Mobile application development is a field that is getting diverse and the user base for mobile apps is ever expanding. The devices that these apps will be used on are diverse too. The tough decision here is – whether to develop an application that is cross platform compatible or to target specific devices. Those mobile application developers who are seeking to garner larger fan bases focus mainly on iOS and Android phones. Well, this decision should be purely based on your market analysis for the application that you wish to develop.
The decision for going cross platform or not, greatly depends on:
- The nature of the application that you want to develop
The application, if it is social or communication based its best that it is targeted to a wider audience unless it is strictly for business’ internal use. In other cases, if such an app is made cross platform compatible, it will work wonders in terms of greater customer reach and could become a very valuable marketing tool.
- The goal of the application that you want to develop
Decide the goal of your application. Is it focused on acquiring as many customers as possible? Or is it focused on delivering quality engagement to a targeted audience? If reaching out to a wider customer base is your target, it’s best that you target multiple devices. If your aim is to provide a targeted audience with a great customer experience, it becomes easy to decide which device to target.
- What device is your target audience using?
The choice becomes very easy when you have already researched who your target audience will be. When a majority of your customers are using the same platform, there is no need to invest in cross platform compatible applications. Whereas when your customers are a mix and match of Androids, iPhones, Windows Phones and such others, you automatically will need Mobile apps development that will work on multiple platforms.
If you are considering cross platform mobile application development, the more platforms you cover the better. Android and iOS has the maximum reach and so will your app if marketed rightly. If you are still re-thinking, here are a few pointers for you:
Benefits of Cross Platform Mobile Application Development
- Easy Marketing
When an application is developed for multiple platforms, you do not require creating separate message that cater to specific set of people. The marketing strategy could be common across all platforms hence achieving a greater reach with little efforts.
- Maintenance and deployment becomes easy
Whenever there are any changes or new features to be added, the updates get synced across all platforms without having to configure each one separately. Maintenance and deployment becomes very easy.
- Look and Feel is consistent
A single code runs on all platforms, hence the look and feel of the app can be easily made consistent. With different versions for different operating system, it becomes difficult to get the exact look, hence hampering user experience.
- Reduced development cost
Right, one time development that works on all platforms can drastically reduce your mobile apps development costs.
Well, as mentioned at the beginning of this article the decision to go cross platform or not completely depends on the nature of the application and the audience that your business wishes to target.
