What Is Ionic & Why You Should Use It For App Development

Mr.Vivek ChaturvediFebruary, 08 2020

Ionic is a widely adopted technology for cross-platform mobile app development. This open-source mobile application development framework has been developed by Nitobi Software (now Adobe). It allows the developers to build applications using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.

Ionic was first named “Apache Cordova” which was introduced by Nitobi. Adobe purchased Nitobi and renamed Apache Cordova as “ionic”.

Why Use ionic?

It is important for developers to know the reason why they should opt for ionic when there are so many other frameworks out there. Well, this section of the article will clear your doubts.

• The Cross-platform Compatibility

Mobile app development is indeed a cumbersome process, and it is highly important for the developers to choose a reliable platform. ionic is a reliable cross-platform and is compatible with different mobile application development platforms including iOS, Blackberry, Android, WebOS, Symbian, Tizen, and Bada. The app development team has to write only one code reducing the efforts to write different programs for various platforms.

• Cost-Effective

If you are on a tight budget and want to get optimum leverage with low investments, then ionic is the right tool for you. You can write a single program for an application to run it on various platforms. This will save you a lot of money as well as efforts.

• Better Access to Native APIs

ionic provides your mobile app developers with access to the Native APIs so that your app can make use of the camera, geolocation, accelerometer, contacts and all the other native features. It helps the users to get experience of using native apps which is far more superior when compared to the web applications.

ionic provides your mobile app developers with access to the Native APIs so that your app can make use of the camera, geolocation, accelerometer, contacts and all the other native features. It helps the users to get experience of using native apps which is far more superior when compared to the web applications.

• The Way into the Large Community Base

If you are trying something new, then it is essential for you to have adequate support. The Cordova development community is one of the largest communities and is growing consistently. The people of this community are friendly, and you will get an answer for most of the problems. There are tons of examples and so many experienced members who will provide you with great support.

• Flexibility using Web Technologies

Cordova apps are built using some of the simple languages like CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. There is no need for you to learn new languages when you are planning to start developing a mobile app with ionic. You can use the existing languages and write programs with ease.

ionic has been available for a long time now and there are tons of libraries and frameworks to assist you. So, you can use various types of options available for better programming.

• Robust Backend Support

Ionic has robust backend support which speeds up the development process and reduces the developer’s efforts. They also provide beginners guide for the novice developers to understand the entire project easily.

• Suppleness in Development

The developers have great suppleness and flexibility as the entire app development process is easy. There is no need to put in serious efforts to carry out the development process. Basic knowledge of the above mentioned languages is enough to develop an app.

• UI Libraries improving the User Interface

It is a common problem for most of the mobile users out there to view the web page that is compatible only with computers and tablets with large screens is really cumbersome. Scrolling down to the page and checking with it and some other tasks will take up a lot of effort and one won’t be able to access the pages easily.

But with the UI libraries present in ionic, the user interface of the apps and web pages are highly improved. This assists in providing a better viewing experience for different targeted viewers.

These are some of the noteworthy features of ionic that makes it the best choice for developers and easy to explain them to the clientele. These features have made ionic one of the best android frameworks for application development out there in the highly competitive technology space.

When to Use It?

Ionic is the perfect option if you want to design a simple mobile web application with the touch of a native app. ionic has the capability to access the native APIs but if you want a robust native application, then it is not the right option for you.

If you want a simple web application with native apps, then it will be very useful for you. In the end, everything is based on the requirements.

If you have good expertise in app development, this ionic will come in handy for you and you can develop an application which is more responsive than the web applications. The response is commendable, and you will be able to enjoy frameworks like JQuery, Shensha to make your app look unique and stand among the other apps.

ionic is highly cost-effective, so if you want to cut down a few bucks, then this is the right option for you. The user interface of the framework is intuitive so novices can start learning the app development with the help of this ionic.

Advantages and Disadvantages of ionic

Well, it is important for you to understand the advantages and disadvantages of ionic before committing for it on the whole.

Advantages

• Easier Deployment of Apps

Everyone understands that ionic is a cross-platform framework. This is the first advantage of this framework. You can create an app for one platform and then deploy it on various other platforms with ease. The entire process won’t take much time and you will be able to do more work in less time and with fewer efforts.

• Maintains Uniformity Irrespective of the Platform

Every business struggles to have a uniform presence across all the platforms when they start out. An app designed for iOS looks different in Android and the app designed for Android may look different in Blackberry and Windows. But the apps that are designed in ionic will look similar in any other platform. This is another commendable advantage of ionic.

• No Need to Hire Expert Developers

It is important for any company to save some bucks in their business. Hiring expert developers isn’t an easy task. They charge a good amount of money. But with ionic, any developer with good knowledge of languages like CSS3, HTML and JavaScript is enough to develop the apps that are as good as native apps. Though they are not on par with the native apps, they are better when compared to the web ones.

• Apps Developed on ionic Behave Like Native Apps

The apps behave like the native apps when they are capable of tapping into the phone and use the features like geolocation, accelerometer, camera, etc. This framework taps into the hardware capabilities and provides excellent UX meanwhile in the process. It gives the best experience to the users who will hardly know that the app has been built and implemented on a cross-platform base.

• Open Source

Ionic is an open source platform which means it is substantially free. Anyone with minimum developing knowledge can get their hands on this platform and learn some things. There is a large community of developers who will guide the novice in the process. You can check out ionic beginner’s videos and even get suggestions from some of the developers present in the community when you are planning to develop an app on this platform.

• Backed by Powerful Sources

Ionic is powered by Apache Cardova and it is now a part of Adobe. The framework is backed by the best sources and it makes the entire framework reliable.

It offers some of the tools and other commendable features which help the developers in the long run. With the help of AEM mobile, the developers will be able to match all the activities of their apps from a single place. ionic content sync will help in fetching the app content and cache it. You will be able to test and preview the changes that you make on the app with the help of this AEM.

• Easy to Work Plugins

Ionic build is compatible with several Cordova and ionic plugins. Developers can extend the native functionalities by developing apps on ionic.

Disadvantages

• Ionic Doesn’t support Plugins Containing Hooks

Ionic’s biggest drawback is that it won’t support the plugins with hooks, and this can hinder the functionality. There are hooks in the WordPress that helps the developers in tying their code with the core code base, themes, and plugins in WP. In a similar way, ionic doesn’t support the plugins that have hooks.

• Not Suitable for Gaming Apps

Ionic is a platform that is designed to develop simple applications. It failed to deliver gaming apps and isn’t suitable to build such apps because they freeze and have drop issues when any notifications come from their apps.

• Need Mac to Develop iOS apps

Ionic requires iOS SDKs and it is completely impossible to develop an app without these SDKs. Downloading these SDKs requires a Mac. They won’t be able to develop an app without a Mac.

• Outdated Plugins

There are so many situations when the plugins that you have used are outdated and aren’t working efficiently. This situation can hinder the entire project completely. You may realize this halfway into the project and it may lead to some disastrous results too.

• Ionic Applications

These are some of the ionic examples. The below apps are developed on the ionic framework platform and have been providing a commendable user experience for the users.

• Wikipedia

This free encyclopedia app has been used by so many people across the world. It is designed on the ionic framework and the app works like the native applications.

• DHS Program

This can be considered as big data for the small screens. It stands for the Demographic and Health Survey. The app has been developed by Adobe and provides the data related to health and survey data.

• Solution

It helps in making international payments with ease. Hyperwallet technology is incorporated into this app for making payments. This app is a great replacement for making payments instead of wiring or writing cheques.

• TripCase

This is a smart mobile app that will help the users when they are on their trips. It is one of the smartest apps designed on ionic.

Key Takeaways

This article covers pretty much everything that you want to learn about ionic. As discussed above ionic shore up versatile stages, which enable web engineers to create code using their current aptitudes and further send to multiple stages. In straightforward terms, it delivers a “WebView” with extensive capabilities and numerous applications.

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Mr.Vivek Chaturvedi

Vivek Chaturvedi is the co-founder and CTO at Vidhema Technologies. He is responsible for the overall technical operations of the company and has played a major role in bringing Vidhema up from its humble beginnings and, with his immense energy and drive, transforming it into a globally trusted name in IT solutions.

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