Mobile App Backend Development: A Concise Guide

Have you noticed that when the driver takes a wrong turn in the Uber app, the app reconfigures and suggests an alternative route? How does that happen? 

The remote servers receive the route data, process it, and return an updated map. The mobile app’s back end does all this, ensuring the app responds to user inputs in real time. 

The backend powers every feature and element of the front end. Your app may attract users due to its stunning UI and UX, but it won’t stay long unless your backend supports it well.

Research shows that 53% of users will abandon an app that doesn’t load within 2 seconds. Slow response times and other usability issues cause bad UX results from a weak backend. Therefore, backend development will define the success of your app. 

Continue reading about mobile app backend development, including its different types, the technology stack involved, and the development process. 

What is Mobile App Backend?

The backend for the mobile app 

• Stores and processes data, 
• Secures the application and its data, 
• Integrates APIs to sync and share data across multiple platforms, 
• Lets you update content on devices, and 
• Implements business logic using servers, middleware, and databases. 

It acts as a bridge between the users and the application interface, enabling efficient communication.

Front End Development Vs. Backend Development

If frontend development is the body of the application, mobile backend development is the soul. Frontend and backend development are often considered a part of a single process that follows the mobile app design process, and while they’re closely connected, they’re quite different.

How Does a Mobile Backend Work?

While a user interacts with the application with the front end, the back end powers it. Therefore, there must be seamless two-way communication between the app’s front and back end. APIs provide this two-way communication for synchronization. When the user interacts with the application, the front end sends a request to the back end. The backend understands the user request and facilitates data retrieval and functioning, returning with the final output.

So, imagine ordering your meals via a food delivery application. Press the ‘Order Now’ button, and the backend processes it and prompts further for the payment. 

Then, the front end prompts for payment options like credit cards or digital wallets while the back end processes your payment securely. After a successful transaction, the back end confirms your order and displays delivery updates via the front end.  

What Types of Apps Require and Don’t Require Backend Development?

Now that you know what a mobile app backend is and how it works, you might wonder if all applications require backend solutions. 

Our Answer: Not every application works with a backend, but most modern-day applications do. 

To help you get a clear picture, we’ve summarized some common types of applications that work with and without a backend.

Netflix is the most common mobile application that requires a backend. Without a backend, there are no content recommendations, account management, or access sharing.

Not all applications require advanced features and functionalities. Some have simple processes and limited feature sets, eliminating the need for a backend. The most common types of applications that don’t require a mobile app backend are built-in apps.

What Types of Mobile App Backends Are There?

At Anglara, we’re dedicated to meeting your use case and business requirements. We have unique development types for every client, ranging from custom backend solutions to a hybrid mix of software as a solution (SaaS), Mobile Backend-as-a-Service (MBaas), and custom development. 

We’ve illustrated the most widely used mobile backend solutions to help you choose the right type for your mobile app backend development. 

Third-party SaaS Solutions

Some platforms let you connect your application’s front end with their back end, charging a subscription fee. Instead of developing and maintaining the backend, companies can use this plug-and-play solution for their apps.

Mobile Backend-as-a-Service (MBaaS) Solutions

MBaaS allows you to integrate pre-developed components for complex features with your backend, saving time and reducing development costs. You can even have custom code blocks to accommodate advanced requirements like user authentication and registration outside the pre-built libraries.

Some popular MBaaS solutions for developing mobile backends are Firebase and Superbase.

Using MBaaS solutions also incurs a monthly fee for resource utilization based on the number of users, notifications sent, traffic volume, etc.

Custom Mobile App Backend Solution 

A custom mobile app backend solution builds the app from scratch, developing custom features for your unique needs. This independence from third-party servers for data storage leads to better performance and stronger security measures for the app. 

Custom backend solutions require a dedicated backend development team to manage and build the servers. Hence, they are more expensive than the other two solutions discussed above. 

Mobile App Backend Development Technology Stack 

Choosing the right technology stack is the foundational mobile app backend development step. Understanding the technology stacks that backend developers work with is essential to ensuring scalability and managing your finances well. 

Here are some of the widely preferred technology stacks in backend mobile app development:

Programming Language

What it is: A coding tool powering the backend’s server-side infrastructure and application logic.

What it does: It integrates third-party services, user authentication, notification handling, and API building. 

A mobile backend developer prefers several programming languages; we’ve summarized some of the commonly used languages in the following table:

Database Management System (DBMS)

What it is: It allows easy organization and manipulation of large data sets with an interface for data interaction. 

What it does: Effective storing, retrieval, management, security, and data scaling.

DBMS provides consistency in the backend through recovery and transaction history, ultimately leading to data integrity. Mobile backend developer uses various DBMS, including: 

Web Framework 

What it is: It offers a structured environment, pre-defined templates, and built-in functionalities for backend mobile development. 

What it does: Routing simplification, database integration, middleware support, and data request handling. 

Here are the most commonly used web frameworks: 

API Development 

What it is: It defines a set of protocols, routines, and tools for the front end to communicate with the back end.

What it does: Data exchange, functionality access, building modern-app architecture, and integration standardization. 

A mobile backend developer often proceeds with web frameworks for API development, utilizing the above-illustrated web frameworks technology.  

Server

What it is: A specialized software system providing resources, data, programs, and services to client devices on the network. 

What it does: Host applications, store data, handle client requests, and manage network traffic. 

The backend server for mobile apps depends on the application’s specific needs, including performance, scalability, and ease of development. Apache and Nginx are the traditional servers of app backend development, while Node.js and Express.js are lightweight servers for minimum resource utilization.

Cloud Services 

What it is: A cloud backend for mobile apps is an online solution for managing the resources of servers, databases, networks, software, and analytics.

What it does: Global accessibility, automated backup and recovery, and resource scalability and reliability.

We’ve summarized the offerings and benefits of the big three cloud service giants in the following table:

Version Control 

What it is: A system that tracks and manages revisions to the source code or development files in real-time. 

What it does: Track history, branch and merge code, review code, and allow development collaboration.

A mobile backend developer employs VCS tools such as GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket for documentation, knowledge sharing, and productive collaborations. 

Steps in Mobile App Backend Development

Building a strong mobile app backend requires a proper development plan and strategy. We’ve illustrated the steps involved in developing your mobile app backend:

• Define requirements: Define the features and functionalities requirements by understanding how backend supports user interactions, data management, and business logic. Don’t just think about what the app will do, but how it will do it. 

• Choose a tech stack: The development team will divide your backend into databases, APIs, authentication, server-side logic, and real-time communication. Based on your app’s nature and business objectives, they’ll recommend the best technologies to suit your project’s goals and requirements.

• Set up a development environment: Download all the required tools, libraries, and frameworks and implement version control for development transparency. 

• Create the server: Conduct an in-depth analysis to determine the app’s performance and scalability requirements and find the right, traditional or lightweight server.

• Implement authentication and authorization: Implement secure authentication methods for user identification, authorization to control user-based access, and configure cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) for a secured client-server interaction via allowed domains. 

• Build API endpoints: Conduct rigid testing procedures to ensure the defined endpoints maintain synchronization between the front and back end.

• Implement business logic: Implement algorithms, computations, and server-side programming to ensure your application functions properly and delivers the right outcomes to end users.

• Handle file storage: If your application demands large files such as images or videos, it must have a strong file handling system. We suggest integrating cloud services to handle and upload files directly on your backend server. 

• Set up logging and monitoring: Implement logging and monitoring tools to record events and errors, track the performance and health of the mobile app backend, and recognize critical alerts.

• Testing: Conduct rigorous testing of the mobile app’s back end with unit, integration, and end-to-end tests to ensure the code’s reliability and correctness and eliminate glitches and security leaks.

• Documentation: We suggest having comprehensive documentation to help other developers understand and work with the code. This will allow easy collaborations with well-structured information about the backend, APIs, and database schema.

• Deploy to production: Use hosting solutions such as cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or dedicated servers to set up both production and staging environments and proceed to deploy the mobile app backend development code.

• Monitor and optimize: Use real-time monitoring and analysis to track the backend’s performance, allowing infrastructure scaling, database organization, and fault addressing. 

Conclusion 

Mobile app backend development cannot be neglected. If you’re hoping to build an app that performs well and scales with your company’s growth and success, it needs to be done right. 

With the right technology stack and an experienced developers’ team, you can align your app and business goals by integrating innovative features and ultimately driving user retention and engagement over time. 

At Anglara, we’re dedicated to turning your vision into reality with our comprehensive end-to-end mobile app design and backend development services. Our team will guide you through each phase with expertise and precision, whether at the initial concept stage or ready to build on an existing platform. Fill out our consultation form to discuss how our services can help your business deliver a memorable experience to its customers.