Choosing the Right Mobile App Development Framework: Factors to Consider
Looking to create a custom mobile application? Discover six tips for choosing your project’s perfect mobile app development framework. Maximize your custom mobile application development with the right framework selection.
Today mobile applications can do anything for you. From playing a song online to finding your loved ones with Tinder, apps have made themselves so smart that your dependency on them keeps increasing daily. However, have you ever wondered if these apps could only run on iOS devices, not Android ones? So to resolve this problem, cross-platform app development kicks in. Nowadays, mobile app developers use typical emulators to test and run the apps they are developing for a platform they do not own.
Without cross-platform support for most of our applications, there would have been a serious concern over the conflict between iOS and Android platforms. Moreover, going with numbers isn’t the main issue here, as all the apps go through many quality checks before they get listed on their respective app stores.
.
What is a Custom Mobile Application Development Framework?
Mobile app development frameworks are toolkits that function as a frame for your mobile application and offer a pattern-derived set of code libraries and software development kits (SDKs) tools, with API tools – to help developers to build an efficient and robust mobile application without starting from scratch. Working with an already-existing skeleton means that app developers only need to provide flesh out the application’s code with custom code to integrate with the provided frame. There are two different types of custom mobile application development frameworks to select from:
- A native mobile development framework develops native apps on a particular platform, such as Android or iOS.
- A Cross-platform development framework is used to develop cross-platform apps that work on multiple platforms and Operating Systems.
Although mobile app frameworks help to make development for mobile platforms stress-free, it is also possible to develop mobile applications without using any mobile app framework or platform, which includes using the Java language, which is the best framework for Android app development, and Swift language to build apps for iOS devices.
Different development tools and framework methods support developers with different MSDLC procedures at different phases, i.e., design, development, and testing. However, whether you are developing a native mobile app or a cross-platform mobile app, be conscious that different frameworks have altered features, making the development process easier or harder, depending on the mobile app’s requirements.
Pros and Cons of Different Mobile App Development Platforms
Pros & Cons of different app development platforms
Let’s thoroughly analyze the pros and cons of every development platform.
Native iOS Mobile App Development Platform
The best native platform for your app leads to deciding between iOS and Android. Firstly, let’s take a closer look at iOS development. iOS is a closed platform, which means Apple has full control over its programming language, the apps it broadcasts, and the devices it releases. They have strict guidelines, where unconventionality may lead to the fatal outcome of your mobile app. You will need to follow those guidelines and get prepared for persistent changes. Alternatively, developers always know how to cooperate with designers and make an excellent product that will be fully accepted by the store and loved by users.
The good news is that there are around 20 devices you’ll need to make the app compatible with. Whereas the Android platform has over a hundred, designing optimization is challenging. Less supported devices bring about lower costs for testing. If you are concerned about revenues and want to get the best out of your digital business, remember that iOS devices are the most luxurious. Hence, they interest people who are ready to spend money on applications. So if you aim to earn revenue from an application and not just make people aware of your brand, consider iOS development. As per stats, Apple users spend 60% more on purchasing apps than Android users.
Native Android Mobile App Development Platform
According to recent studies, Android is the top mobile development platform in the world. Developing an Android app can acquire a large pool of target users. In iOS, the operating system is very flexible as an app can work on multiple gadgets like smartphones, tablets, watches, and TV boxes. There are a variety of applications available on Google Play. You can find everything according to your taste. Therefore by publishing an app to this marketplace, be sure to get sufficient early followers.
The Java programming language is standard out there in the Android world. This retains the edge of entering the development pretty low. With the platform not being tough to study, it’s easy to find a skilled developer to take along your idea to execution. The development is possible on different OS, including Windows, Linux, or Mac OS, as Android SDK can be installed and used on all of them. Google continuously builds and polishes suitable development tools, making it easy for programmers to build apps of various difficulty levels.
Cross-Platform Mobile App Development
A cross-platform development framework is a combination of HTML5 and native plug-ins. This “write-once-run-everywhere” approach is a pretty cost-effective solution. React Native app development is one of the most popular and best cross-platform mobile app development frameworks. It assures 20% faster development compared to native languages, reusing up to 90% of developed code when supporting multiple platforms and noteworthy cost reduction. Cross-platform development appears to be a good choice for your project – no headache about the range of supported devices, number of ready-made solutions, and UI frameworks to implement even a complex feature. It’s much easier to support an HTML5 app than a native one. But then, what is the catch? There are, in fact, a lot of them:
Dependency on a framework
There are several cross-platform frameworks, each having its limitations before deciding React Vs. Angular or any other framework in favor of this or that mobile app framework, carefully study its potential. Not all features may be easily integrated with a cross-platform framework. When it comes to complex functions such as image processing or push notifications, only native solutions can perform exceptionally.
Compatibility
It’s tough to reach the impeccable compatibility of a cross-platform app on multiple devices. A back button on iOS and Android devices could be a good point.
Low Performance
It doesn’t matter from where you have downloaded an app; either Google.
Look and Feel
You won’t amaze customers with super cool and unique native designs. However, it may be a challenging task for a cross-platform framework. Even the best cross-platform custom mobile application development tools, such as Flutter instance, cannot help you here. Thus forget about the native look and feel. Both native and cross-platform solutions for mobile UI frameworks have their advantages and drawbacks. You need to be aware of all of them and choose the best framework for mobile development as per your project requirements.
Factors To Consider While Choosing a custom mobile application development Framework
Several factors will influence a company’s decision to choose one mobile app development framework over another. A diversity of industry standards should always be considered when considering which mobile app framework to use. Let’s discuss some of them:
Platform Feature Support
Numerous applications in today’s network of mobile apps are cross-platform, as they are developed to work on various platforms without having to recode for an individually native system. This approach helps developers spend less time coding for specific platforms when they use cross-platform development frameworks and helps users obtain mobile applications on their own platforms, allowing for smooth data integration between systems.
Speed Consideration
Native and cross-platform mobile applications need to function fast and efficiently like websites. This is essential for almost all apps but is critical for gaming apps, which involve a certain measure of speed and performance to be usable. Mobile app development frameworks that can help developers to use the top code and libraries for optimum speed are important for many apps.
Cost of Development
When officials plan the development of a new business application for mobile platforms and devices, calculating the ROI versus the cost of development is a serious talking point when considering the divergent costs of using different custom mobile application development frameworks.
Security Risk
In an age of growing data breaches, mobile apps – which use software security, Wi-Fi security, and cellular network security are gradually more targeted. Along with complying with data legislation, such as HIPAA, CCPA, and GDPR – certain kinds of mobile apps, like banking apps and e-commerce apps that consist of a payment system or gateway, must be hardened, secured, and tested with risk evaluations, practical penetration testing, and vulnerability testing.
Picking a safe and secure mobile app framework so payments can be made in a safe environment will pay off in the long span.
Enhance Efficiency
Select the best mobile app framework to use. Try working within the scope of the thin code pattern of a system that a developer is aware. This can help to bring about the most effective mobile application possible. Choosing a mobile app framework that boosts the developers’ experience and guarantees the final output with high quality.
After Launch Updates
When considering the best mobile application framework for mobile app development. Choose one that increases the processes of all future regular maintenance (patching, updates, upgrading, fixes, support, etc.) app workflows once deployed.