Since the early 2000s mobile app development began to gain a lot of attention from app development companies as well as programmers. Here are a few tips for mobile app development companies and app developers.
Mobile app development and web development
Almost all mobile apps intract with an API. Mobile app development companies are very familiar with these concepts. Developers will handle all data and tech requirements necessary for mobile app development but the bottom line is that generally speaking there’s no difference between building a mobile app and building a web application. In certain cases both will use the same code base.
That being said, there are a few differences worth noting – these can make the transition from web development to mobile app development much smoother. One of the most important things to take into consideration when dealing with mobile app development is the fact that web apps can be updated very quickly, whenever needed while mobile apps can take many weeks to update. Also, some mobile app users can simply opt not to update their apps.
What this means is that the API will automatically have to support multiple versions of your app. This is not a big problem as there are plenty of solutions you can implement but it’s better to keep it in mind when designing the API itself.
Another problem you can encounter with mobile app development is authentication – more and more websites are switching to token based authentication instead of cookies. Most mobile app development projects will benefit greatly from using the token-based approach.
Here is a list of pointers you should follow when building an app API:
- Keep in mind that users may own multiple devices and try to build your app accordingly
- Mobile devices tend to have slower internet so response objects should be designed accordingly
- Test every API updates with all supported app versions
When dealing with mobile app development there are many small details you need to consider but the basics are the same with web development.
Technology for mobile app development
Several frameworks can be used in order to enable certain technologies such as Javascript, CSS, HTML for mobile app development. These are called hybrid apps – most of them are written using Ionic, Phone Gap, Cordova and others.
By using frameworks you’ll be able to write the app in familiar programming languages and they are also cross-platform. This is a great advantage for web developers as well as web development companies – instead of having to build an Android app and an iOS app separately, you can share the code between the two platforms, thus saving time and money in the process. That being said, hybrid apps do have some disadvantages – this is why React Native is essential.
React Native was built and is currently maintained by a team from Facebook – this technology is very similar to the React framework so if you are familiar with React then you should definitely check out React Native. This technology has all the cross platform benefits of hybrid apps and runs natively, making it a top choice for mobile app developers.
Also, the UX/UI can be platform specific or shared, according to the needs of the developer. This is a very powerful tool which can handle both small as well as larger projects.
Specialized web development
Mobile app development is getting more popular nowadays and there’s a lot of money and interest in it but it doesn’t mean that every company needs a mobile app – having a mobile responsive website is much more important than having an app.
For certain companies, having an app might be a fad but having a fully-responsive website is a necessity. As a developer, if you’re not building mobile apps you’ll most likely still have to build mobile websites.
Considering the growth and popularity of services such as Squarespace and Wix, companies need to focus more on building web applications rather than simple websites.
Here is a list of tips you can implement in order to stand out in the crowd:
- Focus on building complex web applications rather than simple websites
- Try to build websites within a certain niche that has not yet been commoditized. This can include websites that provide highly customized user experience or sites focused on performance
- Offer other services as well – search engine optimization is best done when building the actual website
- Help your clients migrate content from the old website to the new one
Conclusions
When dealing with mobile app development it’s always a good idea to start off small, maybe with a tiny hybrid app for testing purposes. Implementing your web development skills onto the mobile app development stage is a huge benefit for all parties involved, including the clients.
