The superior performance of iPhone and Android-based mobiles from the likes of Samsung and Huawei, has compelled businesses to develop apps on both platforms.
In the past, businesses had to build two native apps to capture audiences across both platforms. That’s a costly strategy. Decision-makers, therefore have to choose one over the other.
In recent years, front-end developers have come up with a solution – cross-platform mobile frameworks.
What are cross-platform app development frameworks?
In a nutshell, a cross-platform app development framework is a tool that enables coders to create mobile apps that are compatible with both Android and iOS.
Essentially, the frameworks allow a brand to capture both markets in one app thus dramatically cutting the cost of building an app whilst simultaneously enabling brands to reach a wider audience.
Some of the best frameworks for cross-platform mobile development are React Native, Sencha Touch, Xamarin and Flutter.
We have been using React Native to build apps since 2016 because it offers several significant advantages over other native app development tools. Furthermore, React Native provides us our own testing platform directly from one dashboard.
That’s not to say creating a native iOS or Android mobile app with Java or Swift should be ignored. These coding languages do offer value for mobile app developers worldwide.
However, we prefer React Native because it enables us to build a web, iOS and Android app in one complete package. Also, we’re in good company. Airbnb, Walmart, Skype, and Tesla all use React Native – and for good reason.
The benefits of multi-platform mobile frameworks
React Native is a framework that enables developers to put together the building blocks of a user-interface (UI) and create feature-rich mobile apps. The benefits the framework has over other app development tools are:
- Quicker process of building apps
- Greater mobile performance
- Translates language into native codes
- It’s community driven
- It’s trusted by some of the leading industry giants
A finely-tuned mobile application can seriously improve your customer service and transcend your brand to a new level. Apps are excellent for improving customer experience and nurturing brand loyalty.
However, the main sticking point for many businesses is that native apps are not cost-effective – mainly because they are only capable of reaching a limited audience.
Enter cross-platform development frameworks and voila – you have a hybrid app that eliminates the limitations of native apps.
Why is React Native cost-effective?
Even though cross-platform applications enhance your chances of improving ROI, the cost can still be a stumbling block. Many development frameworks still require developers to invest a lot of time in the development process. As you know, time is money.
The key advantage of React Native is that it deploys native code on the device the application is being used. This means the app will work on iOS, Android or a desktop computer even though the coding only uses one language – ordinarily, you would have to use at least three.
Furthermore, because React Native is based on JavaScript, experienced frontend developers do not need to learn new codes. They are already familiar with the language.
As a result, developers that are already familiar with JavaScript can build a cross-platform mobile app quickly with losing quality post-production — which cuts the costs of building a brand app.
Even if a developer did encounter a problem when building the app, React Native has such a large community that they could probably find a solution much more quickly than trying to work the bugs out for themselves.
Developers rely on sharing information to help keep costs down for both the firm they work for and their client. A common practice is to upload lines of code so that it is easily available for other coders – which inevitably reduces building time significantly.
Superior Mobile Performance
The main goal of an app is to encourage your customers to use them on a regular basis. If you fail to engage end-users you miss the opportunity to build lasting bonds and improve conversions.
When you invest in an app, you want to see some return on your investment. How your app performs over different platforms is therefore critical. The coding has to be robust and fully compliant with the operating system your customers are using.
This is where many cross-platform mobile frameworks suffer. Whilst they enable brands to build mobile apps that standalone on any device, there can often be a drop-off in quality.
That’s not the case with React Native. As the name suggests, the code reacts to whatever language the native device uses. It’s basically a multi-lingual code that can communicate with multiple types of programming language.
This feature is particularly useful when you want to add a feature to your app that another application already has. Rather than programming the feature from scratch, it’s more cost-effective to use a bridging technique and merge your app with a third-party app – such as a payment gateway.
However, bridging apps can create bugs and disrupt performance quality. This inevitably impacts the user-experience and they won’t use your app anymore.
Build Apps That Are Boss
The developers at Boss Digital prefer to React Native because it provides us with a powerful tool that enables us to create high-performing apps for iOS and Android platforms whilst significantly reducing the cost for our clients.
Not only that but our experienced team has a proven track record of building user-friendly apps that engage end-users and enable you to improve your bottom line.
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