Why Hybrid Mobile App Development Is A Great Option For Building Business Apps

Mobile app development is a sector that is continually evolving, with release of smart apps, varied app development platforms, innovative mobile technology trends, and a number of other elements.

The app development domain is indeed different today than it was just a few year ago. With the number of app development platforms that we have, users are spoilt for choice in regards to the app development platforms they can use. 

When it comes to selecting a development platform, the competition is majorly between hybrid and native mobile app development. On the favorite choice for mobile app developers, hybrid mobile app development tops most of the listing. The reason hybrid is popular is because of the scope of flexibility that it offers in terms of app functionality.

Let’s take a look at hybrid mobile app development and what makes this platform a favorite for the majority of developers.

A Primer and Insights for Hybrid Apps' Popularity

Hybrid app development is one of the flourishing terms in the mobile app development world. Much like native apps which are distributed through app stores, it refers to development of apps that are hybrid in nature in the sense that they can be installed from app stores like native apps, but can also access the device’s internal APIs and resources once downloaded from app stores.

In technical terms, a hybrid app is an HTML application wrapped within a native wrapper. So, the mobile app has the basic benefits of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and more on different mobile app platforms (Android & iOS). This means a hybrid app can incorporate a device’s operating system and access resources such as the camera and storage.

Basically, a hybrid app has the inner workings of a web page that can run in multiple browsers, but it installs like a native app, which is an app developed for specific devices. A hybrid app is created as a single app for use on multiple platforms like iPhone, Android, and Windows, combining elements of both native and web applications.  

Benefits of Hybrid Mobile App Development

There are a number of key benefits for choosing to develop a hybrid app for your business:

I. Hybrid Apps Save Money

The fact that a single code can be applied at different platforms make it easier for hybrid app developers to save their money. Just code once and deploy the same code at multiple times. Not only does it save money, but also help developers save their time considerably.

II. Easy Expansion

With hybrid apps, expansion is easy because a single code can be deployed multiple times. The hybrid development method also makes it easier for the app developers to improve the code structure whenever required by investing the least time possible starting from scratch.

Moreover, A/B testing gets easier with hybrid app development.

More Reasons Hybrid Mobile Apps Are Popular

In a nutshell:

• Hybrid apps can function irrespective of the device connectivity
• Hybrid apps easily integrates with device’s file system
• Hybrid apps easily integrate with web-based services
• Hybrid apps improve access to dynamic app content

Here are even more reasons why hybrid apps are growing in popularity, and are likely to rule this year and in the near foreseeable future:

1. Improved app development speed

The time required to develop a hybrid app in comparison to native application is much less than the latter. Hybrid apps need support of web technology like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Native apps, on the other hand, are developed for specific platform using specific technology like Java for Android and Swift for iOS.

2. Platform independent

Hybrid apps can operate on a variety of platforms and that is why they are platform independent. One source code runs over different platforms through compilations, and this makes hybrid apps more popular than other similar apps.

3. Reduced development cost

With hybrid apps, one code is enough to run the app on different platforms. This functionality is not available with native apps. The developers need to create two different apps to run on different platforms, which is not the case with hybrid apps. This reduces the overall development cost for you and any mobile app development company.

4. Single code can be reused

As per the present business and app development landscapes, the demand for mobile apps is only going to escalate. The good news with hybrid apps is that single code can be utilized for different platforms. This capability is not available with native app development, and thus the former takes less time. As single code can be utilized on more than one platform, there is no need to write the code from scratch.

5. Faster to market

In today’s dynamic mobile app development industry, trends come, sustain, and go away within a short time. Hybrid apps are the right choice for such a dynamic market as they take less time to develop and once the demand of a particular kind of app decreases, the developers can immediately work on the next one to complete the app as soon as possible.

6. Online and offline access

Apps developed with hybrid approach can be packaged locally or through server that provides online and offline access. There is no need to get approval from the app store or to update the app. This offer both the online and offline app access to the users.

7. Easy to maintain

Hybrid apps are easier to maintain and can run over any device. Hybrid apps make app maintenance as easy as updating a web page. They are platform independent and thus no major update is required as it is the case with other mobile app development platforms. This makes its maintenance much easier.

8. Improved UI/UX

A smooth and steady user experience (UX) in mobile app development platform is one of the reasons for its popularity. It is one of the main ingredients of app designing that needs proper attention. Well-designed UI/UX offers an exceptional experience in terms of app browsing to the users. Hybrid apps are known to transfer the data in a faster way in order to regulate the configuration of devices. All this helps to offer an exceptional experience to the users.

9. Development time

For launching their apps quickly, a number of mobile app development companies try to apply the practice of lean development in their application. In such a case, only those who can wait long term to have their product ready can choose the native approach. Here, hybrid apps beat all other platforms to ensure that the app development is done well within the time as well as in the estimated budget. Hybrid apps are quicker to develop than other platforms.

In conclusion

Hybrid apps have already revolutionized the mobile app development arena, and by extension the business arena, too. As the technology is platform independent, users can install and use the apps on a variety of environments. And, with its exceptional features, hybrid mobile app development is expected to become much more popular than its counterparts. Because of all the benefits that have been mentioned above, hybrid apps are going to rule the industry this year.

Mobile ecosystem changes fast, but a development concept like hybrid app development has all the potential to sustain in the development world for longer. So, keep an eye out for this trend.