In the current mobile-driven world, having a web presence is not enough anymore. You have to be where your audience is. The multiplying smartphone users signify where you should be operating your business; it's on their smartphone. Now, to be on their smartphones, you are required to develop a mobile app. Moreover, there are multiple mobile operating systems, and each requires specific technologies and tools for building mobile applications.
Developing different apps for different OSs will require an abundant amount of time, effort, and money. Furthermore, you have to write and maintain separate codebases, work twice to fix bugs or add new features. Seemingly, it is very challenging for a startup business with a tight budget. Thanks to Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Tools that enable enterprises to build mobile apps for multiple OSs using the same codebase.
Using these mobile application development tools, you can create and launch native-like apps and target a wider audience. In this blog, we will elaborate on 5 Popular Mobile App Development Tools that let you build native-like cross-platform mobile apps. Before that, let's check out some benefits of cross-platform mobile app development.
Single codebase
Unlike Native app development, in cross-platform app development, you only have to write an efficient and reusable codebase once and use it to create apps for multiple platforms.
Time-savor
Since the codebase is reusable, it saves a lot of time and effort and lets you focus on the project's primary goal.
Development speed
Cross-platform development accelerates the time to market and helps to meet deadlines by enabling you to develop multiple apps simultaneously.
Cost-effective maintenance
App maintenance is inevitable and it comes into the picture once you launch the app for users. As you develop multiple apps from a single codebase in cross-platform development, you must maintain that single codebase only. It makes the process easier and faster.
Uniformity
When it comes to design, a codebase that compiles to different platforms helps keep a consistent look, feel, and user experience on all the targeted platforms.
It's time to unveil our top 5 cross-platform mobile app development frameworks that created a buzz in 2020 and will be on the top in 2021, too.
1 Flutter
Flutter is an open-source UI framework and software development kit offered by Google to produce native-like cross-platform mobile apps. The UI framework is built using Dart programming language, which is also a Google's product. Since Dart is compiled to native code, each UI component renders a native feel on the targeted platform, Android or iOS. The increasing number of Flutter apps prove that it is going to be among the Best Tools for Mobile App Development in 2021.
Why choose Flutter in a nutshell;
- Quick App development
- Highly reusable codebase
- Wide range of widget libraries
- Builds UI, fixes bugs, and helps in experiments with Hot reload feature
- Detailed documentation
- Best for Startups and MVP App Development
2 React Native
React Native is a JavaScript framework and a perfect combination of React and Native to build cross-platform mobile apps. Whereas React is a JavaScript library used to create user interfaces. Supported by Facebook and community-driven, this cross-platform framework is the best to build mobile apps without compromising on quality and user experience.
Why choose React Native in a nutshell;
- Effective Handling
- Numerous third-party packages and built-in APIs to access native platform functionality
- Very useful for building robust apps
- High performing apps at a cheaper rate
3 Cordova
Apache Cordova, earlier known as PhoneGap, is an open-source, cross-platform framework presented by Adobe system. It uses standard web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Windows platforms. There is a large developers’ community and a complete toolset, which helps you extend your app capability and make development faster. Thus, it simplifies mobile app development for web developers as well.
Why choose Cordova in a nutshell;
- Simple to set up
- Allows access to Device features through Plugins
- Provides a cloud solution
- Compatible with various third-party APIs and tools
- Easier to maintain
4 Ionic
Licensed under MIT, Ionic is another free and one of the Top Mobile App Development Tools to build cross-platform mobile apps. The USP of this framework is that you can use any JavaScript framework to develop mobile apps, including React.js, Angular.js, etc. It has a rich front-end library with building blocks and UI components to design user-friendly, high-performing mobile, and Progressive Web Apps.
Why choose Ionic in a nutshell;
- Utilizes a single codebase for mobile and progressive web apps
- Developer-friendly tool
- Easy and Quick to learn
- Clear documentation
- Offers a library of mobile-optimized UI components
5 Xamarin
Backed by tech-giant Microsoft, Xamarin is the oldest cross-platform SDK used to develop mobile apps for various platforms. Xamarin.Forms, mobile UI framework, offers a complete UI toolkit to help you deliver a consistent look on every platform. You can also use Xamarin.Android and Xamarin.iOS for custom and platform-specific app UI. You can build apps for Android, iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, all using a single codebase. It has world-class tools, libraries, and uses .NET and C# to let you create real native-like apps.
Why choose Xamarin in a nutshell;
- A huge community of developers
- Single Tech Stack for Quick Development
- Widely used by startups and SMEs
- Offers Native APIs and NuGet Packages
Conclusion
That's all about the cross-platform frameworks and Mobile App Development Tools To Use In 2021. The blog has highlighted the characteristics of the tools that make it easier and faster to build and deploy mobile apps. However, it is hard to compare all of them in order to find the best cross-platform framework. The reason being, the choice of the best framework depends on the project type and requirements. If you cannot make up your mind, you simply consult with an experienced mobile app development company.
