Are you trying to figure out how to make a profitable mobile application? It entails many difficulties and factors to be considered, such as determining the budget, particular project specifications, features and functionalities, and more. Nonetheless, picking the right combination of powerful tools and technologies is essential to developing an app.
Your mobile app’s budget, performance, and maintenance will all be significantly impacted by the tech stack your mobile app development company decides to incorporate within. This emphasizes choosing the right mix of technologies for efficient app development that gives your company a competitive edge.
There are several factors to consider when choosing the best tech stack. Therefore, you should read this guide to choose the appropriate tech stack for creating your project.
Mobile App Development Tech Stack: 4 Main Pillars
A tech stack, a set of tools and technologies, is decided and arranged as per the development needs of software or an application. These development platforms are strategically used to create well-oriented and feature-rich mobile apps. It can include tools for data storage, security management, user interface design tools, and various other frameworks.
This tech stack is bifurcated into four central pillars to make the mobile app development process seamless, as given below:
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Back-end
In the back-end development of mobile applications, the decision of technologies depends on the smooth functioning of server-side code and the database. The work of backend developers is to store and manage data, respond to user requests, and ensure frictionless communication between the server and client side. The back-end tech stack supports them in controlling these tasks effectively.
| Back-end Development Programming Languages | Python, Ruby, Golang, PHP, or Java |
| Back-end Frameworks | Django, Ruby on Rails, or Laravel |
| Database Management System | MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite |
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Front-end
The front end is at the forefront of any application or software. This is an interface where your users can interact with a digital product. The tech stack chosen to develop the front end of the application manages the user interface and the client-side code running on the device. Developing a mobile app layout includes elements such as buttons, animations, user flow, and links.
| Front-end Development Programming Languages | HTML, CSS, JavaScript |
| Front-end Frameworks | React, Vue.js, and Angular |
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Platform
Your choice of mobile app development tech stack depends significantly on the platform you choose to deploy the app (such as iOS or Android). Here, all libraries and interfaces are pictured as part of the mobile app design and development. Depending on the mobile app platform, specific technologies are selected.
| iOS Platform | Development Tools: Apple Xcode and AppCode, iOS SDK |
| Programming Languages: Objective-С, Swift | |
| UI Frameworks: SwiftUI, UIKit | |
| Android Platform | Development Tools: Android Studio, Android SDK |
| Programming Languages: Java Kotlin | |
| UI Frameworks: Android UI, Jetpack Compose |
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Hosting
The hosting environment ensures the server-side code runs smoothly on the application as the input-output function depends on it. The fundamental purpose of a hosting platform is to
- store data,
- hosting APIs,
- scale applications,
- implement robust security measures,
- and enhance reliability by minimizing downtime.
Numerous hosting platforms such as Linux, Apache, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are popular choices in mobile app development. However, cloud hosting services have been the most in demand recently due to their many benefits.
How Do I Choose the Best Tech Stack for Creating Mobile Apps?
The robust tech stack you position will influence how effectively you are able to build the app. However, it requires meticulous planning, a clear vision, and familiarity with the features to ensure you have chosen the right tech stack.
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Types of Apps
The choice of technology stack is also driven by the varying features and levels of complexity of various application categories.
For instance, an app for on-demand meal delivery will provide push alerts, real-time tracking, and smart search and suggestion features. Therefore, you should pick technologies that facilitate easy integration with external parties.
| PHP, Jenkins, LAMP Stack, HHVM, Cassandra, React Native, and GraphQL | |
| Airbnb | JavaScript, React, Java, MySQL, Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, Ruby, Rails, Google Analytics, Braintree, and Twilio |
| Uber | Python, JQuery, Node.js, React, Java Golang, Kafka, Swift, Objective-CMySQL, EC2, and Hadoop |
| Objective-C, Swift, Java, KotlinReact NativeAFNetworking and Facebook SDK | |
| Objective-C, Java, JavaScript, React, ScalaAWS, GCP, and Microsoft Azure |
Note: Remember that these are the primary tech stacks used in developing these apps. An application uses a vast set of technologies for app development. Moreover, technological trends keep changing with time, and thus, companies adopt new tools and frameworks.
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Platform Choice
The type of platform on which you choose to deliver your application has the most influence on the tech mobile app development stack. As mentioned above, iOS and Android applications will have platform-specific technologies.
In contrast, if you choose to develop a hybrid app, you can use cross-platform frameworks (such as React Native, Ionic, Xamarin, and Flutter).
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Features and Functionality
The next factor you need to consider while selecting a suitable tech stack is the features and functionality you decide to integrate into your mobile app. This is because some technologies are better fit to create or embed features like games, augmented reality, or machine learning.
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Budget and Resources
Make sure to define your budget and resources (time, expertise, and development team) in the initial stage of development. With a fixed budget, you can ensure your team utilizes the tech stack fully within that cost.
For example, native app development can be costly and requires more effort. Whereas hybrid or cross-platform app development can be done with open-source frameworks, ensuring a faster and more cost-effective process.
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App Maintenance and Scalability
You must consider whether your application can be scaled with the tool or framework you choose to integrate. Go for the technologies that support a stable system architecture with an increasing user base and traffic. Here, you can select your server, hosting service providers, databases, and programming languages wisely. Ensure they are not getting outdated soon and facilitate app scalability.
Conclusion: Get Experts Help
As mentioned in this article, technologies are growing at an unprecedented rate; thus, it requires the mobile app development company you hire to be updated with the latest tech trends. In conclusion, different types of project requirements, such as budget, app types, technical expertise, and, most importantly, platform choice, affect your choice of tech stack.
Therefore, as you initiate your project with your partnered app development team, begin with a thorough analysis of the app idea and discovery phase. With this, not only will you be able to decide on a robust technology stack but also ensure your mobile app developers are on the same page.