Firebase is a backend as a service (BaaS) mobile and web app development platform from Google. Firebase is recommended by users for its massive 16 well-tested features set. Its flexibility allows developers to choose which feature interests them without necessarily paying for a complete package. Firebase also offers push notifications, Google Analytics, dynamic links, invites, cloud firebase messaging, AdMob, Adwords, firebase hosting.
Developers have the option of skipping server-side programming, although Firebase has a powerful suite of cloud functions that can expand functionality using server-side code. As the developer, you don’t have to write a subscription-based backend since the Backend as a Service platform provides it for you. Firebase console provides a good environment for developers to build dynamic and scalable mobile apps fast. It focuses on creating and managing infrastructure.
One of Firebase strong points is developing Mobile apps. There is firebase android apps, firebase IOS apps, plus other mobile device platforms. It cuts across all platforms and it is optimized for real-time apps. It is also scalable allowing the number of users can grow very quickly without any noticeable effect on performance. On prototyping, Firebase excels where developers can re-create a custom stack for each mobile app. Developers can begin generating revenue up to four times faster, by focusing on building their front end, compared to non-BaaS methods.
Additionally, a mobile developer without backend experience could conceivably test a new idea without involving a full-time backend expert. The method is much slower than traditional app development since one person would be doing all the work. Financially speaking, inexpensive projects are a perfect fit for Firebase. This is because large up-front investment related to backend development is broken into more manageable subscription payments. We all know that shorter app development leads to lower labor costs. Reason being a skilled programmer’s time greatly affects the cost of any development initiative.
The real-time database can easily sync the data across multiple platforms. If you want to develop real-time applications such as Live Cricket match scores or Football match scores, Firebase real-time database is the solution for you.
Predictions
Firebase app has recently introduced Predictions feature, which helps you understand the growth of the application. Predictions are created based on the conversion events. It can tell you how many users will or will not leave the app. A segment of users can be created based on these predictions. This will intern help you to retain users who are about to leave the app by offering incentives.
Firebase Dashboard
Firebase dashboard gives a deeper insight into a user’s behavior and it is really amazing. This is another important factor to consider for analytical purposes. The dashboard allows you to access the number of people who opened the application on a particular day or during an interval, average engagement time per users, which screens were viewed, demographics of users and so on. All these features can be accessed via Google Analytics integration into your application. You can also access firebase documentation on the dashboard.
Push Notifications
You can engage users in various activities by using push notifications in mobile applications. Users can be notified about a new update of your app or you can ask them to fill a survey form, etc. Firebase has a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) which is the new version of GCM. It has additional functionality which allows you to send push notifications to all the users or a segment of users from your firebase console. The performances of your ads are managed through the console without any extra cost.
Firebase Pricing
Firebase is a very cost-effective platform. Its charges are based on your usage or you can decide to pick particular resources and pay for them at a fixed price. Firebase provides three simple pricing plans i.e. Free, Flame, and Blaze.
Free Plan:
The free plan allows users to store up to 1GB data in real-time database and users can download up to 10GB data per month on their devices. For developing application this limit cannot be crossed which is no issue since you are not paying anything for it. The Free plan, only allows 100 users to access the database concurrently. Going above that number causes problems accessing data.
Flame Plan:
This plan costs $25 per month and allows you a fixed set of resources. It provides 2.5GB storage data in the real-time database and 20 GB data can be downloaded by users per month. The plan also allows 100K concurrent connections at a time. According to Firebase, this plan allows you to store approximately 50 million messages and users can exchange up to 400 million messages per month.
Blaze Plan:
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Using blaze plan means that you only pay as per your usage. For Attendance Tracker, we need only the real-time database. If we go for blaze plan for Attendance Tracker, according to our estimates, we will never have to pay more than $5-$10 per month to Firebase.
Pros
Firebase has a centralized authentication system that gives simple methods for authenticating the users. Firebase has provided easy APIs and direct methods for authenticating users from Mobile apps and Web apps. Firebase authentication can be done using the Mobile Number, Email Address, Google account, Twitter account, Facebook account, and a GitHub account.
Cons
One major setback of Firebase is that it only handles a certain level of complexity. Integrating with third-party services requires adding a server code. You also need to create your own API to integrate your app with Firebase. For large amounts of structured data, Firebase is not the best solution. It is not HIPAA compliant ad it doesn’t easily support transactions. Being a subscription service, Firebase is subjected you to potential problems such as closure, company changes or, fluctuating prices, disruptions to uptime, etc. Firebase is a Google project and closure shouldn’t be an issue. The only big problem is the notable periods of downtime in the recent past. Migrating to other services can be a difficult experience.
Conclusion
Firebase is effective on its area of focus. Many will criticize this platform outside its jurisdiction due to less understanding on how the platform operates. There are few tools that match Firebase for rapid prototyping and deployment, now that Parse Server is out of the picture. If you need highly experienced backend tool to help you with your mobile up, then Firebase is the best choice for you. You can also look for other Firebase review to make an informed buying decision.
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