There are many reasons to build mobile apps that work offline. People don’t always use their phones somewhere with a reliable internet connection. They may be working underground, travelling through remote areas, or hiking through a forest. Even in a city, poor reception can interrupt an app at the wrong moment.
Custom mobile app development starts with understanding where and how people will use the app.
Whether you’re building a B2B app for your business or have a consumer app idea that requires offline functionality, Brian Kayfitz Development Corporation can help.
What are some example of Offline First Apps?
As a custom mobile app development agency, we’ve built offline-first apps for military use, a mining company, and a consumer fitness business. The use cases were very different however, they all had one thing in comment they had to ensure that app was fully functional when their users were offline.
In mining app, the app was build to digitize observations made by work crew, during their inspections. Therefore eliminating the need for paperwork. The app helped not only streamline the process but also allowed the back office to receive data in a perfect way for them to conduct analysis and get insights faster.
Military app requires the ability to access critical information in not only remote secrete locations but also be reliable when it comes to retrieving data that is captured while the personal is onsite. From inventory management to personal tracking, offline first app was build to help with efficiency at the highest security level.
Fitness App, offline functionality includes recording a route, viewing a downloaded map, and saving activity details. GPS can provide location information without cellular service, although map content must be available on the device to display it offline.
Offline first mobile app development should be considered for companies need to have mobile app functionality in places where wi-fi or cellular network may not be reliable or for tasks that are critical to be performed offline.
What is the difference in architecture between offline-first and traditional mobile apps?
The biggest difference in architecture is its handling of data both reading and writing. In other words, what the user sees and the what is recorded in the back office.
A traditional mobile app often requests information from a cloud API when a user opens a screen or takes an action. If the connection is unavailable, that request can fail. The user might see a loading spinner, an error message, or a screen with missing information.
Saving data can present a similar problem. If you record the data but connection is missing or lost it will not save, therefore it needs to store it on the device regardless of connection. You can transfer this data when connectivity is restored therefore, freeing up space for future expeditions.
When doing architecture it is important to understand what the tool will be used for and how it will be synced to account for edge cases.
What is required when building an offline-first mobile app?
The first step is to define the app’s core functionality. Does it need to display a map, support inventory checks, record soil analysis results, or handle other tasks? Which of those features must work without internet access?
Not every feature needs to be available offline. A field worker might need to complete and save an inspection, while a manager’s reporting dashboard can wait until a connection returns. Some apps are 100% offline, while others may want offline features for a few features of the app, identifying what type of app you are building early on can help save hours of development time fixing the original traditional app architecture.
Some questions that can help with app design and architecture include:
- What information should be downloaded before users go offline?
- How much storage will that information require?
- What features of the app are needed to be offline?
- How will the app show whether information has synced?
How does syncing work when the app reconnects?
When a connection returns, an offline-first app needs to reconcile locally saved changes with the central system. Depending on the requirements, syncing might happen automatically, through a manual action, or through a combination of both. The sync is important part to only only ensure your app is up to date but also to transfer the data back to central database.
Planning your offline-first app
It’s best to plan for offline functionality from the start, as it affects how the app stores data, displays information, syncs updates, and is tested. Understanding where and how people will use the app can help you avoid costly changes down the road.
If you’re looking to develop an offline-first app for your organization or a consumer audience, Brian Kayfitz can help define the requirements and build an app that works where your users need it.