Anand Kumar Mishra
7 Mins to Read
Table of content
How to develop a Chat App in Flutter With Firebase?
More than 2 Billion users use online messaging apps every month for different reasons. Although Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and Whatsapp are the leaders in the industry, these numbers make it clear that the messenger app industry is booming. It is the right time to invest and leverage the benefits of this boom.
Messenger apps can indeed significantly accelerate digital business growth. But it is crucial to pick the right technology and framework to ensure success.
Firebase and Flutter are commonly used technologies to build highly-responsive chat apps. Most companies hire a Flutter App Development Company for Chat App Development in Flutter using Firebase.
You are on the right page if you are looking for a Flutter App Development Company.
Before getting into the best practices of developing high-performing Chat Apps, let us focus on what the hype is about. Why is there a surge in demand for Firebase and Flutter?
Why build a Chat app with Flutter and Firebase?
Building a feature-rich and intuitive chat app can be done using various technologies. Flutter and Firebase, however, are worthwhile investments if you want to create a fully functional app like Telegram, WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger. You can create a chat application from scratch using these technologies, depending on the requirements and goals of your company.
You can also make an app that works with the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store. Hire a Flutter app developer who is familiar with Flutter and Firebase for the same.
UI Development
In contrast to native app development for Android and iOS, where the UI is generated using the XML schema and is entirely distinct from the business logic coding, UI creation with Flutter is done entirely in Dart.
Widgets, or more specifically, the widget tree, are the focal point of the Flutter UI. Widgets come in both stateful and stateless varieties. When it comes to stateful ones, it’s critical to emphasize that a build and draw pass is scheduled to be executed on a widget when setState() is used on a specific one that is presently visible (calling it in the function Object() { [native code] } or after it’s disposed results in a runtime error).
Building a chat app with Futter and Firebase
Firebase Authorization
Authenticating Firebase is important in developing a chat app because it ensures data security. It allows you to sign in directly to the app using your username. But how do you set up a Google sign-in?
- Use terminal/CMD or VS code as a streamlined code editor that supports multiple development processes.
- Go to the main dart comments and remove the MyHomePage() stateful widget. After that, create a folder within the library.
- Create a widget like Sign-in inside the Sign-in. Dart to arrange images with specific names. You can use action buttons like appBar, Scaffold, floating, and body here.
- Use a different document file for each screen because appBar will be the same for all of them.
Installing Plugins
It is crucial to include the necessary widgets because you want a Futter chat app that is extremely functional. With this, you may customize your chat application’s functionality to suit your needs and preferences.
Adhering to the guidelines and using the best plugins are two things that are absolutely crucial when integrating widgets.
Some of the best plugins for chat apps are:
- Cloud Firestore Plugin for Flutter
- Google Sign-In
- Firebase Auth for Flutter
- Fluttertoast to display a toast
- Image picker to choose images from the gallery
- Firebase Cloud Storage For Flutter
Layout Creation
It’s time to design the layout of your chat application’s interface. Please keep in mind that your chat program has many screens. As a result, it’s imperative to create a unique set of codes for each screen. Additionally, when creating the displays, your developer must follow the guidelines.
Login Screen Layout
When a client successfully signs in to an application, some basic client information, such as displayName, PhotoUrl, and other items, are covered by the return variable firebaseuser.
The user must determine if they are a new or returning user before proceeding to the login screen, and they accomplish this by submitting a simple server query. You must record it in the database if it’s a brand-new user.
Main Screen Layout
This is the homepage of your chat program, which not only lists every user currently present in the data set but also includes all of their information, including their epithet, bio, and avatar. Make a screen to view all the specific customer information if you need to delve deeper and want to design more fields for the client data.
Setting Screen Layout
This page will help users change their information, such as a symbol, nickname, or portrayal. In the event that the main page has been made in detail, you can also provide changing access to additional fields.
Chat Screen Layout
Currently, clients can send text and image messages to a friend using the chat interface and vice versa. Thus, it means that many topics would be covered on the chat screen.
Given that you must deal with the back press, the root is WillPopScope. In the unlikely event that the sticker or console is visible, you should cover it rather than navigate to the previous screen.
Connecting Flutter And Firebase
Linking the Flutter chat app with Firebase is the last step after designing the layout for your Flutter chat app displays. You’ll need to log into Google Firebase to do this.
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- Create a project, select Project Overview, and type in “Package Name.”
- Download the file google-services.json, and then move it to the root directory of your Android app module.
- In the Project-level build. Gradle, include the dependencies for Google Services, and you’re done.
Conclusion
It is not as simple as it first appears to put these measures into practice. It’s a challenging profession that calls for the required knowledge and abilities. Therefore, always research a company before hiring them to design your Flutter app.
You need to look no further than Apponward Technologies if you’re seeking a reliable business that provides Flutter app development services. The top Flutter app developers we employ are dedicated to providing excellent services.