Building Apps with Flutter: Pros, Cons, and Best Practices

If you are a developer or business owner planning to build a mobile app but are confused about selecting the right framework, Flutter can be a choice. Before finalizing, being mobile app developers in Dubai, you must know an overview of Flutter, its pros and cons along with the best practices to build apps efficiently with Flutter. The blog ‘Building Apps with Flutter: Pros, Cons, and Best Practices’ is just for you to know more about Flutter.

What is Flutter?

Flutter is, actually, an open-source UI software development kit (SDK), that allows developers to build natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from just a single codebase. Launched by Google in 2017, Flutter allows developers to write once and deploy on both iOS and Android platforms with near-native performance and a very smooth user experience. The beauty of Flutter lies in its rich set of pre-designed widgets and highly customizable components. Developers can thereby create stunning apps with high performance in no time.

But just because it is popular doesn’t mean it is the best option for every project. Let us look in detail at which type of projects Flutter can be used.

Pros of Using Flutter

Among the long list of pros of using Flutter, here are a few. 

1. Single Codebase for Multiple Platforms

The biggest draw of Flutter is the ability to use one codebase for both iOS and Android apps. This means you don’t need to maintain separate codebases for different platforms, saving time and money.  

2. Fast Development with Hot Reload

With the hot reload feature, the developer can see the change just as it happens in actuality, without rebooting an application. This is very helpful to a developer due to the fast speed of iteration and debugging acceleration. If you are tweaking the UI or trying out some feature, then you can instantly see how it’s affecting your app, and thus development is more efficient.

3. Native-Like Performance

It means Flutter apps are compiled to native ARM code for great performance even for complex applications. Since other cross-platform frameworks rely on a JavaScript bridge, which will at times result in performance bottlenecks, Flutter does not rely on the bridge. This makes Flutter pretty attractive for performance-critical apps like gaming apps or apps that involve heavy animations.

4. Beautiful and Customizable UI

Flutter has a collection of pre-built widgets that absolutely and completely follow Material Design for Android and Cupertino for iOS guidelines, so you might even make beautiful, consistent UIs without much hassle. However, the framework leaves the full power of design to you, so you might change the look and feel as you wish.

Cons of Using Flutter

While Flutter is an excellent framework, it’s not without its limitations. 

1. Limited Libraries and Third-Party Support

The Flutter ecosystem is growing in size, but still much smaller than its native iOS or Android counterparts. You might hence often miss a third-party library or a native module that is not yet available in Flutter. There are usually workarounds and plugins to fill these gaps. However, they do not always live up to the native components.

2. App Size

Flutter apps are actually much bigger in file size compared to the native app. This is because Flutter puts together the engine, framework, and your code in one executable, leaving you with a rather big binary. It is not typically a challenge for most apps but may become a challenge if you are creating an app that must be light and as small as possible.

3. Limited Support for Older Versions of iOS and Android

Flutter is compatible with the latest versions of iOS and Android. However, it is not fully compatible with older versions. Therefore, for example, if you are trying to create an application for Android 4.1 or iOS 9 and below, you are likely to face inconveniences. 

4. Native Functionality Limitations

Although it is possible to use Flutter to integrate with platform-specific APIs and features, there are restrictions. Some native features, like advanced camera functionality and deep integration with the operating system, cannot be done with this framework alone. Implementing these features may require writing native code. This process can be time-consuming and may offset the benefits of using a cross-platform framework.

Best Practices for Building Apps with Flutter

If you are planning to use Flutter for mobile app development in Dubai, following best practices is essential to maximize the benefits and avoid common pitfalls. 

1. Keep Your Widgets Lean and Reusable

Flutter’s UI is built with widgets, and keeping these widgets modular and reusable is key to maintaining a clean, efficient codebase. Break down complex screens into smaller widgets to improve readability and ease of maintenance. This also enhances the reusability of your components across different parts of the app.

2. Optimize Your App’s Performance

Even though Flutter is known for its performance, it’s not a bad idea to keep the performance of your app in mind. Then, with the Flutter DevTools, you can monitor and find bottleneck areas and optimize rendering times. Try to keep expensive operations like unnecessary rebuilds or heavy animations in place only for critical parts of your app.

3. Use Packages and Plugins 

Flutter’s package ecosystem is full of third-party libraries and plugins that can help accelerate development. However, it’s important to choose the right ones. Always check the plugin’s last update date, compatibility with your Flutter version, and user reviews before integrating it into your app. If a plugin isn’t actively maintained, consider writing custom code or looking for alternatives.

5. Test Thoroughly Across Devices

It is a fact that Flutter lets you build apps for both iOS and Android, so testing your app across different devices and OS versions is quite essential. Integration tests and unit tests of Flutter make sure that your app is running under the conditions that are expected. In particular, pay special attention to platform UI elements as well as behavior, so that even on different devices, the experience can remain similar.