Ionic is HTML5 framework, meant for hybrid mobile app development. Hybrid apps get the better of native apps, in terms of support to multiple platforms, access to third party code, and less time-to-market.
In a nutshell, you can consider Ionic as the front-end UI framework, which is responsible for handling the look and feel and UI elements that makes the app engaging (quite similar to Bootstrap for Native). However, with Ionic, you get the facility to add a range of native app components like slick animations, interactive design etc.
Unlike responsive HTML5 frameworks, Ionic offers access to UI elements and layouts that the developers would only find in native SDKs for Android and iOS. And because Ionic is an HTML5 framework for building apps, it would require native wrappers like Phonegap or Cordova for running in smartphones as native apps.
Ionic Offers an Edge for Hybrid App Development: Here is How
The best part about Ionic is, it can turn a web developer into a mobile app developer. Therefore, developers who are already acquainted with web technologies and web app development can easily understand structure of an Ionic app.
Hybrid mobile apps built using Ionic can be considered as a web page running in a native app shell. This concludes that HTML, CSS, and Javascript of any kind can be used for generating self-contained application experience. With so many benefits in line, let’s collaborate some of the finest reasons to choose Ionic as the most efficient hybrid mobile app framework.
a. It’s an Open Source and is Free: Ionic is fast, stable, give a native look and feel to the mobile apps, unlike many open-source frameworks. While mobile app development is a costly affair, Ionic comes with no cost, allowing developers to get the source-code for free from Github.
b. It’s Default UI Elements are Amazing: Developers have a got a slew of reasons to love Ionic and one of them is the set of default UI element. Forms, filters list views, navigation menu, filters, and many other elements are available by default.
- Instead of coding for those elements, developers can simply drag, customize, and add them to the app.
- While the default UI elements are clean, there is still a scope to customize them by including CSS classes.
- Since the code is reusable, it can be used on different OS platforms (Android, iOS), thereby reducing time to market for an app.
c. It’s Community is Huge and Helpful: No matter how proficient and comfortable you are with a technology, getting started with a newer one will always bring some challenges. Ionic has Cordova and Angular in the background, which has got a huge, active community. You can pose questions on Q&A websites and forums to get an answer, whenever needed. Also, there are books, tutorials, video guides available where you can find solution for the most complicated query.
d. It has got Cordova Plugins: While Ionic offers a platform to build amazing apps using web technologies, developers get the option to integrate native code or Cordova plugins to better functionality. With plugins, developers can have access to the hardware and software features, including camera, pro location, logs, etc. This not only improves the app performance but also reduce the lines of codes.
e. It’s Easy to Debug an Ionic App: Testing a mobile app is quite easy with Ionic. Developers can either go for simulator testing or do a testing using mobile browsers. Also, an app built using Ionic can be tested on actual platforms to get a real time estimate of app features and functionality.
ALSO READ: 10 Popular Hybrid Apps that are Built using Ionic Framework
Ionic for Hybrid App Development: Getting Started
With Angular JS being its basis, Ionic as hybrid mobile app frameworks is bridging the gap between engaging apps built for web and mobile apps. It makes the most of Cordova library and Angular JS to build robust and performance oriented apps. Impressed with the benefits of Ionic, if you think that this app development framework can do justice to your next app project, then do check out our Ionic app development services.
