You can hardly imagine a successful business that doesn’t have a mobile application. Smartphones have become an essential part of our everyday life and have even replaced computers for certain groups of people.
When you need to check the weather forecast, read a film review or order a pizza, do you wait for your laptop to turn on, or you just reach for your phone and do everything in a few taps?
Mobile experience is faster and more convenient, allowing us to do most of the actions on the go, in a queue, or during our ride home. A smartphone saves us time. And this is one of the reasons why mobile applications have become that popular.
If you have already decided to build an application to attract and astound more mobile device users, there is one more hard choice left: web app vs. native app vs. hybrid app. Let us make this choice a bit easier for you!
What are Native, Web, and Hybrid apps?
There are three essential approaches to creating a mobile application: web app, native app, and hybrid app development. Each has their advantages and disadvantages and none can say that one is better than another.
To choose the right approach, you must evaluate available resources and understand goals you want to achieve with the app release.
Native mobile apps – exclusive performance and solid budget behind it
Which platforms should your application support? Most likely you target Android and iOS users.
So, if you decide to develop for the two platforms, be ready to build two separate applications since each platform has completely different standards and requirements. As a result, you have to hire two development teams: Objective-C or Swift team for iOS app, and Java or Kotlin professionals to work on an Android app.
Advantages of native app development
- High-end performance
Native applications perform better, especially in case of heavy graphics or complicated calculations (HD or 3D games, etc.). - Native user interface
An app is developed according to standards of a specific platform which results in smooth user experience. - Access to platform-specific features
A native app can access camera, calendar, contacts and other built-in features of the mobile device.
Disadvantages of native applications
- App stores availability only
Such an application can be found and downloaded only in an app store. Also, any update must be manually approved by a user, which spoils user experience. - Higher development cost
A native app should be developed for each platform from scratch. Therefore, it requires more time and resources to complete. As a result, the development cost is quite high.
Obviously, the budget for native development is higher since the development cost is based on the time spent to build the needed functionality for each platform.
But the higher development cost is rewarded with better performance. Besides, a native app’s interface is perfectly adjusted to the platform, which feels right to the user and reduces the learning curve.
If you want to build an application but don’t have the necessary technical expertise, you can address an offshore software development company to hire to hire a development team for your project .
Still in doubt whether native app development can be the right choice for your business? Get in touch and have your questions answered by our consultant!
Web app development – one application for all screens and platforms
Web app is an application that works in the browser. However, it can be easily run on any type of device, be it a laptop, a tablet, a smart watch, a TV or even a screen of a smart fridge. The only prerequisite is – the device should have a browser.
Technology stack for web application development
Angular is a Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework. Three separate components enable you to write well-structured and easy-to-support code. Two-way data binding is beneficial for simple applications — any changes to the model will immediately be implemented to the view and vice versa.
React.js enables faster and easier implementation of changes. However, as React is a library and not a framework, which limits core functionality, developers are forced to work with third-party services.
Vue.js is a younger JS framework, but it has shown incredible popularity growth over the last few years. This is partially due to the fact that it is a lightweight solution. When compared to a monolith like Angular, it offers basic functionality out-of-the-box.
Flutter is a free and open-source mobile UI framework created by Google and released in May 2017. In a few words, it allows you to create a native mobile application with only one codebase. This means that you can use one programming language and one codebase to create two different apps (for iOS and Android).
Node.js is an application runtime environment, which is used to build server-side apps. Work with Node.js requires knowledge of JavaScript. For this reason, it is often used in stacks together with JS frontend framework
Django is a Python web framework. It can be used with basically any frontend framework (including the ones described above). It is also a good solution for any type of website due to a number of third-party packages available.
Laravel is one of the most popular PHP frameworks. Laravel works excellently with Vue.js. However, Angular and React are also a good match for web app development with Laravel.
Regardless the number of supported platforms, you build only one application. Sounds good, right?
Advantages of web app development for mobile devices
- Usage of widespread technologies
Web app development is on peak popularity nowadays. This means that finding a development team won’t be an issue at all. - Compatibility with any platform
Once you create a web application, it is ready to be used on any device immediately. The development time is minimal, just like the price. - Instant updates
Users always access the latest version of your application. There’s no need to download updates - Constant innovations on the web
Google has introduced progressive web apps (PWA) and accelerated mobile pages (AMP) to make mobile experience smooth. With the latest developments, it is sometimes hard to say whether you are using a web or a native app.
Disadvantages of mobile web applications
- Basic performance
This approach works perfectly for simple applications such as news publishers, online stores, etc. But some apps require better performance that web technology still lacks. - Inability to support all web browsers
There are dozens of browsers, and then tens of versions of each browser. A web application usually supports only the latest and most popular ones. Therefore, users with some exotic browsers are likely unable to use your application - Limited access to platform-specific features
A web app can’t access your camera, storage or contacts. - Not available in app stores
Web apps are accessed via link. This is easier for the user, but you have to think of some alternative ways to market an application.
Web app development is gaining traction. The introduction of WebAssembly may be another reason to boost interest to this type of apps. Being one of the main web trends of the year, WebAssembly enables code in any programming language to compile in the browser. This means that performance-critical features will soon be implemented in web apps as well. Can’t wait for this to happen!
Hybrid mobile apps – reduced budget and shorter development time
A hybrid mobile app is just what it sounds – an application that can be run on any platform with just slight improvements. Generally speaking, it is a web application in a native wrapper, which makes the app feel more native.
A hybrid application base on web technologies: HTML, CSS, Javascript, and a hybrid development frameworks (Ionic, Apache Cordova, etc.).
Advantages of hybrid apps
- Usage of web technology
Hiring a web app development team is a no brainer. Moreover, a JavaScript application is easier to maintain even in a changing environment. - Lower price, when compared to native
A hybrid application is built once and is ready to run on any platform. This reduces the development time and therefore the costs. - Better performance when compared to web
Hybrid frameworks enable an app to access platform-specific features, contributing to better performance and usability
Disadvantages of hybrid app development
- Slower than native apps
Hybrid approach won’t work for performance critical applications and heavy games. - Need for third-party services
Pure JavaScript won’t work until you use a hybrid app development framework, such as Cordova or Ionic. Both have a learning curve
The obvious benefit of this approach is the need to hire just one web development team. Also, the built application can be run everywhere, which cuts the development time. Hybrid approach is preferable when it is critical to reduce time-to-market of an application without exceeding the budget.
Hybrid development is often described as a compromise solution due to lower performance. However, in 2019 technologies are already so far, that you are able to deliver exclusive cross-platform experience without the user even noticing the difference.
If you still are not sure whether hybrid development is an option for your case – we are here to answer your querries. Just drop us a line!
Native app development vs Hybrid app development – comparison
We have compared the critical characteristics of hybrid and native mobile apps in the table below. Choosing the one that fits your use case better will be easier after reading this comparison!
| Characteristics | Native app development | Hybrid app development |
| Platform | You have to develop a native app for each platform | A hybrid application can be used on any platform that has a browser |
| Development technologies | Objective-C or Swift for iOS,
Java or Cotlin for Android, Native SDKs for each platform |
HTML, CSS, Javascript,
Hybrid development framework (Ionic, Apache Cordova, etc.) |
| Access to Calendar, Contacts, Camera, GPS, etc | Access to any of the smartphone’s native features directly | Access to smartphone’s features through third-party plugins |
| Performance | Highest performance even at HD/3D graphics and other complicated calculations | High level of performance. Some issues possible when dealing with HD/3D graphics |
| User Interface (UI) | Native look’n’feel consistent with other native applications, low learning curve | Unable to reproduce some platform-specific gestures, frustration in usage is possible |
| App-stores availability | Available for download and updates in Apple’s and Android’s app stores | Available for download and updates in Apple’s and Android’s app stores |
| Time-to-market | Higher, depends on the number of supported platforms, and planned the functionality | Significantly shorter, the app is developed once and is compatible with all platforms |
| Development cost | Higher, you have to pay to multiple development teams | Much lower, there is only one team and the development time is shorter |
There is one more option between these two approaches. It is called cross-platform app development. This technology combines the advantages of hybrid and native app development eliminating the disadvantages.
With cross-platform development, you are able to use only one technology stack for multiple platforms. At the same time, the user experience is native, and the performance is significantly higher. You can dig deeper into the topic by reading our comparison of cross-platform development frameworks.
Web app vs. Native app
Web and native app development are two completely different approaches. And here’s what you should pay attention to when choosing the one for your project:
| Characteristics | Native app development | Web app development |
| Platform | Need to develop an app for each platform. | A single app works regardless the platform. |
| Technologies | Objective-C or Swift for iOS,
Java or Cotlin for Android, Native SDKs for each platform. |
HTML, CSS, React/Angular/Vue.js for frontend;
Node.js/Laravel/etc. for backend. |
| Access to Calendar, Contacts, Camera, GPS, etc | Access to to all native features of the platform. | Limited access to device’s hardware and software. |
| Performance | Best possible performance for any type of applications | Doesn’t fit performance critical app ideas |
| User Interface (UI) | Native interface according to platform standards | Unified interface, which sometimes doesn’t look native |
| App-stores availability | Available for download and updates in Apple’s and Android’s app stores | Accessible via link, no need to download updates, which saves traffic and storage |
| Time-to-market | Higher, depends on the number of supported platforms, and the functionality | Much shorter, one app can be run on any device |
| Development cost | Higher, you have to pay to multiple development teams | The result of reduced development time are significantly lower costs |
Web apps are the top choice for startups and businesses that are not ready to invest a lot of money and wait for many months to launch.
Conclusion
When comparing hybrid, web and native app development, you can never say that one is better than the other. They all have advantages and disadvantages, and each of them can better suit in a specific business case.
Web app development is a must for startups and beginner businesses when time-to-market is critical. This approach is usually chosen for minimum viable product (MVP) development when the time and budget is limited.
However, a web app is not just a temporary solution. Many companies adhere to it due to easy support and performance that can satisfy their customers.
When aiming for better performance and wider functionality with a limited budget, consider a developing a hybrid or cross-platform application.
But, if your company aims to deliver an exclusive experience to your clients choose native app development. Yes, it requires more expenses and more efforts, but faultless performance and consistent user interface are worth every cent.
The team of Clockwise Software is proud to work with various types of businesses helping to find the most profitable solution at each stage.
Still not sure which approach to choose? Is your case unique and hard to categorize? Drop us a line describing your business case and we will find the best suitable solution together!
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