Since the lunch of the first smart mobile phone, apps have become a big part of our lives. Whether it is for pleasure, business, or emergency services, we all use mobile apps regularly. There are more than 5.11 billion mobile users around the world, which is almost 70% of the total world population. Digital experts say that this number is only going to grow in the coming years.
You need to create a mobile app for your business, whatever your business industry, by getting a mobile app, you can reach out to a broader audience and help grow your business. In this list we will discuss some of the free platforms available for mobile app development, most of these would require you to hire a mobile app developer to help create an app for you, but these platforms are free to use.
In no particular order, below are the top free platforms for mobile app development.
1. Apache Cordova
Apache Cordova is one of the most known mobile development frameworks out there. This framework was created and released by Nitobi in 2009. Adobe Systems took over Nitobi in 2011 and has been managing Apache Cordova. You can hire a mobile app developer to build an app in Apache Cordova with HTML, CSS, and JS technologies.
The framework makes use of #, C++, CSS, HTML, Java, JavaScript, and Objective-C and runs on iOS, Android, Windows, and Blackberry platforms. The code is reusable across platforms, and the latest stable version released in March of 2019. The mobile app developer you hire can build complex mobile apps using Apache Cordova. However, they would need to have experience developing mobile web apps as it is not an easy framework to work on for beginners.
If you would like to know more about this platform before hiring a mobile app developer for your mobile app development, you can visit: https://cordova.apache.org/
2. Buildfire
Buildfire is a fully customizable mobile app development platform that can be used by highly experienced mobile app developers and also by beginners. One can create apps for iOS and Android mobiles utilizing this framework. The platform gives you access to an extensive collection of ready to use templates along with drag and drop UI.
You can use paid services and gain access to support and a more extensive collection of customizable templates or create an app on this framework without any cost. If you are comfortable using HTML and CSS, you can build a bespoke mobile app yourself, or you can hire a mobile app developer to do this for you. Whatever you decide, you will end up with a good-looking app by using Buildfire.
If you would like to know more about this platform before hiring a mobile app developer for your mobile app development, you can visit: https://buildfire.com/
3. Flutter
This open-source UI platform created by Google has been around for just about three years now. You can create mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Windows using this framework. It has one of the fastest times for building native apps using fully customizable widgets.
These widgets incorporate all critical platform functions such as icons, scrolling, navigation, and fonts to provide ideal native performance. You can hire a mobile app developer who has experience using Flutter to get a beautiful looking app without spending a lot of time and money on development.
If you would like to know more about Flutter before hiring a mobile app developer for your mobile app development, you can visit: https://flutter.dev/
4. Ionic Framework
Ionic Framework is one of the best platforms for hybrid apps. This open-source SDK was initially released in 2013. It has changed a lot since then, today Ionic Framework is known not to build mobile apps, they are known to create user experiences that follow the user on any platform like; mobile, desktop, and the web.
One code that works across all platforms is the selling point of this framework. You can use this framework for free or sign up for a paid subscription that gives you access to tutorials, faster support, and advice. You can hire a mobile app developer to build a robust mobile app that integrates with several community plugins.
If you would like to know more about this platform before hiring a mobile app developer for your mobile app development, you can visit: https://ionicframework.com/
5. Appy Pie
Appy Pie is a do it yourself basic app builder, where you can build an app without any coding or programming knowledge. You can use pre-built templates to create your app, they have a free version, or you can also use their paid version that has more templates and support to build your mobile app as well.
The free version at least is only for basic mobile apps; you can create a mobile app to see what are the things you need before hiring a mobile app developer to create a mobile app for you. The drag and drop option make it easy to use, and you don’t need to hire a developer to create a basic mobile app using this framework.
If you would like to know more about this platform before hiring a mobile app developer for your mobile app development, you can visit: https://www.appypie.com/
6. React Native
React Native is one of the most popular open-source mobile app frameworks available today. Created by Facebook in 2015, it has gained popularity primarily due to the backing of social media giants Facebook. React Native combines the best of two worlds by combining the best parts of Native and React, a top-notch JavaScript library.
React Native is well tested, as millions of users have used apps built with it. The motto of React Native is that write once, use anywhere. You can use this code across platforms, so one team can maintain two or more platforms with the technology. You can hire a mobile app developer who has experience writing code in React Native to build complex mobile app solutions.
If you would like to know more about this platform before hiring a mobile app developer for your mobile app development, you can visit https://www.reactnative.com/.
You Decide
Apart from these open-source mobile app development platforms, there are a few more like; NativeScript, Jasonette, Apache Weex, Framework 7, Adobe PhoneGap, and Manifold. Whichever mobile framework you choose to work with just make sure you hire a mobile app developer that has experience working on that platform.
If you are not sure which mobile platform to you for your mobile app development, you can also reach out to an IT outsourcing company like Optimal Virtual Employee. OVE offers free no-obligation quotes and consultation for businesses that are looking to build a mobile app for themselves. You can reach OVE at https://optimalvirtualemployee.com/contact
