6 Tips to Transform Your Flutter Web App’s First Impression

Crafting an exceptional first impression for your Flutter web app involves more than just functional code—it's about engaging and retaining users from the moment they launch your app. This guide provides you with six actionable tips to overhaul your splash screen and transitions, making a remarkable initial impact on users.

1. Splash Screen Color Consistency

Ensure that the splash screen color is cohesive with your Flutter app's theme. By default, the app starts with a blank white screen which can be unappealing, especially if your app's theme is dark. Adjust the background color in the index.html by setting the background-color in the body style to match your app's color palette:

<style>
body {
  background-color: #0a0a0a;
}
</style>

2. Splash Screen with an Image

Enhance the user's experience by displaying an image on the splash screen rather than a plain screen with a basic loading indicator. Implement this by adding an image to the HTML and using CSS to position it centrally within the .main-content class:

<div class="main-content">
  <img src="main-icon.png" alt="My App Logo" />
</div>

The .main-content class should be styled with flex display to ensure the image is centered:

.main-content {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
}

3. Eliminate UI Jump Transition

When transitioning from the HTML loader to the Flutter canvas, remove the unpleasant jump by setting the margin of the body to 0px in index.html:

body {
  margin: 0px;
}

This small tweak enhances the app's feel of quality, contributing to a smoother start.

4. Fade Transition to Flutter Canvas

Transitioning from HTML content to your actual Flutter app should be seamless. The trick lies in setting a fading transition on the .main-content:

.main-content {
  transition: opacity 0.4s ease-out;
}

Accompany this with JavaScript to control the fade effect, ensuring the transition is timed and executes just before the Flutter app kicks in:

loaderContent.style.opacity = "0";
await delay(400);
await appRunner.runApp();

5. Flutter App Smooth Introduction

Make a lasting impression by adding an animated introduction to your Flutter app using the flutter_animate package. Integrated within the MaterialApp widget, a .fadeIn animation with a 400ms duration can significantly enhance user experience.

home: const MyHomePage(),
).animate().fadeIn(duration: 400.ms,);

6. Make Waiting Enjoyable

Decrease perceived waiting time with a stylish CSS loader animation that captivates the user's attention while the app is loading. By using linear-gradient and animation, create a visual effect that rotates, giving the illusion of an active process:

.loader {
  animation: animate 1.2s linear infinite;
}
@keyframes animate {
  0% {
    transform: rotate(0deg);
  }
  100% {
    transform: rotate(360deg);
  }
}

Incorporate multiple blurred rings for added depth and a mesmerizing visual:

.loader span:nth-child(1) {
  filter: blur(5px);
}
.loader span:nth-child(4) {
  filter: blur(50px);
}

Implement these tips correctly, and you'll transform your app's first impression from dull to stunning—providing content that is both visually appealing and user-friendly. Your Flutter web app will no longer just function; it will allure and fascinate from the first interaction.


Tags: #Flutter, #WebAppDevelopment, #UserExperience, #FirstImpression, #SplashScreen

https://filledstacks.com/post/6-tips-to-make-your-flutter-website-feel-premium/

Building a Robust Design System for Flutter Mobile Banking Apps

Design systems have become the cornerstone of consistent and scalable app development. The creation of such a system is not without its hurdles, especially when working with a powerful framework like Flutter—which was the case for the CA24 Mobile banking app by Credit Agricole Bank Polska. From establishing design tokens to ensure consistent font and color usage throughout the app to embracing Flutter's inherent extensibility for widget customization, this article delves into the intricate process of building a cohesive design system for a large-scale Flutter project.

Establishing the Design Tokens

Fonts and Colors

Flutter's flexibility allows developers to define reusable design tokens, such as fonts and color schemes, in a coherent manner. The CA24 Mobile app utilized around 40 colors, all sourced from Figma and validated for brand compliance and contrast. Colors were managed through structures like CAColor and CAColorSchemeData, ensuring readability across light and dark themes, as well as variations between retail and business account themes.

Text Styles and Custom Classes

The design system also prioritized text styles, creating custom classes like CATextStyles with private constructors to manage the application's various typographic elements. This level of customization extended to other design elements such as box shadows, curves, and animation durations, ensuring a uniform appearance across the app.

Leveraging Atomic Design in Flutter

Adopting Brad Frost's Atomic Design methodology, the team at Efigence systematically constructed the UI from the ground up, starting with reusable atoms like icons and progressing to molecules and organisms that form significant, context-rich UI components. Such meticulous crafting of the design system allowed for the creation of easily identifiable and meaningful interface segments, fostering both visual coherence and functional clarity.

Navigating Ambiguity and Decision-Making

During development, ambiguity often led to conflicting interpretations of component functionalities. To avoid confusion and maintain clarity, the team established an Architecture Decision Log, updating specifications and documentation in Figma and code comments immediately after decisions were made.

Future-Proofing Components

Anticipatory design played a crucial role in ensuring the system's longevity. Forethought in design, such as preparing for dark mode implementation before specifications were even finalized, saved considerable time and resources. Additionally, incorporating flexibility into components allowed for adaptability to future changes without extensive refactoring.

Streamlining Navigation and Storybook Usage

Effective navigation within the design system was achieved with the aid of tools like Figma, which simplified locating component definitions and relevant details. Storybook significantly enhanced productivity, allowing for isolated widget development and component exploration, thus speeding up the design process.

Ensuring Effective Communication and Responsibility

Clear communication channels were essential in coordinating the efforts of designers and developers. The use of Markdown documentation and dedicated communication platforms like Teams ensured vital information circulation, while carefully delineated responsibilities within the design squad maintained order and efficiency in the codebase.

Tackling Technical Challenges Head-On

The project encountered various technical challenges, which necessitated careful tool selection. For instance, widgetbook was favored for its advanced features and collaborative capabilities, ultimately enhancing the workflow.

Summary: The Unified Vision

The cohesive creation of CA24 Mobile's design system required extensive coordination, an in-depth understanding of Flutter's capabilities, and a forward-thinking approach. The experience gleaned from this undertaking stands testament to the potential of well-constructed design systems to revolutionize app development in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape.


Overall, constructing a design system for a large Flutter project like the CA24 Mobile banking app involves meticulous planning, clear communication, and a deep understanding of both design and Flutter's capabilities. The end result is a library of reusable, consistent UI elements that can be easily navigated and adjusted for future development needs.

Tags: #Flutter, #DesignSystem, #MobileBankingApp, #AtomicDesign

https://leancode.co/blog/building-a-design-system-in-flutter-app

Top Front End Technologies You Must Know [2023]

Front-end development is the process of creating the visual and interactive part of a website or web application that users can see and interact with directly. It involves using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build the user interface and make it engaging and user-friendly.

As a front-end developer, it is important to stay updated with the latest technologies in the industry. In this article, we will discuss the top front-end technologies that you must know in 2023.

1. React.js

React.js is a popular open-source JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It allows you to create dynamic and interactive applications by breaking down the UI into reusable components. React.js uses a virtual DOM (Document Object Model) for efficient rendering and provides a one-way data flow for better control over the application state. It is widely used by companies like Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix.

Key Features:

  • Component-based architecture
  • Virtual DOM for efficient rendering
  • Unidirectional data flow
  • JSX syntax for easy HTML integration

2. Angular.js

Angular.js is a powerful JavaScript framework for building dynamic web applications. It follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architectural pattern and provides a robust set of tools and features for front-end development. Angular.js is widely used in the industry and has a large community support. It is used by companies like Google, Forbes, and Deutsche Bank.

Key Features:

  • Two-way data binding
  • Browser compatibility
  • Dependency injection
  • Built-in services and directives

3. Vue.js

Vue.js is a progressive JavaScript framework for building user interfaces. It is known for its simplicity and flexibility, making it easier for developers to integrate it into existing projects. Vue.js follows the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) architectural pattern and provides reactive data binding and composable view components. It is used by companies like Nintendo, GitLab, and Behance.

Key Features:

  • Lightweight and adaptable framework
  • Composable view components
  • Reactive data binding
  • Seamless integration with existing projects

4. Flutter

Flutter is an open-source UI framework developed by Google for building native-like mobile and web applications. It uses the Dart programming language and provides a rich set of pre-designed widgets for creating beautiful and responsive user interfaces. Flutter allows developers to write a single codebase that can be deployed on multiple platforms like Android, iOS, and the web. It is used by companies like Google, Alibaba Group, and BMW.

Key Features:

  • Cross-platform development
  • Hot Reload for fast iteration
  • Native-like performance
  • Customizable widgets

5. Bootstrap

Bootstrap is a popular front-end framework for building responsive and mobile-first websites. It provides a collection of CSS and JavaScript components that make it easier to design and customize the user interface. Bootstrap is widely used in the industry and is known for its grid system, responsive design, and extensive library of components. It is used by companies like LinkedIn, Spotify, and Twitter.

Key Features:

  • Responsive grid system
  • Extensive library of components
  • Customizable themes and icons
  • Easy integration with existing projects

6. Ionic

Ionic is a powerful open-source framework for building cross-platform mobile applications using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It provides a set of pre-designed UI components and plugins for creating native-like mobile applications. Ionic can be integrated with popular front-end frameworks like Angular, React, and Vue.js. It is used by companies like Accenture, Diesel, and AppsFlyer.

Key Features:

  • Cross-platform development
  • Pre-designed UI components and plugins
  • Seamless integration with front-end frameworks
  • Ability to create hybrid mobile apps

7. HTML5 Boilerplate

HTML5 Boilerplate is a leading front-end template for building fast, robust, and adaptable web applications. It provides a set of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files that serve as a starting point for web development. HTML5 Boilerplate includes features like responsive design, optimized assets, and support for modern web technologies. It is used by companies like Microsoft, Nike, and Creative Commons.

Key Features:

  • Starting point for web development
  • Responsive design support
  • Optimized assets and codes
  • Support for modern web technologies

8. Npm (Node Package Manager)

Npm (Node Package Manager) is a package manager for Node.js, a JavaScript runtime environment. It allows developers to discover, install, and manage packages and modules for their Node.js applications. Npm has a large repository of over 1.3 million packages, making it an essential tool for front-end development. It is used by companies like Netflix, Uber, and LinkedIn.

Key Features:

  • Discovery and installation of packages
  • Version control for packages
  • Large repository of packages and modules
  • Easy integration with Node.js applications

9. Meteor

Meteor is a full-stack JavaScript framework built on top of Node.js. It provides a streamlined development experience for building real-time web and mobile applications. Meteor allows developers to write both the front-end and back-end of an application using JavaScript, making it easier to build and maintain complex applications. It is used by companies like Honeywell, IKEA, and Mixmax.

Key Features:

  • Full-stack JavaScript development
  • Real-time updates and synchronization
  • Easy integration with front-end frameworks
  • Simplified development and testing process

10. Grunt

Grunt is a JavaScript task runner that automates repetitive tasks in the front-end development workflow. It allows developers to define custom tasks and automate processes like compilation, minification, and testing. Grunt has a large ecosystem of plugins that can be used to extend its functionality. It is used by companies like Twitter, jQuery, and Walmart.

Key Features:

  • Automation of repetitive tasks
  • Customizable tasks and workflows
  • Large ecosystem of plugins
  • Boosts developer productivity

In conclusion, front-end development is an ever-evolving field with new technologies and frameworks constantly emerging. By keeping up with the latest trends and learning these top front-end technologies, you can stay ahead and deliver high-quality user experiences in 2023 and beyond.

Tags: front-end-development, react.js, angular.js, vue.js, flutter, bootstrap, ionic, html5-boilerplate, npm, meteor, grunt