Ionic Framework allows creating a cross-platform mobile app using well-known web technologies. That kind of app feels, looks and has the same functionalities as a native one, but you can get it faster and with lower financial input. Why is it a good idea to build an app with Ionic and how can it bring high value to your business?
Ionic – Framework For Building Cross-platform Apps
Ionic is an open-source frontend framework that allows creating advanced cross-platform apps. In essence, these are mobile apps built using web technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Angular. Their huge advantage is that they look and feel like native ones. Cross-platform apps created with Ionic Framework offer the same functionalities as native iOS and Android apps.
To build a cross-platform app using Ionic Framework we need to develop only one code base: that means it can be created really fast. What is more, the Ionic Framework offers a lot of convenient options thanks to which an app has advanced functionalities and also ensures tremendous and consistent User Experience.
There are many reasons to choose Ionic for creating a mobile app. Below we present a list of the 7 most important ones.
One Code For Every Platform
Creating native apps for iOS and Android consumes time and money, because we have to hire specialized developers for each platform, who know imperative programming languages, specific SDKs and concepts. Developers need to create two code bases with the same functionalities. The identical effort has to be made when we need any change or update. It is also hard to manage that kind of project because two teams work separately and try to meet the exact deadlines.
Fortunately, technologies evolve. Mobile apps market is growing every year, and that is why developers came up with a solution, which enables us to create only one code and run an app on every platform. That is how cross-platform apps work. Thanks to Ionic Framework, a single developer can build one code and easily adapt it to every platform.
Native-like Experience
A cross-platform app created with Ionic Framework looks and feels like a native one. How developers achieve that? A developer creates a web app, and then, using Apache Cordova, packages it as a mobile one. However, that kind of application would look like a web one: and that is where Ionic becomes a solution. The framework allows us to use appropriate styles and behaviors and offers a collection of components that look and feel like native ones, providing excellent frontend experience. We also gain access to all of the native device’s capabilities and hardware features.
Creation With Well-Known Technologies
The Ionic app is created using popular web languages and technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Angular. Angular and Apache Cordova create the base of the framework. That allows to build an app using web technologies and then transform it into a fully functional, advanced mobile app. Therefore, there is no need to learn specific languages and SDKs or hire specialized, expensive developers – we can benefit from talents we already have. And the community of web developers is the biggest one.
Saving Time
As it was said before, thanks to Ionic, we need to develop only one code base to create an app which will run on every platform. Developers can easily and quickly adapt this code base to iOS and Android creating a cross-platform app.
Building separate apps for Android and iOS requires a lot of time and efforts while building a cross-platform app with Ionic Framework is a time-efficient process. When we want to start with our business with no hesitation, Ionic becomes the best solution.
Costs Reduction
Developing an app with the Ionic Framework creates a few possibilities of cost reduction.
First of all, we don’t have to pay for creating two separate native applications by specialized developers. Ionic allows us to build only one app with one code base and tailor it to multiple platforms. Secondly, Ionic is entirely free.
Using Ionic, we can save money on the framework itself because we don’t need to pay anything for it, and also on the development process because we’re creating one cross-platform app, not two native ones. That is why creating a mobile app with Ionic is a perfect solution for startups.
Transparent Project Management
Building two separate apps for two different platforms generates problems with project management. We have two teams working in parallel, but individually. Because of the many differences in languages, SDKs, and concepts, it is nearly impossible to deliver these two apps simultaneously, within the exact deadlines.
By contrast, app development teams can deliver a cross-platform app easily in an Agile way. With Agile approach, developers create software continuously, and after every sprint there’s time to evaluate results and implement changes. That is how we organize the working process at Appstronauts.
Excellent User Interface
These days excellent User Interface is essential. Users have high requirements regarding the UI, and applications have to look consistent and attractive. Fortunately, Ionic Framework is well-known for its user-friendly, sublime UI design elements and layouts.
Ionic offers CSS and JavaScript features that let to customize an app with various buttons, menus, cards or color schemes. These components create the native look of an application. We can tailor an app to our target audience and create the best user experience possible.
Ionic’s Convenient Technological Solutions: What Else You Need To Know
Ionic is built on AngularJS, and that is its huge advantage. AngularJS is one of the best frameworks to build web applications. Integration of Ionic and AngularJS delivers an advanced ecosystem and clear code structure.
On the backend, Ionic uses Apache Cordova. It’s a bridge to native code, which provides over 200 plugins. Plugins help to get access to various features of the device’s operating system: camera, geolocation, bluetooth, battery, and many others.
CSS and JavaScript are used to create a proper UI and the native look of an application.
The Ionic Framework allows to create a cross-platform mobile app with native app’s functionalities and design. It’s one platform with many ready-to-use components, extensible options and beautiful themes which adapt to different platforms. Various CSS tools and styles provide us with the best User Experience possible.
Creating an app with the Ionic Framework not only cuts your costs and decreases the development time, making it a lot easier especially for startups. It also gives you an opportunity to build your business’s success on a great-looking software with a lot of useful functionalities. At Appstronauts we’ll be glad to help you with creating a cross-platform app tailored to your customers’ needs!