Become a successful mobile app developer by learning to use cross-platform development toolkits like Flutter

Are you a student or a professional with a computer science background who wants to add some creativity to your career goals? Mobile app development may be the right avenue for us to explore. Mobile app development involves coming up with innovative solutions for existing problems and then turning those solutions into feasible business ventures. Earlier mobile application development was confined to people with highly advanced coding skills, and most people with great ideas for apps could not ever hope to materialize their plans into concrete action. But that is no longer the case with the advent of open-source mobile app development toolkits like Flutter. Anyone with some preliminary understanding of software development can use Flutter to give shape to their app ideas.

Read on to learn more about how we, too, can learn to build a mobile app using just platforms like Flutter and learn from various online courses/tutorials.

What is Flutter?

Flutter is an open-source toolkit for software development that has gained popularity among mobile app developers in the last few years because of its ability to allow cross-platform development. Developers can use Flutter app development tools to create apps for both Android and iOS, they do not have to code two completely separate sets of code.

Flutter uses a hybrid framework of HTML5 and JavaScript to provide its cross-platform development capabilities. But Flutter is, of course, not the only toolkit in the cross-platform app development market. There are other competitors, both old and new, but Flutter has been able to emerge as the market leader because it uses coding language that is simple and easy for developers to use.

Why do developers like Flutter?

The programming language used by Flutter is Dart, and it also offers Cupertino and Material Design widgets. When developers use Flutter, they can create UI that looks almost native to Android and iOS. The end product application built using Flutter does not look or act like it has been built using a codebase.

Flutter’s UI toolkit is popularly used for mobile application development but is also highly effective for web browser applications. Some of the biggest e-commerce companies in the world, like eBay, Groupon, etc., are now using Flutter for their mobile apps and web apps. Even Google uses some Flutter features for its Google Home apps and Google Assistant.

These companies use Flutter because it allows them to maintain a degree of uniformity across their mobile and web applications by drawing from the same codebase. The responsiveness of Flutter UI is also much higher than most similar portable UI toolkits in the market.

Can we use Flutter to create our application?

Flutter has some distinct advantages and disadvantages. One of the biggest advantages of using Flutter is the uniform codebase, making it faster to build apps for different platforms. It saves manpower required for app development and provides a similar look for mobile and web apps. Flutter’s huge widget and graphics library are great sources for building exciting, creative interfaces for customers.

But, at the same time, these widgets can cause developers some problems. The widgets make the apps very heavy, and customers will need a lot of space on their devices to complete the download and installation. Another common problem app developers face with Flutter is a lack of functions and tools in the Flutter libraries.

Flutter is a comparatively new open-source toolkit, so its libraries and community of developers are still growing. It does not already have a very comprehensive set of functional features, but there is enough to create some unique and highly effective applications.

Is mobile app development a good career option?

A mobile app developer earns around 6LPA in India. Their salary increases as they gain more experience and hone their skills. Generally, app developers are categorized into different groups, like native app developers and web app developers. But cross-platform/hybrid app developers can perform the tasks of the other two groups and are much more in demand.

So, for those who want to build their career in mobile application development, it is best to get comfortable with a platform like Flutter to deliver high-quality cross-platform apps for clients.

Mobile app developers can be entrepreneurs, bringing their ideas to life. They can work with start-ups to help create their mobile and web applications. Another way to build a career as a mobile app developer is to join any large software development firm and work there on different client projects.

There are pros and cons to each of these choices. People building their apps will become full-time business owners once the app is launched, and they may have to move away from their technical background to more administrative tasks. Professionals working with start-ups link their fortunes with the success of that company. Suppose the app is a success and the company keeps growing. In that case, the developer will also find their career moving on an upward trajectory, but if the idea tanks, the developer will have to move on to another new project. Bigger firms provide a more secure form of employment, but career growth here might be limited, and developers will not have full freedom to explore all their ideas.

App development is a great career, and many young students and professionals now dream of creating an Android app and leaving an impact on the daily lives of thousands of people. Developers just need to prioritize their career goals and choose job positions accordingly to meet those specific goals.

The right training for the job is also essential for long-term sustained success in this sector. Most mobile application developers have formal training in software engineering, but that is not enough in today’s competitive market to bag a lucrative job. Students and professionals must constantly update their knowledge of different coding languages, learn about toolkit platforms like Flutter, and read about the newest trends in UX and UI if they want their careers to progress in the right direction. But nowadays, there are various online courses to learn these skills, and we all have a chance to upgrade our resumes with new certifications and degrees.

So, do not let your brilliant ideas stay on the back burner any longer. Hone your skills and then jump into a career as a mobile app developer or in flutter app development and keep climbing the ladder of success.