Find out whether your next mobile app should use hybrid or native technologies
Creating a mobile app or a web app that looks good on mobile is more important to small businesses and startups than it has ever been. In fact, nearly 65% of people in the top 10 developed countries in the world own a smartphone. This means that if your business doesn't provide great user experience that functions well on mobile, those users could take their business elsewhere[1].
If you are a small business leader or startup founder looking to give your customers a better mobile experience, you may wonder if you should build a native app, a hybrid app or a web app. We've put together valuable information to help you learn the difference between these options so that you can make a decision that fits your business goals.
What is a native app?
When developers use the term "native app," they may be referring to applications that come pre-installed on your operating system. Native app examples by this definition include Outlook on Microsoft Windows or Mail on Mac OSX. But in the context of mobile app platforms, native app means something different.
After a few mobile platforms got out of the business, we are left with two: Android and iOS. Native apps here refer to mobile apps that are written specifically for one of these platforms using the programming languages and technologies that were designed for them. In Android, this means using Java or Kotlin to write the code for the app, and in iOS, it means using Objective-C or Swift.
Because native apps are designed to work directly with a device's operating system, they can be more flexible and perform better than apps developed using other methods. But using native technologies also means that a separate app must be built for each platform that uses a different code.
Native vs. web apps: Factors to consider
A web app is an app that can be accessed through a mobile phone's web browser or through any web browser. When a web app is designed for both desktop and mobile browsing, it uses a technique called responsive design that will dynamically adjust the layout of the page to fit a variety of screen sizes. When someone wants to use a web app—whether from their phone or another device—they don't have to download or install the app; they just visit the web page.
A web app is essentially a website with interactive and dynamic features that allow you to use it from a single page rather than multiple pages. On the front-end, it will use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript or a JavaScript framework to render the page you see in the browser, and a back-end service or services to retrieve the data it displays. To build a web app, you need to hire a web development company or an engineer that knows web development.
The advantages of a web app over a native mobile app include:
Web apps don't need to be installed because you access them from a browser.
Updates for every user are instantaneous because everyone is using the same app.
Web apps can be developed and deployed quicker than native mobile apps.
Web apps don't need the approval of either the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store because they are deployed to your own web server.
Web apps have a common codebase because there is only one app.
The disadvantages of a web app when compared to a native mobile app include:
Visitors can't access or use a web app without a browser and an internet connection.
Web apps could potentially have security issues unless you set high-security standards and developers follow them because they don't go through the same approval process that native mobile apps do.
Web apps will be slower than native mobile apps.
It can be harder for someone to find your web app because there isn't a place like an app store to easily search for them. To help visitors find a web app easier, you must use search engine optimization in order to rank higher in search engines.
Native vs. hybrid apps: Factors to consider
Hybrid apps are a combination of both a native mobile app and a web app. To have access to the app, users will have to go to one of the app stores, download the app and install it on their mobile device. The app itself, however, will run a web app that is embedded in it. Hybrid apps use web technologies like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS for the main functionality and run inside a native app shell.
The app will have access to the internal device APIs and functionality because it is a true native app, but developers will use web technologies instead of the native programming language of each platform to build the app. Because hybrid apps are based on web apps, they will have a similar navigational structure. The web app portion of a hybrid app usually runs inside of a WebView, which is a browser component in the native part of the app.
Speed
If the speed of an app is a priority or it processes a lot of data, then you can't beat a native app. Native app development takes advantage of the hardware and the software on the device to function. The build process of a native app also optimizes the code specifically for the platform.
With hybrid app development, most of the functional code runs inside of a WebView which adds an extra layer of processing between the code and the device. This will result in a slower app.
Local storage
A native mobile app has access to all the storage capabilities of the mobile device. When a user closes the app, it can store important data for the next use so the app is ready to go. With a hybrid app, you have limited local storage capabilities because most of the app is running in a WebView that will reload when the app is launched again.
Internet connection
A native app will function without an internet connection, so native development is the best choice if the app is going to be used often in places where there isn't internet connectivity. In a hybrid app, you need an internet connection for it to function.
Safety and security
All else being equal, a native app will be more secure than a hybrid app because the security features are built into the platforms and each app must go through an approval process that checks native code for security flaws before it is published to an app store. Hybrid apps are vulnerable to the same types of cyberattacks that web apps are, like cross-site scripting (XSS) and insecure HTML5 storage, so more care must be put into the development process to prevent these vulnerabilities.
Ease of development
To develop a native app, you may be able to find one developer who knows both platforms well, but most likely you will need at least two developers: one who knows Android and one who knows iOS. To develop a native app, you only need a developer or developers who work with web technologies, which has a much shallower learning curve than native mobile development on two separate platforms.
UX and customizations
If you want the UI of your app to provide a user experience that is consistent with the operating system standard, then native development is the way to go. You can get close to the same experience with a hybrid app, but some of the graphics may not match what users expect from either an iOS or Android app.
Development cost and time
Developing a hybrid app mainly requires web development skills that are more common than mobile development skills, and one developer can develop the app for both Android and iOS, so development is quicker and will cost less. Developing a native app requires specialized knowledge of both platforms and two codebases, so it will take longer and cost more.
Narrow your search for web development companies with our list of companies in the following areas:
App store/deployment/time to market
The time to market for a hybrid app is shorter than that of a native app. Hybrid apps can be developed quicker because they use common web technologies and developers only need to write the code once for both iOS and Android. Native apps require two codebases, one for each platform, so development, deployment and getting added to both app stores will take longer.
Scalability
Hybrid web apps are much easier to scale to another platform. If you built a hybrid app for Android, you simply have to use the built-in iOS build process of the hybrid framework to build one for the iPhone. With native development, scaling to another platform will require starting from scratch in another codebase.
Ready to decide?
There are many ways to develop a mobile app, and each method has its own advantages. Before you get started, here is a summary:
Developing a web app will involve hiring a web development company and will be the quickest process, but mobile functionality will be limited, and the app will be slower.
Developing a native app will require hiring a mobile development company, and the process will take the longest of all the options, but the app will be fast and have access to all the device's functionality.
Developing a hybrid app splits the difference. Most web developers will understand the process, so you don't need to hire a mobile developer. The app will have access to the device's APIs, but it will still be slower than a native app.
There is also a fourth option, which you can read about in our article on cross-platform mobile development.