There are many technology options available for developing a mobile application. The development approach can be done in three possible ways as mentioned below
- Native Apps: Build the application in the native coding language of the OS and run it in the operating system. These apps are downloaded from the app store and will reside on the device.
- Cross Platform Apps: Build the application once using cross platform framework. Run it in multiple mobile platform by making small fine-tuning for each platform. These apps are downloaded from the app store and will reside on the device.
- Mobile Web Apps: Build the application to run over internet from a centralized server. The application doesn’t reside on the mobile device and can be accessed through mobile web browser.
Depending on the type of industry and business requirements, you need to consider a number of factors to identify the right technology framework. Working through the following questions will guide you to the architecture which is most appropriate for your application.
- What’s the core problem the app is going to solve?
- What functionality is required in the app?
- Does the app run on offline mode or online mode?
- What’s the timeline you have to build the app?
- What’s the total cost of ownership?
- How soon do you want your app to be ready for the new device or OS features?
- Do you think your staff have necessary skill set to develop the app?
- Are there any industry specific requirements?
- What are the platforms your app has to support?
- Does your app have any third party integrations like payment gateways etc.?
- What type of experience does your target audience expect?
- Is there any security concerns which has to be considered in the app?
