In today’s business landscape, creating mobile applications for your customers and employees is essential for success. However, providing apps that function seamlessly across various devices and operating systems can be daunting. Companies must attract, recruit and retain three teams of developers, one for each technology: iOS, Android and web. This approach to mobile app development is not only complicated, slow, and expensive – it can also result in an inconsistent and poor user experience.
Thankfully, there are options. Although cross-platform mobile app development frameworks may seem like the obvious choice, ultimately they may not be the best way to go. Let’s find out why.
What are cross-platform mobile app development frameworks?
Cross-platform frameworks enable developers to craft apps capable of running across multiple platforms, including iOS and Android. Unlike native development, which tailors individual apps for specific operating systems, cross-platform development frameworks streamline the process by allowing developers to write code once and deploy it across various platforms. This approach saves significant time and effort, making it a favoured method in today’s app development landscape.
What are the common cross-platform frameworks?
The most common cross-platform mobile development frameworks are distinguished by their underlying technology.
- Hybrid App Development Frameworks utilise web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These frameworks wrap the web app in a native shell to access device features, providing a native-like experience. e.g. Xamarin
- JavaScript-Based App Development Frameworks enable developers to build apps in JavaScript that run across multiple platforms. These frameworks seek to strike a balance between native performance and code reusability. e.g. React Native
- Compiled App Development Frameworks deliver high-performance apps with a native look and feel. These frameworks compile a shared codebase into native code specific to each platform, ensuring optimised performance and user experience. e.g. Flutter
What are the key challenges facing these frameworks?
While these common framework approaches have a lot going for them and have proven extremely popular, they nevertheless bring certain challenges. These include:
