Cross-platform app development, which works by allowing developers to use essentially the same code for building apps for various OS platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, etc., has become an increasingly popular tool in the modern digital market. The applications use a reusable code that can be utilized to create the same features across multiple platforms.
And, application developers utilize a cross-platform approach to reduce development time and cost. However, this form of development can lead to multiple performances and further lead to user experience-related challenges. Thus, this approach offers both opportunities as well as a unique set of roadblocks. While this growing popularity is understandable, the fact remains that this method of app development does suffer at the hands of some curious problems, such as the ones listed below:
1. Reduced performance: Compared to a native app, cross-platform apps are at a slight disadvantage when it comes to app performance. Thankfully, these differences are minimal, especially as long as it involves simple, basic apps.
2. Substandard UI/UX: A crucial department where cross-platform app development may fail to deliver expected results is UI/UX. Sure apps are meant to have a striking design, latest animations, 3 effects, etc.; but while native apps can leverage the mobile device’s hardware to deliver the expected quality of UI/UX, cross-platform do not have access to the device’s many, many native features, thus resulting in the delivery of sub-standard UI/UX for such apps. To avoid such a fate for your app as well, experts advise that developers must use simpler features, consistent layout, etc. Doing this will allow the cross-platform app to seamlessly render the app’s UI/UX even with limited access to the device’s hardware and native features.
3. Limited tool support: The thing about cross-platform app development is that it tends to work wonderfully when companies manage to pick the appropriate frameworks that can handle the development process with the exact features they need. Taking on cross-platform development without being certain about what features and functionalities one wants to offer in the app can end poorly because the framework one chooses in such a case may not be able to provide all the requisite tools one needs to include the features and customizations they want for the app.
4. Security: Given that any app lives in the digital realm, it automatically becomes susceptible to various forms of cyberattacks. This is yet another aspect where the development model plays a key role: you see, native app development involves periodic updates for the app, thus consistently contributing to safeguarding the app against cyberattacks. Unfortunately, owing to the lack of regular updates, cross-platform apps tend to grapple with security concerns a bit. This would understandably be a major concern for companies, especially those handling extensive amounts of sensitive data via their apps — in this case, the development team must seek out and embrace updated architectures, the latest technologies to ensure the app’s security.
Given the prevalence of mobile devices, and with them myriad OS platforms, cross-platform app development emerged as a crucial solution for companies looking to build apps for multiple platforms in one go. Besides helping companies to target different OS in one go, cross-platform app development also allows companies to save precious time, effort, and, of course, money. Yet, this form of app development is not without its issues, as the above discussion demonstrates. Thankfully, none of these challenges take away from the value such development contributes to development projects. So, if you have been on the fence about choosing this method of app development, you can rest assured now and start looking for a trusted provider for cross-platform application development services ASAP.
Kaushal Shah manages digital marketing communications for the enterprise technology services provided by Rishabh Software.