Which App Development Approach to Choose?

Published in

Flutter Community

6 min readMay 5, 2020

You’ve been thinking about app development and looking for different app development companies for some time now. But take a step back and answer a question first, ‘what kind of app development are you planning to do?’

Kudos! If you have found the answer. But, if you’ve not, then do that first before looking for the best app development company because it’s no use hiring the best chef in the world if you don’t know what you want to eat.

So, today we’ll be discussing various cuisines in app development and which one will be the right fit for you. Once you’ve gone through this blog, choosing the right app development company will be a piece of cake for you.

Which are the Different Categories of Apps?

The apps we see in the app market can be divided into several types of categories, but for the app development approach that we are discussing today, we’ll divide them into three basic categories:

Native Apps
Hybrid Apps
Web Apps (Responsive version of websites)

These three apps have different capabilities and scopes, and you need to choose the right one which meets your criteria.

Native Apps

Native apps are the ones that are built, especially for a single mobile OS platform. So, if you wish to build a native app for Android, iOS, and Windows, then you need to build three separate apps. This approach will be quite costly, but on the other hand, you’ll get the best possible app that can use complete device capabilities to function.

Hybrid Apps

Hybrid apps are the next best thing in app development. They are the apps that can be built on a single code and yet work for multiple app platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, etc.). This app development approach is good if you have a limited budget or are short on time to launch the app. But, the device capabilities that the app can explore are limited.

Web Apps

The final option is not exactly a (mobile) app, but a responsive version of a website. The web app software behaves in a fashion similar to mobile apps. These Web apps are usually written in HTML5, JavaScript or CSS and use a browser to run. What these apps actually do is redirect a user to a URL and offer an “install” option by simply creating a bookmark to the page in the browser.

Native Approach

Here is a practical list of pros and cons of going with the Native app development approach and also a guide on when to use and when not to use native app development.

Pros of Using Native App Development

Native app development offer superior user experience in terms of speed and responsiveness.
Being native app, all the device features of every level is accessible.
Native apps are the most stable and highly reliable.
Native apps can work perfectly, even offline.
Available for all the official App stores, hence marketing is easy, and reach is high.
Least number of hardware configuration leading to efficient coding.

Cons of Using Native App Development

Different code bases required for different platforms.
Building separate apps for each platform is expensive.
The development time also increases for each platform.
Being native apps, there is no cross-platform support.
In case you build an iOS app, prior approval is required from the Apple App Store.
With a native app, the capabilities increase a lot and so maintaining and updating becomes demanding.

When to Choose Native App Development

If you want to target a single platform user like only iPhone or Android or Windows.
When accessing superior device functionality is a requirement.
When the app’s performance, view, and compatibility are major concerns of the project.

When Not to Choose Native App Development

If you don’t need to use native device functionality, then native app development is not necessary.
If app performance is not an issue for the kind of app you are planning to build.
When budget and time to launch to the market is a concern for you, you must not go with native app development approach.

Web App Approach

Here are the pros and cons of choosing the web app development approach and a guide on when to use and when not to use web app development.

Pros of Using Web App Development

Web apps are quite easy to maintain, at least more than the native apps.
It has a single code base across all the platforms as it is run using browsers and not the mobile OS.
As the web apps are not on any app store, the distribution, deployment, updates, and new features can be released instantly.
Many of the device-level features are accessible through various JavaScript APIs.
Web app development costs are lower than native app development.

Cons of Using Web App Development

The app interactions are not very neat and responsive when compared to other types of apps.
The UI design elements of web apps can be inconsistent.
In web apps, a few device-level features like push-notification, offline working, and home screen load may not support.
As these apps are unavailable in the “App Stores”, the potential reach to users is lower.
The web app is accessed through a browser so it cannot be accessed without the internet and is comparatively slow in operating than a native app.

When to Choose Web App Development

Go for web app if you want your website to be displayed on mobile devices with a lot of ease.
Choose a web app if you wish to display your content on mobile platforms like iOS or Android.
Go with web apps if you don’t need extra mobile native functionality for your app.

When Not to Choose Web App Development

Do not choose a web app if native mobile functionality is a must for your app.
Don’t go with if you want to cater to only a single platform app users.

Hybrid Approach

Learn about the pros and cons of going with the hybrid app development approach and also guide on when to use and when not to use web app development.

Pros of Hybrid App Development

The hybrid app is a single code base that can be used for various platforms.
The hybrid app development offers cross-platform support.
Hybrid apps are convenient, fast, and cost-effective to build.
Apps can be marketed in app stores.
Updates can be rolled out quickly and easily.
Hybrid apps can also work offline.
This app development allows access to device’s APIs and hardware like storage, camera, and much more.

Cons of Hybrid App Development

Sometimes the elements feel like in a browser and have poor performance and are less responsive.
The UX of hybrid apps is usually compromised.
Submission lengthy compared to native and is required for each relevant app store.
Such apps are highly dependent on third-party platforms.

When to Choose Hybrid App Development

When multiple platforms are the objective.
If phone-specific functionality is needed for your app.
If the developer skill sets are limited.

When Not to Choose Hybrid App Development

Need high experience for each mobile platform and how to market in each.

SEE ALSO: Flutter: The New Future of the Cross-Platform App Development

Conclusion

We’ve been talking a lot about the types of apps and which on to choose for your app development needs. Now that you know all the pros and cons of each kind and where they are the perfect fit, you must be quite clear about your app development needs.

Now, all you need is the best app development company who understands these needs of yours and provide you with the best resources accordingly.