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Native Mobile App or a Hybrid Mobile App? Which is Better?

The biggest and unresolved question when it comes to developing a mobile app is- Do we go for a native app or a hybrid mobile app?

Native apps are those which are written for specific platforms like Android or iOS. A native app written for Android will not run on iOS mobile. A hybrid mobile app has elements from web applications and is developed for a specific platform. It is a web app wrapped in a native container that loads the information on the page as the user navigates through it. 

Native mobile app or a hybrid mobile app?

Let us discuss some points that will help you to decide if you have to go with a native mobile app or a hybrid mobile app-

1. User-experience including performance speed

If your mobile app is for your business, then a hybrid app or Android app will suffice.

But, if you are planning on a gaming mobile app that requires speed and intense animation, go with an Android mobile app or iOS mobile app as per your audience location. High-graphics oriented apps are best when designed as a native app for specific platforms like Android or iOS.

This may sound clichéd, but we all know that user experience can make or break the success of your mobile app. It makes no sense to design a hybrid mobile app just for the heck of it and then go about fixing your app because your users complain of a bad user interface or performance-related issues.      

1. Time, resources and cost

One more aspect is the time factor. If you are ready to wait longer, go for a native app.

But, if you want your mobile app ASAP, a hybrid mobile app is the answer. With it, you have to maintain one code base and release it across multiple platforms. You will save on resources and thus the overall cost. 

1. Use factor

Another aspect that you can consider is designing a hybrid mobile app first and releasing it in the market to see how much it succeeds. This is also called the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) development technique.

Based on your MVP, you get initial feedback from users and you can improvise on it.

A full feature-loaded native mobile app can be developed later if you feel that your app is getting adequate response from users and it has the potential to succeed in the market.

Even though the initial investment is high for a native mobile app, you stand to gain superior user-experience and functionality. 

Conclusion

Mobile App development agencies should make their clients aware of the benefits and limitations of both the hybrid app as well as the native app. An Android mobile app or an iOS mobile app should be recommended when strategies and the need for the app are strong and clear and the clients are willing to pay for it.

An Android mobile app or an iOS mobile app is functionally superior to a cross-platform mobile app. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide based on the need for a mobile app.  

An e-commerce web app needs consistent communication between the client-end browser and the database-side server. If you are to provide the best user-experience to the user, the I/O bound tasks have to be fast. This is where NodeJS comes into the picture.

What is NodeJS?

NodeJS is a JavaScript run-time environment that executes JavaScript outside the browser i.e., on the server-side. This open-source server-side runtime environment is built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine.

Advantages of NodeJS for e-commerce web development-

1. It is a cross-platform framework that runs on Windows, Linux, or MAC.

2. It offers easy scalability for e-commerce web applications.

3. It supports implementing a lot of plugins using the NPM (Node Package Manager).

4. Since it is an open-source platform, it keeps receiving upgrades.

5. It allows for caching single modules automatically thus increasing the loading speed.

6. It is an event-based platform meaning all that happens is a reaction to an event. Thus the requests are accepted and processed in loops. This event loop is a runtime part and is of great use for developing gaming apps, real-time apps, chat apps, etc.

7. It uses a single thread for handling connections while other web servers create a new thread for every new connection. This makes it suitable for web apps where multiple tasks run concurrently. Also, the app utilizes less memory because of this functionality.   

8. Since most of the web browsers support JavaScript, the deployment of a web app becomes easy.

9. Both the client-side and server-side apps can be written in JavaScript thus making the entire site run on a single JavaScript stack. This saves resources, time, effort, and money.

10. NodeJS uses asynchronous methods to help the app execute tasks faster instead of having to wait in the queue. It instead queues callbacks in the loop in the same order as it was received.  

11. It provides the option of non-blocking I/O systems thus helping to process several requests simultaneously.

12. It is an extensible and competent platform and can be customized as per the requirements.   

13. It runs on Google’s V8 JavaScript engine that enables request response to be pushed quickly from the server end to the client end making it agile.

Conclusion

NodeJS is best when your app has to maintain a persistent connection between the browser and the server like the e-commerce apps wherein a lot of database calls and I/O operations are required. Famous e-commerce sites like Amazon, Target, and Walmart use this app. 

If you are planning for an e-commerce business, consider using NodeJS. Daddy's Code will gladly help you to make your e-commerce website fast and user-friendly.

The website that you see on your browser may actually be a web app. Do not be surprised. It is a fact!

Many non-technical people still do not know the difference between a website and a web application. For them, anything which shows on their browser is a website.

But do you know that an ecommerce website that does business is actually a web app? Facebook is also a web app when viewed on your browser. So what categorizes as a website and as a web app? If you are interested to know what is the difference between a website and a webapp, here we have it for you. 

What is a website?

A website is a collection of web pages that contain text, images, and multimedia files. The website development is in HTML, CSS and some amount of JavaScript.

Static Website-

When the concept of the website was first introduced, it was just a static website- meaning, the user would be able to read the informative content without any interaction.

Dynamic Website-

Then came the dynamic websites, where information from the database was fetched, on request, to show to the user on the website.

Like, when your website has a blog section, it becomes a dynamic website because the blog is fetched from the database and displayed on the browser when the user asks for it. 

Even for an ecommerce site, when the user clicks on a product, its specifications and price is fetched from the database and displayed on the website.    

What is a web app?

The natural progression of the dynamic website was the web app. Dynamic websites are informative but provided for limited interaction.

The solution came in the form of web apps. A web app is different from a website in the sense that it provides interactivity. The user can read the content and manipulate it. The interaction is that the user clicks on something and gets a response. The response may be downloading an audio file, payment, online chat, resizing an image, and so on.

The web app is a client-server application that is stored in a remote server and runs on a web browser. Clients access this app from their browser without having to install it on their device.

Web apps are developed using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. They are more evolved than a website and almost reach the level of mobile apps in terms of functionality and user experience.  

Let us go back to the example of blogs on a dynamic website. The user can click on any blog link and that particular blog is fetched and displayed. The user can just read the blog but any changes are not allowed. So, it is minimal interaction.

Now, take this dynamic website a step further and include a chatbot. Is it not a full-fledged two-way interaction? The user can type in his queries through the chatbot. The chatbot will reply as needed. This chatbot is a web app component.

Let us recall the e-commerce website example. As long as it fetched product information from the database and displayed it on user request, it was a dynamic website.

But you need to sell it online to your users, right? So now, include a payment gateway so that users can purchase any product. Here, the transaction involves multiple to and fro interactions with the user, database, payment gateway server, and so on. So, the payment gateway can be defined as a web app component in the dynamic e-commerce website.

When such web app components are included and your website becomes more of an interaction site, it can be termed as a web app instead of a website.

Online banking, Facebook and Gmail are good examples of web apps. Here, these are interactive web apps. It exists because the interaction is what defines it.  

A static website is a thing of the past. Websites today have at least some web app components in them.

While websites have more information content and less interaction, web apps are designed solely for interaction purposes.   

A web app requires three things-

1. A web server to manage requests from the client.

2. An application server to perform the requested tasks

3. A database to store information (may not be required for simple tasks).

How does a web app work?

1. The user triggers a request (dynamic page) to the web server through his browser (HTTP)

2. The web server finds the page and forwards this request to the application server (app server)

3. The app server performs the requested task by scanning page for instructions

4. The app server may query the database or process the data.

5. The database driver executes the query.

6. The recordset is passed to the app server by the driver.

7. The app server sends back the generated result to the web server by inserting data in the page.

8. The web server displays the result of the requested information on the user’s browser.

Some popular examples of web apps:

Online form submission, shopping carts, video and photo editing, file scanning, email programs, file conversions, online calculators are all web apps.

Some popular examples of web apps are Facebook, Google Docs, Gmail.

What are the advantages of web apps?

1. Web apps run on compatible browsers on all the devices and operating systems

2. They need not be installed on the device thus saving space

3. Low maintenance cost when compared to mobile apps

4. Updates are quickly visible with just a refresh.

5. Users get the latest data access wherever they are located.

6. The data is more secure than mobile apps.

7. A web app is easily customizable and scalable.

8. It allows for easier sharing of data between different platforms and computer systems.

9. The in-built user-tracking system makes it easy to get an insight into viewer preferences.

10. Web apps can be cached so that even when the user is offline, some amount of static data is visible.

11. Since web apps need not be installed like mobile apps, users need to just log in and use it. Web apps have higher usage rates than mobile apps.

12. It helps users to access their professional work stored in the cloud from any location.   

Thus, a website and a web app differ in the 3 main areas-

1. Interaction- A website offers more information. A web app offers interaction.

2. Authentication- A website requires no authentication. A web app requires user login and password so that unauthorized access and leakage of sensitive data is prevented.

3. Integration- A web app is more suited to integration with other software.

Conclusion

Now that you know the difference between a website and a web app, make a website if you need it just to provide business information. For online businesses where payment gateway integration is required, web apps provide useful customer interaction. Get in touch with an expert website development company to know which is best suited to your business- a website or a web app.      

A hybrid mobile app has elements from web applications and is developed for a specific platform. It is a web app carried in a native container that stacks most of the information on the page as and when the user navigates through it. Let us know the advantages and disadvantages of a hybrid mobile app. 

What are the benefits of hybrid apps?

1. Finding resources to build a hybrid app is easy. It is written in web development languages like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
2. The coding remains the same when deployed across different mobile platforms.
3. The development time and costs involved are reduced since the same code is reused. 
4. For an update on any page of the hybrid mobile app, the user gets to see it when it is downloaded from the server. The app in the store needs to be updated only if there is some big change that will affect the user experience.    

Given the benefits, you would want to opt for a hybrid mobile app. But, wait, it has its limitations.

What are the disadvantages of a hybrid mobile app?

1. A hybrid mobile app doesn’t have a real feel like a native mobile app. There are some restrictions and the full potential of the mobile device cannot be exploited.
2. Since plugins and code of the platform are used to make the app suitable, it suffers from slower performance and transition between pages.
3. The loading speed gets affected because only the wrapper is downloaded on the user’s mobile device. The remaining data gets downloaded from the server. The overall performance may suffer when the server gets requests from many users at the same time.
4. A hybrid mobile app cannot be accessed offline.
5. Device-specific capabilities like GPS and location access are not possible using a hybrid app, even if it is, it comes at an exorbitant development cost. 

Conclusion

A hybrid mobile app is most preferred when you need it as an enterprise application for internal users or when your business reach is for a limited audience. It is also advisable to get a hybrid mobile app when you are not sure about the validation of your app idea. It will save you time, money, and resources. If you are interested in knowing what type your mobile app should be, contact a reliable mobile app development agency that clearly understands your business requirements. 

What do you think about a hybrid mobile app and its advantages and disadvantages? Comment below and let us know of it.