrid app UX to connect to device-specific functionalities. Hybrid users feel no difference when they switch from one platform to another.
5. Creative Ideas Give More Value to the App
Ordinary apps are not evolved like today’s app and fail to compete with native apps. Hybrid applications are sophisticated and inherent functionality without much expense. So, the developers become more creative and attract more target audience.
Also, it helps the developers to test the app with third-party plug-ins and adds more value to the app.
6. Gets Updated Easily
Hybrid applications do not have issues related to updates. It gets updated in no time and proves to be highly scalable for enterprises.
For native applications, a new update is rolled out, but hybrid applications bypass versioning and maintain the page in real-time. Hybrid apps are good-to-go-for any business and provide flexibility with other platforms.
Popular Frameworks for Mobile Hybrid Applications
Here is the list of a few popular frameworks that could help you in building effective and unique hybrid mobile applications.
1. PhoneGap
It is widely-adopted technology for mobile app development. PhoneGap is an open-source mobile application development platform that allows the developers to build an application using Javascript and HTML.
With this framework, you could reuse existing
web development fundamentals and skills to make hybrid applications. It has a robust backend system that speeds up the development process. It offers flexibility to mobile developers as they could develop an application without putting in much effort. With all these amazing features, PhoneGap has attracted several app developers.
2. Framework7
Framework7 is a free framework to develop web and mobile apps. It allows you to create Android apps and iOS with CSS and Javascript.
It has familiar jQuery syntax to get started quickly. It offers a built-in grid system for arranging elements responsively.
Framework7 supports faster development via a browser. Some amazing features offered by Framework7 are multiple views support, native scrolling, and more.
3. Mobile Angular UI
Mobile Angular UI offers essential components that are missing in Bootstrap 3 overlays and switches. It is an extension to Bootstrap 3 but does not depend on jQuery and Bootstrap js library. It comes with overthrow.js and fastclick.js for a better experience.
4. Xamarin
It is a cross-platform tool and solves the queries of developers. You could use C# for Android and Windows app. It allows the developer to develop the application’s User Interface using the MVC pattern (Model/View/Controller).
Xamarin is an excellent choice for Cross-platform app development. It offers a great native user interface and allows you to create a native app. With Xamarin, you don’t have to create different API for different mobile platforms, as it allows you to use the same API to build mobile and desktop applications.
5. Ionic
The ionic is a free and open-source framework that offers a library of gestures and mobile-optimized UI components. It provides services for developing desktop, progressive web-based applications, and mobile apps. It builds hybrid apps using HTML5 due to the open-source framework.
It has a friendly user interface and could be customized for any mobile app platform. The Ionic framework uses standard tools with a single coding base and thus saves money and provides an amazing look and feel. It also allows the developer to create excellent graphical representations in the apps.
6. Flutter
Flutter creates apps with high production value and is designed to work across several platforms. It offers features like nesting and assembling widgets to build UIs, VI editors, allows dialog boxes, loading spinners, and more.
Flutter is Google's development kit to build mobile apps for iOs and Android. It provides its widgets and uses the C++ rendering engine. One of the greatest features of the flutter is the hot reload. It enables better collaboration between designers and developers.
Final Words
Each application you choose has its benefits and has a lot to offer to grow your business. Ensure that you select the application according to your target audience and not with your competitor’s success. The choice of a mobile app depends on user expectations and business requirements.
Unless you are creating a game application, a hybrid app is a perfect choice as it offers cost savings and compatibility across different platforms.
We are a custom mobile application development company, and our experts are there to solve your business challenges. Contact us to get a consultation about your project.
