From a business perspective, cross-platform development is the most cost-effective way to build mobile apps. It lets you create an app that runs on multiple operating systems, increasing user reach. Frameworks are used and added to the technology stack.
What is React Native
React Native – is an open-source framework used to develop mobile applications. Its main feature is the ability to create cross-platform products; it supports both Android and iOS. The user interface of such apps looks appealing, and development uses JavaScript and the open-source React.
The tool's first release was in 2015. The framework is actively developed; new releases appear at least every six months, and the community is large and active. It integrates well with JavaScript, which gives developers specific advantages. The framework can integrate native device features like GPS or the camera.
Why use React Native?
Cross-platform development for business is an excellent way to build and launch a quality mobile app affordably. Because a single codebase in React Native runs on multiple operating systems, development costs are significantly lower than building separate native solutions.
Also, a single codebase is used, and React Native acts as a bridge between Java or Swift components and the web interface.
Developers who know JavaScript and ReactJS well will easily pick up the framework. There are many such developers, so finding a specialist for a project is not difficult. However, be careful: you may encounter an inexperienced developer with only a shallow knowledge of the technology.
Facebook, Walmart, Instagram, Coinbase Pro, Airbnb and other companies use this framework to develop their mobile apps. Thanks to the large number of libraries available, apps are built quite quickly.
Pros and Cons of React Native
The main advantages of React Native are:
Performance is optimal; the framework provides built-in UI controls and libraries and interacts well with operating system components to generate code.
The user interface is simple and easy to learn.
Modular architecture makes development clear and stable and ensures easy maintenance. With the right approach, scaling the project later does not cause difficulties.
It supports third-party plugins, allowing you to extend functionality and build business apps of any complexity. In practice, it has almost no limits in terms of features and business solutions.
A large developer community lets you get answers quickly and solve almost any problem.
Despite many advantages, the framework has drawbacks. Although it holds a significant market share (around 52% of cross-platform mobile apps are built with React Native), some developers avoid it for the following reasons:
Building apps with complex user interfaces is harder. If you need lots of animations and screen transitions, this framework will struggle.
Because React Native is tied to JavaScript, overall speed and performance will drop if the app performs heavy computations. You should identify the compute processes involved, and if they are heavy, consider not using this framework.
In banking and finance, React Native apps are also rare because open source and the fragile nature of JavaScript do not guarantee complete security.
Otherwise, it's an excellent framework capable of creating mobile apps for business.
Popularity
Popularity isn't the main factor in choosing a tech stack, but it determines the size of the community. A strong community helps solve problems and achieve better results in development.
React Native has a large community; the technology is popular and in demand, and developer surveys show that over 57% of programmers use it. So you can get answers faster.
Summary
Modern businesses need cross-platform development. It lets you quickly bring a digital product to market and connect it to your company. A mobile app enables communication with customers, improves internal business processes, and automates them.
Choosing a technology stack is a responsible step that affects the speed, cost, and success of creating a digital product. We invite you to contact our studio Glonin.kz to discuss your project.
