10 Benefits of Choosing the Ionic Framework for Mobile App Development
Ionic is an open-source, HTML5 mobile app development framework that is used for creating highly interactive, cross-platform mobile applications deployed across iOS, Android, and Windows devices. Based on the Angular programming language, Ionic applications can be coded using simple HTML, Javascript, and CSS. This framework is known to seamlessly handle UI interactions of the application whilst creating an elegant and functional user interface.
Since 2013, Ionic has been revolutionizing the app development space, helping developers create hybrid apps with native features, using customizable tools from the Ionic tool library. With over 5 million applications built using Ionic, this framework has been used by top brands like NASA and McDonald’s for creating applications that are developer and customer friendly.
Here is a list of the top 10 benefits that help you find out why you should use Ionic to create an iconic mobile application:
#1 Ionic is an open source framework
Ionic is a framework that is offered free of cost. This means that anyone can explore this framework and create amazing mobile applications.
#2 Seamless Integration with Native functionality
Cordova is a mobile application development framework that was introduced by Adobe Systems and its plugins are used to access a device’s hardware functionalities. Ionic uses the ngCordova plugin to help the application make use of various native API’s of the phone, like the camera, battery, geo location, compass, accelerometer, etc. and created advanced functionalities within the application.
#3 Cross-platform Application Development
The ionic framework enables developers to use a single codebase and code applications for Android 4.1 and up, iOS 7 and up. The Ionic framework also supports the UWP (Universal Windows Platform) for developing Windows 10 applications. Developing an app that runs on multiple platforms will help your business target different customer bases on each platform, thereby exposing your products and services to a wider audience. The ability of Ionic to interconnect a single source of code means that developers can code once and build an application for multiple platforms- saving development time, resources, capital and effort.The ability to reuse codes to create any functionality that can be utilized across various platforms is the main reason for developers preferring to work with the Ionic framework.
#4 Efficient Ionic APIs with Native Compatibility
Ionic’s team constantly tests and releases new, Ionic-built APIs that work across multiple platforms. Ionic provides developers with a huge library of components/plugins, including plugins for the front-end and UI, general app icons, etc. Ionic plugins also allow developers to connect to a users’ native phone APIs and use the same for custom integrations.
#5 Coding Advanced Functionalities
Since Ionic is based on Angular, the CSS and JavaScript features included in this framework helps developers customize an app with different menus, buttons, color schemes, etc. Some of the more advanced features that can be built easily using Ionic include:
- Text-to-Speech Plugin: Through this plugin, an entire blog page can be read aloud to the user using a single button
- Deep link Plugin: This creates a pathway from the Ionic-built application to any other apps on the user’s phone. As a result, data can be interchangeably used between different apps seamlessly.
- Camera Access: This plugin allows users to click a picture and store it within the app’s library instead of the phone library.
Additionally, developers have the flexibility to use all the integrations and compatibilities supported by AngularJS while developing an app using the Ionic framework.
#6 Developer Friendly
The Ionic community is huge, with instant support available for any complex functionality codes, design related issues, bugs, etc. that might come up during the development cycle encountered while creating an application. The Ionic community uses Slack, Youtube, GitHub, various forums, blogs and websites, etc to help anyone master the framework.
#7 Ease of Use
Ionic is one of the easiest languages to learn, use and adapt to. Front-end developers familiar with HTML, Javascript and CSS can pick-up this framework pretty easily and create hybrid mobile applications for almost any business use case.
#8 Quick Prototyping
Ionic provides developers with a suite of ready-made mobile-optimized UI components, gestures, and tools. This can be used to shorten the time needed for prototyping the application. Developers can use the “Ionic Creator” to drag and drop UI components and quickly create an interactive prototype to showcase the working of the application to the client, obtain feedback and implement it in the live application.
#9 Convenient Testing
Ionic apps work through the “Web View” which is a device’s browser. Most browsers have in-built debugging and testing tools that can be used as a convenient and quick medium to test the Ionic application. Developers don’t have to deploy a separate device or an emulator for a simple preview of the application- thereby saving time on making UI changes. When the app is developed for Android OS, developers can deploy the app from the command line. Whereas, iOS requires opening the build output in Xcode.
#10 Cost-Effective Development
Using Ionic is cost-effective. Apart from the Ionic framework being cost effective, developers can create, build, test, and deploy the app with the Ionic CLI. This leads to a shorter development time which in turn reduces development costs.
To Summarize
Ionic is an excellent choice for building basic native functionalities within a mobile application that can run seamlessly on devices with different operating systems. The Ionic framework makes the development process smooth, fast and cost-efficient.
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