You’ve got an awesome idea and you’re ready to start building your mobile app. Before you can do that, however, you have to choose the best mobile app development technology for your business — because if you go with the wrong technology, it could cost you time and money down the road. In this guide, you’ll learn about everything from native application development to web-based mobile applications, so you can make the right decision when it comes to choosing your technology platform.
What Is Mobile App Development?
Mobile app development is a large and complex market. As smartphones become ubiquitous, many individuals and businesses are building mobile apps. It may seem like any old mobile app will do, but it’s important to choose a mobile app development technology that matches your business needs. Not every type of mobile app works best with every type of mobile technology.
What Makes a Good Mobile App Developer?
The technology that you choose should be dependent on what type of application you’re developing and its target audience. One mobile app development technology will not fit all companies, so find out what your competitors are using and make sure that it’s something your customers like before you get started. As a general rule, focus on using native technologies (C# and Java are popular) if you plan to distribute through an app store.
What Are the Most Popular Technologies for Creating Mobile Apps?
There are many different mobile app development technologies available, but not all of them will work for your business. When selecting a technology, keep in mind factors such as cost, complexity and expected return on investment (ROI). You’ll want to think about how much effort you want to put into developing your app, how quickly you need it and how long you expect it to last. Additionally, take into account whether or not your staff has expertise with any of these tools.
Hybrid Apps, Native Apps, Web Apps – What’s Right For You?
Native apps are developed specifically for a single platform, usually iOS or Android. They offer full functionality and usability on mobile devices. Hybrid apps (which can be built using cross-platform frameworks like Apache Cordova, Ionic or React Native) can also be installed natively, but they use browser technology instead of an app store’s SDK. Web apps are simply websites with access to local device functions (contacts, location, etc.) that is limited by a browser’s capabilities.
Understanding Mobile Application Architecture
Choosing a technology platform is an important step in your mobile app development process. The development framework you choose will have a large impact on what type of applications you can build and whether or not your application will be able to provide an optimal user experience. To get started, it’s important to understand what factors go into making that decision, as well as all of your options. So let’s begin by taking a look at each element of mobile application architecture.
What About Testing and Maintenance?
For obvious reasons, it’s not a good idea to roll out a mobile app that isn’t fully functional. Or works with some but not all users. Or breaks down after an update. As with most projects, make sure you have time set aside in your project plan for testing and maintenance. This may be several months after launching your app, or it could be ongoing throughout your app’s life cycle. It depends on how complicated your app is, how many people use it, and what kind of updates you need to make (for example: bug fixes vs new features). While there are no hard-and-fast rules here, just keep in mind that if something goes wrong with your app—or doesn’t work as expected—it can negatively impact your business. And possibly cost you customers. So take steps now to minimize risks later on by setting aside time for testing and maintenance.
Tips on Starting Your Search For a Great Mobile App Developer
Starting your search for a great mobile app developer can be tricky. For one thing, you need to figure out which language will work best for your business model. Even if you aren't creating an entirely new app from scratch, choosing between Java and Objective-C is a very important decision. You also need to decide whether you'll want hybrid apps, or native apps that are coded in an individual programming language. If your company has multiple platforms it needs apps for (such as Apple and Android), you'll probably want native apps so they work on each platform seamlessly. Lastly, deciding between using HTML5 versus JavaScript is yet another big decision—and deciding what combination of these options is right will depend largely on what kind of app you're looking to create in the first place.
ConClusion
Even with so many different options and technologies, knowing how to choose which one is best for your project is easy if you stick to these four criteria: budget, time frame, resources available and technical requirements. If any of those items are an issue or up in the air – i.e., you don’t know what they are yet or they fluctuate based on external factors – look into cross-platform development options that allow you maximum flexibility. You can still create a native app experience without needing to learn new languages or code from scratch, saving you time and money. In fact, most developers recommend keeping it simple by choosing HTML5 over other mobile app development technologies because it allows them to develop apps across all platforms (iOS, Android) without having to learn multiple languages or deal with multiple code bases. And when it comes down to it, choosing a platform should be a matter of personal preference rather than getting hung up on industry trends. As long as your business is creating an effective mobile experience for its customers no matter what technology you use—and doing so within budget and on schedule—you're making a smart choice.6
