When it comes to building Flutter apps, there’s lots of things that designers can’t control. Sure, they do design the screens and interactions but developers also need to be able to bring some life into the app. Being aware of your options and available tools is one of the things that makes you a great developer. So, let’s get into 9 of my personal favorite Flutter plugins:

1. Skeletons (Shimmer)

Skeletons are animations which show the screen without any data loaded yet. If you’ve ever used YouTube you might have noticed this. When loading, the app shows you grey placeholders for where the videos should be. You can find this Flutter plugin here.

2. Confetti

This Flutter plugin is not for the faint of heart. It’s great to add it after a completed purchase or other activity to reward the user. What this effect does is basically it drops confetti down the screen. You can find instructions on how to do it here. However, you need to be careful with your confetti. Don’t add too many particles or it will slow down your app which is not what you want.

3. Animated Switches

If you have ever used an Apple device, you might remember how their switch buttons look. When you click it, the ball slides to the other side of the button. Well, the rolling switch Flutter plugin makes this even more fun. Instead of sliding to the other side, the ball will roll.

4. Swipe Action

This Flutter plugin enables you to add iOS-like animations. It makes it very easy to make your app more native-feeling. Besides that, the swipe action is actually a very useful functionality and makes it simple for the user to perform certain operations. Learn how to use it here.

5. Stretchy Header

This one is pretty much self-explanatory. It enables you to create the effect of the header stretching down when the user scrolls to the top of the page. Besides being a nice animation, it’s also letting the user know that they have reached the top of the page in an obvious way. Click here to learn how to add it to your app.

6. Stats & Charts

In many apps there’s some data being showcased. This Flutter plugin makes it really easy to create beautiful, animated and eye-catching charts that engage the user’s attention. Here‘s how to use them.

7. Animated Buttons

One of the most fun things for me in apps are buttons. There’s so much you can do with them to make them more enticing and exciting. This Flutter plugin is one of the plugins I use the most. You can add slow animations, colors, texts etc. Click here to use it.

8. Ripple Effect

The ripple effect is when you click a button and its color expands onto the rest of the screen. It’s a great transition way from one screen to another and has been more and more popular lately. You can find instructions on how to use it here.

9. Liquid Swipe

Swiping can be very exciting. One way to do that is using the liquid swipe effect. It makes it seem like the way you use your finger impacts the screen’s color and shape. Very engaging and fun for the user.

Of course, there’s many more Flutter plugins you can use. Those are just my favorites. Don’t be afraid to explore their source code and make your own adjustments to create the most beautiful Flutter apps. If you’re looking for a team of mobile developers to build your mobile app – contact us and let’s get to work!