Our Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Use Drupal as a Mobile App Development Tool

Have you ever considered why Drupal isn’t highly used for mobile development as much as web development? Well, we have! A lot of people have been asking us this question, so we thought, let’s write about it.
 

Most people think that Drupal should only be used as a web-based CMS (content management system), however, it is a great tool to use as the backend of a mobile app development project too, if not one of the best platforms to do so out there.
 

Drupal is one of the most used open-source CMS tools. Its basic features include reliable performance, great security, easy content authoring and most importantly, flexibility; which can help you build versatile and structured content that dynamic web experiencers need. While building and managing mobile applications or websites it is incredibly accessible and practical to use mostly because of its customization potential.

Here are our top 5 reasons why you should consider using Drupal for your backend as well:
 

1. Flexible and Easy to Use: Integration is made easy in Drupal 8 core RESTful Web Services module which makes it possible for other apps to read and update info on your site via the Web. REST supports GET/POST/PATCH/DELETE Methods and integrates authentication system automatically which can be applied to modules and resources.
    

   

    

2. Content Capabilities: Drupal allows you to manage useful information and isolate it from the rest. It is a great portal for news and consultants, as it is fully adaptable to your needs, as it allows you to customize the behaviour of a block by creating modules.
    
3. SKD’s and Libraries to Keep you Updated: and these are ready to use, ready for troubleshooting. Things to consider when developing a native RESTful iOS app are caching strategies, using asynchronous methods to download data and then refreshing data as downloads complete, pre-fetching data on application load, and managing network timeout issues. Have a look below at some of the main SKD’s and libraries:
   • Waterwheel Swift - provides classes to natively connect iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS applications to Drupal 7 and 8.
   • Drupal 8 iOS SDK - SDK and sample app to connect native iOS app with D8
   • DrupalCloud - Android library for Drupal Services
   • DrupalGap - An open source mobile application development kit for Drupal websites, with PhoneGap and jQueryMobile.
      
4. Ready to Use Modules: contributed drupal modules that do mean business. Views data export also provides representations in JSON, XML, xHTML microformats, Atom and several others.
    
5. Synchronize All in One: Use one button on the control panel once to sync mobile app and website content.
    

If you are looking for a simple web/application to create a blog or page without any user interface and update it manually using a template then opt for a tool like Wordpress. Drupal on the other hand, will allow you to be a part of the design process, from planning to completion and through to the updating process, it is fully customizable, integratable and even more effective to worldwide markets as the program and its features are multilingual. Once you have your initial plan and idea, the toolsets available from Drupal are indispensable to create a smooth start up progress. New features are constantly being upgraded so you can be sure to be adaptable with your content, features and within changes in the market and business environment in real time.
 

Anyone working within the development industry will tell you that the best way to instruct yourself and keep up to date with the market and business environment for mobile and web application development is through meetups, community groups and conferences, where one can speak to several experts and find a custom solution to your unique problem. One feature that is indispensable when using Drupal is definitely their Community Server as you can search for bugs, fixes, consult and issue and report it to the developers as well as fellow programmers. To top it up you can also inform yourself about upgrades applicable to you, security releases to core and modules, as well as finding helpful shortcuts and easy to write functions and code snippets. Another very helpful feature is being able to update in a cycle that is comfortable for you either manually or automatically this can be fully customizable to keep you notified as often as is needed.
 

All in all, Drupal is incredibly agile, adaptable, practical, and secure. To finalize, please keep in mind that Drupal isn’t just used for either frontend or backend. Drupal is a system used to manage your content within a built templating engine, it should and can be used for both. Do you have any questions, or want to start your Mobile Development project? Read about our projects here and contact us today!