We used to use various flavors of Javascript long before react native came into being and once it came, we went all big on it. There were times when React-native and other cross platform technologies (like Flutter, Ionic, QT) were only good for creating App MVPs and had a lot of issues such as integration with third party libraries, with Device’s own hardware capabilities and so on. But today as of mid-2022 we can safely say that React Native can help build as good or superior apps as a native tech would do and that does with single coding effort. It's like the Java of old days, “Write once, run anywhere”.

BEST Practices followed by Agicent React Native App Development Company

Preparation, Architecture, Tech Stack identification

First and foremost, we critically analyze if the App project is a good candidate for cross platform or react native development or not. In some pretty niche Apps, native can still be a technology of choice so ruling out this possibility is the most important first step. Once it is identified that react native is the tech of choice, we then figure out the backend stack (like node.js or graphql, or traditional LAMP stack), or web front-end third-party libraries, like vue.js, typescript, redux etc. If it’s a regular kind of app that we do time and again (like a dating app or ecommerce app, or healthcare app) then we decide on tech stack in few hours only; if it is a niche one- of-a-kind project (like an AI based app suggesting you medicine dosage or an App that heavily uses some third- party APIs for its core function – like creating digital avatars or facilitates Holoportation) then we take more than few hours to check on libraries, their scalability with react native and then decide.

Create and Follow Documentation, Make Project Wiki

Description of the desired project outcome will help you to keep on track the work. Documentation of the code will be an incredible source to know about HOW and most importantly WHY things have been done in a particular way. Business logic, especially in bigger projects, is sometimes hard to comprehend for a newly introduced React Native Developer and an easily available documentation is the best solution to preempt such a situation. In fact, creating a project wiki is your best bet that will help any future developers to comprehend and understand and work on the project most efficiently. Successful projects need proper controlling over development and testing, which is easy with documentation.

Consider creating PoC for projects that heavily depend upon third party technologies

As the title suggests, if the project is not so regular type and is heavily dependent upon third party libraries or technologies (like an AI library, or a hardware API) and when we’ve not used that critical tech before, we insist on creating a proof of concept (PoC) first just to demonstrate the feasibility of the core functionality. Most of the time we do it for free (if PoC takes less than 40 hours) or charge very humbly in case it is a big PoC. We recently created a PoC of a crypto marketplace App which shows market data crunching data from various third-party APIs and it was done perfectly well and now the full project is on.

Consider the importance of Platform specific design & Layout

Since you’re dealing with a cross platform technology, it is important to make sure that design and layout renders perfectly right on all sizes of iOS and Android devices. Taking care of this from day 1 will save a lot of time later on.

Performance optimization, Build optimization

Native applications are top performers because they use stock APIs, patterns, and enjoy the best support from the OEM’s OS and hardware and you achieve great performance by the virtue of the platform. However, in case of creating a react native app, which is cross platform by the way you have to use a variety of testing tools (like Appium, jest, detox etc), be more meticulous for performance parameters, and optimize your code for best performance across different devices. It can be a time-consuming exercise at times, but totally worth it and warranted.

For react native app development, you have to take care of multi-threading, third party library integration in optimized way, image compression, APK or iPA file size optimization and a lot more that you don’t really do when doing native app development.

Prioritize App’s Security as well as of its backend

The app shouldn't serve as a gateway to scammers who want to steal the data or take control over the user's phone. Security issues are crucial if the app involves online payments or needs to store and use personal information.

The major security issue is that mobile apps have access to data stored on mobile devices (smartphones, tablets). Here is our dedicated old (but Gold) blog post on Mobile App Security Best Practices 

Common mistakes during React Native App Development – we’ve to Avoid these!

Following are some of the common mistakes being made while doing React Native App development that are better to be considered before starting the project.

Overestimating the leverage which react native provides. React native surely provides you the option to have a single code base for the front end, however it is important to know that the backend and integrations do take their own sweet time whether you use react native or pure native technologies. So, using react native can save maximum 30-40 % of your App development time Vs using pure native.

Ignoring creating an MVP or Proof of Concept (PoC). For the projects or technologies that we’ve (or someone else has) already worked upon it is fine to directly jump on creating the app; however, in case you want us to create an altogether new feature or technology that has never been done before then it is advisable to create an MVP or a proof of concept before creating the whole project. A PoC makes sure of the feasibility, and allows us to foresee possible future challenges or opportunities while scaling up.

Using big tools even when they are not needed. React native developers may tend to use big tools like Redux even in the simplest of the Apps where they can use more harm than benefit. Since it’s a cross platform tech and big community works on it all the time, a lot of tools and frameworks keep coming to help in react native development but not all tools and frameworks are meant for all the apps. So using a framework or tool should be done thoughtfully and with an objective of making the project less complex and not otherwise.

Avoiding Testing on real iOS and Android Devices using separate builds. Again, since it’s a cross platform technology a developer can theoretically believe that if it runs fine on iOS then it will run on Android too and vice versa and may not give time to test the react native App on a real iOS or Android Device. This overlooking should be avoided, and the App should be continuously tested on real iOS and Android devices to note down discrepancies and keep fixing those.

Neglecting image and resource optimization. Most of the time, React Native developers don't place a high value on images and resource optimization, which has an impact on app performance. Image optimization also helps React Native developers reduce the size of their application and make it more lightweight. Let us create your React Native App using best design and coding practices – Contact our React Native Experts.

Source- https://www.agicent.com/react-native-development-company