Cross-Platform Hybrid Mobile App Development : Everything You Need To Know

The mobile app development market is full of opportunities today. Some of the most plaguing concerns in the world can now be solved by mobile applications. We experienced this first-hand when we witnessed one of the devastating pandemics of the century and mobile apps of all kinds came to the rescue to keep us safe, sane and secured.

We had on-demand mobile apps to deliver essentials at our doorsteps. We had mhealth apps seamlessly taking care of our physical and mental health. We also had perpetual access to music and video streaming services to keep us entertained for a while amidst all the negativity that surrounded us. In short, mobile apps are inevitable.

With that said, the market is becoming extremely competitive as well. Brands and businesses are quick at identifying new opportunities and simultaneously turn threats into opportunities. This is making the market highly competitive with apps rolling out from multiple brands to resolve one real-world issue.

When the competition is stiff, businesses have to rely on the initial influx of users to experience their apps, get captivated by it, derive value out of it and then retain it for eternity. Time to market plays a crucial role in this phase as brands could lose out on users, profits and market share if they arrive late to the party.

That’s exactly where hybrid apps come into the picture. In this extensive guide, we will explore everything about cross-platform hybrid app development, its advantages, popular development frameworks and more and get a good grasp of the concept. This will ensure you have all the insights you need to venture into hybrid mobile app development for your business or an idea.

Let’s get started.

What is Cross Platform Mobile App Development?

For the uninitiated, mobile app development can be classified into three types:

• Native apps
• Web apps
• And hybrid apps

Native apps are those that are built for one specific platform such as Android or iOS. They have their own guidelines, development standards and practices that developers have to adhere to. Native apps offer seamless experiences to users and leverage the full potential of the devices they operate on.

Web apps, on the other hand, are those that can run from browsers and need no downloading whatsoever. They are universal and are not limited by factors like device size, screen size, operating system and more.

Lastly, the main topic, hybrid apps are the blend of both that combine the best standards and functionalities of native and web apps. For instance, they deliver the seamlessness and phenomenal experience of a native app and are universal and platform-independent like web apps.

Hybrid app development is all about coding an application just once and pushing it to all operating systems with minor tweaks.

Cross Platform Hybrid App Development Services: The Complete Anatomy

Now that we know what hybrid apps are, let’s take a further step in understanding hybrid mobile app development and get to know the different components of a hybrid app.

What Are the Benefits of Cross-Platform Hybrid App Development Frameworks?

Hybrid apps offer tons of advantages to owners. There’s a reason why brands are increasingly looking to develop hybrid apps and roll out cost-effective solutions to their target audiences and existing customers.

Let’s explore in detail what the advantages are.

Versatile

Hybrid apps are not limited by platform restrictions. It is a known fact that you cannot install Android apps on iOS devices and vice versa. However, what’s becoming a trend is that a lot of businesses are launching exclusive apps first before making them universally available for all devices.

For instance, Clubhouse got an iOS exclusive launch before it made its way into Android devices. For businesses that are aiming for a higher traction, hybrid apps are ideal as they allow you to reuse the same source code for all operating systems. Cross-Platform Hybrid app development is as versatile as it gets.

Swift SDC

SDC stands for software development cycle. With methodologies like DevOps and agile ruling the project management space today, hybrid app development ensures your apps are developed in time regardless of your time to market. Having the need to be coded just once, hybrid apps enable you to quickly roll out MVPs or even first iterations of your final product as well. They are also extremely stable and secure.

Ease Of Maintenance

One of the major concerns brand owners face is maintaining their apps in the long run. Native apps involve higher expenses and frequent roll outs of individual codes and patches for diverse operating systems.

However, that’s totally not the case with hybrid app development as app management and maintenance is hassle free. Hybrid apps can be easily maintained with one single version of update or patch pushed to multiple OSs.

Less Expensive

Hybrid mobile app development not just lets you save time and effort but money as well. Brands that are awaiting funding but desperately need stats and numbers on downloads to get investments can rely on hybrid apps for low development costs. Hybrid apps are also ideal for enterprises who intend to test the water for diversification when entering a new market segment.

Network Independent

This is probably the biggest advantage of hybrid apps. They are available offline and let customers use the app like they would do when connected to the internet. This is because hybrid apps locally store data and make it available when there is no internet connection. This powers multiple functionalities of the app, assisting users who are on the go or are located in remote areas where there is weak internet connection.

High Performing

Advancements in cross-platform hybrid app development are gradually bridging the gap between native app experience and hybrid development frameworks. Customers today can no longer differentiate between both and tell for sure which version of the app they are using. Hybrid apps load fast, are super-smooth in their operations and hardly crash or lag. This is what every customer needs.

Real-World Examples Of Hybrid Apps

This could be a little surprising as some of the apps you’ve been using quite frequently could be on this list. Thanks to the functionalities and benefits they offer, hybrid apps are slowly becoming more predominant. That’s why market players intend to go ahead with them as well. To give you a quick idea, here are some examples of hybrid apps.

1. Gmail - Initially developed on HTML, Google decided to fix some of its concerns and shortcomings and develop it on HTML5. What we use today is the most stable, hybrid version of the app that is giving us native-like experiences on a daily basis.
2. Twitter - For those of you who were hesitant on the performance of hybrid apps for high-traffic websites, here’s the answer. Twitter deploys hybrid apps and nobody could tell if they were using a native or a hybrid app based on its performance. Hybrid apps are perfect for high-volume applications as well.
3. Uber - The on-demand transportation app that is full of modules and processes working in tandem with each other to ensure our next ride is less than 5 minutes away.  For all the functions it performs, Uber works on a hybrid framework, delivering exceptional performance.

Which Cross Platform Framwork Is Best For Mobile App Development?

Because cross-platform app development is in trend, several hybrid app development frameworks have popped over the years to allow developers to seamlessly build and roll out hybrid apps. Let’s look at some of the most popular frameworks.

Flutter App Development Framework

Owned by Google, Flutter was launched in the year 2017. Since then, it has grown immensely in the hybrid app development space, quickly becoming a fan favorite among the developer communities around the world. Flutter enables mobile, web and desktop app development and is popular for its range of widgets and UI-specific tools. The fact that it is open source adds to its popularity.

Ionic App Development Framework

Another open source cross-platform mobile app development framework, Ionic is one of the most widely used frameworks in the world. Deploying technologies like JavaScript and CSS, Ionic has preloaded UI components like sheets and forms and a host of tools and features to test and debug apps.

React Native App Development Framework

Developed and owned by Facebook, React Native is a framework that has the least learning curve. Ideal for beginners, this framework offers extensive support to 3rd party integrations. React Native is used by several tech mammoths for their apps.

Wrapping Up

This is an extensive guide on hybrid app development, right? We believe you have all the adequate knowledge and insights on what hybrid mobile app development is. The only thing left to do is approach a solid app development company like ours to get your hybrid app developed.

We work with the best minds in the industry and have an incredible portfolio of applications we’ve developed over the years. We recommend you get in touch with us to discuss your cross platform app development services ideas and find out the most practical ways to develop your business app for profits.

Reach out to us today.