One of the key benefits of using Drupal as a content management system (CMS) is the flexibility and agility it allows for your content.

I've had the experience of using DrupalGap to take this to the next level, applying the same level of ease to creating mobile apps. 

DrupalGap is an open source application development kit for Drupal websites.

Essentially, it allows developers to create mobile apps which communicate with their Drupal websites.

An intuitive and clean system, it's also perfectly geared up for use with headless Drupal. 

Agile and seamless

One of the advantages of using DrupalGap was the speed and ease with which I could use it to create a mobile app using web tech.

This can be an unseemly process using some of the other tools on the market.

It may seem obvious, but another key advantage was the fact that it talked seamlessly to the Drupal CMS.

This means that content could be reused in population of the mobile app.

It also makes it simpler for content administrators to update content in one place and have it displayed on the website and mobile app.

A smaller learning curve

Some technologies provide a great output at the expense of usability. But with DrupalGap I particularly like the way that 'views' can be used to display content. 

There's also a relatively easy learning curve if you're familiar with Drupal and JavaScript. You can simply jump right in and get creating. 

After using some CSS3 techniques and the GreenSock animation library I was able to create a smooth, native looking application quickly.

Product optimisations

As with any open source project, there are constant improvements and optimisations taking place.

For me, the frustrating part of DrupalGap is that it's tied to the jQuery Mobile library which doesn’t allow much room for customisation.

I found myself having to overwrite jQuery mobile classes to make the app look exactly how I wanted. This could be an area for change and improvement as the product evolves. 

So if you're already using Drupal and are thinking about a mobile app, then DrupalGap's well worth considering. My colleague Simon wrote a blog post recently about when an app is a good idea, so that's worth a look too if you're not sure if an app is the right tool for you or not.

I'll be writing an introductory guide to using DrupalGap in the near future, so stay tuned for that as well.