Mobile App Development
Android and iOS apps in Flutter, React Native or native code, with the backend, APIs and store publishing handled.
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Turn your web application into a mobile app, without starting again
If your staff or customers already use a web application, a mobile version does not have to mean a rewrite. We reuse what works, add a clean API where one is missing, and give people an app that suits a phone.
What it is
Mobile Versions of Web Apps: what you get
Converting a web application to mobile can mean three different things, and the right one depends on how people use the system. The lightest is a responsive redesign, so the existing site works properly on a small screen. The next is an installable web app (a PWA), which sits on the phone's home screen and can work with a poor connection. The most capable is a native or cross-platform app that talks to your back end through a REST API.
The common thread is reuse. Your business rules, your database and your user accounts stay where they are. Where the application has no API, we build one on top of the existing back end, so the website and the mobile app run on the same logic and the same data. There is one database to back up and one place to fix a bug.
We tell you honestly which route fits. A form-heavy back office may only need a responsive redesign. A field team that needs the camera, notifications or offline use may justify a real app. Some of our own web applications are being rebuilt mobile-first with a REST API underneath, for the same reasons.
Problems we solve
Typical problems this solves
A web app that is hard to use on a phone
Tables overflow, buttons are too small and forms are slow to fill in. A responsive redesign fixes the screens people actually use.
Staff in the field with no good way in
People on the road need to check, record and approve things on a phone. A focused mobile app covers those tasks without the whole back office.
Fear of a full rewrite
A rebuild costs time and risks new bugs. Reusing the existing logic and database keeps the proven parts and changes only the front end.
Two systems drifting apart
A separate mobile product often grows its own data and its own rules. Building on one API keeps the web and mobile versions in step.
No API to build on
Many older applications were built page by page. We add a documented REST API to the existing back end, carefully and with access control.
Deliverables
What we deliver
- A short review of the application and a recommendation: responsive, PWA or native
- A REST API on top of the existing back end, with authentication and access control
- The mobile front end: responsive screens, an installable web app or a cross-platform app
- Reuse of your existing business logic and database, with no second copy of the data
- Testing on real phones and tablets with the people who will use it
- Help with store listings, if you choose an app-store route, and documentation for handover
Technologies we use
- Responsive web design
- Progressive web apps (PWA)
- REST APIs
- JSON
- Token-based sign-in
- Cross-platform mobile frameworks
- Push notifications
- Offline storage
- PHP
- Python
- MySQL / MariaDB
- Docker
We work in any language. See all technologies.
Built and running
Work we have built and run
Examples from our own work, described without client names.
- Client and management portals, including the client areas and admin back offices that make natural starting points for a mobile version.
- Event websites with event management, built for a client.
Engagement
How the engagement works
We start with a free consultation. You show us the application and tell us who needs it on a phone and for which tasks. We look at the code and the data, say which route fits, and give you a written estimate for it.
Work then usually begins with the API, because both the website and the app depend on it. We deliver the mobile screens in short steps so you can try them early, and we keep the existing web application running throughout. You own the code. Hosting and ongoing maintenance are optional and can be agreed afterwards.
Questions
Common questions
Do I need a native app, or is a responsive site enough?
It depends on the tasks. If people mainly read and fill in forms, a responsive site or an installable web app is often enough. If you need the camera, background notifications or heavier offline use, a native or cross-platform app is worth considering. We say which we think fits before you commit.
Will you rebuild my application?
Usually not. We reuse the business logic and the database and add an API and a mobile front end. A rebuild is only suggested where the existing code cannot reasonably be built on.
What if my application has no API?
We can add a REST API to the existing back end. We design it around the tasks the mobile version needs and protect it with proper sign-in and access control.
Will there be two databases to keep in step?
No. The web and mobile versions use the same back end and the same database, so there is a single source of truth.
Have you done this before?
We have built client and management portals and event websites, which are the kind of systems this work starts from. We start each project by reviewing your existing application and its data before proposing a route.
How do you charge?
We do not publish prices. After a free consultation we give you a written estimate, so you know the scope before you commit.
Related
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Learn moreFurther reading: Fixed price or time and materials: choosing the right contract for your software project
Tell us what you need built
Describe the problem, the system or the idea. We offer a free initial consultation and a written estimate, and you will talk directly to the developer who would build it.