What Is a Mobile App Builder?

All over the world, millions of companies are seeing the power of mobile applications. With technology being more advanced than ever, there are many things that are possible with mobile apps. But as there are many avenues for app-making, many businesses are straying away from the standard process of developing the native mobile apps that we’re used to. In fact, there is a growing trend involving a mobile app builder instead of outsourcing developers at a dev shop.

These platforms make it extremely simple to design applications. And the best part, many of them don’t require the user needing any coding experience at all! Platforms like Appery and Ion are great examples of software platforms that allow users to build apps quickly. But if you want a cost-effective and effective choice when it comes to the best app builder, Lumavate can’t be beat! In fact, many people feel that Lumavate is the best app builder 2021 has to offer. From teaching users how to create a mobile app to providing an extensive library jam-packed full of amazing tools and app-building elements, building the apps of your dreams is easy with Lumavate! You can find Lumavate’s app builder pricing here!

App Building Software

Now that you’ve been introduced to mobile app builders, let’s now dive into some of the different types of app building software on the market today. There are three types of app builders you may come across as you are searching for how to make an app for beginners. You’ll see them range from open source, to low-code and there are even no-code platforms available! Let’s dive into each type to better understand the pros and cons to each.

Open source mobile app development software allows you to take advantage of code that already exists and modify it to your needs. So if you’re someone who knows enough code to be dangerous, you can take advantage of an open source WYSIWYG app builder to customize your app with open source software and get a feel of how your app will look like across any device or operating system. But this is not for those searching for how to create an app without coding. There are then low-code app building platforms.

Low code app development oftentimes brings together the speed and ease of use that no-code platforms are known for with the flexibility of bringing in your own code. Basically, it allows citizen developers to build apps with or without code. There are some free web app builders in all types of platforms but make sure you focus on the quality of the mobile app builder if you plan to use it for your organization. Lastly, there are no code app builders.

No code app builders can be known as some of the most user friendly and app development software for beginners. The best way to describe a no-code app builder platform is that it doesn’t require ANY coding to actually build an app. This type can be the best mobile app development tool for any beginner wanting to build out an app or any experienced developer wanting to get a quality app built quickly. Lumavate is known as one of the best app builders 2021 due to it being a leading no code PWA app builder. Now let’s look at if you should even consider looking at a free mobile app builder.

Free App Development Software

Now that we’ve reviewed the different types of app building software let’s now dive into the question regarding free app development software. This topic gets brought up often especially as more and more leading app building platforms start to offer mobile app design software free as a basic plan.

It’s important when researching a free app development software that you look at three crucial areas of interest - security, scalability, and pricing past the basic plan. Let’s dive into why each is important to access before choosing an app development software for beginners free.

• Security - If your goals as a marketer is to test out the free app building platform to determine if you’ll want to invest money into that platform, security needs to be top of mind. Whether you plan to use the app for internal use or for external customers you’ll want to make sure the app builder has security infrastructure put in place that meets your business’s needs.
• Scalability -  It’s important to research the scalability of a free app builder because some of the websites to app free builders have limits on capabilities and may not be able to scale with your business or use case. If your plan is for the app to grow with your business look into app creator software free download that also is part of an app software that you can add on packages to grow and scale your app. Whether you need to buy more storage space, more internal or external users, or just more features. Make sure it’s a capability within the app builder. Lumavate has an excellent free basic plan that can be upgraded at any time!
• Pricing - This may seem silly to have ‘pricing’ as something to think about for a ‘free’ app builder. But after looking into scalability you’ll notice many ‘free’ app building platforms have the option to upgrade to better packages. It’s important to know what you get in the ‘free’ package but to also look at what the next upgrade or two feature and the cost associated with them. There may come a time and place where you need to upgrade and you’ll want to make sure you’ve chosen the right app builder your company can scale with!

We’ve reviewed the different types of app builders and why it’s important to look at the features for free app builders.It’s important to note that finding a good free app maker for students also should take the same approach as finding one for a company. Let’s now take a glance at some of the best DIY (do-it-yourself) app builders on the market.

Best DIY Mobile App Builder

So what ends up being the best DIY mobile app builder out there? I wish I had an easy answer for you but it depends what you are looking for and your expertise. This article has gone over the different types of free web app builders and what to look for in a mobile app builder. Let’s now look at what makes up the best DIY mobile app builder, free or not.

There are a lot of app builders out there that compete for the best free app builder 2021. There are Appy pie reviews that would say they're a great free app builder. Others may point to Buildfire or Phone Gap as some of the best free app builders. But there is one that stands out from all of them as the best free app builder without coding - Lumavate. Lumavate offers you all that you need from their basic free plan to their enterprise plans if you decide to upgrade. Upgrading isn’t scary, it just means Lumavate can scale with your company as one of the leading no-code mobile app builders. Lumavate is a platform that allows you to drag-and-drop pages, components, and features in place to build your app without needing to code.

It may be your marketing team making decisions on what should be in the app and how it's marketed but there may be a time where developers or an IT team may need to jump in your app. The best DIY mobile app builders for marketing teams and developers who want to code to customize and build their app might be best looking at low-code or open source mobile app builders. Luckily, Lumavate also is a great platform for developers because we have open-source components that developers can customize and use any coding language to build! This is great to have in a free web app builder because it allows you the opportunity to customize your app even further with a little coding. Don’t get freaked out by the coding option. There is no need to code in Lumavate’s platform but it is an additional option.

Can No-Code Platforms be an Android App Builder?

Great Question! You’ve definitely come to the right place if you are looking to find an android app builder. With just a couple google searches for android app development software, I’m sure you’ve found that native apps force you to create an app for either iOS or Android. If you want both you have to pay for both to be built…what a drag. Luckily there is a new emerging technology called Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)! You no longer have to search for ‘android app maker software offline free download’. Lumavate is the leading no-code PWA builder that can help you build apps that work across all devices and all operations systems - iOS, Android, and Windows. There are other android app development softwares out there (name a few - apk, Android Maker..) but point out that if you are wanting an app that works across android and iOS you would have to build a seperate app for iOS operating system. Which means more time and more money!

Zoho Creator Vs. Lumavate

So you’ve heard a little bit about Zoho Creator and wondering how it matches up to Lumavate. Let’s first take a look at what Zoho Creator is. Zoho Creator is a cloud software that allows you to build native apps with no code. Lumavate is similar in the sense that we are a no-code platform that allows you to build an app without any coding required! However, where we differ is building native mobile apps. As we mentioned above, native mobile apps do not work across operating systems and you have to build one for each operating system (hello wallet burner!). Lumavate does not build native mobile apps but helps you build one Progressive Web App that will work across any operating system and any device. It’s the solution to spending less on native mobile app building and also maintenance. You don’t have to worry about maintaining two apps and changes of operating systems with PWAs. Lumavate has a helpful resource to find your mobile champion to better understand if your next app should be native mobile app, mobile website, or PWA.