Should You Develop a Hybrid App for Your Business in Singapore?

The importance of mobile apps has skyrocketed in the last couple of years, simply because pretty much every individual has a mobile phone these days. Different people have different preferences, and that’s why the need for new apps and the update of existing ones is constant.

We can all agree that there are countless mobile applications to choose from. Countless platforms are used for their development. Before you make a decision on which one of these you will use, it is essential to understand the pros and cons of each of them, don’t you agree? As you can imagine, learning about all of these can be quite a lengthy procedure.

Today, we want to shine a light on one of these concepts, hybrid apps. We will talk about it in greater detail, compare it with other notable options, and ultimately provide you with our conclusion on whether you should use these for your business in Singapore. Without further ado, let’s begin.

Hybrid App Development

As you can see from the name of the concept, hybrid app development is a combination of web and native solutions. What does this mean? Well, it means that the developers will write certain parts of the code using web development programming languages, like JavaScript. At the same time, they will use native app plugins like Ionic Capacitor.

By utilizing these two approaches at once, the developers can access all the native features of these platforms. One of the major benefits of this approach is that the development process is going to be more cost-effective. That’s why many developers choose it after thinking about it for a long time.

Another benefit worth noting is the plugin support. As we’ve already stated, the number of these is practically endless. When it comes to the disadvantages, we must say that achieving the best possible balance between UI and UX can be quite a challenge in this case. Also, navigating the app is problematic.

Features that Require Native Code

The platform we are talking about requires certain parts to be built of native code, as we’ve already said. But the question is, which ones? Naturally, there’s no magic formula that provides the answer to this question. It all depends on the needs of the project you have conducted. Therefore, investigating these is an absolute must.

A good example of these is the libraries that will be a part of the project eventually. As you probably know, all of them are written in native code. By using these, the developers have a chance of completing their projects sooner than without them. So, it provides them with an opportunity to enter the market sooner.

Potential Problems with Hybrid Apps

Being aware of all the potential problems with developing and using hybrid apps.

1. Performance

We can all agree that performance is the ultimate aspect that helps clients determine whether they will use a certain app or not. Little is known about the performance determined by the development platform that will be used for building these, especially by people who don’t have enough experience with these processes.

Even those who advocate the use of hybrid apps understand that native apps outperform them by far. Building these requires more resources and the process itself is quite lengthy, but they are way more reliable, and we all know that reliability is one of the major components of staying competitive in the market.

Cross-platform apps provide a solution that fits right in the middle. They provide the performance of native apps with the ease and speed of development of hybrid applications. Flutter and React Native are the 2 most popular frameworks for developing these apps. In Singapore, most big companies and startups use React Native, so it’s definitely a good idea to work with a company that specializes in React native app development.

When you take a look at some surveys done by major companies, you will see that 84% of users believe reliability is the most important element. Another thing that needs to be said about hybrid apps’ performance is that they require users to download all the content into their mobile phones before they can use it properly.

2. Security

The question of security is another important one, and it requires an effective answer. Since there are so many layers of hybrid apps are made of, the opportunity for attacks is higher than in native apps. Why is this the case? Well, these layers are used to bridge all the gaps so that there is no non-native code in them.

Another problem that might pop up is that these layers are owned by third parties. Therefore, the developers do not have complete access to them and they cannot inspect the code properly, to make it complement the native app codes.

3. User-Interface and User-Experience

All the programming languages come with their unique methods for creating the interface. As a result, they have a different outcome when it comes to user experience. When you decide on which one you will see, you have a certain idea about what can come as a result.

Since hybrid apps represent a blend of different technologies and approaches, numerous problems can pop up when it comes to both user interface and user experience. The way these gaps are bridged is by using some generic solutions that might not ensure the best UI and UX.

4. Libraries

Last but not least, we want to address the potential problem with libraries. The frameworks you will use for developing these will handle APIs for you. While there is nothing wrong with this option, it needs to be said that there are some problems that can emerge as a result of handling things this way.

The problem is that you will need to look for the plugin to tie these two together. Since plugins are written by someone else, this can become quite a hassle. Therefore, you will need to invest additional effort and time either to write one of these on your own or to find the one that complements your needs.

The Verdict

As you can see, deciding to use hybrid apps for your business can be quite a challenge. That’s why we believe that opting for a cross-platform or native code approach is a much more fitting one. By doing so, you will not encounter numerous problems that can pop up unexpectedly. Here, we’ve guided you through all that needs to be understood before you can make the best possible decision.