Why Should You Use React Native for Mobile App Development?
React Native came into existence when one of the internal teams at Facebook was working on the hackathon project. Their primary purpose was to create Native UI elements using JavaScript to satisfy developers’ needs.
Over the years, there have been a lot of changes made to React Native. Moreover, many startups to big enterprises adopted React Native due to its performance and fast development. In short, it has been evolved as one of the best cross-platform frameworks in the market.
Despite this, there has been a constant debate on why use react native for the project. To make things clear, here we have curated the most crucial reasons why you should use React Native for mobile app development.
Before that, let us go through the basis of React Native and its popularity.
What is React Native?
In general, React Native is a JavaScript library used for creating attractive user interfaces. However, It is well-known as a cross-platform framework that enables you to build native mobile apps with the help of JavaScript.
React Native has been a boon for developers as it allows them to create native like mobile apps for both platforms(Android & iOS) using a single codebase.
Moreover, developers can use React Native in their existing Android or iOS projects too.
React Native Popularity & Market Share
Here are some of the mind-blowing statistics that prove the popularity of this framework.
As per the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2021, React Native is the 6th most popular language, with over 14.51% votes from the respondents.
Based on the same survey, 57.9% of respondents love to use React Native for their projects.
According to AppBrain, React Native is the third-most-popular hybrid app development framework among developers, just after Android Architecture components and Kotlin.
If you talk about Statista, React Native is the second most popular cross-platform framework among developers worldwide.
Who’s using React Native?
Since its inception, React Native has been adopted by startups, SMEs, and large enterprises worldwide. Moreover, some leading companies worldwide shifted their mobile app into a cross-platform app via the React Native framework.
Let us have a look at some of the examples of React Native Apps:
- Oculus
- FlipKart
- Tesla
- Walmart
- Uber Eats
The list does not end here. There are a lot of companies that have made apps using React Native. To know more, check out this guide on why these companies choose React Native for building mobile apps.
Reasons to Choose React Native for Mobile App Development
Here are some of the most crucial reasons to go with React Native for building mobile apps.
Reusable Code & Pre-built Component — Saved Time and Money
Earlier, developers needed to use Java for Android and Swift/Objective-C for iOS apps.
React Native follows the principle of ‘learn once, write anywhere.’ Thus, a developer can use components of a single codebase across various platforms. For example, you can share the same code for creating an app for Android and iOS platforms.
By leveraging the same code for multiple platforms, React Native enhances your development speed and reduces cost.
Besides this, React Native offers many open-source and UI libraries that you can utilize to accelerate the development process.
Hot and Live Reloading — Quick Changes
React Native consists of the hot and live reloading feature. Using this feature, developers can view the changes instantly and make any changes.
The main work of live reloading is to reload the entire app when changes are made. However, the hot reloading just reloads a particular area in the app. Ultimately, both the features help to speed up the development as well as the testing process.
Coding in Familiar Programming Languages
You do not require much expertise for developing the React Native apps. However, if you are familiar with JavaScript, then you can get started with React Native.
A front-end developer who knows React can also learn React Native quickly and start coding. Here, the developer needs to do thorough research on the components required in creating mobile apps. Then the developer can move ahead with the development.
While using React Native, the majority of the code would be written in JavaScript and CSS. React further runs the entire app with the platform’s JavaScript Engine. Due to this, apps built with React Native offer native performance, behavior, and animations.
It Looks like Native – Truly Native Feel
React Native allows you to build truly native apps and provide a better user experience. It offers a basic set of native components that align well with its native UI building blocks.
It utilizes the native building blocks and merges them with its JavaScript. Due to this, the app looks like a native app.
To provide ditto functionality like a native app, developers have to combine native and React code.
Thus, it is also a reason why React Native is better than other popular frameworks like Ionic or Flutter.
Besides these popular frameworks, PhoneGap was one such framework used in developing mobile apps. However, it got shut down. To know in detail, check out PhoneGap Alternatives.
Third-Party Plugin Support
React Native is constantly getting bigger and better with the support of various reusable libraries.
The framework is not yet fully developed, and several components might be missing. That is where the need for third-party plugins came into the picture. It offers two types of third-party plugins: JavaScript-based and native modules.
For instance, if you want to add a payment to your app, you can integrate any third-party plugins as per the need.
You can ask for the plugin in the React Native community or library. Then, you can further install it to improve the app’s performance.
Good Community Support By Facebook – Trustworthy
Facebook is continuously upgrading the React Native framework by adding new features and functionalities to resolve developer’s issues.
It has been in the market for a long time; hence it has grown into a massive community of developers worldwide. As of now, it has got more than 97.8K stars and 2,200+ contributors on GitHub.
Most individuals working in leading companies such as Callstack, Expo, Infinite Red, Microsoft, Software Mansion, etc., support React Native.
To get support from the highly experienced developers for your project, you can reach out to leading platforms like Stack Overflow, Codementor, etc.
You can also reach out to the popular discord community Reactiflux to get support.
Lastly, Facebook created React Native. Therefore developers get exclusive support from React Native Facebook Group as well as Spectrum Community.
Provide Personalized Experience to All Users
The React Native architecture is developed in a way so that you can divide the Framework code, Native Code, JavaScript Code, and Styling. Due to this, developers can integrate various styles on the server side.
“With the help of React Native, developers can provide a personalized experience to all the users of the app.”
Moreover, it offers next-level personalization, where developers can integrate personalized style for a particular target audience and then provide a personalized experience to them.
Easy to Hire React Native developers
With each passing year, more & more developers are drawn towards React Native due to its top-notch features and functionalities.
Moreover, various developers who are familiar with JS or Front-end technologies love to learn React Native. Hence, the React Native community is increasing.
Therefore, you can easily find & hire React Native developers for developing an app that works on two platforms efficiently.
Guru TechnoLabs Expertise in React Native App Development
We have recently developed the Looney Trips app using React Native. Let us have a look at it:
Looney Trips
The client’s main purpose was to provide a platform where ticket booking for flights, cars, and hotels is quick & convenient.
The client wanted to reach the maximum number of users through the app with a limited budget and time. Therefore, we recommended building an app with React Native.
We were excited about the project. First, we created an attractive and user-friendly design. Later, we converted the design into a feature-rich application that works on Android and iOS efficiently.
We have also utilized some of the third-party tools & resources to provide better functionality and speed up the work.
Final Words on React Native – When to Choose
We hope that now you must have understood why to use React Native for mobile app development.
These were some of the best benefits of React Native for mobile app development. Hence, you can choose React Native for your mobile app without any hesitance.
However, the selection of a technology stack relies heavily on your business idea and your industry. It also depends on your budget and future goals.
You can choose React Native in the following scenarios:
- Project with minimal complexity.
- Want to create an MVP app.
- Create beautiful and interactive user interfaces for any industry.
- Apps based on JavaScript.
- Lower budget and quicker development.
If you have decided to use React Native for your project, then feel free to contact us.
Guru TechnoLabs is a well-known React Native app development company. Hence, we can understand your project well and provide you with the most suitable solution.
