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How to Choose the Right Tech Stack for your Web & Mobile App
Choosing a tech stack for your new application can be daunting. With so many requirements to consider, not to mention countless options available, there's no right answer – it all depends on what you're trying to build.
Here are twelve things that will help you decide which tech stack to use for your new app.
Is It Open Source or Proprietary?
The most popular options in the web and mobile space are open source, meaning they're free and come with a large community of mobile app developers who actively improve the codebase. Two examples of open-source technology are Linux - the base operating system behind Android phones - and PHP, which is used to power Facebook. Even Microsoft's Azure cloud offering runs on an open-source platform.
Although many companies claim their own languages and frameworks, these usually come from someone's work on a particular idea – such as Google's Go programming language, Apple's Swift, or JetBrains' Kotlin.
What is the Language?
The overall ease of use and popularity of a programming language can be an important consideration when choosing a stack, but it's important not to get hung up on what you know already. Programminglanguages are always evolving, which is why we're seeing so many new ones. Some popular choices include: JavaScript/TypeScript Python Java C# Swift .NET Ruby Go Kotlin PHP3.
Does Your App Need Native Functionality?
When most people think about mobile apps and web applications, they usually picture custom software built from scratch for each platform (Android vs iOS). But requiring two separate development efforts is expensive and time-consuming. has led to the rise of hybrid development.
Hybrid mobile apps are written using HTML5 and JavaScript, then wrapped in a thin native shell that allows them to be installed on a device as if they were any other app. Two notable examples of this approach are Ionic Framework and Sencha Touch.
What is Your Testing Environment?
Mobile applications have different testing needs than web apps, so choose an environment that's appropriate for your project. If you're building a cloud-based application where uptime is critical, you should go with a provider which offers 99.999% reliability - such as Stackify, who can offer cloud-based solutions specifically designed for developers' unique needs.
One way to do this is by adding extra servers into the mix. For example, there are load balancers or content delivery networks that can help redirect page requests to the closest web server and improve performance.
What is Your DevOps Environment?
Modern applications need to be deployed in a way which scales easily, and this requires a bit of extra work. It's important not to underestimate the costs involved with maintaining your own servers. If you've ever had to restore from backup or pick up the pieces after a hack attack, you know what I mean! So, consider choosing an environment where these issues become someone else's problem.
As well as fully-managed hosting, it's worth considering containerization tools such as Docker. Containers allow developers to build and ship apps faster by packaging all application components into isolated containers. This approach also helps speed up the time it takes to launch new apps, and allows for better resource utilization.
What Popular Libraries Are Available?
If you're building an application that requires libraries of specific components (such as shopping carts or image galleries), look for a stack that has them readily available. New libraries are constantly being added - but make sure to check compatibility before committing your project to one particular version.
What About Mobile Apps?
Building native Android or iOS apps is not cheap, even if you use open-source languages like Java or Swift. If this applies to you, consider using web-based development tools such as Ionic Framework to build hybrid mobile apps with JavaScript instead.
These tools can also be used to build Android apps with Apache Cordova (aka PhoneGap), which allows the use of HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript to create cross-platform applications using open web standards. This approach has become popular thanks to Adobe's PhoneGap Build service, which automatically builds mobile app projects for iOS and Android devices.
Although HTML5 is designed for creating responsive websites, its potential goes far beyond this! Now that powerful browsers like Chrome are available on mobile devices (including smartphones and tablets), it has opened up new opportunities for building amazing browser-based experiences not possible before. Thanks to frameworks like Ionic Framework, there's no longer any need to learn C or Java in order to make amazing mobile apps.
How Much Will Your Application Cost?
Now that you know exactly what your application requirements are, it's time to get some pricing quotes from software development companies or freelancers. For example, IT businesses may offer fixed-price quotations whereas freelancers generally quote per hour. If you're developing a more complex application (such as one with machine learning algorithms), expect the price to increase accordingly.
How Long Will It Take to Build?
You've now narrowed down your options to the ones most suitable for your project - but this is just step one! Next you need to find out how long each of them will take before they can be developed into working prototypes or MVPs. Be sure not to underestimate the time it will take, as a badly planned project can quickly spiral out of control.
How Do You Integrate APIs?
When choosing your tech stack, check if any third-party APIs are required to make things work. If so, look for a development environment that makes it easy to integrate with third party services. For example,Twilio, an API that allows you to send and receive text messages from your app by using simple REST APIs. Most modern stacks have built-in support for basic functionality such as user authentication via Facebook or Google accounts - but not all include advanced features like push notifications which rely on third party APIs.