What is Cross Platform Development & How Does it Work?

Know Why Cross Platform Mobile Development is in High Market Demand

We all know how important mobile apps have become for businesses. They are used more by the customers which is why businesses pay extra attention to develop them smartly. Generally, they want these apps to run on all mobile devices. This type of development is called cross platform development which is certainly more advanced and in-demand. The most common reason why cross platform development is demanded more is that it gives application access on all mobile devices. This is a leverage every business wants to have because they know that people use different types of smartphones these days.

However, building a mobile app that can run on multiple platforms is not a piece of cake. It is difficult from conventional development because different methodologies and process are involved in it. It is therefore recommended to take professional mobile app development services to build a quality cross platform application. It ensures you to work with the best market talent, and get top-notch development solutions as per the needed demands. The cross platform apps are also a bit costly which is why you need to manage your budget as well while developing them.

Nowadays, there are different types of cross platform frameworks available in the market. These frameworks help developers to amplify the speed of development, as they offer various types of advanced features. Using them, the development becomes streamlined, however technical knowledge is still required to use them perfectly. In this blog, we will discuss about different frameworks that are termed important for cross platform development. So, let’s quickly start with the basics understanding what is cross platform development and why it is important for businesses.

What is Cross Platform Development?

Businesses these days want to acquire a large section of customers. They know how important it is for their expansion, especially when there is a saturated competition in the market. To do that, they need to offer their services that can be accessible for everyone. It is common approach of every smart business that want to rule and build a name for itself in the industry. All the big brands that we see today have worked on this approach, and it has certainly offered them good dividends over the years.

This same rule applies for the development of mobile apps. Businesses these days want to develop mobile applications that can run on various devices, so that everyone can use them easily. This is indeed becoming a need for them, because the pool of their customers is rapidly growing with great diversity. This is the point where they need cross platform development, as it allows to build mobile apps for different devices. It does not limit the application to run on specific platforms, instead it provides accessibility to them on all devices.

To build cross platform applications, developers use methodologies and process that are different from the conventional development. Companies also look to hire experienced software developers that have got good knowledge about different platforms. Combining all these things, a strategy for cross platform development is wisely formulated, so that the final product can be built as per the required proficiency.

Cross Platform Programming Languages Explained

When developers discuss cross platform development, understanding the programming languages involved is crucial. A cross platform language is a programming language that allows you to write code once and deploy it across multiple operating systems and devices without major modifications. This significantly reduces development time and maintenance costs.

Popular Cross Platform Languages:

JavaScript stands as the most widely used cross platform language, powering frameworks like React Native and Apache Cordova. Its versatility allows developers to build applications for web, mobile, and desktop platforms using a single codebase. If you’re looking to build with JavaScript frameworks, understanding the Angular vs React comparison can help you choose the right tool.

Dart is Google’s programming language specifically designed for cross platform development through Flutter. It compiles to native code for both iOS and Android, offering excellent performance and hot reload capabilities for faster development cycles.

C# powers the .NET MAUI framework and enables developers to create applications across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Its strong typing system and extensive libraries make it a preferred choice for enterprise applications. Organizations often choose to outsource .NET development to leverage this powerful ecosystem.

Python is technically a cross platform language used primarily for desktop and web applications. While less common for mobile development, its cross platform nature makes it valuable for backend services that support mobile apps across different platforms.

Java and Kotlin work seamlessly across platforms, with Kotlin becoming increasingly popular for Android development while maintaining cross platform capabilities. These languages are particularly valuable when working with hybrid mobile app development approaches.

When choosing a cross platform language, consider your team’s expertise, project requirements, and the specific frameworks you plan to use. For a comprehensive overview of available options, explore our guide on the most popular coding languages in modern development.

Understanding the Difference Between Native vs Cross Platforms Applications

In the field of mobile app development, two terms are being discussed commonly everywhere i.e. native and cross platform development. Being a developer, you should have knowledge about both of them. It helps you to know how applications are built for different mobile devices. This is a critical knowledge that lets you understand several differences between them. It defines the variance of methodologies, as well as the technologies used for developing these applications. These insights are important, and you should always pay attention to them to recognize the basic differences.

When it comes to native mobile app development, full access is given to the core functionalities of the device. This helps developers to fully understand the roots of the device, as well as how it works. On the other hand in cross platform development, only limited access is given for those functions that are directly related with the application.

The software development cost of native apps for a single platform is typically lower than a cross-platform app. However, if you need to support both iOS and Android, cross-platform development is more cost-effective since you maintain one codebase instead of two separate native applications.

Meanwhile, the budget also depends on some other factors including project complexity, deadline and various other things. If you are a project owner, it is best advised to keep all these factors in mind, as it helps you to fix a realistic budget for the development of every mobile app.

Multi-Platform Development Strategies and Approaches

Multi-platform development requires strategic planning to ensure your application performs optimally across different devices and operating systems. Understanding various approaches helps you select the methodology that best fits your project requirements and business goals.

Code Sharing Strategy

The primary advantage of multi-platform development is maximizing code reuse. Modern frameworks enable you to share 60-90% of your codebase across platforms, significantly reducing development effort. This approach works best when combined with proper software development planning from the project’s inception.

Platform-Specific Customization

While code sharing is valuable, successful multi-platform apps require platform-specific adjustments. This includes adapting UI elements to match platform design guidelines (Material Design for Android, Human Interface Guidelines for iOS) and implementing platform-specific features. When planning your approach, consider the mobile app development timeline to budget adequate time for these customizations.

Progressive Web App (PWA) Approach

PWAs represent an alternative multi-platform strategy where web technologies create app-like experiences across all platforms. This approach eliminates app store dependencies and simplifies updates. Understanding web app development fundamentals is essential for this strategy.

Hybrid Development Method

Hybrid apps combine native containers with web technologies, offering a middle ground between fully native and cross platform approaches. This method allows gradual migration and selective use of native features. Learn more about this approach in our detailed guide on hybrid mobile app development.

Choosing Between Approaches

Your selection depends on multiple factors: budget constraints, time to market, required performance levels, and team expertise. For startups and MVPs, cross platform development often provides the fastest path to market. Explore software development for startups to understand which approach aligns with your business stage.

When implementing multi-platform strategies, following best software development practices ensures code quality and maintainability across all platforms. Additionally, understanding software development methodologies helps you structure your development process effectively.

Cross Platform Technology Stack and Tools

The cross platform technology ecosystem encompasses frameworks, libraries, development tools, and supporting infrastructure that enable multi-platform application development. Selecting the right technology stack is critical for project success and long-term maintainability.

Core Framework Technologies

Your choice of framework forms the foundation of your cross platform stack. React Native leverages JavaScript and React, Flutter uses Dart with its own rendering engine, and .NET MAUI employs C# with .NET libraries. Each framework brings unique advantages and trade-offs that impact development speed and app performance.

Development Environment and Tools

Modern cross platform development requires robust tooling. IDEs like Visual Studio Code, Android Studio, and Xcode provide essential development capabilities. Build tools such as Gradle, Metro Bundler, and MSBuild streamline the compilation process. Familiarize yourself with essential software development tools to optimize your workflow.

UI Component Libraries

Cross platform frameworks offer extensive UI component libraries that adapt to different platforms. React Native provides platform-specific components, Flutter uses widgets with Material and Cupertino designs, and .NET MAUI offers controls that render natively on each platform. These components accelerate development while maintaining platform-appropriate aesthetics.

Backend Integration Technologies

Cross platform apps typically connect to backend services through RESTful APIs or GraphQL. Technologies like Firebase, AWS Amplify, and Azure Mobile Apps provide cross platform SDKs that simplify backend integration. Understanding web technologies helps you architect robust client-server communication.

Testing and Quality Assurance Tools

Ensuring quality across multiple platforms requires comprehensive testing strategies. Tools like Appium, Detox, and platform-specific testing frameworks enable automated testing. Implement proper software quality assurance practices to maintain high standards across all platforms.

State Management Solutions

Complex applications need robust state management. Redux, MobX, Provider, and Riverpod offer different approaches to managing application state in cross platform environments. Your choice impacts app architecture and developer experience.

Performance Monitoring and Analytics

Production applications require monitoring across all platforms. Tools like Firebase Analytics, App Center, and Sentry provide cross platform monitoring capabilities, helping you identify issues and optimize performance. Track relevant software development KPIs to measure success.

When building your technology stack, consider factors like community support, documentation quality, available packages, and long-term viability. Organizations often hire dedicated developers with expertise in specific cross platform technologies to ensure project success. If you’re comparing specific technologies, our Ionic vs Flutter comparison can provide valuable insights.

The right technology stack aligns with your team’s skills, project requirements, and business objectives. Investing time in stack selection pays dividends throughout the software development lifecycle.

Best Frameworks for Cross Platform Development

Cross platform development has seen a massive rise during the last few years. It is in demand because companies want to develop mobile apps that can run on different devices. They want to cater every customer section, which is why cross platform app development is an essential need for them.

Being a mobile app developer, this brings a lot of opportunities for you. You can find hundreds of clients from the market that are looking for quality resources. However, to make a name for yourself, you need to master some tools and technologies first. Nowadays, there are several frameworks available in the market that can help you get started in cross platform development. These frameworks are very important, hence you need to learn about their basics first.

Let’s take a look at them in detail below.

React Native

When it comes to talk about best software development frameworks used today, the name of React Native always comes on top of the list. It is used by millions of developers around the world and is rated as one of the best in the industry. It is a free open source framework that allows developers to build mobile applications for both Android and iOS devices. The features offered in this framework are quite advanced, which is why developers love this framework to build different types of cross platform mobile applications.  

The framework is primarily built on the bases of JavaScript and React. Both of them are very popular development libraries that are used by thousands of developers around the world. Built by Meta (formerly Facebook), React Native allows developers to use their existing programming knowledge to build applications on the platform. This means that developers do not have to acquire or learn additional languages to use React Native, as it can be used easily with the understanding of JavaScript and React. It is a framework that supports a wide stack of third party libraries which is also a big reason why developers to love to work with it.

Flutter

Created by Google, Flutter is a popular cross platform framework that allows developers to create different types of mobile apps efficiently. It uses Dart programming language which is quite advanced in terms of offering new dev features. The reason why Flutter is popular is because it supports several native features for mobile app development. It includes plethora of things such as location services, camera functionality, hard drive access and more others.

Besides being extensively used for mobile apps, Flutter is also used for desktop and web application development. Its variety of features makes the platform perfect for all types of software development. It is a highly versatile framework that comes up with different functionalities to build unique cross platform applications. This is the major reason why dev community loves to work with Flutter, especially for multi-tier mobile app development.

.NET MAUI

.NET Multiplatform App UI (MAUI) is an open source tool that allows developers to build cross platform applications. Formerly known as Xamarin, .NET MAUI provides different features that provides ease in developing different types of mobile apps. This framework is based on C# which is also considered a popular programming language in the dev world. It is also the major reason why many .NET developers often find it easy to use Xamarin or .NET MAUI for app development.

Speaking about the development toolset of .NET MAUI, you can find plenty of interesting components in there. It includes MAUI project templates, XAML library, Device APIs, Hot Reload and more others. All of these components are quite handy in developing different types of application features. They are created on a component-based architecture that helps developers to enhance the speed of development while maintaining the quality of core app coding.

Apache Cordova

Apache Cordova is a yet another name that is rated highly for cross platform mobile development. It is a quite unique platform that allows developers to use HTML, CSS and JavaScript in the development of native applications. You can use Cordova to render web applications within a WebView that shows the content within a native application. If its difficult to understand, think of it as a web browser that shows just content without any conventional user interface elements.

Now, the application inside the WebView looks just like a normal application running inside any mobile browser. It can showcase content embedded with HTML, JavaScript and others efficiently. Generally, this type of app is called Hybrid application because it can run on more than one platform effectively. This is what makes Cordova very special for mobile development, as it provides plethora of interactive features to build advanced cross platform applications.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is cross platform development framework? A development framework that helps you to create applications for different devices is called cross platform development framework. It is quite popular these days, as companies are precisely looking for those resources that can use this framework to develop cross platform apps.

What is native mobile app development? Native app development refers to that method in which applications are just created for a single platform. These apps can either run on Android or iOS platforms, which is why they are called native mobile apps.

What is the difference between native and cross platform mobile app development? Being a developer, you should know how native and cross platform development differs from others. Both of these models are entirely different, as native only supports single device, whereas cross platform supports app development for multiple devices.

What is the best language for cross platform development? There are various languages with which you can start cross platform development. The most popular options include JavaScript (React Native, Cordova), Dart (Flutter), C# (.NET MAUI), Java and Kotlin (with frameworks like Kotlin Multiplatform). Python can also be used for cross-platform development with frameworks like Kivy.

Is Python a cross platform programming language? Python is a renowned cross platform programming language that is used by millions around the world. It can be used for programming on a variety of platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, and more others.

Final Words

That takes us to the end of this blog in which we have discussed about cross platform development in detail. It is quite important for developers to understand the basics of this model. It is a highly advanced development approach that allows you to build mobile apps for different platforms. From Android to iOS, cross platform framework helps you to develop all types of applications that are needed by the clients. All you need to do is to understand its methodologies properly, as that is something difficult that often confuses developers while creating mobile applications.

Meanwhile, if you are looking for an agency that can help you to develop advanced cross platform mobile apps properly, get in touch with us today. We will assist you to develop all types of applications precisely as per the needed requirements.