Flutter App Development Guide 2023 – All You Need to Know
With an increasing need to use applications for transforming the routine activities, app developers are constantly looking to devise cutting-edge solutions that are cost-effective, flexible, and versatile. To keep up their game, developers use competitive frameworks to help their client’s businesses succeed. One such leading software is Flutter. It’s an open-source, cross-platform software that allows one to build various applications (mobile, web, desktop, and embedded) using a single codebase. It’s designed to function seamlessly with every operating system, whether Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, or Linux. Flutter is developed by Google and based on the Dart programming language for building hybrid apps in HTML and JavaScript.
Among various cross-platform frameworks, such as PhoneGap, Xamarin, and React Native, the Flutter app development has become the most popular and preferred choice among the developer community. Released in 2017, the popularity of this framework is consistently growing. A recent study showed that Flutter is 76% of the most popular cross-platform framework among developers. Its flexibility and many features make it an ideal choice for building, testing, deploying, and customizing applications as required.
Here is an ultimate guide to Flutter application development, including selected excerpts from our leading mobile development expertise.
Why Choose Flutter for App Development Projects?
It is estimated that more than 500,000 apps have been successfully built using this framework till now. It offers numerous benefits that improve productivity and enhance overall app performance. These include:
Single codebase for all platforms
Faster time to market
Increased productivity with the hot reload feature
Broader reach with multi-platform compatibility
Workflow transformation with automated development
Well-rounded community support
Popular Apps Built Using Flutter
Several renowned applications globally were either built or revamped using the Flutter framework. Studies suggest that about 42% of developers worldwide use Flutter for creating multi-platform applications. Even the market has witnessed how Flutter-based applications turned out to be a massive success in their respective industries. Some of these include:
Google Pay
Enabling 100 million users worldwide to digitize their payments, Google Pay is one of the leading platforms to be revamped using Flutter. Using this platform saved them the unnecessary effort of writing native codes while allowing them to enhance the app’s functionality. It also enabled faster and more resourceful scaling of Google Pay to such locations they couldn’t tap earlier.
Alibaba Group
Alibaba is one of the leading E-commerce firms in the world. They incorporated Flutter App Development Services into their business strategy, and created a dynamic application named Xianyu for seamless trading of second hand goods. It is estimated that the app has over 200 million users and 50 million downloads, as of now.
eBay
This multinational E-commerce company is one of the preferred firms for buying and selling electronics, cars, clothes, and collectibles. They decided to give Flutter a shot to empower their business, and create an app that works well with both iOS and Android. With this framework’s in-built capabilities, eBay created an application that delighted the users and the development team.
Groupon
This America-based, global E-commerce marketplace revamped its business strategy using Flutter development. Instead of redesigning the app from scratch, they utilized the software to enhance its merchant-facing experience and coupon redemption services. Such integrations allowed Groupon to escalate its market worth to $1 billion in only 16 months of business.
Philips Hue
Philips Hue is a digital lighting system enabling automated light controls and synchronization with other systems. They trusted Flutter to build an advanced home application that includes intuitive controls and can offer real-time sync for smart lights. This framework has helped the company attain 8.7 million customer engagements on a monthly basis.
Why Consider Flutter for MVP Development?
Flutter and minimum viable product (MVP) are the two core elements of every app building strategy where minimal cost and quick development are concerned. But before jumping onto why their combination is ideal for a business, let’s quickly catch up on what MVP is.
A minimum viable product (MVP) is a bare essential version of an app. Its primary purpose is to determine the value of a product and validate the idea. The MVP is launched among a selected pool of users to understand their behavior and get feedback. The user feedback is then used to make improvements to the final product. This procedure helps businesses, especially startups, to save time and money instead of putting huge dollars straight into a complex app.
Now comes the real question, why is Flutter an ideal choice for MVP development?
Flutter is an open-source platform and hence complements the MVP development process. It enables faster app creation, and its cross-platform compatibility saves the time and effort of building native applications and, in turn, helps build an MVP. Here’s how their combination is helpful:
Cost-Effective
The cost has always hindered startups and newbie businesses from entering the app development space. This is why Flutter mobile app development is a cost-effective solution for building multi-platform apps by using a single codebase. This also reduces developers’ effort by allowing them to build a single MVP instead of creating it individually for every platform.
Flexible User Interface
As part of Google’s notable toolkit, Flutter augments its core feature (an interactive UI to enhance overall user experience). This also helps with MVP development by allowing developers to create rich features and flexible user interfaces easily, while using in-built widgets, APIs, and animations of Flutter.
Quick Development
Developers take comparatively less time to build an MVP when they use Flutter. Since the software comes with an in-built hot reload feature, developers can view changes simultaneously while in the process. This enables easier and quicker development. The hot reload feature also allows developers to add new features and fix glitches as they arise.
Native Performance
Building native apps separately means incurring huge costs, which might become an issue for small businesses. Their budget is low, and they wish to create hybrid applications without undermining performance and user experience. This is where Flutter application development fits the bill. The developed apps with this SDK run on natively compiled code without mediator interference. Hence, the MVPs built using Flutter ensure to provide a native experience for all users.
Minimal Resources Requirements
A minimum viable product (MVP) is created with the thought of employing the least number of resources and combining it with Flutter creates a win-win situation. Flutter comes with Firebase integration to save efforts, otherwise employed on server-side programming. This integration allows faster MVP development with the incorporation of minimum resources. Additionally, Firebase also offers several features, including cloud storage, a real-time database, hosting, and analytics.
Flutter App Development in 5 Easy Steps
Every application requires a structured app development process to ensure its success in the market, and Flutter development is no exception. To integrate extensive capabilities of this software, it’s necessary to follow these three KRAs:
Prepare a strategy
Employ the latest market trends
Choose the right development path
Follow these 5 easy steps below and find out how to develop a Flutter-based app:
Step 1: App Ideation and Market Research
Step 2: Establish App’s Features, UI, and UX Design
Step 3: Hire a Flutter App Development Company
Step 4: App Launch and Launch
Step 5: App Monitoring and Post-Launch Maintenance
Step 1: App Ideation and Market Research
Every project, whether app development or otherwise, begins with a primary step called app ideation. One must have a full-proof idea of what kind of application they wish to build. It’s also important to conduct market research to learn about the target audience, the latest market trends, and competition. The former and latter allow businesses to jot down a requirement list to move further in the process.
Additionally, these questions might help to prepare a list of project necessities:
Who is the target audience?
What issues will the app solve?
What is the app category?
Who are the competitors, and what are they doing to stand out?
What should be the USP to beat the competition?
What are the latest trends that can be integrated into the app?
Step 2: Establish the App’s Features, UI, and UX Design
A clear app idea enables businesses to create buyer personas and determine the app’s features, client-side interface, app design, and functionality. Since a successful app is subject to bespoke attributes and a robust UI and UX design, substantial time should be spent mapping out the features and how the final app would look. This is important to offer an impactful user experience and compel them to visit again.
Step 3: Hire a Flutter App Development Company
Once ideation, research, and feature requirements are sorted, the next step is to hire a professional mobile app development company. The ideal company will have strong expertise to build, test, and develop a product that aligns with its client’s business strategy. They can also help finalize the app features, design, and functionality to make an app successful in the marketplace. While several Flutter mobile app development agencies are available in the market, it’s suggested to conduct thorough research and then select the right fit. Remember that choosing the best service provider can open doors for transforming an app idea into a sound full-fledged product.
Step 4: App Development and Launch
The next step is to bring the app idea to reality, i.e., initiating app development and launching it. The hired professional development team will offer the following services:
Strategy Building
Wireframe and Prototyping
MVP Development
Testing and Quality Assurance
Final Launch
Post-Development Support
Remember that each of these services has the potential to make an application a million-dollar success. Using the right strategies, tools, and methodologies can enable a business to launch a product that leaves an impact.
Step 5: App Monitoring and Post-Launch Maintenance
An app development process doesn’t end with placing it in the market. Instead, it’s always a work in progress, given the evolving technology and changing needs of the users. Hence, it’s important to constantly monitor the app and upgrade it as and when needed. Additionally, with the help of the development team, you can easily monitor and upscale the product without disrupting its performance and user experience.
How Much Does It Cost to Build an App With Flutter?
On average, Flutter application development can cost you around $25,000 to $200,000. However, these figures are based on rough estimations and may vary depending on several parameters, such as the app’s category, its complexity, integrated features, design, development process, etc. To get a clear picture of project pricing, one must consult a market-leading Flutter App Development Company. Their expert team can understand the project requirements, conduct market research, and provide a budget proposal accordingly.
Nevertheless, here is a standard estimation of Flutter-based app development cost:
App Type
Complexity Level
Average Cost
Timeframe
Basic app
Simple UI and MVP functionality
$25,000- $40,000
2-3 months
Medium complex app
Advanced features and customized UI
$40,000-$60,000
3-6 months
Highly complex app
Highly advanced functionality and bespoke interface
Flutter is a one-stop software for building dynamic, cross-platform applications for mobiles, web, desktop, and embedded devices. This includes businesses looking to revamp existing applications and those wanting to create natively compiled, platform-independent solutions.
Having an app idea isn’t enough to build a successful product. Instead, it’s imperative to hire a trusted development agency. Successive Digital can be your ideal Flutter app development company and transform your idea into a cutting-edge solution. With over a decade of extensive experience developing robust products, we have helped many businesses achieve a competitive advantage in the highly competitive market. Our team of expert developers handles every project with precision and endeavor to create a solution that aligns with the client’s requirements. Contact our experts today and get a free estimation of Flutter development cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Flutter is an open-source software development kit used for building cross-platform applications. Developed by Google and released in 2017, the Flutter framework helps create applications for multiple platforms, including mobile, web, desktop, and embedded.
Powered by Dart and supported by Google, Flutter is the most preferred SDK for cross-platform app development. It improves productivity and allows developers to create multi-channel apps at the same time with the use of a single codebase.
Based on a rough estimation, the cost of Flutter app development can range between $25,000 to $200,000. However, remember that the actual cost will vary on various factors, including app’s complexity level, integrated features, and, location and size of the hired app development company. You must consult a trusted service provider to get a precise cost breakdown of your app project.
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