Developed in 2015, React Native has been a trending topic in mobile application development. According to Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2020, React Native ranked 6th with 11.5% of all respondents' votes. So it’s no wonder that this framework took the world of technology by storm by giving a path to create mobile apps for both the platforms, i.e. iOS and Android, at the same time.
Before moving ahead to the top reasons why React Native is preferred for mobile app development, let’s take a quick look at what React Native is.
What’s React Native?
With a declarative programming paradigm, a JavaScript framework for writing real and natively rendering mobile apps, React Native is created by Meta (formerly known as Facebook). It’s basically used for creating native mobile applications using JavaScript. It is also known as a best-in-class JavaScript library for building UIs.
Companies prefer to use React Native for mobile app development since developers can write all of the code in JavaScript only. Also, it can be shared across both the platforms, such as iOS and Android. With React Native, companies do not need to hire two separate teams of react-native developers for maintaining two different code bases.
Reasons: Why React Native is the best choice for Mobile App Development
1. Free & Open-Source
An open-source project, which is built around the React Native framework. It enables developers to design user onboarding UIs, login pages, firebase database integration, push notifications, and credentials pages. Since its emergence, it is supported by a massive community of developers, who are ready to help. The best part about this framework is its wholly authenticated ecosystem, an add-on for mobile app development.
2. Tried & Tested
Developed by Meta Platforms, IncReact Native is the first and foremost framework, which enables developers to create mobile applications. React Native is a tried and tested platform backed by a vast community of developers. Since this framework has gone open-source, more and more big companies have begun creating mobile apps using React Native framework. Check out a few examples, which are based on this framework:
- Skype
- Walmart
- Tesla
- Airbnb
- Facebook Ads
- Bloomberg
- Wix
3. Rapid App Development
This cross-platform application is entirely an absolute time saver for react native developers. Since it consists of reusable components, the code is applicable for iOS and Android, and the businesses should not spend on both platforms. To put it simply, entrepreneurs do not need to create individual apps; instead, you can focus on investing and creating a unified entity. The best solution is to hire react native developers remotely skilled in developing apps. When it comes to costs, React Native is the best-fitted solution for saving your company's thousands of dollars since you are creating one application only.
Moreover, the following advantage is using this framework as it quickly helps find bugs due to a single code. It means that an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) can easily be built faster than ever. Because of its time-saving feature, it is always ready to launch as long as the app’s first version is ready with bare minimum functionality. It is also possible under the budget when it comes to maintenance.
4. Third-Party Plugin Support
React Native offers two kinds of third-party plugins such as 1) JavaScript-based and 2) Native modules. Hence, React Native enables developers to link any plugin with a native or third-party module. Moreover, this framework is too handy to connect the plugin with a native module by adding new functionalities such as Google Maps. This way, it helps to link the device’s functions like zoom, rotate, and use the compass with the map. The bottom line is that this framework also gives a smoother user experience and uses less memory along with faster loading capabilities.
5. Look like a Native App
React Native embraces many advantages, and it comes with native UI components. However, using other frameworks like Phonegap or Ionic always gives a web-based user experience rather than a native app. This is where React Native comes into play. This fantastic framework enables developers to use elements native to mobile design.
It is also aware of other native components rather than single components, which render elements across both platforms. In addition, React Native takes building blocks, such as text, image, view, and TextInput from native UI, from the native user interface. This way, it combines it with its JavaScript resulting app that looks and works like a native app. Hence, it greatly enhances the user experience.
To get functionality as a native app, developers also can write a mixture of native and React code. It enhances the native-like appearance of the application.
Conclusion
Undeniably, React Native is a go-to framework for cross-platform development. Also, it is an excellent solution for developing apps, which work smoothly regardless of platform or system. Both developers and companies love this framework because of its number of features, such as diminishing the work hours, resulting in a faster app development process. Furthermore, by using React Native, it is possible to target a larger audience at one time since it can be used by both iOS and Android users.
With loads of benefits, React Native is one of the most incredible options for projects, which do not require complicated interfaces, such as media players and digital recorders. Furthermore, it’s a good choice if you want quality within your budget limit. It does not mean that React Native will have to compromise with quality. However, several popular apps are built with React Native, as we’ve already mentioned above. We can say that it is a framework worth considering for app development.
