Mobile apps are huge right now. Every business either wants one or is afraid not to have one, and developers all over the world have risen to the challenge. New apps are being developed every day. As of this article, there are nearly three million apps available for Android and a little over two million apps for iOS, and these numbers will certainly continue to grow. By 2020, Apple’s App Store is expected to host around five million apps. Of course, there are other platforms, but these are the big two, the ones every enterprise, startup and freelancer want to be on.

To help developers keep up with the onslaught and continue to deliver apps that reach the largest audience possible, utilizing a cross platform framework has become very popular. They’re a great tool for several reasons. Unlike building native apps, cross platform development allows you to build an app once and then deploy it to different platforms, saving time and resources. When developers build cross platform apps, clients are really paying once for several different versions of the same app. As the cost of developing native apps is rising, using cross platform frameworks allows you to develop an app at the price you want, in the time you want, with the features you want and that can reach the audience you want.

But Why Should Developers Use Frameworks in the First Place?

Frameworks are a template for app developers that gives them the tools to make app building as streamlined as possible. Contrary to what you may believe, frameworks are not necessarily for the novice developer. Essentially, they are a resource, containing bundles of pre-built code that developers can repurpose for their own needs so they can focus more time on building unique features.

But, how can a framework be synonymous with “unique” or “customized”? Frameworks are actually very useful for developers when building an app that needs a lot of customization. You see, building apps entirely from scratch takes a while and involves a lot of repetitive tasks. If developers can save some time not designing a drop-down menu for the hundredth time, they can dedicate towards a more complicated element of the design.

Some frameworks have a steep learning curve, but once a development team masters the cross platform framework they’re using, they increase their productivity and create higher quality applications.

The Benefits of Cross Platform Framework App Development

New frameworks are being released every day, and a lot of them are open-source or free to use. With so many businesses getting into the app arena, it’s also helpful that usually the licensing for frameworks is pretty flexible, allowing products built for commercial use to utilize them.

Frameworks are built around nearly every programming language in existence, so no matter what expertise the development team has, they can generally benefit from the use of one. Both developers and clients will experience the benefits of using a cross platform framework.

Faster Development

By having a template or structure to begin the development process, development becomes significantly faster. Common features such as commenting systems are already at developers’ finger tips, along with libraries of other components and themes. With these resources, they can quickly construct the initial building blocks of an app.

Not only is development of one app faster, but the development of an app for each platform is faster as well. By using a single codebase, a cross platform framework allows developers to make native apps for any major platform. Examples of cross platform frameworks that make the job move along faster are Ionic, NativeScript or Corona which promises development speeds up to ten times faster.

Flexible App Deployment

If you’re thinking that it’s about time your business gets into the app game, you’ll quickly need to decide where your users will find your app. There are a lot of devices with different operating systems to consider, and if you’re working with the right developers, they’ll likely tell you the most flexible and cost-effective option is utilizing a cross platform framework in the development process.

There are two types of cross platform apps: hybrid apps and native cross platform apps. Hybrid app development makes it possible to embed web apps programmed in HTML5 into a thin native container. Essentially, hybrid apps give you a window to view web applications while giving access to some native platform features.

Native cross platform apps utilize APIs (application programming interfaces) that give access to native features of various operating systems. This method yields apps with a native look and feel while using a single codebase that is not normally used for a particular platform. For instance, developers could program an app in Java that could work with Android. React Native is a popular example of a framework that works in this way.

Regardless of which method a dev team uses, a framework can aid in the process and give you the flexibility to choose where your users access your app.

Debugging Tools

An advantage of app development with a framework is that generally, most of the problems have already been worked out before developers ever get a chance at it. And, as more people around the world use it and communities form around it to share tips and insights, issues such as security risks tend to get worked out. Many cross platform frameworks come equipped with tools for testing and debugging apps that make the process easier and faster.

Some frameworks, for instance, allow you to test apps in real-time. Xamarin allows you to instantly test an app on over 2,000 devices in the cloud. Others provide tools to address the heavy fragmentation that exists in the Android ecosystem. Frameworks tend to have less bugs to work out than apps built from scratch, making the beta-testing stage for your app fasster and more successful.

Excellent Final Products

During app creation, cross platform app development tries to cover a wide audience of devices and operating systems. By the end, the resulting app can be easily hosted on the preferred platforms while displaying consistent native UI components of each device. As cross platform app development becomes the new norm, frameworks are only improving and empowering developers to do more in a shorter time frame.

Cross Platform App Development With Vice Software

A cross platform framework can rapidly turn your concept into app. By working with developers such as Vice Software, you have fast, efficient cross platform app development services at your disposal.

We use modern toolkits to build your app once and then deploy it to the platforms of your choice. Our specialty lies with the React Native framework, originally created by Facebook and used by huge names in tech such Airbnb and Tesla. Since Native React uses the same UI building blocks as iOS or Android, it’s impossible to tell one of our apps apart from a native built app.

Now, knowing what you know about using a cross platform framework, are you ready to see how our app development services can transform your idea into the next amazing application? It’s simple to find out the cost benefits of working with us. Request a quote now, and we’ll have it ready for you in a matter of minutes!