Make Your No-Code Mobile App Stand Out

Want your mobile app to stand out from the crowd? One way to do it is to make your app capable of being used offline. It's really frustrating when your friendly ISP has a problem and you lose your Internet connection just when you're in the middle of working on something. That's when you really appreciate an app that lets you continue to work even when you're offline.

So how do you build no-code mobile apps that can function offline? Choosing the right development platform is the key. Not all platforms offer offline capability, but there are a few, including the ones listed here:

• Zoho Creator - According to Zoho: "The Zoho Creator mobile app can cache recently accessed Forms, so they're available when a user's device is offline or unable to connect to Zoho Creator. Apart from automatic caching of Forms, the mobile app supports saving of Reports, so that they can be accessed offline. Records submitted during offline state are synced automatically when your device is online.

For iOS devices, the Zoho Creator app must be active, to enable automatic synching of records. For Android devices, automatic synching of records take place when the device comes online, irrespective of the app state. The cached data is refreshed when a user accesses Zoho Creator. All cached data, failed entries, and saved reports will be deleted on logout."

Note: Offline access won't work for any form that contains an integration field, a formula field that includes other fields, or a workflow that triggers actions prior to the form being submitted. If some forms do fail once the user gets back online, the user will be able to see why and make corrections or deletions. Also, remember that reports won't include any entries made after the report was last saved while the user was online.

• AppSheet -  According to AppSheet: "AppSheet apps can be used on a mobile device even when that device is offline and disconnected from the network. This is possible because the information needed to run the app (the app definition, the data, and optionally images and documents) is stored locally on the mobile device."  Note: The app must initially have been launched when the user was online for offline access to work. Also, if the user is running the app in a web browser offline image and document caching won't work. In addition, audio and video files aren't stored locally on the user's device so they won't be available in offline mode.

• Appy Pie - According to Appy Pie: "Appy Pie apps are light, fast and deliver a native app’s user experience. What’s more interesting about them is that they have the capability to provide content to the users in offline mode also."  Since data and content are stored in the user's device the app can allow them to continue working if the network connection fails or has intermittent outages - once a connection is re-established syncing will take place automatically to download any changes in the app.

• TrackVia - Offline capability is available in all apps if you're using one of TrackVia's "Enterprise +" plans.
  

• DronaHQ -  DronaHQ is a fairly expensive platform to use (currently $100 per month, paid annually, for their basic plan), but they have offered offline access in all mobile apps built on their platform since 2017.