Why even bother with React Native, you wonder?
Well, there aren’t that many reasons really…
Just that it’s the framework used to develop apps like Instagram, Netflix, Shopify, Airbnb, Skype, and Walmart.
From Fortune 500s to the hottest tech startups, many of the world’s most successful mobile apps rely on React Native.
Among all top American apps, React Native is the third most used 3rd party software framework. Topped only by Kotlin and Android Architecture Components in popularity.
In fact, among the top 500 apps in the US, 14.85% of installed apps are built using React Native.
So yeah, not that many reasons, we suppose…
But the question still arises, what makes React Native such a popular choice for building mobile applications?
After all, for the longest time, React Native wasn’t thought to be commercially viable to build mobile applications. It didn’t have the support needed to produce the in-demand native-like applications.
But skip to today, and React Native has around 42% market share in terms of the framework that developers prefer!
Let’s find out…
React Native is one of the reigning stars in offering cross-platform mobile app development. It complies with both native Java (for Android) and Swift code (for iOS) and bridges them with the UI components.
Meaning, you can use the exact same code base for developing both iOS and Android applications.
Effectively, you will save time, work less, get more out of your budget and skip the hassle of syncing features and layouts on iOS and Android.
It’s a win on all fronts.
React Native is based on the extremely popular React JS, JavaScript library.
React Native embodies all of React JS’ syntax and principles, making the learning curve super easy for anyone familiar with the latter.
And according to a 2021 survey by Statista, 40.41% of developers worldwide are skilled in and use React JS.
With React Native developers can push out instant updates to the apps directly to the end-users, instead of through a mobile store.
This CodePush feature makes it much easier to fix bugs, improve performance, and offer a dynamic update experience.
React Native is an open-source UI software framework that was created by Meta Platforms, Inc. (née Facebook).
This means React Native is always under active development… Not just by Meta, but also by the massive React Native community across the world. There are thousands of people constantly working on improving the framework at all times!
Plus there are millions of open license React Native components, pre-built and ready for you to use… And more being added every day.
If all this wasn’t enough, React Native also supports 3rd part plug-ins. And the library hosts a massive collection of various plug-ins that developers can use to save time and simplify the process.
And finally, the big bonanza… If you plan on building a web app using React JS as well, then most parts of the front-end code from React Native can be replicated while developing it.
With the time-money-effort-performance-saving benefits of React Native established, let’s take a look at the next step… Hiring a React Native developer.
Skip the (albeit small) learning curve of someone with experience only in React JS. Experts know the approach to use to create an app in the shortest amount of time.
Spending extra money and time fixing a botched-up job is fun for no one. But it’s especially worse when you’re already on a tight timeline for the release of the app.
There is nothing more stressful than having to spend weeks trying to have the app executed as per the vision, only to have to hire another developer last minute to fix the glitches.
Even a fresh college grad with a degree in computer science could build an app.
Heck, anyone could spend enough time on the internet and probably learn how to code and build an app using React Native.
After all, it is fairly simple to pick up.
But that’s not why ambitious companies hire only experienced React Native developers to build mobile applications.
It’s the quality that matters at the end of the day. And if you’re looking for a custom native-like app, then every bit of the React Native developer’s expertise will come into play.
And once you’ve decided to hire a React Native developer, here are some pointers to help you along the way.
For an unbeatable combo of world-class expertise and affordability
For businesses that are starting a complicated, long-term project.
For minor fixes, or projects with a need for total flexibility at each stage of development.
Familiarity with React Native concepts and functionalities is key. This includes fundamentals like the virtual DOM, component lifecycle, component state, etc.
This involves things like writing functional code vs imperative code.
This makes it easier for the code to be picked up and continued by another teammate, or be maintained by someone else in the future.
This really sets apart a newbie from the expert. A React Native expert will be conversant with state management libraries like MobX, Redux, etc.
Everything from ideation to testing and then releasing to the app stores and continuous integration after.
They don’t need to be experts, but novice-level hands-on experience with Swift and Objective C is helpful. Bonus if they also know the intricacies of tools like Android Studio, Visual Studio Code, and Xcode.
They need to be able to perform testing variations, as it is a crucial part of the production and post-production app development stages.
They will need to be able to optimize app performance using performance monitoring frameworks like ESLint, Prettier, Husky, etc.
They should ideally have experience working on multiple platforms and incorporating platform-specific elements so as to deliver apps that are truly custom built.
The React Native framework is always being developed further. UI design and tech stacks are always being updated too. It is important for your developer to stay on top of all these innovations to deliver the best output for your mobile app.
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