Why Choose Flutter for MVP Development? The Ultimate Guide

Introduction

Have you planned to get a mobile application based on your idea of execution and the benefits it might offer? 

But have you ever thought that this idea of creating an app from your level of perception can come out to be a huge disaster?

The idea you have behind the creation of the application might not be the same from a client-level ideology.

That is why it is necessary to get feedback at early stages only in order to understand the client's willingness to purchase the product. 

This is where the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) comes into the picture. But why is it necessary for businesses to create an MVP before developing a feature-rich application? What are the primary reasons for creating an MVP? And how has Flutter become the topmost choice for MVP development? Let’s dig in!

Why create an MVP?

The MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, is the most basic version of an application that is implemented to validate an idea. Its purpose is not only to confirm the user's interest in the offering but also to test the hypothesis by reducing the number of errors.

By developing a minimum viable product, businesses can:

• Quickly launch their products within a limited budget.
• Target the right audience.
• Save significant time in application development.
• Improve their product based on user feedback at an early stage.
• Build a potential client base.
• Save money, time, and resources by ensuring that they are investing in a product that has a high chance of success.
• Minimal development costs
• Validate your idea at an initial stage
• Lesser time to market

Therefore, it is always beneficial to have an MVP at the initial stages only to get information on how the idea executed is going to thrive in the market, whether it will be a success or a complete failure. 

For example, consider the idea behind Airbnb. They began with the notion of providing affordable apartments for travelers. They put their concept into action by creating a minimum viable product (MVP), which consisted of simply adding photographs of their apartment and attracting three paying guests. They decided to focus on gathering continuous feedback from their customers rather than just adding new features to improve their initial idea. This approach helped them to keep costs low while still delivering value to their clients.

Did you know that according to a recent report by Statista, more than 35% of startups fail due to a lack of market need? This means that the product or service they offer is of minimal or no use in the market. 

The graph above aptly illustrates this trend. Unfortunately, most businesses fail to develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to test the market need of their offering before launching it.

If the idea had been tested at an early stage, it could have prevented failure. By evaluating the market requirements through a minimum viable product (MVP), it would have been possible to gauge the response. If the idea did not receive the desired response, transforming it into something better would have been a feasible solution.

Eric Ries reports that 75% of start-ups fail to attain their objectives due to premature scaling. By creating an MVP, start-ups can concentrate on the vital features of their product to avoid premature scaling.

Why choose Flutter for MVP?

Technology is rapidly evolving, and adapting these constantly growing technologies for application development is the real key to scaling business processes while staying ahead of the competition.

Many technologies align with the criteria for creating a successful MVP for app development. However, Flutter has gained substantial popularity and is one of the most preferred options when it comes to creating an MVP.

But what makes Flutter for MVP stand out as a top choice? And how does it contribute to successful MVP app development? Let us check it out!

Cost-effective development

Flutter offers the flexibility to develop applications for multiple platforms using a single codebase only. This approach makes it a cost-effective choice for MVP development as developers need to create a single codebase that can be reused for various platforms, cutting down the development time and cost to half. 

Along with this, the cross-development support requires fewer developers to build a Flutter MVP, potentially saving money.

Native like performance

Startups and small or medium businesses often have limited budgets, making native application development an expensive choice for them. However, they still require hybrid applications that provide a satisfying user experience while functioning smoothly.

Flutter excels at achieving this balance. With its widget framework and Dart programming language, Flutter is able to deliver native-like performance across multiple platforms. It compiles the code into native ARM code, which runs directly on the device's hardware. This results in faster application speed, improved usability, and greater responsiveness.

Better scalability

Flutter offers unique user interface designs that are well-suited to meet the minimum viable product (MVP) requirements. With a vast array of customizable widgets, support for cross-development, increased responsiveness, code reusability, and many other features, Flutter ensures better scalability. Therefore, developing a scalable MVP that can adapt to changing business needs is made easy with Flutter.

Faster development

With the flutter's hot reload feature, a team of developers working on the same project can check the changes done in the code spontaneously. This makes the process less time-consuming and easier. 

Along with this, due to this hot reload feature, adding features, fixing bugs, and experimentation become faster, like it is just a matter of minutes.

Integration with Firebase

Flutter is an app development toolkit that comes integrated with Firebase, which is a backend-as-a-service offered by Google. Firebase does not require server-side programming, which makes app development quick and easy. 

Firebase offers many features like crash reporting, cloud storage, analytics, cloud functions, authentication, real-time database, and hosting. These features allow developers to create powerful, secure, and scalable applications using a world-class infrastructure. As a result, businesses do not need to invest resources in building their backend infrastructure. 

Using Flutter and Firebase to develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) can be a smart strategy for businesses because Google is constantly improving Firebase. Every feature is updated with the latest technology trends to help companies to achieve success.

Enhanced investors interest

Flutter is gaining more interest from investors due to its ability to provide high performance across various mobile devices. MVPs built with Flutter offer wider audience reach and higher functionality. And, investors also trust Flutter's reputation for stability, development speed, customization, dependable performance, and scalability.

In a nutshell, With Flutter, businesses can expect a high-quality MVP in half the time, with half the budget, and double the audience reach.

How does Flutter reduce the cost of app development?

When the goal is to create cost-effective applications, the main focus is on reducing development efforts and time. The quicker an app, particularly its MVP, is developed, the lower the overall cost of application development.

Flutter is a design-centric SDK for cross-platform app development that delivers high-quality results with minimal manpower and tool requirements.

Flutter app development offers various cost-saving factors like a single codebase, low developmental efforts, location, lower maintenance timelines, and many more. These factors play a crucial role in lowering the MVP cost to a huge extent. 

From zero to MVP- How YTII Flutter developers delivered MVP in just 1 MONTH!

We were recently contacted by a fitness training provider who is dedicated to providing a smooth and dynamic fitness experience for both trainers and clients. They expressed their interest in having a live-stream feature that would enable trainers to connect with their clients in real-time for personalized workout sessions. However, they faced a significant challenge when they mentioned their preference for using the Zoom official SDK, which is not natively available for Flutter.

The challenge

Flutter, a powerful and versatile framework, lacked direct support for the Zoom official SDK, which is essential for conducting live-streamed sessions. As a result, we faced the dilemma of integrating this crucial functionality seamlessly into the Fitlife Trainer App.

The solution

We found a workable solution to overcome the challenge. Our development team worked on a solution that would connect Flutter and the official Zoom SDK for Android and iOS. By using Flutter's Method Channels to communicate with native code, we created a customized approach to incorporate Zoom's features into our app within a month.

The process we followed was seamless and ensured quality at every step of the development cycle. Here's how we did it:

Creating native libraries

We utilized the Zoom official SDK to develop native libraries for Android and iOS devices. These libraries served as the foundation for live-streaming functionality, ensuring compatibility across platforms.

Flutter plugin development

Our team developed a Flutter plugin that served as a connection between Flutter and the native code by building on the existing libraries. The Method Channels played a crucial role in enabling smooth communication and interaction between the Flutter application and the native Zoom SDK features.

Seamless integration

The Flutter plugin seamlessly integrated Zoom's live-streaming capabilities into the Fitlife Trainer App. 

With this seamless integration, the trainers and clients were able to enjoy the benefits of live-streamed sessions, enhancing the overall user experience.

Quality assurance

Our team of Flutter experts ensured quality at every step of developing an MVP by following standard practices. Here's how we maintained quality during the entire project development lifecycle:

• Automated testing

We have implemented automated testing for repetitive and critical test scenarios to identify regressions quickly and ensure that new changes do not introduce unexpected bugs.

• Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)

We established automated CI/CD pipelines to build, test, and deploy the application. This ensures that new code changes are regularly integrated, tested, and deployed to production, reducing the risk of errors.

• Performance testing

We also conducted performance testing to ensure that the app performs well under various conditions, such as different network speeds and high user loads. During this stage, we identified and addressed any bottlenecks or performance issues to optimize the app's speed and responsiveness.

• Monitoring and analytics

Our Flutter developers implemented monitoring tools and analytics to track the app's performance, user interactions, and potential issues in real time. With this data, we were able to proactively address any issues and make data-driven decisions for future enhancements.

The results

The successful integration of the Zoom official SDK into the Fitlife Trainer App in just one month marked a significant milestone in our commitment to providing cutting-edge features for our users. With this integration, fitness trainers can now easily conduct live-streamed sessions, providing their clients with a more personalized and engaging fitness experience. This marks the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for their app, and we plan to add more features in the future.

Recommended Read: Flutter Developers Hiring Guide: Everything you Need to Know

Bottom Line

The recent trends in Flutter technology indicate that it is all set to revolutionize the digital world. With a strong emphasis on superior performance, aesthetically pleasing UI elements, and robust community and Google support, Flutter is an ideal choice for MVP development. As these trends continue, the demand for Flutter app development will only increase.

If you're wondering how we fit into this picture, we believe this case study has successfully communicated that. Your Team In India is your go-to solution to connect with top Flutter app developers from a pre-vetted pool of highly qualified professionals. With years of experience and proficiency in the Flutter framework, our developers have successfully delivered client-satisfactory projects. So why wait?