We live in a generation where everyone is glued to smartphones, and there is an app for everything. The mobile app development market is thriving with opportunities. However, it starts with one sparking idea, and it becomes a success with a well-defined roadmap and execution. The roadmap acts as a blueprint for conceptualizing the app.
What is Mobile App Development?
Mobile App Development is all about making apps that can be downloaded, installed, and run on mobile. And these mobile apps work with the help of mobile networking to use computing resources.
Mobile App Development involves:
- Install the software on the device.
- Set up back-end services such as API for accessing data.
- Last but not least, testing applications on the device.
Different Types of Mobile Apps:
To a layman, every mobile app may look similar. But those who are developing it knows that there are different types of mobile apps:
1. Native Mobile Applications:
Native apps are designed for a single operating system, either the Android operating system or the iOS operating system and the programmer uses the native languages of the operating system in the development of native apps. In the case of Android, it’s either Java or Kotlin, while for iOS, it can either be Swift or Objective C. Making applications for both platforms means that it offers the optimum performance, users the ability to explore all further features of devices, but at the same time, applications for two platforms should be developed individually.
2. Cross-Platform Native Mobile Applications:
Some of these apps are developed using tools that enable one to create the apps to run on different operating systems including Android operating system and the iPhone operating systems. Some tools that are used in building cross-platform applications, are Xamarin, flutter among others. They are somewhere in between in terms of performance and development speed but may always lack some capabilities of the platform they are built on.
3. Hybrid Mobile Applications:
As the name suggests, hybrid applications are the blend of both web applications and native applications. Some developers create them with web technologies such as HTML, CSSs, and JavaScript but support them by native application container. This enables them to run on many platforms Several.
4. Progressive Web Applications (PWA):
PWAs are web applications with some sort of proximity to native mobile applications. And t is created using web technologies but apps can be integrated to be placed on a device’s home screen, to give push notifications and can operate when there is no network connection. PWAs are simple to build and support as compared to native apps while they do not have access to the device capabilities as much as native apps.
Mobile App Developer Roadmap
Though we all know that mobile app development offers great opportunities. However, unlocking these opportunities requires you to have a clear and comprehensive roadmap for becoming a Mobile App Developer. We have given a roadmap for your Mobile App Development learning journey:
1. Fundamental Skills
The journey to becoming a mobile app developer starts with acquiring fundamental skills such as programming languages such as Java along with Kotlin and understanding Android user interface layout and design.
2. Android Basics
Another thing that is required in mobile app development is learning and understanding the basics of Android. From learning different user interface components, passing data between, and at last managing resources like strings, layouts, and images.
3. Advanced UI
Next it’s turn to get involved in advanced UI. It starts with effectively mastering the large data sets display, creating robust layouts for complex UIs, and navigating the data binding library for connecting UI components with data sources.
4. Persistence
Now master SQLite database from storing to retrieving data to a local database. In this phase, you also need to explore the SQLite abstraction Android library.
5. Networking
After this you need to understand the core principles of networking. From making network requests with the help of libraries such as Retrofit to using AsyncTask, Kotlin Coroutines, or RxJav for background tasks.
6. Architecture
After networking, it’s time to learn and understand the architecture. From understanding different architectural patterns such as MVC, MVP, and MVVM to learning dependency injection frameworks such as Dagger and Koin.
7. Security
One of the most important steps in mobile app development is ensuring security. Also, you need to learn the most secure practices for managing and storing sensitive data. Moreover, you also need to learn to securely transfer information over the network.
8. Testing
The product is complete and now it’s time for testing. Testing is the biggest step in mobile app development because it decides if the product is fit to be released or not. In this step, every component of the app is tested. You must learn to use frameworks such as Espresso to automate UI tests. This can ease and speed up the testing process.
9. Version Control
Collaboration is also an important part of successful mobile app development. You should be acquainted with Git for version control.
10. Publishing
If your product passes the testing phase, you can publish it on the app stores and make it available to the public. You should also learn the process of publishing it on Google Play Store and Apple Store. Moreover, you should also master app release management.
11. Continuous Learning
While the mobile app development process ends with the successful release on Play stores, it is all about continuous learning. And to expand your networking and learning you can attend various conferences, participate in open-source projects, and join communities on Discord and other platforms.
This roadmap is a generalized version of the mobile app development cycle. However, different projects require different approaches and different steps. Therefore it’s necessary to understand the project requirement before creating a roadmap. However, this general lifecycle can help you get started in your journey to becoming an app developer.
Best Mobile App Development Platforms:
1. Adobe PhoneGap:
Adobe PhoneGap is an SDK through which the users can develop a mobile application for various mobile platforms by using web-based technologies like HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Moreover, it supports the creation of the cross-platform, which means to create one application and use it on two different systems, iOS as well as Android. It can be easily used and is useful if the app is not complicated.
2. Microsoft Xamarin:
Xamarin is developed by Microsoft for building mobile applications with the help of C#. The argument here is that developers can share some of the codes that are used in creating an Applications for Android, iPhones, Windows, etc, therefore maintaining the similar applications is made easier. In its usage, Xamarin is fit to integrate with the Visual Studio, enabling it to provide the developers with enhanced tools that are easy to use and powerful.
3. Flutter:
Flutter is a high-performance and open-source platform created by Google for developing native mobile, web and desktop application from a single code base. Created in Dart programming language, it offers a large number of predefined widgets. Moreover, these widgets enable developers to create beautiful, high-performance apps within a short span of time.
4. BuildFire:
BuildFire is a platform that enables users to create app without necessarily coding them. It is also ideal for company/Organization that would need a basic yet fully configurable app within a short time. BuildFire provides numerous templates and different options in which users can include features without knowing Web development.
Why Learn Mobile App Development?
The tech industry is on the rise now, and it will never drop. Thus any career in this industry can offer various benefits. Some of the most luring reasons to learn Mobile App Development are listed below:
- High Demand and Rewarding Career
- Creative and Interesting Work
- Improves Problem-solving Skills
- Build Own Projects
- Flexibility and Remote Work
The Bottom Line:
Mobile App Development is one of the most lucrative career options right now. Every day new businesses are taking birth, and all these businesses plan to get an app sometime in their marketing strategy. It means there are enough opportunities in this field. Moreover, the average income of a mobile app developer is around 8-13 LPA in India. If you are lost, and wondering where to start your career, this is a starter guide to mobile app development.
We wish you a successful career to you!
Also read our blog: Top Mobile App Development Trends for 2024
