Cross-platform development tools have made it easier than ever to develop and deploy apps in today’s mobile-first world. The ability to build on one codebase and adapt it to run on multiple platforms has changed the game, allowing developers and businesses to save time and money while opening the door to new opportunities.
Here are the most popular cross-platform tools available today, each with its own unique value proposition that may be just what you need for your next project.
Best Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Tools
PhoneGap (Apache Cordova)
PhoneGap is built on top of Apache Cordova. It extends Cordova by adding APIs and features that enable you to build a single application that can run across multiple mobile device platforms. You can write applications using web technologies like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.
PhoneGap functions as an app container; it loads your code in a WebView component, which allows you to display content from HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript without rewriting.
React Native
Facebook’s open-source framework designed to allow developers to build mobile apps using Javascript has taken off in recent years. React Native allows developers to create cross-platform apps using Javascript that can be used across iOS and Android devices.
It works by rendering native components through a JavaScript engine (e.g., React Native for iOS). The approach is similar to that of PhoneGap, which uses HTML, CSS, and Javascript instead of web standards like HTML5.
Ionic
If you want to develop for all platforms at once—but don’t want to code in multiple languages—Ionic is a great option. It uses web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; makes development faster by using prebuilt components rather than native code; and builds visually appealing apps with beautiful animations.
Built with AngularJS, Ionic’s framework is responsive and easy to learn and use, making it ideal for new developers getting into cross-platform app development services.
The development experience isn’t quite as refined as some of its competitors (most notably, Adobe PhoneGap), but if you need a quick and inexpensive way to create an application that works across all popular mobile platforms, Ionic should be one of your first stops.
Xamarin
The Xamarin development platform lets you use C# to build native iOS, Android, and Windows apps from a single codebase. By leveraging .NET and common language features like async/await in C#, developers can write their code once and compile it for different operating systems.
Because of its extensive control over each platform’s native components, Xamarin is a great choice for enterprise developers looking to migrate to mobile apps. The platform also integrates well with other enterprise tools such as Jenkins and Chef.
Flutter
Google has developed a new cross-platform framework called Flutter, which uses hot reload and a reactive widget system to build beautiful native apps in record time.
The core idea behind Flutter is that it’s a multi-platform solution (Android, iOS), rather than just another cross-platform solution that requires developers to code separate versions of their applications.
The intuitive tool supports both iOS and Android development. Also, Flutter is based on Dart, which Google encourages developers to learn because it can be used to build mobile apps and websites with HTML/CSS code.
Appcelerator
Unlike Xcode, which is limited to iOS and Mac apps, Appcelerator has several features that are quite useful. Features like cloud computing and cross-platform development services can help developers save a lot of time and increase productivity when it comes to developing multi-platform apps.
In addition to its Mobile Cloud Services platform, it also offers Titanium Mobile, a framework that allows mobile app developers to rapidly create cross-platform mobile apps using JavaScript.
Corona
Corona is a popular cross-platform app development tool. Developers can deploy apps across multiple mobile devices. The application development tool can be used to build applications for Android, iOS, and other platforms.
It boasts a library of APIs designed to integrate services like Twitter, Facebook, and Game Center with other app development tools. Corona claims its tool is the first platform built from start to finish as a native toolkit that understands iOS and Android equally well. Moreover, Corona works on both Mac OS X and Windows systems.
Sencha
Developing mobile apps using HTML5? You need Sencha Touch. The library is optimized to handle complex touchscreen interfaces and provides a broad array of tools and widgets, including many mobiles (or native) features that aren’t available in other cross-platform tools. Its built-in UI design features let you prototype your app without needing to fire up Photoshop or Illustrator, and its development environment lets you visually link components together rather than just coding them manually.
Conclusion
These days, it’s not enough to simply have a website. Businesses need an online presence to drive more traffic and acquire more customers. Yet having a website is only part of a marketing strategy. With so many people using mobile devices these days, you also need your own application that fits their lifestyle. This doesn’t mean you have to develop one from scratch—there are plenty of cross-platform development services available. We have listed some of the top-notch cross-platform app development tools, in order to leverage all the benefits of the listed tools it is important to select as per your project specific requirements
