Flutter News App
Flutter news app is a great choice for those who want to create the most user-friendly product so your audience could stay up-to-date on any device and wherever they are.
Nowadays 82% of adults prefer to consume news content via digital devices including phones, tablets and computers. At the same time, the most preferred sources for them are news apps or websites, and mobile applications are far ahead of web resources in terms of the number of users.
If you’re looking for a development technology which will allow you to build apps with attractive UI and easy-to-navigate UX, saving up to 40% of your budget — consider Flutter. We at Surf have been developing apps for 12+ years, and having 25+ Flutter projects built we have deeply acknowledged its benefits and drawbacks. And as a Google-certified agency, we’re the first to try the SDK’s updates like the recent News Toolkit, which allows you to create a news app in 6+ weeks.
Key features of the news app
Backed by cutting-edge technologies like Flutter, a news app makes it simple to have updates right at the fingertips. From breaking stories to in-depth analysis—it has it all. We have highlighted the most essential features both for users and publishers.
For readers
- Personalized news feed
A feed based on user preferences helps your audience not drown in endless streams of events and information noise. There are two main ways to implement it: through tagging, like in Flipboard, and shaping the feed using ML based on the reader’s actions on the application, like in Google News.
- Offline reading
Sudden loss of Internet connection is a fairly common story, so this user scenario needs to be addressed as well. If you want to provide your readers with the most comfortable experience with your product, offline access is a must-have.
- Audio version
News app’s purpose is to bring you access to content in formats that work best for you making it easier to stay up-to-date. When developing an application, be sure to include audio version on the feature list so your audience could easily catch up while on-the-go. It ensures more frequent and longer visits to the app. The approach is successfully used by global newspapers and magazines like The Guardian or Financial Times.
- Push notifications
These short messages help win the reader’s attention, which is priceless today, increase user engagement by 88%, and promptly communicate important information. For example, you can create a system of push notifications about breaking news in the world or in the user’s particular region, key events, and so on.
For publishers
- Concise CMS
A Content Management System (CMS) provides publishers with a complete control over the content. Properly designed CMS allows to add stories and upload videos quickly, manage photos and approve comments. It helps easily manage the data by streamlining and simplifying the process of creating content.
- Detailed analytics tables
Advanced analytics can be used to track not only user engagement, but also how stories impact their audience or customers in real time. With a custom analytics tool, you and your team as publishers can track reading habits, identify trends which can boost engagement even further, and keep an eye on any other crucial metrics depending on your needs.
Why choose Flutter for news app
This framework provides news application developers a range of tools needed to develop the product that meets customer expectations and market requirements. You can get an application of any complexity and functionality scope for any available platform, including mobile, web, and desktop, saving up to 40% of your time and money compared to other technologies. We’ve already talked about the general advantages of Flutter over native development and other cross-platform technologies like React Native and Kotlin Multiplatform in our blog. Now let’s go a little deeper and look at the benefits of the SDK for news application development.
- Cross-platform experience
Flutter makes it simple to build apps that are compatible with multiple operating systems, making information accessible from any device. For instance, instead of hiring two native teams for Android and iOS apps and developing separate apps you can partner with one Flutter development team and save a decent part of your initial budget. Find out how our client cut down their expenses by choosing this SDK.
- Easy API usage
If you’re building a news aggregation application, you’ll definitely have to deal with APIs and third-party integrations. Flutter provides for easy integration to ensure that content remains updated and relevant over time and users come back again and again.
- User-friendly UX and native-like UI
Flutter is extremely flexible in terms of interface design. Thanks to the performative Skia graphic engine used for screen rendering, you can forget about freezes and glitches. As for visual design, the SDK comes with complete Material and Cupertino widget libraries out-of-the-box, so your audience can enjoy interaction with an app.
- In-app video streaming
The SDK allows delivering all kinds of content via mobile apps including videos. The SDK provides an improved video player with high download speed, ability to cache and easily navigate videos. Learn more about Flutter video streaming abilities by reading our case study of creating a YouTube-like platform for a large online shows producer.
Summing up
Gone are the days when creating a decent full-fledged application required hiring a large development team, spending months and months on development, and was associated with huge expenses. Flutter solves all these problems and helps you quickly create great apps with all the key features as well as add unique details. With this SDK, your audience gets the application that meets their needs and you save up to 40% of resources as compared to developing native mobile apps.
