How to build your first app in Flutter Framework

Flutter app development is not trending, it is booming. This UI SDK developed by Google has grabbed the attention of the mobile app development community around the globe. Flutter is an open-source framework that focuses on developing cross-platform applications for Android, iOS, Windows, and other mobile OS platforms.

It is a robust UI toolkit that empowers developers to build an amazing user interface for mobile apps. The best feature that makes Flutter the most loved mobile app development framework is that it creates natively compiled apps for the web, smartphone, and other mobile devices through a single codebase.

If you are also going to use Flutter in your project for the first time, today, I will tell you how to build your first app in Flutter. Here, you will know the essential things to start with the Flutter app development.

So why wait then? Let’s dive in

But before you start creating your first mobile application with Flutter, you need to understand two important things —

Software Development Kit (SDK): This is a kit of tools that enables you to create mobile apps. With this kit, you can compile code in native machine code for Android and iOS app development.
UI Library: It is a set of reusable UI elements known as the UI Library of widgets. It allows you to customize the user interface such as buttons, navigation, scroll, sliders, text input, etc. as per your personalized needs.

Is there any mobile app built with Flutter that got hit in the market?

Yes. There are many, such as:

Prerequisites To Flutter App Development

Flutter is an easy-to-go mobile app development framework. Its development speed is comparatively better than other popular frameworks. There are some basic things that you require to start the Flutter app development process.

And what are they?

A good computer system or Mac device to develop and run the Flutter codebase
Install Flutter (Download here)
Android Studio (Download here)
Install plugins for the code editor

Steps To Build Your First App In Flutter

Step #1: Install Flutter and Android Studio

Flutter is a lightweight framework that doesn’t acquire much space in your data storage. You can utilize it in the browser. You will need an integrated IDE environment for developing apps with Flutter. Thus, at first, determine for which mobile OS you are going to create the app. If it is for iOS then you need to download Xcode. And if it is Android, then install Android studio. Here we would focus on Android application development.

You need to start by installing Android Studio for this purpose. Developers use the Flutter UI toolkit for text editor development requirements also. These IDEs offer features for debugging, code completion, and syntax highlighting which are useful for developing the Flutter app.

Step #2: Install the Dart Plugins

Once you have installed the Android Studio and Fleet, it’s time to start your project. As Flutter uses its own programming language called Dart, similar to JavaScript, make sure you hire the best Flutter app developers who hold hands-on experience with Dart programming.

You can download and install the Dart plugin from here.

To start a new project in Flutter, follow this process:

File>New>New Flutter Project

Step #3: Make a Flutter Project

For creating a new Flutter app development project, follow this step —

Flutter application>Start a New Flutter Project>Android Studio

After you select the Flutter application, on the next screen you have to mention the Flutter SDK path with essential project details.

Step #4: Start the Flutter Doctor Command

Open the terminal and include the Flutter Doctor command to set up the development environment. To ensure this command works properly, you will need at least a usable Flutter with one functional IDE. For testing builds on Android, make sure the device you are using is connected via a USB cable and has USB debugging capability.

Sounds too technical? Yes, it is. Therefore, you should hire experienced Flutter app developers who are experts in this domain.

Step #5: Begin Coding Your Flutter Application

It’s time for real action. Start coding your Flutter app. Most Flutter app developers begin with an edit lib/main.dart. It is the place where the Dart code lives. Here, you can substitute or delete all the code. Now, start writing your code.

Step #6: Integrate an External Package

It is important to organize your task to make it discoverable and simple. For this, use an open-source package known as english_words. Most Flutter app development companies use external packages from premium or third-party sources. In this stage, you are writing your code and heading to add the widget to your application.

Step #7: Add Widgets to Your Flutter App

There are mainly two types of widgets: Stateless and stateful widgets. Flutter provides a comprehensive range of widgets that saves a lot of time and effort on your application development. Depending on your use cases and goals, you can use either widget in the app. But, here, I recommend you add a stateful widget because it is immutable and can be regenerated.

Congrats!, You have successfully developed your first mobile app with Flutter. Now you can run the app on Android and iOS platforms to check how it performs.

Final Words

Flutter is a modern UI SDK that comes with the innovative capability to enable developers to build really great apps. But you need professional guidance to make a fully-fledged mobile application with this robust technology. Therefore, you should consult and hire Flutter app developers from India because this country has brilliant developers who master Flutter technology.

About Author

This is a guest post was written by a Flutter developer at MobileCoderz — a professional web and mobile app development company that provides custom Flutter app development solutions for businesses. He works with industry leaders and different technology experts to build business-oriented mobile applications using Flutter technology. Besides his professional life, he spends his leisure time exploring technology trends and reading romantic novels.