How do you Develop Mobile Apps that can be easily Scaled?
In business, it’s all about meeting customer expectations and building a positive user experience. Users are most likely to reach for those apps that work well regardless of website traffic. If your app works reliably and intuitively, there is a good chance it will attract a large following and stay on the market for a long time.
Scaling your mobile app is something to think about when starting a digital business. From the beginning of the planning process, it’s a good idea to anticipate errors that could occur in the future. The sooner they are detected, the more time and effort you will save.
In this article, we describe methods, for designing a scalable mobile application.
What is meant by “application scalability”?
A scalable mobile app means an app that can handle increasing demands. If your app grows in popularity and there is increased traffic, the software infrastructure should be able to handle the increased load.
A request sent to the server, sent by an application user, should be processed as quickly as possible. Fortunately, with a highly scalable program, multiple requests can be handled simultaneously. Scalability is achieved by programmers through user experience, which shows how quickly the system responds.
Scalability is extremely important because if you don’t take it into account from the very beginning and prioritize it, you may not be able to manage the growing expectations of the application’s users in the future and it will quickly lose its value.
Horizontal scaling vs. vertical scaling
You can scale the application horizontally or vertically.
Horizontal scaling is a more difficult version to apply, but it is cheaper. It involves adding new servers to support more users of the application. However, spreading the load over multiple machines increases the complexity of the system.
Vertical scaling is simple, however, it can be equally costly and involves extending the application server with additional resources (memory, processor, etc.). An upgrade is required to provide better performance for a single instance.
There is an approach called “diagonal scaling” that allows mixing both scaling strategies. To get the type right for your project, however, you need to have a working knowledge and experience with it.
Key aspects of scaling mobile app projects
Here are some concepts that help in the development of the application:
- Stability. Get rid of any performance difficulties caused by increased user responsiveness, as soon as possible!
- System architecture – this is one of the key elements of scalability. Always keep in mind what platform you are developing the application for (iOs/Android/web) and what databases will be used.
- Adaptability. Modifications should be smooth and adapt to your needs with no problems.
- Understandability. The code should be clear to all who will operate it. Good architecture is crucial to solving problems efficiently.
- Repeatability. Systematic testing will keep your system error-free on an ongoing basis. Testing is a habit that makes an application quickly reliable.
- Reducing dependencies. Be careful when making modifications, as any update that changes the code can cause functionality problems.
- Development process. Establishing a clear and scalable development plan largely depends on the findings of the product developer. Determining the appropriate methods of operation, contrary to appearances, does not require complex coding just awareness and predictability.
How to build a scalable mobile application infrastructure?
Unfortunately, if the current application architecture is weak and can’t handle larger loads – it’s hard to do something about it, which is why owners of digital products should think from the very beginning about what loads the infrastructure will have to deal with in the future. There are several things you should take into account:
Find out what you need to scale
The scalability of the application should keep up with growing user demands. An experienced technology partner should ask precise questions about when high demand is expected or the predictable annual user base. As many such questions as possible should be asked to properly adjust the design to meet goals.
Identify scalability issues
Outsourcing partners can help you identify the mobile app scaling problem. It is worth using metrics with which you will be able to determine what operations are affecting excessive demand.
Choose the right process stack
There is no golden rule that will work for every application. You need to take the time to match the requirements to the individual needs of the product. The choice of frameworks and technologies should first and foremost fit the application ecosystem and the developer’s assumptions.
Choose the optimal application architecture
When creating an application architecture that is fundamental to the application, it is a good idea to minimize the load on system resources by using a cache. This allows processed applications to be sent and displayed immediately. However, if your users are located in many different countries, it is worth considering Mobile Content Delivery Networks (CDN).
Performance testing during product development
To determine whether an application is scalable or not, it needs to be tested in various situations. An effective method for estimating the current scalability of an application is load tests, which consist precisely of observing the application’s behavior during heavy loads. In addition to these, performance tests, which examine the application as part of a process, are also valuable. These tests are designed not only to get to know the application better and estimate the real requirements but to prepare it for the growing demands of users.
The success of your software depends on its ability to grow
Along with scalability, the potential of the application grows, as scalability provides a better user experience which positively affects the return on investment. Scalability also makes it possible to seamlessly add new features so it is able to follow the growth of the company and the new requirements placed on it. All this makes scalability a value that should never be forgotten when developing applications. You will make sure that you get the scalable product at a fair price by choosing Applover.
