A comprehensive guide to React Native App Development

We see rapid changes in the modern-day business world. To cope up with the changes, companies now need comprehensive frameworks that cover multiple platforms. In addition to this, the frameworks should be fast and accurate as well.

If you think that it is unreal to have a fast, accurate framework that works on multiple platforms, you are wrong. React Native app development framework, which is the innovation of Facebook, has made app development easier, faster, and more prominent.

Businesses before considered that there is nothing better than JavaScript to build an app. Facebook broke that barrier with React Native. Thus, it is advised to hire React Native developers as they will help in building apps across the Android and iOS platforms without any hassle.

Therefore, in this article, we will show you the key things that make React Native different from other app development frameworks. Moreover, we would also take a deeper look at its advantages and why market leaders prefer React Native framework for their app development.

Key things that make React Native different

React Native app development has specific USPs which keep it in a ‘League of its Own’. As a result, companies that use React Native for Mobile app development remain miles ahead of its peers in this era of cut-throat competition.

For your benefit, we have listed a few things that make React Native app development different:

Flexible approach

React Native has an interface that allows various members of the development team to work in tandem. Through the interface, the React Native developers can begin their work from where they have left. As the React Native app developers can resume from where they have left, the upgrading and updating process of the React Native mobile app becomes more effortless.

In addition to this, the app testers also find the flexible approach of React Native technology easier as it helps them work with the developers in tandem.

Cost-efficient

React Native app development works consistently well on both the leading mobile OS platforms namely iOS and Android. Therefore, businesses can get mobile apps built for two platforms at once. Apart from being cost-efficient, this cross-platform app development framework helps in reducing the time to market for the app.

Even after the launch of the app, its maintenance and upgrade can be done on both platforms at once. Since the updates are done simultaneously, it will save a fortune in future costs for the business.

Greater market penetration

Since React Native seamlessly allows to develop mobile apps for both Android and iOS, it increases the business horizon of the company. With cross-platform app development with React Native, the company can increase its userbase and thus have deeper market penetration.

Moreover, it will also allow the company to redesign their market strategy and features of the app according to the likes of the targeted audience. Thus, your business will be a step ahead of your competitors all the time.

Why should you prefer React Native app development?

When it comes to performance, nothing can beat the Native apps. But the shortcoming of Native app development is that it is very costly and very time-consuming. The dedicated developers have to build two different apps for Android and iOS that increase the development time of the product.

On the other hand, successfully developed cross platform apps can work on different platforms, but in some cases have limited functionalities. In addition, there are also chances of the apps performing inconsistently on the different platforms.

React Native framework works well for the business organization if they are bootstrapped and have limited time to develop an application. React Native apps’ performance is as good as the Native apps. Moreover, with React Native, the best mobile app developers can build apps for different platforms which work consistently.

The React Native app developers can use the same building blocks of both Android and iOS to work just like a native app. With JavaScript, the codebase of the React Native app development is very fast and cost-effective.

Benefits of choosing React Native platform for app development

There are certain advantages of using React Native framework for the application development process. Along with being fast and highly cost-effective, it focuses on building feature-rich mobile applications. We have listed some of the significant benefits of React Native application development below:

Open-source platform

Since React Native is an open-source platform, there is no vendor lock-in here. This means that if the dedicated React Native app developers wish to shift the app to a different platform, they do not have to start the development process from scratch. The application can be easily brought in from React Native platform and then moved into the Android Studio or Xcode.

Moreover, the experienced React Native app developers can continue to work from where they left in the previous framework. Therefore, the usage of React Native here plays a big role in the development of the top mobile applications.

Superlative performance

As mentioned earlier, React Native apps are at par with the Native apps when it comes to performance. Be it on an Android or an iOS platform, the React Native apps never lose their consistency and give better results every time.

As the programming language of the framework is optimized for mobile devices, the React Native apps here are also very fast. The reason behind this is React Native apps use GPU instead of CPU for primary purposes. GPU makes the React Native applications work fast more than the hybrid technologies.

Hot-reload for real-time checking

Hot-reloading will allow the skilled React Native app developers to check the changes in real-time. They can check it in another window. The window will show the preview of the changes at the same time.

Moreover, with hot-reloading, the dedicated React Native application developers can get real-time feedback as well. This will help them to upgrade the app and take care of the loopholes (if any) in the application.

The instant checking of changes will help in saving lots of time as the professional React Native app developer that you hire doesn’t need to go back and forth every time. In addition, as the changes are done instantly, it will reduce the app development time as well.

Over the top updates

Over-the-air updates are one of the important features of React Native development services. With the help of React Native, the best app developers can create necessary improvements and updates for the users to enhance their user experience (UX).

The hired React Native app developers can then apply the over-the-air updates that are administrated even by the application users. The updates can be administered while using the app.

With Over-the-top updates, whenever the user opens the app for the next time, the updates will be already prepared for them. Therefore, the user doesn’t have to wait for the completion of the update to do their work on the React Native application.

In addition, there is no need to manually update the app through the app stores that are approved by Android or iOS.

After understanding the technicalities, we will now look at the impact React Native has on the business world. A plethora of organizations are using React Native development services as it has high potentials in the market.

Code Reusability

Code Reusability makes the app development faster and reduces its overall complexity. With React Native, the developers can reuse almost 90% of the codes between iOS and Android. In addition, if the business organization has its website written in React Native, the same codes can be reused in the development process of the mobile application as well.

Greater Community Support

In a nutshell, React Native is a community-driven technology. The cross-platform app development framework renders a platform to the React Native developers to help each other in case of any difficulties.

With a larger developers’ community, React Native adds fuel to the development process as it becomes easier for developers to collaborate with others and level up the app development. Also, the expert React Native developers can share their work on Facebook’s forum, Github, etc.

Responsive User Interface

A simple user interface plays a pivotal role in enhancing the overall user-retention rate and React Native is impeccable in this aspect. In the modern-day app development process, having a sequential flow of actions is essential.

As React Native has a simplified UI, it becomes easier for the developers to create a sequential order. Moreover, responsive design helps in curtailing the overall loading time as well. This is the reason why many leading enterprises across the globe use React Native for their application development.

Ready-made solutions and Libraries

Ready-made libraries are vital in simplifying the mobile app development process. With React Native, the developers can avail the benefits of the ready-made solutions as they are available for free.

There are different testing tools such as Mocha and Chai that assist the React Native programmers to create bug-free codes and improve their overall productivity. Besides, there is a ready-made library named Redux that assists in state management during the code development process.

Increased application stability

React Native app development simplifies the data binding process and gives stability and reliability to the app. With profound data binding, the changes made in the child component are not reflected in the parent component. Because of this, the parent components remain secured making the app more dependable.

Modular Architecture

With Modular Architecture, it becomes easier for the sophisticated React Native developers to exchange each other’s projects when needed. Thus, it helps in easing the app development procedure and improves team collaboration as well.

Modular Architecture in React Native allows the developers to reuse the codes and streamlines the app upgrade process. This is the reason why React Native app development has created its own name in the realm of hybrid app development.

Leading organizations using React Native

React Native app has been beneficial for businesses irrespective of their genre or their physical location. Due to this quality, many world’s leading organizations use React Native framework for their application development. Some of the leading firms that have used React Native app development extensively are:

• Myntra
• Pinterest
• KFC
• Wix
• UberEats
• Airbnb

One thing is clear that the application of React Native technology is not confined to a particular industry or type of business. As we can see from the list of leading business organizations itself, React Native helps organizations from different walks of the industry and helps them to excel in their respective genre.

We have curated a list of some famous brands that have built their business solutions using React Native and have put them on the path to better profits, let’s have a look at them;

Facebook (Now Meta)

React Native is the brainchild of Facebook. It was first created in one of its hackathon projects. Moreover, React Native in its nascent stage was designed by keeping only the iOS platform in mind. With time and iOS app development, the horizon of React Native was extended for Android app development.

There has been multi-layer testing to check the effectiveness of React Native at Facebook. The dedicated development team converted the event dashboard on Facebook on iOS to check the credibility of the app development framework.

After the experiment, the results were immaculate. The performance of the iOS app increased by leaps and bounds. In addition, the Event dashboards also began to start twice as fast as they were doing before using React Native framework.

Walmart

Walmart always had a vision of becoming the world’s largest online retailer. But with the inception of other leaders like Amazon and a boom in the online industry, the business organization decided to revamp its strategy.

Walmart revised its mobile app and built it using React Native. The primary goal behind this change was that they wanted to improve their customer experience. But, besides increasing the customer experience, Walmart inc. also managed to improve their mobile app’s overall performance using React Native app development process.

As the app started working ever so smoothly without any hiccups, the customer experience was bound to increase.

Instagram

The Facebook-owned photo and video sharing platform is one of the leading social media platforms worldwide. But, it was a big challenge for Instagram, too, when they wanted to change their already successful app development framework and move to React Native.

The bold change brought excellent results for the organization as it helped them include more features in the app. Also, they ran smoothly with loaded features on both iOS and Android mobile OS platforms.

But the transition from one technology to another was not done instantly. They began an experiment with their application by implementing the React Native app development framework in the Push notification view first. As the move-in Push notification was highly appreciated, the company later implemented React Native for the entire web app platform.

Skype

Microsoft-owned Skype is one of the world’s leading corporate and social communication tools. With a view of making the app more streamlined, Microsoft implemented React Native framework and the results are for everyone to see.

Not only has it made the app faster, but it has also made it accessible across different platforms and different devices as well. The communication tool has become more user-friendly, which has led to an immense increase in its popularity as well.

How to build an app using React Native app development?

In order to develop a mobile app using React Native framework, you need to follow specific steps. Businesses should understand that the horizon of cross-platform app development is constantly rising. Thus, it is imperative to develop a synchronized and consistent custom React Native mobile app to work on different mobile OS platforms.

Below are a few steps that will help you develop a path-breaking custom mobile app using React Native.

Validate your idea

Researching your app idea before developing an app is a must. Therefore, you need to be sure about the functionality and the implementation of the app before beginning the app development lifecycle. This will help you to find whether you actually need React Native framework for your app development project or not.

You can begin the process to validate your app idea by going through the basics. For example, create a checklist with all the core functionalities of your app features, and other services. This will enable you to understand what kind of app development framework is actually needed for your app. Once you have specifics with what you want, you can then begin the development procedure.

Moreover, during the mobile application development process, you can always make some changes according to the app requirements and maintain the core functionalities intact.

Wireframe, Prototype, and Mockup

The first thing you need to make sure of during the development process of your app is to know the difference between wireframe, mockup, and prototyping. These three are different phases in the application creation process.

Wireframe: It is a basic sketch or an outline that will give you an idea about how the app will look in general.

Prototype: It will allow the application users to do the different functions on the app, like pressing a button and using other features.

Mockup: It is nothing but colorful and animated features together that increases the aesthetics of the app.

Thus, after understanding their difference, the businesses need to make sure that they spend adequate money only according to the project requirement. Moreover, this process will make you learn more and make the picture clear for you about what you should expect from the market.

Why Wireframing is Important in App Development?

Concrete market analysis

In-depth market analysis is crucial for business houses to stay ahead of their peers. Astute market analysis will allow them to understand the latest market trends and what kind of technologies are doing well. Thus, it will allow organizations to correctly use React Native app development and reinvent the product according to the needs of the target audience.

With concrete market analysis, it will become easier for business firms to see what their competitors are doing. By analyzing the methods of the competitors, organizations can know where they have the upper hand and what are areas that need improvement.

Moreover, businesses can also have a clear idea about what features they would in their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) as profound analysis will also make them understand the needs of the target audience clearly.

Required essential directories for the React Native app development project

The businesses need to define the directories which are essential for the projects.

Node_Module: This is the main folder that contains all the files and essential dependencies of the project. All the packages in this folder are important to run the project.

App.js: This is the entry point in React Native app development that actually the first file. Whatever codes that are written by the React Native developer are written in this file. After this, the codes are directly reflected on the mobile device.

Index.js: This file is the entry point that triggers the mobile application on a simulator or on a device.

Package.json: In this folder, you will find the entire list of all the dependencies that are installed for the app development project.

Android: In this file, all the Android-related codes lie. These codes are used to bootstrap the application for Android devices.

iOS: This folder contains the Xcode and another set of codes. These codes are used to bootstrap the mobile application for iOS devices.

Plan according to your budget

Whatever mobile app framework you wish to opt for the app development project, it has to be within your budget. But in the case of React Native app development, there is some respite for the businesses.

If you have a team of in-house front-end developers and decide to build an app using React Native development framework, they can build a full-equipped app. Thus, React Native app development can be done even if you have a bootstrapped budget.

Hire dedicated React Native developers worth their salt

Understanding how to hire the best React Native app developers is a vital aspect. Moreover, if the React Native developers are not hired according to the requirement of the app development project, you will not get the desired results.

Therefore, make sure that the team of hired React Native developers is worth their salt. Moreover, they must have prior work experience in rendering their services by developing apps for different industries like:

• Entertainment
• Photography and design
• Information technology
• Healthcare
• Business and services
• Automobile
• Social media and communication

In-depth experience in different industries makes the developer aware of the ongoing and upcoming trends in the market. Thus, with this knowledge, they can mold their work process and develop a path-breaking app.

Launching of the React Native app

While launching your app developed with React Native framework on either the App Store of Apple or on the Play store of Google, you need to keep in mind two very important things:

Publishing of the app

Make sure that the publishing process is straightforward and in order. Because Google Play Store is relatively relaxed in allowing mobile app publishing as compared to Apple App Store.

Legal matters

You need to clearly define the privacy policy of the application before launching it. Because, if this process is not done correctly, it can prove hazardous for the overall reputation of the app.

Customer Feedback

Look for obtaining authentic customer feedback about the performance and features of your app as soon as possible. The earlier you get the customer feedback, the earlier you can make the required changes in the app. This will save you from losing a user base if the app is not according to the target audience.

Getting the required feedback from the customer in the initial phase will also make the businesses realize the actual worth of their app. Therefore, they can quickly work on making the adjustment and take care of all the loopholes.

App promotion

In today’s digitally driven world, ‘out of sight means out of mind’. Due to the proliferation of technology, modern-day customers have a plethora of options for everything. Thus, the business organization needs to understand this and do optimal promotion of the app.

Advertise the hard work that has been put into the development of the mobile app. Moreover, use proper social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc., to make sure that the app reaches the right audience. In addition to this, blog about your app and answer questions on Reddit and Quora.

Make short videos about the features and the core functionalities of the app. You can highlight the ‘eye-catching’ features in the video as well. This will enable the users to understand the USP of your app and increase your business.

Summarizing the effectiveness of React Native App Development

React Native app development makes the process of mobile app development relatively simple and faster. But it is essential to hire the best React Native experts to leverage the full benefits of the framework.

Before beginning the app development process, you should understand the nuances of the framework and see if it is really worthwhile for your project. Make sure to conduct proper testing of the app before launching it into the Google Play Store or on the Apple Store.