Cross-Platform Applications: Why your Business Needs One?

Over the last decade or so, we have been introduced to a vast number of platforms across multiple varieties of devices, each functioning in their own unique manner. Owing to this crowded mobile manufacturing landscape, there has been a rising challenge for developers in terms of cost, effort, and marketing.

This has further established cross-platform applications as a beneficial mobile app strategy and has placed developers in a state of dilemma. Before we get deep down into decoding this dilemma, let us grab a quick understanding of cross-platform applications.

What are Cross-Platform Applications?

Developing cross-platform applications enables developers to build an application using a single language code. The single language code allows the application to be accessed and run across multiple platforms, like Android, Windows or iOS. Cross-platform applications increase productivity and enable businesses to reach a wider audience pool.

What to consider before developing a Cross-platform App?

Image source- Mobile development corp

1. Make sure that the User Experience (UX) is consistent across different platforms.

2. Ensure that the look, feel, and user experience of the application remains consistent.

3. Plan for simultaneous introduction of the application across multiple platforms, thereby helping curb development costs.

4. Perform multiple pre-launch functionality tests on every platform to eradicate potential errors or glitches.

What are the advantages of Cross-platform Apps?

Re-usage of Codes

One of the distinct advantages of developing a cross-platform application is the capability to reuse a single code across different platforms. This way, it helps avoid repetitive tasks and eliminates drudgery for developers.

Reduced Costs

Earlier, companies had to invest heavily in various tools and technologies to develop an application for different platforms. Contrary to those days, cross-platform mobile app development platforms enable businesses to invest only once.

Ease of Implementation

There are various cross-platform solutions and MADP tools available online, offering services that ease up the burden for developers to make revisions or changes in the code. The ease of implementation also helps make the development of the applications lot faster and helps perform updates in synchronization across different mobile devices.

   Reduces Time

Due to a single script deployment, the overall time consumed for the application development is minimized. This increase in speed also enables the product to reach the market much quicker and provides ample time for performing research and executing critical decisions.

What are the Challenges associated with Cross-platform applications?

Irrespective of the wide-ranging advantages that cross-platform applications boast, there lies some bitter challenges that one must be aware of, beforehand. Businesses must be adequately prepared to face these challenges or else they can potentially view a setback.

Variety in Design Specifications: Each operating platform differs from the other when it comes to design specifications. Take for instance, Android and iOS-two contrasting operating systems with different design specifications. One needs to be aware of the differentiations to ensure optimal operability of the application across different platforms.

Difficulty in Transfer: Much similar to the differing design, the single language codes used to create applications on various platforms are unable to migrate from one platform to another. In such cases, mobile app development process gets delayed due to these code discrepancies.

The Verdict

As highlighted above, cross-platform applications have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Evaluate your requirements and goals, and make a decision based on the same. If you still somehow fail to derive a proper conclusion, then go ahead and take help from experts or professionals. As a part of your mobile app strategy, it becomes important to hire the right resource to help in getting to make right decision and builds apps that meet the need of both the company and users.