A Discussion On Mobile Application Development: Web v/s Native v/s Hybrid

Browsing the internet is one of the easiest and most effective ways of gathering information these days. The same is true for mobile app development as well. Doing a little research on the subject will inform you there are three kinds of mobile apps on the market, web apps, native apps, and hybrid apps. Knowing about them in details will be an effective way of understanding which one you need which will make the rest of the process simpler. Before getting into details though, it will be better to go through a nutshell version of these three variations.

Web Apps – These apps are hosted on browsers and though they look like native apps, instead of installing them to the device’s home screen, the user interacts with the app through a webview. Such apps are easy to develop and maintain, and cost less than other kinds of apps. Despite these advantages, they require web browsers to function, they are slower than the native apps and are unable to use the device features. Additionally, they are way less intuitive.

Native Apps – These apps are developed for specific platforms and are written in languages that are accepted by the platforms in question. They are fast, responsive, available in app stores, does not require internet to function, offers intuitive user input and output. Despite offering a better experience, native apps are more expensive.

Hybrid Apps – As the name suggests, these apps are the perfect combination of native and web apps. They normally consist of two separate parts, the back-end code and the native shell. They are less expensive than the native apps, do not require a web browser, and can use a device’s APIs. Along with these, these apps are slower than native apps and they cannot be customized for specific platforms.

All of the above-mentioned apps have their unique qualities and limitations. The kind you would like for your business will depend on certain points including the industry, your primary goal with the app, affordability, and what is best for the business in question. To make sure you are choosing the best possible option for your company, delving deeper and finding out about the advantages and disadvantages will help.

About A Web App – These apps are normally built in JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5 and they run in a browser. A progressive web app is basically a hybrid of a regular web page and mobile app. In the traditional version, it lacks features like sending push notifications, using touch features, working offline and such. In the progressive version, a number of these deficiencies have been rectified. So, a progressive web app can send push notifications, use the features of your phone, and so on.

The Advantages:

•  It is easy to build and maintain
• Does not cost a lot of money
• Building one app for all the platforms is enough along long as it is running in a browser

The Disadvantages:

• Needs a browser to run which is not conducive towards a nice user experience
• Slower than native apps
• Less interactive and intuitive than native apps
• No icon available on the device screen
• Unable to leverage device utilities

About A Native App – This is the commonest type of app and is written in platform-specific languages. Both Apple and Google offer their own development tools to the developers. Most companies tend to invest in this kind of app because of the myriad of beneficial features.

The Advantages:

• These apps are fast and responsive, mainly because they are made for specific platforms
• Their performance is the best
• They are available in app stores
• They are more interactive and intuitive and run smoother as well
• Developers can access the full feature set of a given platform and customize the app accordingly
• Internet connection is not required for these apps to function but it hampers certain features
• Better user experience, smoother and more natural flow, especially due to the specific UI standards for each platform

The Disadvantages:

• The developing languages are difficult to learn, hence requires experienced developers
• Costs more than other kinds of apps
• Is not the best option for simple apps

About A Hybrid App – These apps work across platforms and behave like native apps. They are basically the combination of native and web apps. They can be installed in devices like native apps but are essentially web apps.

The Advantages:

• They are built on languages like CSS, JavaScript, HTML and are easy to build
• Costs less than native apps
• One app is suitable for all the platforms
• Browsers are not needed
• Can access a device’s internal APIs
• Due to a single code base, they are faster to build

The Disadvantages:

• These are slower than native apps
• Because of the dependency on a third-party platform, the apps cost more than regular web apps
• These are less interactive than native apps
• Customization will render the hybrid feature redundant, so going native will be better

After going through these points, you will be able to choose the kind of mobile app your business needs with confidence and ease. At Sirchend Softwares, we have been working on mobile app development for a long time now. Hence, we can answer all your questions and provide all the services you need. To know more, please contact us today.