Web Development vs Mobile App Development
Preface
I write this article (Zaid Ahmed Soomro), and this article’s content is purely based on my views. The reader's ideas may have conflicts with my ideology, which they can let me know in the comments. Happy Reading!
The purpose of writing this article is to show how web development works differently than mobile app development and vice versa. Being a web developer, and mobile application developer, I thought I should share my own experience of learning and working in both fields.
Introductory Section
What is Web Development?
Web development is the development of websites and web applications. What are websites and web apps? These are a piece of software which is hosted somewhere on a server and can be accessed through the IP Address (Internet Protocol), or the Domain Name (DNS). And the web application is the advanced version of a website. It is a competition with native applications. These are just like native mobile apps but can be accessed through web browsers without downloading them on your device. This is one of the reasons for the popularity of web apps in the market.
What is Mobile Application Development?
Mobile Application Development is the development of native mobile applications. What are native apps? It is a native piece of software that is stored on the hardware of your device. They consume space on your device and a notable amount of RAM. The native mobile apps can be downloaded through an App Store eg. Google Play Store. The installation and usage of native apps depend on the environment and operating system of the device. A perfect example of this thing is the apps made using Kotlin can’t run in IOS and apps made in Swift can’t run in Android. The solution to this problem is explained further.
Languages, Tools, and Technologies
Web Development
Web Development is a very mature and vast field. There is a copious amount of alternatives that one can take to design, build, and deploy a website or a web application. Websites are cross-platform, consequently, they can run in any environment containing an internet browser. The very basic languages used for web development are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Due to the increase in the number of users and their requirements, other tools are introduced to make interactive websites. They manipulate/write the HTML/CSS on the backend when you write it in any other language or library. Those tools include React.js, JQUERY (JavaScript Libraries), Angular, Vue.js (JavaScript Frameworks), and Bootstrap (HTML, CSS, JavaScript Framework). They provide tools to make UI in little time and increase its performance.
Mobile App Development
Mobile Application development is divided into different formats due to different operating environments. The android applications are made using Kotlin, and Java, and are compiled in Android Studio (Which contains the Android Software Development Kit (SDK). While the IOS applications are made using Swift (UI) and are compiled in XCode. The applications made using Kotlin can’t run on IOS Devices, and Apps made in Swift can’t run on Android Devices. A solution to this is described below.
Hybrid Application Development
For tackling the problem of operating platform restrictions, modern technologies are introduced in the market for a long time, to build cross-platform mobile applications. With the same codebase, you can generate installable software for multiple adversary environments. At present, the famous two are React Native, developed by Facebook (now called Meta), and my personal favorite Google Flutter. By using these technologies, you can make apps that will have the same code but can run on Android, as well as IOS. Additionally, you can also build web apps, windows applications (.exe), and macOS applications using Flutter and React Native.
Key Point: You can’t generate IOS applications using Flutter or React Native without macOS because they can only be generated using XCode, which can only run on macOS.
What About Backend Programming?
The backend, or the server-side programming of web applications and native applications is done using same technologies. You can do server-side programming using Node.js, .Net, MongoDB, Firebase, Azure, GCP, Spring/Springboot, PHP etc.
Observations and Personal Opinions
Which One Is More Easier?
I have been doing web development for years, and I have good expertise in it. I find it easier as compared to the native application development. Because in web development, there are things already made for you and it is a bit lenient. For example, the scroll bars and the blank white screen are already there in the browser, but in native app development, you have to build the whole canvas before designing. Another thing I find easier about the web is working with client-side APIs, as JSON is something more native to JavaScript as compared to Dart, Kotlin, or Swift. When we make an asynchronous call to fetch data from a server through an API, the data returned is in JSON format. When we work with it using JavaScript, we simply use the key for specific data and use it, no further manipulation, that’s it. But when we work with the dart (flutter’s programming language) for instance, we have to decode the JSON data first into a dart object, which becomes a headache when working with multiple APIs at the same time. Eventually, the web is easier because things are comparatively less complex as compared to native development.
Which One Has More Scope?
The preference of users vary according to the regions. In some regions, they pick web apps, and in some areas they choose native applications. But mostly, people like using mobile applications instead of web applications, because native apps load relatively faster, are easier to browse, are more closer to the device and provide better performance. Many surveys stick up for the native apps. Now after all this discussion, the question arises, who earns more? or who is paid more? That is the topic to discuss separately in next section.
Who Earns More?
As the web development is older and relatively easier, the abundancy of web developers is in immense quantity. This makes even the experts work in the competitive price. While the mobile applications are in high demand these days and their developers are in lesser quantity, eventually charging high rates. Here you can use demand and supply law for better understanding.
Which One To Learn First?
Well, this questions can have different answers according to the observance during experience of a developer. According to me, it depends on your goals. And according to my prediction, the best choice right now will be to learn mobile app development when everyone is learning web development. It is relatively more difficult and you can build up stronger skills in programming and better market value as you will be one of the people with high demand.
That’s all for now, Thanks for reading, Stay tuned…
