What’s the Best Framework For Building Mobile Apps ? Mobile apps are the key to success in a digitally-driven economy. Whether you are an entrepreneur or a standalone developer, building mobile apps is one huge importance. Now, there are multiple ways to get your work done or to be specific, develop a mobile app. Some prefer developing a native app whereas few walk down the journey of building a hybrid app. Time has changed and technology has undergone a shift, of course for the good. Beyond the basic form of app development, there lies a whole new concept, one that we call as cross-platform app development.
1. The Best Framework For Building Mobile Apps
The fact that cross-platform
apps are easy to adopt, has higher performance figures and speeds up the time
to market, they stand as one of the fastest-growing forms of app development.
From code reusability to easy hosting, cross-platform app development comes
with an array of features that turn them into the first choice of developers.
As a matter of fact,
cross-platform apps have witnessed greater demand as compared to the native
apps. However, it is not just the demand but also the expectations of the users
that have experienced an upsurge. In order to map the same and render top-notch
quality mobile apps, it is desirable that developers embed state-of-the-art
technology, enriching the quality of developed apps.
There exists an array of frameworks that help developers build feature-rich apps following a dedicated approach. If you are planning to start on with the process of developing a mobile app too, using a framework for the same would be the best call. In case you aren’t aware of the different available frameworks, there isn’t a thing to worry about.
This article is tailored to help you find the best framework for developing a mobile app. So, without wasting much time, let’s move on to see what are the different mobile app development frameworks you can consider to get started.
2. Top Six Mobile App Development Frameworks
With more than 2 million apps
available on the play store, ready to be downloaded, it is advocated that
developers choose the right set of technologies, let alone framework to build
apps that can outstand others. While designating one of them as best would be
wrong, we highlight a few of the most promising frameworks for mobile app development.
2.1 PhoneGap
The Apache Cordova product,
PhoneGap is more like a Cordova distribution equipped with additional tools and
plugins. The framework allows developers to build intuitive apps using a single
code base. Regarded as one of the most popular cross-platform app development
frameworks, PhoneGap extends its support to GPS, Phone book, Camera and other
inbuilt features of the device. With an excellent user interface and easy to
deploy Cordova plugins, apps built using the PhoneGap framework are seen to
perform better than others.
Advantages
- Open-source
- Offers flexibility
- Compatible with multiple
platforms - Integrate inbuilt features of
hardware
2.2 Ionic
An open-source and easy to use
cross-platform app development framework, ionic is preferred by the majority of
the developers. The fact that the framework allows developers to embed default
UI elements. This in a way enables them to focus more on development and less
on designing. For developers that have hands-on experience in HTML, CSS, and Javascript,
working on ionic would be the best choice.
Advantages
- Highly customizable
- Easy to learn
- Based on Angular JS.
- Help the development of
cross-platform apps - Compatible with Cordova
plugins
2.3 React Native
React Native is an open-source framework and a Facebook product. Much like React, React Native is a JavaScript framework meant for the development of applications. The only difference being in the platform targeted for the applications to run. Where React is wholly based on Web, react native is tailored to build applications both for Android and iOS. In case you have experience in working with JavaScript or React, React Native considered the best framework in 2020 to invest in the development of a mobile application.
Advantages
- Support Code Reusability
- Allows integration of inbuilt features such as camera, GPS, etc
- Induces a native-like appearance
- Robust with extended support of developer tools
2.4 Xamarin
Another popular framework that
allows the development of cross-platform apps, xamarin is loaded with a bundle
of features that make it a top-notch development tool. The best framework for
C# developers, xamarin enables builds apps that are compatible with iOS,
Windows, and Android platforms. Another reason for the popularity of xamarin is
the native-like experience rendered by apps built using this framework.
Surprisingly, xamarin has community support of more than 1.4 million
developers. Recently, xamarin was added to Visual Studio and does not charge
individuals for using it as a reference, promoting low-cost development.
Advantages
- Build all for multiple
platforms - Native like interface
- Higher performance
- Shared App logic
- Huge community support
2.5 Flutter
Google’s product, Flutter has
gained tremendous attention from developers across the globe. Flutter allows
developers to build applications both for Android and iOS platforms with the
help of Dart, another Google-owned language. Flutter, unlike the other
available frameworks, neither uses a web view nor a native UI component to
building mobile apps. To stop this, flutter uses Skia, a 2D engine that renders
visual components inducing a theme like an appearance. Further, the fact that
flutter has the best hot-reloading feature, it is growing as one of the best
mobile app development frameworks.
Advantages
- Compatible with multiple
platforms - Greater productivity
- Faster development process
- Higher performance
- Seamless interface
2.6 Appcelerator
For developers that are
looking for one such mobile app development framework that offers APIs for
accessing hardware devices of the mobile, Appcelerator is the best option. In
addition to the above, the Appcelerator uses components of native UI that
enhance the overall performance of the developed app. Formed as an open-source
app development framework, Appcelerator excels in developing apps that have a
native feel and at the same time, offers functions similar to native apps.
Advantages
- Enhances the development
phase - Wider community support
- Help in cross-platform app
development - Based on JavaScript, includes
the features of the language
3. The Final Word
Having said all of the above, choosing a mobile app development framework depends upon the requirements of the project. No matter which framework you choose for the development of an app, you need to make sure that the features and functionalities are provided by the framework suit best the needs of your project. In order to be right in the decision you make, draft down the basic requirements of the project, create a layout, enlist the features and the elements of the design. Once you are done, you can now compare different available frameworks, sort them based on the features and finally, filter out the one that is the best fit.
Great article. I think you’ve missed NativeScript. A great alternative if you use Angular as a framework in your frontend projects.
Very Good