Build your next cross-platform messaging app with MirrorFly Flutter Chat SDK – Know the hows and whys in this detailed article.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Do you know there are over 5 million apps in the App Store/ Play Store?. And it looks like the number would steadily increase in the coming years, with growing user demands in industries including food delivery, rideshare, telecom, telehealth and enterprises.
While this is not a surprise, it increases the pressure on businesses and developers to deliver apps that are efficient and that meets their budget at the same time.
In order to reach a larger audience, businesses need to build their app on whichever platform their users are on- Android, iOS or Web.
Cross-platform development typically lets you build your app for multiple platforms, with a single codebase.
Multi Platform development is an option – but it is quite costly and time consuming to build an app multiple times for different platforms.
So, the ultimate solution we could rely on here is Cross-platform development.
While, you know cross-platform comes to the rescue, you’ll need a framework that can build your app with a unified codebase.
The answer to this need is Flutter.
Now, let me take you through the reasons why I recommend Flutter for your cross platform development.
Why Flutter?
Apache Cordova, Xamarin, Appcelerator Titanium and Adobe AIR have been in the cross-platform development game for years. But what makes Flutter unique from them?
Let me give you a few examples:
- Open Source and Free: Flutter is an open-source framework, and it’s completely free to use.
- Single Codebase for Multiple Platforms: With Flutter, you can write a single codebase that runs smoothly on both Android and iOS. This not only saves your development time but also ensures that your users have an amazing experience on any platform they use.
- Highly Customizable UI: Flutter provides a rich set of customizable widgets. This lets you create unique and beautiful user interfaces on your apps. Plus, The framework’s hot reload feature enables code changes and UI updates in real-time.
- Fast Performance: Flutter compiles to native ARM code making it easy for you to build graphics-intensive and high-performance apps.
- Dart Language: Dart is the programming language used by Flutter. It is known for its simplicity and strong type system.
- Web and Desktop Support: Flutter extends its capabilities beyond mobile by allowing you to build web and desktop apps using the same codebase. This versatility makes it a valuable choice for businesses looking to expand their presence across multiple platforms.
- Google Support: Regular updates, bug fixes, and improvements ensure that the framework stays up to date with the latest industry trends and needs.
Why Is Flutter Best For Your Startup App?
If you are running a Startup, here are 3 main reasons why you need to consider Flutter for building your app:
- Native-looking apps with a single codebase: With just one set of code, you can build both Android and iOS apps for your business. It’s cost-effective and time-saving!
- Quality & Speed: When you use Flutter, you will be able to develop your apps faster, without compromising on the quality of your apps.
- Instant Support: You need not worry about getting stuck in the middle of development. Millions of developers use Flutter, and you can get help right when you need it.
Why Is Flutter Best For Your Enterprise App?
If you are running an Enterprise-grade Business, here are 3 main reasons why you need to consider Flutter for building your app:
- High-performance: You get to deliver the smoothest user experience with Flutter components, be it any size of app.
- Scalability: Flutter is perfect for fast-growing businesses, because you can scale the components on multiple platforms, without any hassle.
Consistency: Be it any platform, Flutter delivers a smooth and consistent performance.
Also Read: Flutter Packages for Real-Time Communication
The Flutter Architecture
Flutter uses the Dart Programming Language which has 2 compilation modes.
- AOT (Ahead-of-Time)
- JIT (Just-In-Time)
AOT (Ahead-of-Time)
Dart: AOT means that Dart code is turned into native machine code before you even run your app.
Flutter Usage: AOT is used when you’re ready to release your app to the public. It makes your app run super fast and takes less space on your device.
JIT (Just-In-Time Compilation):
Dart: During development, Dart code is compiled just when you need it. You can make changes to your code and see them instantly without waiting.
Flutter Usage: JIT is used while you’re building and testing your app. It allows for hot reload, which means you can change your code and see the results immediately.
💡Did You Know?
Building a Flutter chat app can typically cost between $45,000 and $200,000. However, with MirrorFly Chat SDK, you can create one for just $399! That’s a massive cost-saving opportunity for your app development needs.
Talk To Our Expert Now!
8 Advantages Of Developing Your Cross-Platform Apps With Flutter
Flutter offers you hundreds of benefits. I’m listing the topmost of them:
1. Fast Performance: Flutter’s AOT (Ahead-of-Time) compilation results in fast and efficient native code. This leads to excellent app performance and responsiveness, enhancing the user experience.
2. Single Codebase: Flutter allows you to write a single codebase that runs on multiple platforms, such as Android, iOS, web, and desktop. This saves time and effort compared to maintaining separate codebases for each platform.
3. Customization: Flutter provides extensive customization options. You can create unique and branded user interfaces, animations, and interactions to make your app look and feel unique.
4. Strong Community Support: Flutter has a large and active community of developers. This means you can easily find help, resources, and third-party packages to extend the functionality of your app.
5. Multiple Themes: Flutter supports theming, allowing you to easily switch between different themes or adapt your app’s look and feel for different platforms. This helps you achieve a consistent user experience.
6. Hot Reload: Flutter’s hot reload feature enables rapid development. You can make code changes and instantly see the results without restarting the app. This speeds up debugging and iteration during development.
7. Ideal for MVP Development: Flutter is well-suited for Minimum Viable Product (MVP) development. Its speed and efficiency make it an excellent choice for quickly prototyping and launching new apps.
8. Extensive Number of Widgets: Flutter offers a wide range of pre-built widgets for creating user interfaces. These widgets are highly customizable and can be used to build complex and beautiful UIs with ease.
Top Brands That Have Created Their Cross-Platform Apps With Flutter
Well, this is quite an interesting list of companies that have used Flutter for developing their cross-platform apps:
Flutter Features That Make Your Chat App Development Easier
- Structured Code: Flutter helps you keep your code neat and organized, making it easier to work with.
- DartPub: It’s like a library where you can find ready-made code to use in your app, saving you from writing every code from scratch.
- BLoC Pattern: It’s a way to structure your code so that it’s easier to understand and maintain.
- Real-time Communication: Flutter provides tools to add features like video. voice and chat to your app, allowing users to have instant conversations or interactions in real-time.
Why Should You Create Your Next Flutter Chat App With MirrorFly?
Here are my 10 reasons why I’ve used MirrorFly Flutter Chat SDK for my app development, and why I recommend it for you.
- 150+ Messaging Features: MirrorFly provides a rich set of messaging features, including real-time chat, voice and video calling, file sharing, and more. This allows you to create a highly engaging chat experience for your users.
- Topic-based Chat: You will be able to segregate the user conversations based on their interests and preferences.
- 100% Customization: MirrorFly offers high levels of customization, allowing you to personalize your chat app’s design, logo, and functionality to meet your unique brand requirements.
- Build In 10 Minutes: MirrorFly offers you a low-code real time messaging API & SDK, which means you can build your entire app within 10 minutes with pre-built Flutter components.
- Scalability: MirrorFly is designed to handle large user bases and high message loads. This makes it an ideal choice for both small-scale and enterprise-level apps.
- Security: Security is a top priority with MirrorFly. It offers end-to-end encryption with AES-128 and SSL. It keeps up the privacy of user conversations with SDKs built to be compatible with industry-grade regulations like GDPR, HIPAA and OWASP.
- Flexible Hosting: MirrorFly provides 2 hosting options – You can either host it on MirrorFly’s cloud servers or host it on your own premises.
- Exchange Large Files: Users can send and receive large-sized files easily without any restrictions.
- White-label Chat: You can use MirrorFly chat SDK to build your app, but use your own logo on your app.
- Full Access To Source Code: When you choose MirrorFly, you get complete ownership of the source code. This means you can add, modify or delete features as per your needs.
Conclusion
Now, we’ve come to the end of the article. We covered all the basics about Flutter, its architecture and benefits along with reasons why you should choose MirrorFly as your Flutter chat SDK provider.
I hope this article will be a great guide when you kick off with your next project with Flutter.
And if you think you need a team to lend a hand in developing your app, well, you can hire a tech team right away from MirrorFly.
Got more questions? Comment below or talk to an expert today!
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