Creating a mobile app is a great way for small businesses to deepen engagement with their audience. They can nurture existing customer relationships and attract new clients by offering a more personalized user experience as well as exclusive offers and content through the mobile app. But, for a small business, the cost of building a native mobile app for both iOS and Android can be a limiting factor.
This is where cross-platform app development can be a game-changer for small businesses. With cross-platform apps, small businesses can deploy iOS and Android mobile apps at a faster pace and more affordable price.
In this blog post, we explore the benefits of cross-platform app development for your small business.
why do small businesses need mobile apps?
You might question the need for a mobile app if your small business already has a mobile-friendly website. Mobile apps, however, offer more convenience to a customer. Instead of going to a web browser and searching for your website, they can go into your mobile app to quickly access your services or make a purchase.
Similarly, mobile apps also provide more offline functionality, faster performance, and a more tailored user experience. They can also offer more insight into your customers’ preferences and behaviors, which can help you make informed decisions to grow and engage your small business’ audience base.
Today, more customers are leaning toward mobile apps for shopping or engaging with a brand. In fact, in a recent survey, 64% of respondents said they prefer to use a business’ mobile app instead of accessing its website through a mobile browser.
what is cross-platform app development?
Cross-platform app development involves using a single codebase to build and deploy mobile apps across both iOS and Android operating systems. This reusable codebase is a key differentiator between cross-platform and native mobile app development.
Since native apps use a separate codebase for each operating system, they can be more costly and require a longer development time. Built using tools like React Native, cross-platform apps can provide native-like experiences at a reduced cost and time to market.
For more on the differences between cross-platform apps and native apps, check out our blog post, “Native App vs. Web App vs. Cross-Platform App: Which is Better?”
advantages of cross-platform app development for small businesses
As a small business that’s about to venture into the big, daunting world of mobile apps, starting with a cross-platform app is a smart decision. Here’s why.
Cost efficiency
While native mobile apps can offer better performance, they ultimately need more work and cost more to develop. Choosing cross-platform app development can allow you to optimize resource allocation. Instead of devoting time and resources to building two separate codebases for iOS and Android, you can leverage cross-platform development to create a single codebase that can be simultaneously developed and deployed across both operating systems.
Go to market faster
Since cross-platform apps are simultaneously built for iOS and Android, they can be launched at a faster pace and significantly cut the time to market. In our experience, we’ve found this to be a great advantage for a small business that’s trying to quickly launch a product to start building an audience base, establish a brand, or generate additional revenue.
Lower cost of ownership/maintenance
Running two separate codebases will also require double the effort to maintain and upgrade each version. Ultimately, this can strain your team as they struggle to implement bug fixes and ensure consistency in the user experience across devices. On the other hand, a cross-platform app’s single codebase is much easier to update and keep consistent across platforms.
Wider market reach
If you want to go down the native app development route on a lower budget, you might consider building either an iOS or Android app to begin. While this approach may help you conserve some resources, it will significantly cut your market reach because your app can only cater to one group of users.
To maximize your market reach, start with a cross-platform app so you can engage both iOS and Android users and get your product in the hands of more customers.
so, should small businesses invest in cross-platform app development?
As with any business decision, the type of app you need will depend on a lot of factors, including target audience, feature requirements, budget, and timeline.
For a small business, investing in cross-platform app development is a great solution to get a product off the ground and into the hands of customers. Opting for this type of app also makes sense if you want to make your product accessible to both iOS and Android users. With a cross-platform app, you can still deliver reliable performance and native-like user experience at a lower development cost and time. You can also get to market faster with a cross-platform app and gather feedback to iterate the app and better align with what your customers need.
is your small business looking for cross-platform app development?
Our app developers can build and deploy a dynamic cross-platform mobile app for your small business or startup. Click below to check out our mobile app development services or contact us today to get started!
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