Making app for small business? Consider Hybrid app for these 10 reasons

Apps are one of the most important pillars to boost one’s business. If you want to promote your product or company, only the website traffic is not enough. Users spend most of their spare time on smartphones. Therefore, developing a mobile app for your business is a good idea to move ahead.

In this article, we will discuss why hybrid apps are suitable for small business firms. But, before we proceed, it is essential to know about the cross-platform apps.

What are hybrid apps?

Hybrid apps are like other mobile apps. You can install them on your mobile phones. Like other apps, these apps are also available in the stores. What is the difference between hybrid apps and other native apps? A hybrid app has the union of the components of both native and web apps. Hybrid apps are hosted inside a native app which utilizes the web view. It lets them access the device’s elements like accelerometer, camera, etc.

Reasons to select the hybrid apps for small business firms

Following are the reasons for selecting a hybrid app for small firms. Have a look:

1. Hybrid apps are cost-effective

A single hybrid app works on various devices. You code once and then deploy the code multiple times with the same files. Therefore, you need not hire app developer. This property of the hybrid apps makes them cost-effective. Today, many app development companies across the world select hybrid apps to lower the development cost.

2. Shorter development time

The hybrid apps use the same codes to run on various devices. Due to this, you need not write different codes for different devices. Hence, by selecting hybrid apps for your project, you can save your valuable time.

3. Speed

Users are impatient. Therefore, they do not like the apps which take a lot of time to give an output. It is one of the major issues with the native apps. If we compare the hybrid apps with their native counterparts, we will find that the hybrid apps are much faster than native ones. One of the reasons for this fact is the hybrid apps do not reload the data repeatedly. Even, if you need to reload the hybrid apps, again and again, they show quick responses unless they require high-resolution graphics. The best part of the hybrid apps is they can work faster even in the slow internet speed.

4. Better UI & UX

Better UI and UX are one of the reasons for the popularity of the hybrid apps. Some websites have a different appearance on different web browsers. For example, facebook.com, google.com, etc. If you do not know the fact, you can try it by yourself. There are some notable changes in their appearance. For example, if you open google.com on Firefox and Chrome, you will find that the Search By Voice button in the search tab is not available in Firefox. It creates a negative impact on the user experience. The hybrid apps provide an excellent UI and UX.

5. Resources availability

Hybrid apps use the web technology to build apps. It makes resources readily available to develop an application. Since the easy availability of the resources, hybrid apps are much easier to build. Also, there is no need to invest a higher amount to create these apps. Hence, the cost of investment in hybrid apps is less than native apps.

6. Easy to maintain

Hybrid apps are easy to maintain. Hence, you need not worry about the maintenance cost and time for these apps. Also, hybrid apps are easy to upgrade. Many reasons make these apps easy to maintain. For example, a single hybrid app can run on the different platforms. The only thing that you should care for the maintenance of these apps is the selection of the right development platform. For example, PhoneGap, Xamarin, etc.

7. App integration

The hybrid apps and native apps share some similarities. For example, both apps use the programming language of the device to synchronize with other compatible apps. It reduces the issues related to the app integration for the developers. The hybrid apps work well with the native applications of a device. For example, camera, messaging app, GPS, etc. It, therefore, offers the smooth user experience. Thus, hybrid apps are beneficial for small firms which depends on the customer experience to generate high revenue.

8. Easy scaling

Hybrid apps offer high flexibility. Since these apps can work on different platforms and operating system, it is much easier to scale them. It is highly comfortable to open and respond to the third-party plugins and tools.

9. Offline use

Hybrid apps let developers save the device’s APIs to keep the offline data. It helps to load the application quickly. These apps store the information offline. So that, the users can access the data at the time of no internet connection or poor network. The offline use of the hybrid apps is also beneficial to the users regarding data consumption. Users want to reduce their data consumption. The hybrid apps provide the offline support with no or fewer glitches. We can consider this as the main advantage of the hybrid apps.

10. Extended customer reach

Apart from the above-listed benefits, hybrid apps are also a powerful marketing tool. Being their availability on multiple platforms, they can support the small-sized firms.

Some popular frameworks to build hybrid apps

1. PhoneGap. It is an open source platform. You can use it to build cross-platform apps. The best part of the PhoneGap is its free of cost availability.
2. Xamarin. It is another popular framework to build hybrid apps. It is also one of the powerful tools.
3. IONIC. It is also an open source tool to develop hybrid apps. It includes the library of CSS, JavaScript, and HTML.
4. Onsen UI. It comes with a vast collection of ready-to-use components.
5. Titanium Appcelerator. It is one of the most powerful tools. It uses a complete JavaScript approach.

Conclusion

Mobile apps play a crucial role in promoting a business. Therefore, one should build a mobile app to support his product or website. Cross-Platofrm apps are beneficial, in case you do not have enough money to invest. The development cost of these apps is less than native apps. The most significant advantage of these apps is you need not hire different developers, say for Android app development or iOS app development. Hybrid apps can support multiple platforms. Thus, it is a good option to select the hybrid apps.