5 Flutter Tips for Insane Productivity

Flutter is a cross-platform software development tool kit that creates applications on multiple platforms using a single codebase. Companies use Flutter to save time and reduce the costs of hiring developers to work on different platforms. 

As many companies leverage Flutter developments to deploy their benefits, our dedicated Flutter developer can help you get the best results. This article will present our top 5 Flutter tips for insane productivity and better workflow. 

What is Flutter App Development? 

Flutter is an open-source software development kit (SDK) that enables cross-platform mobile app development in different platforms (Windows, Android, iOS, or web browsers) from a single codebase rather than coding each platform separately. 

It includes ready-to-use widgets, prompts, commands, testing, and integrating APIs to accelerate app development. It is almost indistinguishable from native apps and disrupts general cross-platform concerns like performance, poor design, and security. 

With over 1000 apps launched every day, Flutter aided in the development of many modern apps, including Google Ads, Google Assistant, Xianyu by Alibaba, eBay motors, etc. 

5 Benefits of Flutter App Development 

Statista claims 42% of developers prefer Flutter as the most popular choice for cross-platform frameworks. 

1. SAME UI ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS: Flutter’s rendering method eliminates UI inconsistency and enables the same interface across all platforms. 

2. FAST DELIVERY TO MARKET: The hot reload feature of Flutter facilitates faster coding and eliminates the process of reloading the app after every code alteration. 

3. COST-EFFECTIVENESS: Optimizing cross-platform development reduces the cost spent on individual platforms, human resources, and time spent over them. 

4. CUSTOMIZATION: Flutter allows customizable widgets by combining many ready-to-use, pre-built widgets to get the desirable interface. 

5. SIMILARITY TO NATIVE APP PERFORMANCE: Flutter's reduced app size and pre-built widgets enhance its performance and efficiency. 

5 Practical Flutter Tips to Boost Your Productivity 

1. Establish Clean Architecture and Document the Internal 

As a developer, have you ever written codes, but, 

• Was it difficult to grasp because its objective or purpose was unclear? 
• Was it built ok but riddled with logical errors? 
• Was it logic muddled? 
• Was it difficult to debug? 
• Was it painful to test? 

If ‘yes,’ then, Clean Architecture can be the solution to clear these development issues. 

It divides the application into layers to allow scalability, readability, manageability, and testability at any point in development. Along with thorough internal architectural documentation, it will eliminate confusion and improve clarity among team members. 

Clean architecture layers include, 

• Data and platform layer (outermost) - Data source, external interfaces, UI, etc. 
• Presentation layer (intermediate) - Repository, gateways, controllers, etc. 
• Domain layer (innermost) - Entities, use cases, etc. 

NOTE: Each layer is dependent on another. However, the level of dependency varies depending on the proximity to one another. For instance, UI is dependent on repositories but stays separated from entities. 

2. Separate Business and UI Logic 

It is impossible to keep your widgets clean if you don’t do this separation! 

Decoupling business and UI logic is a must. Separating these two at the coding level is vital to establish a clear separation of concerns (SoC). 

Why separate business and UI logic? 

• Avoid dependencies 
• Declutter the code architecture 
• Faster implementation of new features 
• Improve understandability, testability, and manageability. 

3. Always Follow the S.O.L.I.D Principles 

Clean architecture is essential for good code, but S.O.L.I.D principles provide a strong foundation for that practice! 

The S.O.L.I.D principles remain the best practice despite computer advancements over the past 20 years since its inception. It reduces dependencies so that modifications in one part of the software do not affect another. 

TIP: Avoid making mega widgets doing multiple things. Extract and maintain them separately. One widget must do only one thing. 

4. Use Widgets, Wrappers, and Packages. 

Create standard widgets for common usage! 

Building small and reusable widgets favors customization and composition. It helps the code to be more concise, better performing, and easier to understand. 

Another Flutter tip to increase your productivity is to use lots of wrappers and packages. 

Using wrappers and packages can help in faster software development and quicker user testing. This can borrow time to build your own codes to gain control while the prototype gets tested. 

NOTE: However, always test the packages before you use them. You need to know the compatibility of the packages before you publish them. 

5. Never Use Shared Preferences 

Data is the prime requirement for any mobile application. Despite the option to store in both local and share preferences, we’d suggest using a local database instead of a shared preference. 

Locat database keeps your data safe and in control. Whereas share preference has a higher hacking risk and no mechanism for signaling errors. 

In Summary 

Flutter is the game changer in app development, and these Flutter tips are mere icing on the cake. Hiring dedicated flutter developers to create feature-rich, dynamic, cross-platform applications can help your business capitalize on flutter's market dominance and produce high-efficiency software solutions. 

FAQs: Flutter Development and Tips 

Q. What is the Best Feature of Flutter App Development? 

One of the best features of flutter app development is the hot reload for faster change implementation and app completion. 

Q. Is Flutter Enough for App Development? 

Yes, Flutter provides all the tools, libraries, and UI frameworks to build a complete software application. 

Q. What are the Apps We Can Build Using Flutter? 

It supports android and iOS platforms applications, desktop operating systems, web apps, and embedded devices. 

Q. How Long Does it Take to Make an App Using Flutter? 

The development duration depends on the complexity of the apps (anywhere between 2 months and beyond). 

Q. What are the Disadvantages of Flutter? 

Owning large file sizes, limited third-party libraries, an unfamiliar programming language (Dart), etc., are some of the disadvantages of flutter developments.