Channelize Your Way to Cross-Platform App Development in 7 Minutes
Cross-platform apps: yes or no? The honest benefits, the real drawbacks, and five questions to answer before you commit.
Cross-platform apps — yes, or no?
That is a very good question. While much has been written about selecting the right mobile platform for your product, a definitive solution has yet to be given. It's a complex decision to make.
Every platform has its pros and cons. Depending on your needs and your company's goals, the advantages of a specific platform can outweigh its disadvantages to provide an effective solution.
What is cross-platform mobile development?
Mobile cross-platform development refers to the production of applications that can be used on different mobile platforms, such as Android and iOS.
For multiple operating systems, a single app source code is compiled into native code using cross-platform applications. This differs from the production of native apps, where an application is created for one particular platform.
Benefits of cross-platform mobile app development
Less time taken and lower development costs. This approach creates a single code base, minimising the difficulty of handling multiple codebases, developer toolkits, languages and methodologies needed to build native apps. You'll either need less manpower, or be able to publish an app with the same number of developers within a shorter time period.
Exposure to a wider base of users. Being accessible across multiple mobile channels means you do not end up alienating a large user base by not serving all platforms equally.
Xamarin lets developers use native UI toolkits to build an app that offers a familiar interface and feels right to users. It is a good fit for large organizations that use Microsoft software, or already have a team of C# or .NET developers in place, since Xamarin uses C# supplemented with the .NET framework.
React Native uses JavaScript, one of the most prominent programming languages, which makes it easier to attract developers with the skill set you need. If you want to upgrade an existing app, you can add React Native UI components to the code without a rewrite, and code can be reused with a plugin if your software was designed using frameworks like Cordova or Ionic.
The drawbacks, honestly
Issues with user interface. Since each platform has its own unique interface conventions, meeting specific platform expectations can be a challenge, particularly when the UI code is shared. Apple is considered to have strict rules, so developers risk rejection when submitting to the App Store. Some tools allow developers to write UI code per platform, but the time needed reduces the time-saving advantage of going cross-platform in the first place.
Lagging behind on new features. Because third-party tools cannot provide instant support, a cross-platform tool can prevent you from adopting the latest iOS or Android updates until new plugins or alterations are released.
Framework-specific trade-offs. Xamarin apps are generally larger than native apps, depending on their features and level of complexity. React Native's young ecosystem means the tool is continually evolving, with library updates published often — which brings new resources, but also means keeping up with the documentation to ensure compatibility with previously generated APIs.
Five questions to answer before you commit
- How much time do you actually have? Chalking out the timeline before coding gives a clearer understanding of which methodology will serve your needs.
- How much are you going to spend? Cross-platform development is cheaper because only a single codebase is handled, but over time it may incur extra costs.
- What is the nature and intended purpose of the application?
- Who are you targeting? If you target users on different platforms, building cross-platform makes sense.
- Does it suit the digital strategy as a whole? A responsive website can require additional complex resources, while a cross-platform app development strategy helps save costs.
Published by SSK Business Services — We innovate today's existence to assure future destiny. Questions about anything in this article? Email info@sskservices.co.uk.
