With mobile apps increasingly dominating the new tech world, the importance of the app development framework cannot be understated. Especially for persons looking to tap into the mobile apps market.
React Native app is a JavaScript-based mobile app development framework that enables app development across multiple platforms (Android and iOS), among other things. React Native has come to be a great alternative to fully native mobile app development.
Like any other technology, React Native has its own pros and cons. In this article, we would be exploring the benefits and drawbacks of using the React Native app development services.
Pros of React Native
Open-Source Platform
React Native is an open-source platform, which means that all documentation, codes, and techniques related to this technology are free and available to everyone. This gives anyone in the React Native community access to any and every information whenever needed at no cost. This makes the app development process fast and less expensive.
Declarative Coding style
The coding style on React Native is one that gives the program an instruction to carry out rather than describe how to do it. This declarative trait makes React Native very flexible and comprehensible. Developers can easily read the code and understand it, making the coding process fast and easy to pick up by any developer.
Reusable Code
Due to its open-source nature, there is usually a readily available component code that is reusable. It is probable that most of the code for the functions your app might have already been built. This drastically reduces the time spent building an app, making it a perfect option for companies or organizations considering building an app.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
This is one of the most relevant benefits of React Native because, with this framework, developers can use the same React Native codes to develop Android and iOS Apps. This cross-platform feature eliminates the need to build a separate code for each platform of an app.
Extensive Community
The React Native community is a massive one that is rapidly growing, with an extensive library of pre-built components, solutions, etc. For instance, testing libraries like Enzymes, jest, and Chai available for developers to build bug-free codes. Its open-source nature makes it a strong community with everyone contributing to its progress. Developers from around the world are sharing solutions, experiences, creating portfolios, and best practices.
Cons of React Native
Although React Native has lots of benefits, it still isn’t the perfect framework for building absolutely any mobile app.
Simple User Interface
React Native framework is not suitable for developing apps that require a complex user interface. For apps needing multiple interactions, animations, and gestures, React Native is not suitable. As it may run into some difficulties in operation.
Slow Initialization Time
The runtime to render React Native for the first time mostly takes several seconds. This is due to the JavaScript needing time to initialize too.
Large App Size
React Natively developed apps have a large app size due to the number of resources, libraries, and components it contains. Although this can be managed to some extent by reducing components used and compressing images.
Finally
React Native app development services might not be perfect, but its pros definitively outweigh the cons. Thus, the only distinguishing factor in choosing which framework to use for app development will be suitability.