Flutter Development with Firebase as Backend for Cross-Platform Mobile App Development

Every mobile app, be it iOS or Android, is only as good as the backend. If you are a developer, you would surely understand how challenging it can be to find the right backend for an app. There is nothing better than a robust app-building platform that combines all the necessary features and qualities in one and enables flutter cross-platform mobile app development frameworks to be developed at a faster pace.

Flutter is the ultimate backend toolkit provided by Google for building native apps for iOS and Android, using a single codebase. Using firebase for cross-platform mobile app development with flutter makes this process so much easier and is associated with quick conversions and ROI for many developers today.

Let’s discuss more on flutter apps and how Firebase serves as a capable backend for cross-platform mobile app development.

What is Firebase?

Firebase is a Google cloud platform that offers backend-as-a-service (BaaS). It enables developers to build robust applications with high quality with the help of various tools and services. The Firebase BaaS is a cloud computing model which allows flutter mobile app development by connecting applications to backend cloud storage and APIs.

Firebase was first founded by James Tamplin and Andrew Lee in 2011 and was later acquired by Google in 2014. Following this, Firebase had an emphatic growth and enabled cross-platform mobile app development at a faster pace.

It allows developers to integrate several key features for cross-platform mobile app development and can also be used for app marketing, improving user experience, and user engagement.

Notable Features of Firebase

Firebase is considered a NoSQL database program that enables developers to store data in JSON-like documents. A document in Firebase is a set of key-value pairs which are defined by a schema and a group of documents that make up a collection. Here are some of the key features of Firebase that can be used for flutter mobile app development.

Authentication

Firebase allows authentication with passwords. Phone numbers, Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other community or social media accounts. One or more sign-in methods can be manually integrated into the app using the Firebase Authentication (SDK).

Realtime Database

Firebase allows users or clients to access real-time synced data from anywhere in the world and is made available for users even when the app is offline.

Hosting

Firebase offers fast hosting for web apps by caching content into content delivery networks worldwide.

Test Lab

After flutter mobile app development, the app is tested on virtual and physical devices in Google data centers.

Notifications

Firebase allows the app to send notifications without the need for additional coding.

Perks of having Firebase for mobile app development frameworks

Firebase makes cross-platform mobile app development to be simpler and hassle-free by offering various benefits. Here are some advantages why many flutter mobile app development company use Firebase:

Real-time to store and sync data

Firebase is a NoSQL database cloud platform that syncs and stores databases in real-time. This allows developers to access the data from any device and allows for robust collaboration among various flutter mobile app development teams.

The real-time database does not require backend support to build apps as it is integrated with SDKs for various platforms even for cross-platform mobile app development. This helps in executing backend code for respecting events reported in the database and can also be optimized for offline use.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics on the Firebase platform helps to track user journeys on the app on various devices. This gives you metrics on whether the user is operating on the app through a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

Firebase also allows you to export the analytics data to BigQuery which further supports user engagement data based on the UX and the user ID.

Crash Reports for Quick Bug Fixes

Bugs in an app can slow down navigation speed and also induce customer churn. This can affect the traffic to the app, reduce app ratings and also affect the UX of the app.

Flutter mobile app development requires keen attention to detail during development and also post-launch.

Firebase offers developers the facility to make crash reports to fix bugs faster and easier. This makes the process seamless for cross-platform mobile app development as well as for QA testers to identify bugs and issues throughout the development process.

Firebase SDK offers log crashes that save time by finding the cause of the problem without the development or QA teams throbbing into it. The coding database is made available for both native as well as for cross-platform mobile app development.

Fast and Secure Web Hosting

Firebase Hosting allows developers to host dynamic and progressive web pages, with a landing page with simplicity and at a rapid pace from anywhere in the world. The developers can use static content at CDNs to deploy the web pages.

Firebase hosting also automatically configures the free SSN certificate for custom domains which allows you to deploy local directories to the web with a single click.

Access to Machine Learning

Developers have the facility to use Machine Learning with benefits for the future mobile app development process immensely. The ML toolkit has ready-made APIs for several functionalities for mobile apps like face detection, Text ID, scanning barcodes, and image labeling. Developers can choose either in-device or cloud API based on the requirement and feasibility.

Send Notifications to Targeted Audiences

Firebase has an integrated feature that allows you to send drafted notifications and messages to your demographic targets toll-free across many devices and platforms with a battery-efficient connection. The messages and notifications can also be scheduled to be sent out at a particular time to communicate with their target audiences at relevant times.

This feature does not require additional coding, making it easier for flutter mobile app development services to develop the apps. It allows developers to use A/B testing to choose the right campaigns for sending SMS and push notifications.

Send Recommendations with Dynamic Links

Firebase provides dynamic links that help app owners to recommend apps to more target audiences once the app has been completely built and launched. A small, simple URL can be tactfully used to make your app go viral. The Dynamic links can also be used on browser-based platforms if not on the specific operating systems. Hence, using Firebase for Flutter mobile app development is feasible and practical.

Drive Traffic with App Indexing

App Indexing on Firebase allows users from Google Search to re-engage with your app by clicking or surfing links to your app from the SERP. Indexing the application helps increase the SEO ranking of the app and drives more traffic by accessing the content in the app with relevant tools and features on the cloud-based platform.

App Advertising for Easy Marketing

Firebase has AdMob integrated which makes in-app advertising easy and simple. It allows app owners to monetize with several advertisers and increase revenue.

AdMob also helps enhance the user experience by letting app owners choose from a plethora of templates and advertising options.

Why use Firebase as a Backend for Flutter Apps?

Flutter is a Google UI toolkit that can help build native apps for both Android and iOS with a single codebase. Firebase is a Google cloud platform that helps to develop high-quality apps at a faster pace with greater scalability. Firebase has 18 divisions divided into 3 groups App Development, Quality, and Growth.

Here are some benefits of using Firebase for your Flutter mobile app development:

Launch Apps Quicker to the Market

Flutter uses the same code for iOS and Android apps. This significantly lowers development time. The inbuilt widgets and cross-platform mobile app development frameworks for UI also speed up the development process exponentially. When coupled with Firebase, flutter apps can be rolled out to the market at a very fast pace and keep app owners competitive.

The cloud-hosted NoSQL platform stores and synchronizes data between the clients making it faster for developers to access databases from anywhere, paving way for collaboration. Built-in features for security, and standard libraries for authentication also speed up the flutter mobile app development process.

Reduced Development Cost and Time

As mentioned earlier, Flutter is a cross-platform mobile app development tool, which uses the same code for iOS and Android apps. This reduces the labour hours for app development by half. The Hot reload feature on flutter allows developers to view changes instantly. Additionally, the ready-to-use widgets reduce development time drastically.

Firebase offers real-time updates to users without the need to create a database of API. The instant UI libraries and SDKs for authentication and other features reduce development efforts for hosting, infrastructure maintenance, database, and back-end microservices.

Secure Apps

Flutter mobile app development services involve converting the code directly into machine code. The flutter rate is 60fps which is better than most platforms. Flutter uses Skia as the rendering machine as an added advantage.

Firebase provides quick UI libraries and SDKs for authentication, built-in security, and static file hosting along with analytics, and easy-to-build security rules. This makes the flutter apps more secure and protected.

Aesthetic UI

Flutter mobile app development includes inbuilt widgets, visuals, behavioral and motion-rich widgets using Material Design Guidelines. This uses the best UX/UI practices in the industry. Flutter also offers Material and Cupertino widgets to resemble iOS and Android UI. Firebase platforms make this process simpler and faster by syncing data from users and storing it on secure cloud storage.

In Conclusion

Flutter mobile app development is a new innovation that makes development easier, faster, and more scalable with Firebase. Using Firebase for flutter mobile app development services not only enriches the app but also allows app owners to monetize on its various features and tools to gain added revenue and reach quick ROI.

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