In this post, we are going to take a quick overview of Flutter for MVP development and why it’s necessary!
Imagine having an idea and being confident about it only to find out that it’s not what you imagined or it didn’t serve any purpose to your targeted audience.
Terrible! Right?
Such a waste of energy! Therefore, it’s necessary to have some feedback at the initial stage of the app development process so that you can deliver precisely what people would like to buy.
MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, comes to your rescue and saves you from this disaster. It bridges the gap between your product and the market demand.
What is an MVP And Why is it Necessary?
MVP or Minimum Viable Product, is a version of your product built for marketing and getting reviews from early users, testers, and investors. Then, you can derive a better strategy, add or remove features as necessary, and build a full-fledged product.
Developing full-fledged software takes an enormous amount of time and energy, and companies can not simply afford to take such a long time to release their product because of the cut-throat competition in today’s time.
However, a working model such as MVP gives start-ups an early start, and they can start approaching the investors.
MVP validates your product idea and also reduces business failure since, after the feedback, companies know what their customers exactly want.
What Does an MVP do?
- Validate your idea and use cases.
- Address and attract new investors.
- Launch the product within a budget.
- Save time and resources and get feedback, all of which can be channelized to improve the product further.
- Gather a potential client base and help find the right audience.
Characteristics of an MVP
- Minimum Development Cost.
- Limited Features.
- Simple Design.
- Small-Scale Integration.
Many also get confused between MVP, Proof of Concept (POC), and Prototype. We have already discussed the MVP in brief, let’s quickly glance over the other two.
Proof of Concept (POC)
Also, known as a proof of principle. The purpose of proof of concept is quite different from an MVP. A proof of concept does not intend to know the market demand. As its name implies, it determines whether an idea can be converted into reality or whether a certain feature of the product can be implemented.
Also, a proof of concept is a part of the product and not a viable product after the successful implementation of a proof of concept comes an MVP.
Prototype
A prototype is an early working model built to test the elements of the product, such as design, functionality, semantics, and other aspects. A prototype is generally built to assess a design and enhance precision. The developers and stakeholders test the product from every aspect possible. A prototype is not handed over to real users for testing since it’s developed enough.
However, even after all the testing, a business can fail due to various reasons, such as not having a unique idea or being unable to implement the features.
In that case, the business can use cross-platform or hybrid technology to enhance its productivity and efficiency.
There are many cross-platforms available in the market. However, Flutter is considered to be the most helpful solution in building an MVP. We will look at the reasons why but first, let’s quickly understand Flutter.
What is Flutter?
Flutter is an open-source SDK which makes it suitable for building MVP. An advanced software development technology, Flutter is young. However, it approaches problems in a more modern and efficient way than other cross-platform app development frameworks.
Flutter also lets users leverage its remarkable features, such as seamless integration.
Google launched the first version of Flutter in 2018. Flutter uses dart language.
Backed by Google, Dart is similar to C.
Dart is similar to Javascript in terms of object-oriented programming approach, which is also common in Java. Therefore, it’s the combination of both Java and JavaScript. Developers who have worked with Java or C could quickly adapt to the language.
Dart is a language that can be used to develop applications on all platforms, including web, desktop, and mobile.
According to a 2021 developer survey, Flutter is the most popular cross-platform app development tool among developers, and it is growing at a great speed.
Companies like Google Ads, Reflectly, Alibaba, Groupon, Dream 11, and Tencent are already using Flutter.
Why Use Flutter For MVP Development?
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Native-like Performance
A framework that has a good performance saves a lot of app development time.
Flutter is a cross-platform app development framework. However, it offers a native-like app performance. Graphic rendering of higher frequency and seamless integration is the reason why Flutter has better performance than other cross-platform apps.
Companies with higher budgets can develop their apps natively for different platforms if they want to. Nevertheless, Flutter for MVP development is perfect for startups and other businesses with budgets but want to develop apps through a cross-platform framework without compromising on performance and running the user experience.
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Numerous Widgets For Attractive Designs
Another reason why you should use Flutter for MVP development is that the Flutter UI has an impressive set of ready-to-use widgets that can be found in a search during the development process. Button and controls, Input Fields, Neomorphism, Animations, and Media are certain widgets rendered by Flutter. Flutter is perfect for smooth animations as it supports 2D GPU-accelerated APIs.
These widgets help in creating interactive designs with expressive, flexible, and attractive features, which eventually enhance the user- experience.
Other useful widgets, such as Material Design and Cupertino, let users create attractive apps for both iOS and Android.
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Integration with Firebase
Flutter has become the ultimate choice for building MVP because of its seamless integration.
Flutter’s compatibility with Firebase is quite amazing as it eliminates the need for a separate backend for creating a simple MVP. It is one of the easiest ways to create a serverless app.
Firebase simplifies storing, syncing, reporting, hosting, and querying for databases at a global scale which enables you to create robust and scalable apps.
Nonetheless, Firebase is backed by Google, which keeps enhancing it from time to time.
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Time-Saving
As we discussed above, MVPs are created for launching the product as soon as possible, and leveraging Flutter for MVP development helps you achieve this goal.
It supports hot-reloading, which helps developers to see changes they made in the code to view in real time. The hot reload feature and other helpful developer tools, such as Devtools for Debugging, help in fixing bugs faster and adding new features faster. It speeds up the development process as you do not have to code the new version entirely.
Flutter lets you build MVPs for both Android and iOS using a single code base. Since companies have to build MVPs for both Android and iOS simultaneously, native development takes a lot more time. Using Flutter, you can save up to 70% of the development time.
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Cost-Effective
Earlier, companies would drop the idea of building an app due to the cost associated with the app development process. Flutter being free renders them an alternative and free app development platform.
Since Flutter is a cross-platform app and uses a single code base to build MVPs for both iOS and Android, it reduces the cost of developing apps for two different platforms. With Flutter, the organization would only require one team of developers, which again reduces the overall cost of development.
It speeds up the development process and also carries off the burden of managing two teams from management.
Start-ups at the beginning, generally start with building their application for only one Platform. With Flutter, they don’t have to make a choice and can build apps simultaneously for both platforms. It increases their target audience.
Due to the cost-effectiveness and time-saving features of Flutter, companies can budget freely.
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Scale-up To Other Platforms
With Flutter, you can also create apps for other platforms, such as the web and desktop. It is also constantly evolving.
Once your MVP or minimum viable product is out in the market and it starts getting feedback, you make the strategy of creating a full system. In the process of adding new features or removing previous ones, you might also want to scale your project to other platforms.
Flutter for MVP development would help you scale your product to all devices, web and desktop, and even embedded devices using a single code.
Top Companies That Have Successfully Implemented MVPs
MVPs will help you to get your product faster in the market. However, it’s essential to identify which key feature to add to your MVP that appeals to a broader range of customers and attracts investors. Here we have created a list of examples of top companies that have successfully implemented MVPs:
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Dropbox
Due to some technical and financial difficulties in its initial phase, Dropbox couldn’t release its MVP. The investors also didn’t quite understand the new innovative idea behind Dropbox.
The company then shared a video MVP explaining the whole idea and the core features of how the file-sharing will work across devices, and the video was published through Digg.
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Uber
Uber has revolutionized the way transportation works in the cities. In the beginning, Uber started with a simple design and tested only a single feature in the market. Then, it went on to test various strategies through MVP by targeting a small group of users in San Francisco.
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Instagram
First launched only on iOS, what made Instagram’s MVP so successful is that they focused only on the core feature. It offers a few filters that users can use to edit their pictures and share them on their profiles.
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Spotify
Spotify was first built and tested only for desktops. The developers didn’t try to integrate a lot of features together and overload the app; instead, they focused on only one core feature, music streaming.
After their successful experiment on the desktop Spotify scaled up to other platforms and developed mobile apps. They signed many more artists and today have entirely conquered the market.
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Airbnb
Airbnb started its journey by offering travelers apartments at cheaper rates. An MVP that has pictures of apartments was designed, and they got three travelers as their paying guests.
They never tried to fill their product with features outbursting from it, instead,
focused on feedback and improving accordingly.
Top Companies Who Have used Flutter for MVP Development or have built apps using Flutter
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Google Ads
Google has developed Google Ads, an advertising platform, using Flutter. Google Ads renders many services, such as product listings. You can also use Google Ads to drive quality traffic, raise awareness, and promote your business.
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Xianyu app by Alibaba
Developed by one of the biggest e-commerce companies in the world, Alibaba, Xianyu is also based on the Flutter framework. Xianyu helps its users sell used goods. Xianyu uses Alibaba Cloud’s serverless offering to overcome the limitations of large-scale standard applications, such as speed, quality, and stability.
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Groupon
Founded in 2009, Groupon is a marketplace that renders its subscribers deals on regional products, cheap automobile services, Home cleaning services, local restaurants, and events.
Working at a global level, Groupon connects its subscribers to local merchants, it offers heavy discounts to the users on behalf of the merchants.
Total Registered users at Groupon today are thirty-five million. At the moment, Groupon is offering its services in 15 countries.
Developing IoT Apps and Other Benefits of Flutter
Flutter’s features, such as scalability to multiple platforms, high productivity, and fast time-to-market, make Flutter perfect for building IoT applications. IoT applications are data-heavy, and Flutter creates apps with high performance and speed.
Flutter’s versatile nature also comes in handy while developing IoT apps since they are built on embedded devices and other connected devices or hubs or wearables.
Other pros of using Flutter For MVP development
- Flutter is also excellent for developing POC, and at the same time, it started being used for developing enterprise-level applications.
- Flutter uses Dart programming language, which is easy-to-learn and has simple concepts behind it, and is optimized.
- MVPs in Flutter are also unique due to their stability and versatility.
- Flutter renders access to a wide range of libraries and packages.
- Debugging is also accessible in Flutter. It supports developer tools such as Devtools for Debugging.
- Flutter lets you create custom complex UIs. The UIs in Flutter can be easily improved and enhanced.
- Flutter is believed to have grown into a platform that can build applications that run on any CPU.
Is Flutter For MVP Development Really The Best Choice?
Still unsure if Flutter For MVP development is the best choice? Here are some more pros of Flutter that would help you in creating MVP or any other app:
- Flutter requires a minimum learning curve since Dart is relatively easy to learn.
- Flutter has large community support and is reliable as it is supported by Google.
- Flutter requires very little coding due to its features, such as hot reloading and code-sharing.
- Flutter also doesn’t require a powerful machine and can be set up quickly.
- Flutter is the best framework out there for creating expressive user interfaces.
Conclusion – Flutter For MVP Development
It is always your choice to leverage any technology to develop your MVP. However, Flutter is definitely the best technology out there since it’s open-source, time-saving, cost-effective, seamlessly integrates with Firebase, and has other excellent benefits and features that we discussed in this article.
Flutter saves companies the resources and cost of hiring two teams of developers since Flutter supports cross-platform app development, which implies they can develop both web and mobile applications using a single codebase. A single Codebase in Flutter also makes it easier to maintain the codebase for apparent reasons.
Another benefit of using Flutter for MVP development is that it delivers the same experience across multiple platforms, i.e., it maintains consistency on all the platforms in terms of designs and other features, such as text messages.
We at SolGuruz can help you extend your current by hiring expert flutter developers from our team. We provide best-class Flutter app development services with best development practices and the latest technology for building scalable, attractive-looking, secure, and robust apps.
