Why Flutter for mobile development
As Google’s UI toolkit for developing applications for mobile, web, and desktop, there’s no wondering why Flutter continues to grow in popularity.
From small software companies and independent developers to large brands — including the likes of Alibaba.com, Abbey Road Studios, and The New York Times — Flutter is being used to create beautiful and powerful apps in record-breaking time.
At DOIT Software, we’ve quickly become known as one of the top Flutter app development companies in the world.
According to the Clutch Leaders Matrix, we’re a market leader in the Flutter app development space.
As a leading B2B ratings and reviews platform, Clutch is committed to connecting small, medium, and large enterprises to business solutions providers. Furthermore, Clutch uses a unique methodology to rate providers, with a focus on metrics such as:
- Market presence
- Technical capabilities
- Client reviews
So, when you’re fortunate to find yourself listed as one of the top two providers on Clutch — as we have for Flutter app development — it’s extremely exciting.
Why Flutter?
As an industry leader, we’re well aware of the many options available for mobile app development. Which leads to the million-dollar question: why choose Flutter over a host of other options?
Here’s why it’s quickly becoming a top choice (if not the top choice) among developers:
1. Cross-platform App Development
There’s no (good) reason to develop both an Android and iOS app separately if you don’t have to.
With Flutter, you gain access to simple cross-platform mobile app development designed to save you time and reduce the headaches typically associated with developing two apps.
With one codebase for both platforms, your job is much easier. And no one will fight that.
2. It’s Fast, Fast, Fast
When it comes to mobile app development, speed is the name of the game. For developers, here’s how Flutter hits the mark:
Any changes in the code are immediately visible in the app. Flutter calls this “hot reload” and defines it as follows:
Flutter’s hot reload feature helps you quickly and easily experiment, build UIs, add features, and fix bugs. Hot reload works by injecting updated source code files into the running Dart Virtual Machine (VM). After the VM updates classes with the new versions of fields and functions, the Flutter framework automatically rebuilds the widget tree, allowing you to quickly view the effects of your changes.
Taking this one step further, consider how much it helps the developer-designer relationship.
For example, your designer can prompt your developer to make changes, such as “move five pixels to the left.” From there, the update is immediately available, thus allowing the designer to instantly determine if it’s the right look.
3. Support for Older Devices
It’s a major concern of all developers, especially as updated operating systems are regularly pushed out to users.
With Flutter, your app will appear the same, even if it’s running on older versions of Android and iOS.
This is a big deal for many reasons:
- It saves developers time (and headaches)
- It reduces costs
- It ensures a top-notch user experience (which is the primary goal)
And with Flutter, there are no add-on costs for supporting older operating systems.
Are There Any Potential Drawbacks?
We use the word potential because any perceived drawback associated with Flutter can be overcome with the right approach.
For example, here are a couple of issues we’ve faced at DOIT Software — and a quick Google search will show that it’s a concern among others.
- Lack of support: Even though Flutter has improved in this area since its launch, there’s still a lot to be desired. If you’re seeking support, you’ll find some of what you’re looking for on the Flutter website, however, you’re probably best using social media and third-party forums for assistance. Tip: check GitHub for answers to common questions and concerns.
- Platform limitations: In general, there are some limitations, thus forcing developers to find “workarounds.” For example, you can easily implement a video player in Flutter, but it doesn’t appear the same upon deployment. On the plus side, there’s a solution to all these limitations; you simply need to find one.
As you can tell by our standing on the Clutch Leaders Matrix for Flutter app development companies, we’re big fans of this open-source UI software development kit.
It’s the benefits above — along with the fact that there are very few drawbacks — that have us, among many other developers, relying heavily on Flutter.
Originally published at https://doit.software on March 5, 2020.
