Why you should build mobile applications with React Native

Introduction

In the market looking for the ideal scenario to build the best mobile applications? Then you have come to the right place because deciding to build a mobile app for your business is the first biggest step most companies take. Interestingly, at present, many companies have their own mobile application these days, including start ups and small industries. So if you don’t have a mobile application of your own, it’s time you did. It is one of the ways by which you can stand apart or stand out in the competition. 

Mobile app development has really grown so strong in the past decade, with new features and attributes being added, mobile app developers have become innovative and competitive. Whatever happens, the importance of mobile apps will never go down, in fact they will become the identity by which your clients relate your business with. So it is your business to make it the best product ever. 

Choosing the right software framework for building mobile apps 

It is important to choose the right framework for your mobile application. So if you are looking to develop the perfect app for your customers, here’s what you should do:

Ask the biggest and most relevant question – What is the best framework to build mobile apps? Before you get into that, here is a brief about how to select the right software development framework.

1. Understand the resources you now have, and the scale of the project

Depending on the evaluation of your resources, you might need to consider hiring a new team for the project, or do it in-house. If your team is experienced, they can hit the ground running with any framework of choice. 

2. Building a mobile application for the first time or revamping the existing one?

What is your aim? Is it to build a new mobile application or making updates and adding new features to an existing one? If you are developing an app from scratch, you can use any framework of choice. However, if you are revamping (making changes/updating) an existing one, then obviously, the framework should align itself with the existing code.

3. Ensure the framework supports your platform of choice

Another thing to consider would be the platform and the number of platforms they would be launched on. Not all frameworks support the server you might choose to launch the application. Additionally, you might need to deploy the apps on multiple servers, so that’s a factor to consider as well. 

4. Scalability of the app

Obviously, as your customer base grows, you would want the app to continue giving excellent performance, consistently. It should cater to users’ request per minute ratio, so scalability is an important factor. 

5. The time you need to release the app (time to market)

Some apps take time, and the complexity in developing the app could be time consuming. And takes up a lot of developer time, this must be avoided at all costs. 

Make note: These are just a few pointers you can consider before choosing the right framework for your business. 

There are so many open source frameworks in the market for building mobile apps so which one should you go for? Of course, each one comes with their share of pros and cons, so in this article, we can talk about one of them – React Native.

What is React Native? The Benefits

React Native is the perfect choice for building mobile apps. Why? That’s what we are going to explore further down in the article. 

React Native is an open source UI software framework that would help you build natively-rendered applications for Android, Android TV, iOS, Windows, UWP, Windows, Web and tvOS.  

There are several advantages to using React Native to develop your mobile application, and we will go through them one by one. 

1. Looking for a native feel? React Native is the answer

As a developer, you might want to have that look and feel of a native application, especially when you are developing apps for the Web. This is possible through React Native, thanks to its cross-platform development potential, and the other major area: developer experience. 

2. Developer experience is amazing

It is really very easy for developers to work with React Native. There are plenty of strong developer tools and several meaningful error messages that make it easier for them. Here are some of the simple features that makes the framework easier for developers

  • Intelligent debugging tools and error reporting
  • Quick iteration cycle
  • Just Command+R and you can easily refresh your application 
  • Just use the text editor for JavaScript editing

3. The rendering capabilities are absolutely amazing

You have a React Javascript library to build lightning fast mobile applications. The rendering abilities are also superb, and it is possible to do both simple and complex UX designs. 

4. Easier to find developers

It is easier to find JS developers when compared to  developers with skilled knowledge in Java or Swift. There are plenty of talented people around, and you can easily find the right one. 

5. The Live Reload feature makes it the best option

React Native’s live reload feature allows the developers to work and see the changes in real time. Make changes to the code while the app is loading, and it will be automatically uploaded, and you can see it in real time. It is also possible to choose a particular area of change, thereby saving time on compilation. 

A little something about React Native:

It is Facebook that came up with React Native, just like it made ReactJS. The purpose of building React was to build the social media platform that we all use. The company later released ReactJS as open source. However, the mobile applications that were launched were still not up to the mark, and that had to be improved upon. The apps needed to work seamlessly in two major platforms – iOS and Android. And the company had to develop two separate codebases. So the features that were implemented in Java on Android had to be reworked and implemented separately in Swift. 

The answer to this came in the form of React Native. Now the developers could have a single codebase and the app works perfectly in both iOS and Android. If you have used Facebook on both these platforms, you would know that the ‘seamless working’ feature is because of React Native. 

Conclusion – Apps built with React Native can increase market share

React Native is popular, there is no doubt about that. If you google market share of React Native, you would be convinced of it. According to the reviews in Google, it is one of the most used cross platform app development frameworks with unimpressive market share, and it will continue to be popular in the coming years. With its pragmatic approach, you shouldn’t be having any qualms in using the framework successfully.

Many of the top performing apps in Play store and App Store are made with React Native. So it is obvious that the framework is gaining a huge market share, excellent community support and becoming really popular. React Native is here to stay!

Interesting Links:

Develop a Mobile App with React Native

More information about React Native

Pictures: Canva


The author: Sascha Thattil works at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.

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