Before You Build: Technology Considerations for Creating Your Mobile App

There are two basic approaches you can take to building your mobile app. The first option is to build it natively using the frameworks provided by the device manufacturers. Android’s software development kit (SDK) uses Kotlin, and the iOS SDK uses Swift. With this approach, you design your app twice (at least), as there’s no shared code between the two. Producing and maintaining two separate native apps may be costly, but it’s the best way to offer the full benefits of a native app experience. Of course, you may choose to build for one mobile operating system and forego others, depending on your intended audience. For instance, given iOS users spend twice as much as Android users on in-app purchases, it may make sense to create an iOS-exclusive app.

The second approach is to use a cross-platform framework that enables you to code once for both iOS and Android. The use of cross-platform frameworks has become increasingly popular because of their efficiency and low cost relative to native app development. However, the final product may not perform as seamlessly or leverage the full range of device-specific hardware functionalities.

Each approach and platform come with its own pros and cons. To weigh them out, assess your vision, budget, and resources.

> What skill sets do you have on hand?

If your internal resources will be supporting your mobile app, examine the skill sets of your current developers. Are they more proficient in C#, or Java, or Kotlin? It can be difficult to vet and hire programmers skilled in a language different than that with which you’re already familiar.

> What matters most––your budget or vision?

Are you most concerned with ROI? If your mobile app is just one of many of your company’s revenue sources, then it’s better to go the cross-platform framework route. You’ll only need to hire one development team and vet them for one language. It’s the fastest path to widely distribute your mobile app, and the cross-platform frameworks still provide a high-quality experience.

On the other hand, if you have a specific vision of how your app should look, feel, and operate on each mobile device, then it’s best to write it natively. You’ll have two different development teams writing in two different languages, with two different SDKs and two different sets of best practices, but you can deliver the exact experience your users want and expect.

The challenge with this approach is synchronizing the mobile app’s feature set and functionality with business processes on the backend. For example, processing an order should look and feel the same for store employees, regardless of the buyer’s operating system. This may be costly, but for online-only businesses with which customers primarily interact via mobile apps—think DoorDash or Uber—it’s critical.

As you can see, there’s a lot to consider when you’re creating a killer mobile app. We advise our clients to not skimp on this part of the process before they dive into designing and building their apps. Once you’ve chosen a platform and a language, it’s really hard to change it—and who wants or has time to start over again from scratch?

Want to learn how to create a high-performing mobile app? Watch our on-demand webinar, Tapping Into Mobile Apps For More Profitable Revenue, to learn how to build an engaging, competitive app that drives higher revenue. Need help creating and launching your mobile app? Contact us to see how JBS Dev can help.