My Top 5+1 Flutter Packages in 2024 to Enhance Apps
I have been working with Flutter since it’s early days back in 2018 and I am still amazed on how fast I can develop and deploy apps for clients and my company. As the focus during my development cycles is to deliver valuable products, I avoid reinventing the wheel and this is why I have a list of safe to use and beloved packages I use in most of my projects. Today I am sharing my 5+1 most used Flutter packages to help you in your next project.
- cached_network_image
As the demand for rich media content in mobile applications continues to rise, efficient image loading and caching become crucial. cached_network_image stands out as a reliable solution, seamlessly handling image loading, caching, and error handling. By intelligently caching images locally, this package ensures a smooth and responsive user experience, even in challenging network conditions. With its simplicity and performance, cached_network_image is used in almost all my apps to deliver visually captivating applications with optimal efficiency.
You can check the library here.
2. flutter_blurhash
This one is one of my favorites when it comes to visuals and I used it even before flutter. Efficiently loading and displaying placeholder images while content is being fetched can significantly enhance the perceived performance of an application. blurhash offers a unique solution by generating compact representations of placeholder images based on a blurred version of the original image. These representations, known as blurhashes, can be decoded quickly and used to display placeholders, providing users with visual feedback while content is loading. By integrating blurhash into your Flutter applications, you can create a smoother and more engaging user experience, improving overall user satisfaction.
You can check the library here.
3. flutter_svg
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) have gained popularity for creating high-quality, resolution-independent graphics in mobile applications. flutter_svg brings the power of SVG to Flutter, enabling developers to integrate vector graphics seamlessly into their applications. Whether you’re designing custom icons, illustrations, or interactive graphics, flutter_svg offers a versatile solution for creating visually appealing and responsive UI elements. I used this one in combination with spider (check #4) which allows me to quickly integrate SVG icons in my projects.
You can check the library here.
4. spider
A small dart library to generate Assets dart code from assets folder. It generates dart class with static const variables in it which can be used to reference the assets safely anywhere in the flutter app. All you have to do is define your assets in the configuration yaml file and the Class name you need. Spider will generate a class so you can quickly and most importantly safely access your assets.
SvgPicture.asset(Svgs.menuIcon, width: 35,),You can check the library here.
5. easy_localisation
In an increasingly globalized world, providing multilingual support is essential for reaching a diverse audience. easy_localization simplifies the process of internationalizing Flutter applications, allowing developers to add support for multiple languages effortlessly. I have been using it for a while as it has an intuitive syntax and many powerful features such as locale management, string translation and RTL(right-to-left). By making localization accessible and straightforward I was able to distribute apps globally effortless.
You can check the library here.
5+1. flutter_translation_sheet
Last but not least, this is my +1 package always used in combination with #5 for translations. It is a small utility program to make your l10n SUPER fast. You can compose your strings in yaml/json format and use GoogleSheet to auto translate and sync them. Of course you can edit the translations to much what you need or improve them.
You can check the library here.
As Flutter continues to gain traction as a leading framework for cross-platform mobile development, the ecosystem of packages continues to evolve, offering developers innovative solutions to common challenges. The packages highlighted in this article represent just a fraction of the extensive toolkit available to Flutter developers in 2024.
Find the second part of my favorite Packages for Flutter here.