When deciding between learning mobile app development or web development ?
The things we use on the internet can generally be divided into two categories:
1) Web Applications
2) Mobile Applications
Web Applications:
Let’s start by talking about web applications. Web applications are essentially the websites or web software we access using a computer. Almost everything we browse online is a web application, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Prothom Alo, BD Jobs, etc.
So, what is web development? And what do you need to learn to become a web developer?
Web Development:
Web development is the process of designing, developing, and modifying websites and web applications. The people who do this work are called web developers.
Web developers can be categorized into three types:
Frontend Developer: These developers focus solely on designing the user interface (UI) of the web, meaning they create how the website or web application looks. To become a frontend developer, you need to know HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React.
Backend Developer: These developers use programming languages to turn a website into a functional application and work on the website’s database and server. To become a backend developer, you need to learn a programming language like C++, C#, PHP, Python, or Ruby, along with a database language like MySQL.
Full Stack Developer: Full-stack developers can both design and develop websites. Additionally, there is now CMS (Content Management System) technology for website development, where you can build websites without knowing any programming. Examples include WordPress and Joomla.
It’s worth mentioning that backend development is generally more challenging and time-consuming compared to frontend development. Learning backend technologies also takes longer than learning frontend technologies.
Android Development:
The apps we use on our Android phones are called Android apps, such as TikTok, Likee, WhatsApp, etc. Those who create these apps are called Android developers. The Android system is built on Linux Kernel. Learning Android development is a bit more challenging than web development because mobile devices use different technologies, such as:
Android (Google)
iOS (Apple)
Bada (Samsung)
Blackberry OS (Blackberry)
Windows OS (Microsoft)
Symbian OS (Nokia)
Tizen (Samsung)
However, the two most popular platforms are Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Therefore, a mobile app developer must learn the technologies of both platforms. For Android, you need to learn Java programming language, and for iOS, you need to learn Swift. Nowadays, you can also use Flutter to create apps for multiple platforms with a single codebase.
Comparative Discussion on Web and Android Development:
Android applications are only for the Android platform, while web applications can be used on any device with internet access. Software development is also a part of web development, so the scope of Android development is smaller compared to web development, which has a vast scope.
However, with the increasing use of mobile devices worldwide, the demand for Android development is also growing.
Many large mobile-based businesses have emerged worldwide, such as Uber, Pathao, Foodpanda, etc. These businesses are earning billions globally through just a single mobile app. Hence, the demand for developers in this sector is also increasing. However, if someday a new technology replaces Android or if a new device comes along that doesn’t rely on Android, this sector could face challenges.
On the other hand, web development has always been in demand and will continue to be as long as the internet exists. According to Forbes Magazine, there are approximately 8.9 million mobile apps globally, with nearly 40% of them in China, where Chinese developers dominate the market. There are around 12 million mobile developers worldwide.
In contrast, there are about 23 million web developers globally, and the number of websites is approximately 537 million. This clearly shows how vast this sector is and how great the demand is. The demand for web developers is still much higher than that for app developers, and the number of web developers is greater as well.
Globally, web developers earn an estimated annual salary of $73,000 to $100,000, while app developers earn between $90,000 and $120,000 per year. However, there is a significant difference in salaries between developed countries and this region (South Asia). This is why many of our country’s top developers prefer working with foreign companies over local ones.
I hope this discussion has given you a better understanding of which career path you want to pursue. Choose wisely, and use your time and effort efficiently so that you don’t have any regrets later.
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