Building cross-platform mobile apps with Ionic

In today's information technology age, the demand for mobile applications continues to surge, driving developers to seek efficient solutions for building apps that can reach a broad audience across different platforms. However, the traditional approach of developing separate native apps for each platform poses significant challenges in terms of time, resources, and maintenance. Enter cross-platform development—a transformative approach that addresses these challenges by enabling developers to build apps that run seamlessly on multiple platforms using a single codebase.

In this shift towards cross-platform development, the Ionic framework, coupled with Angular, React, or Vue, emerges as a powerful solution for mobile application development. Developers often encounter the daunting task of managing multiple codebases and navigating platform-specific intricacies when building native apps. However, Ionic empowers developers to overcome these obstacles, offering a streamlined development experience and enabling the creation of robust, feature-rich apps that can run on iOS, Android, and the web with ease. 

Let's dive deep into how Ionic is transforming mobile development and discover how you can begin crafting mobile applications using the Ionic framework.

What is Ionic?#

Ionic is a freely available UI toolkit designed for crafting top-notch cross-platform mobile and web applications. Leveraging web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, Ionic offers a collection of ready-made UI components, themes, and utilities, simplifying the development journey and ensuring uniformity across different platforms. Ionic offers platform-specific UI elements, native functionality, and performance optimizations to deliver native-like experiences on iOS, Android, and the web.

Ionic is a versatile framework that supports development with three major front-end frameworks:

• Angular: Angular, a robust JavaScript framework, is actively maintained by Google, offering a comprehensive set of features for web development. It provides a robust structure for building dynamic web applications and offers powerful features such as two-way data binding, dependency injection, and modular development.

• React: React, a widely used JavaScript library developed by Facebook, is recognized for its component-based structure, enabling developers to create reusable UI components. React’s virtual DOM efficiently renders and updates user interfaces, making it ideal for developing fast and responsive web applications.

• Vue.js: Vue.js is an increasingly popular JavaScript framework known for its progressive nature, attracting a growing number of developers. It is designed to be incrementally adoptable, allowing developers to start small and scale up as needed. Vue.js offers a simple and flexible syntax, making it easy to learn and use for building interactive web applications.

With support for Angular, React, and Vue.js, Ionic provides developers with the flexibility to choose the framework that best fits their project requirements and development preferences.

Ionic showcase: Some popular apps#

Let's have a look at some of the incredible apps fueled by the Ionic framework:

• MarketWatch: A financial news and information website, providing insights, analysis, and real-time stock market data to investors.

• Sworkit: A fitness app that offers customizable workout plans and video workouts for users of all fitness levels.

• JustWatch: A streaming guide that helps users find where to watch movies and TV shows across various streaming platforms.

• Sanvello: A premier mental telehealth application designed to aid individuals grappling with depression, stress, or anxiety through the application of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness meditation techniques. It ranks among the distinguished applications leveraging the Ionic framework.

• Untappd: A social networking app for beer enthusiasts, enabling users to discover, rate, and review different beers, as well as connect with other beer lovers.

Getting started with app development using Ionic#

For beginners, a minimalistic set of prerequisites for Ionic development includes:

• HTML: Basic understanding of HTML for creating the structure of Ionic applications.

• CSS: Familiarity with CSS for styling Ionic components and user interfaces.

• JavaScript: Basic knowledge of JavaScript for adding interactivity and functionality to Ionic applications.

• Node.js and npm: Installation of Node.js and npm to set up the development environment and manage project dependencies.

• Angular, React, and Vue: Ionic is a flexible framework that accommodates development with three major front-end frameworks. Therefore, familiarity with any of these frameworks can greatly benefit you in learning cross-platform mobile application development with Ionic.

With these minimal prerequisites, beginners can start learning and building simple Ionic applications. As they gain more experience and confidence, they can explore additional concepts and technologies to enhance their skills further.

Setting up the development environment#

To set up an environment for Ionic app development, follow these steps:

1. Install Node.js and npm:

   1. Download and install Node.js from their official website.

   2. Follow the installation instructions for your operating system.

   3. npm (Node Package Manager) will be installed automatically along with Node.js.

2. Install Ionic CLI:

   1. Open a command prompt or terminal.

   2. Install Ionic CLI globally by running the following command:

3. Create a new Ionic project:

   1. Go to the directory where you intend to create your Ionic project.

   2. Run the following command to create a new Ionic app named as Educative:

  III. You can choose a different starter template besides blank if desired.

4. Navigate to your project directory:

   1. Change directory to your newly created Ionic project:

5. Run your Ionic app:

   1. Once inside your project directory, you can run your Ionic app using the following command.

  II. This command will initiate a local development server and automatically open your app in a web browser.

6. Install additional dependencies (optional):

Depending on your project requirements, you might need to install additional dependencies using npm. For example: 

  I. If you're using Angular with Ionic, you can install Angular with the following command:

  II. If you're using React with Ionic, you can install Angular with the following command:

  III. If you're using Vue with Ionic, you can install Angular with the following

7. Start Building Your App:

With your environment set up, you can start building your Ionic app by editing the files in the src directory of your project.

Publish your app#

Now that you have built our app, it’s time to publish this app to the respective stores. Publishing an Ionic app to both the Google Play Store (Android) and the Apple App Store (iOS) involves several steps.

Publishing your app on the Google Play Store#

Deploying an Android app developed with Ionic involves several steps, from preparing your app to publishing it on the Google Play Store.

1. Build your app for production

2. Add Android to the capacitor

Capacitor is a tool developed by the Ionic team to provide a native bridge for web apps. It allows you to call native code (such as device APIs) from JavaScript and run your web application as a native app on iOS, Android, and Electron, with web support. Before running the command, make sure Capacitor is installed in your Ionic project.

After running ionic capacitor add android, the android directory will be created in your project root. You can then open this directory in Android Studio to further configure, build, and run your app on an Android device or emulator.

It generates configuration files needed for building and running the app on Android, including:

• android/build.gradle: This file is used by Gradle to build your Android app.

• android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml: This file defines essential information about your app, such as its name, version, and permissions.

  • The first step is to change your app name to a human-readable format (e.g. Educative). You can update the name within the following section.

• Now, a crucial step is to update the id attribute of the widget tag. It is a unique identifier used to publish your app to the iOS or Android store. For Android, the id corresponds to your package name, while for iOS, it serves as the bundle ID.

3. Build a digitally signed APK

To distribute your app on the Google Play Store, you will need to build a digitally signed APK.

• Create a keystore: If you don't already have a keystore, create one using the following command:

The command generates a keystore file named my-release-key.jks. It creates a new RSA key pair with a key size of 2048 bits. The key pair is set to be valid for 10,000 days. The key pair is associated with the alias my-educative.

• Generate Digitally Signed APK: In Android Studio, go to “Build” > “Generate Signed Bundle / APK…” and follow the prompts:

  • Select “APK” and click “Next.”

  • Choose “Create new…” if you don’t have a keystore, or “Choose existing…” if you have one.

  • Fill in the required fields and remember your keystore path and passwords.

  • Select “release” as the build type and finish the process.

• Install APK on Device: Before publishing, it’s essential to test the APK on a real device or an emulator.

4. Prepare and upload to Google Play Store

   1. Create a developer account: If you don’t have a Google Play developer account, create one at the Google Play Console.

   2. Prepare app information: Fill in all the necessary information about your app, including the title, description, screenshots, and more.

   3. Upload your APK: In the Google Play Console, create a new app, then go to the “Release” section and follow the steps to create a new release. Upload your signed APK.

   4. Complete the store listing: Fill in the required fields for the store listing, content rating, pricing, and distribution.

   5. Submit for review: Once everything is filled out and you’re satisfied with your app’s details, submit it for review. The review process can take a few hours to a few days.

Publishing your app on the Apple App Store#

Deploying an iOS app developed with Ionic involves several steps, from preparing your app to publishing it on the Apple App Store. The first two steps are explained in the above section.

1. Build your app for production

2. Add IOS to the capacitor

3. Configure your app in Xcode

   1. Set the bundle identifier: In Xcode, go to the project settings (click your project in the navigator), and under the “General” tab, set the “Bundle Identifier”. This should be a unique identifier for your app, typically in the format com.yourcompany.yourapp. For our case, it would be com.mycompany.educative.

   2. Set the signing and team: Under the “Signing and Capabilities” tab, select your team.

4. Build and archive your app

   1. Select a target device: In Xcode, select a target device (e.g., a connected iPhone or a simulator).

   2. Build the app: Click the play button or use “Product” > “Build” to build your app and ensure there are no errors.

   3. Archive the app: Go to “Product” > “Archive” to create an archive of your app. This will open the “Organizer” window when the archive is complete.

5. Upload your app to App Store Connect

   1. Distribute the app: In the “Organizer” window, select the archive and click “Distribute App.”

   2. Choose the method of distribution: Select “App Store Connect” and follow the prompts to validate and upload your app.

   3. Create an app record: Log in to App Store Connect and create a new app record.

   4. Fill in the app information: Provide all necessary information, including the app name, description, keywords, screenshots, and app icon.

6. Submit your app for review

   1. Select the build: In your app record on App Store Connect, select the build you uploaded from Xcode.

   2. Complete the app Store listing: Fill out all required metadata and submit your app for review.

Conclusion and next steps#

Building cross-platform mobile apps with the Ionic framework offers a powerful and efficient solution for developers aiming to create high-quality applications for both Android and iOS platforms. Throughout this guide, we have explored the essentials of Ionic, its integration with major frameworks like Angular, React, and Vue, and the steps to set up a robust development environment. By following the detailed instructions provided, you can now confidently publish your apps to the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, reaching a broad audience with minimal effort.

To further enhance your skills and ensure your apps remain competitive, deepen your knowledge of Ionic’s advanced features and stay updated with your preferred frameworks (Angular, React, or Vue). Focus on app performance optimization, explore native integrations with Capacitor or Cordova plugins, and improve your app’s marketability through app store optimization and user feedback. Additionally, ensure your app adheres to security and data protection regulations to maintain user trust and compliance.

For beginners starting mobile application development with Ionic, Educative stands as a valuable choice. Unlike setting up the environment locally, there's no need to configure a development environment or external devices for running and testing applications. Everything essential is readily available, enabling you to focus on learning and seamlessly building Ionic applications.

Happy learning!