Why Startups Should Consider Using React Native

Startups are created to solve problems, develop unique products and services and bring them to market; they have an opportunity to create irresistible offers to customers and gain a significant market share. However, they need to work quickly to achieve all that and they also have many challenges to overcome, not least restricted resources and lower budgets than established businesses. 

When it comes to app development, startups need result-oriented, simple solutions. This means solutions that can simplify the development process, shorten the time to market and reduce development costs. While in the past, building mobile apps used to be a huge challenge for startups, today it is much more accessible; the time and cost of building separate apps for Android and iOS no longer need to be prohibitive. Cross-platform frameworks have come to the rescue, enabling mobile apps to be developed using a single codebase. This means startups can invest just once and developers can act as a single team. One such framework is React Native. The platform of choice for many famous startups such as UberEats, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, the framework is an excellent choice for those looking for speed, efficiency and value. 

Why Choose a Cross-Platform Framework

Cross-platform frameworks enable developers to build applications that work on iOS and Android with one codebase. They reduce the development time significantly, thereby reducing costs and making maintenance simpler too. Of course, for any business, especially a startup with limited resources, making an informed decision about which type of framework to use is fundamental. To help discern whether cross platform framework is the right choice, there are several things you should keep in mind:

• Cost – money is a critical factor for every aspect of a startup. If you want to build a mobile app for both iOS and Android platforms, then a cross-platform app development framework will certainly offer the right approach.
• Time-to-Market – the length of time it will take to move your app from conception to launch is vital. A cross-platform strategy can be an effective choice if you want to enter the app market sooner. It enables you to build two platforms simultaneously and capture a larger user base from both markets. 
• Upgrades – the first version of your app is very unlikely to be the last. You’ll want to make upgrades and add new features over time. If you have multiple codebases to maintain, this will cost more and take longer. What’s more, consistency across the different versions can start to be impacted. 
• Development Team – you need to ensure you can find the development team with the necessary skills to build your app. For native development, your team may need to know Kotlin, Swift, C++ or more. Meanwhile, each cross-platform framework also uses its own unique language. 

The Benefits of React Native

Once you’ve decided that a cross-platform framework is what you need, it’s a case of deciding which one best suits your needs. React Native is a cross-platform mobile application development framework maintained by Meta (previously Facebook) and a community of individual developers. The framework uses JavaScript to create multi-platform UI components that are later bridged to native code and converted to iOS and Android. With React, you can develop native-like cross-platform applications using one codebase. Like other cross-platform frameworks, it works on the principle of code once and use anywhere. However, React Native also offers several other benefits from both a business and technical perspective:

• Reusable UI Components – reusable blocks are written once and can be reused in different places and settings. You’ll need to define these at the beginning of the app development process. 
• Reusable Native Components – you can extend your mobile app using native components, allowing you to leverage native functionalities such as GPS. Although, React Native developers will need to be familiar with the relevant native app development approach to do this.
• Skilled Developers – as React Native uses the commonly-known JavaScript programming language, developers can hit the ground running, write the basics quickly and then focus on more advanced features. 
• Low Costs – as you only have to write code once for multiple platforms, the app development cost is much lower for React Native than native app development.
• Stability – React Native has a huge active community, which means there is a lot of support and the framework is incredibly stable. What’s more, as it’s the product of Meta, there’s a dedicated set of engineers who consistently work on improving the framework and introducing new features. 
• Near-Native Experience – with React Native, the components directly call the native platform widgets, which delivers a closer native experience than some of the other cross-platform frameworks. 
• Compatibility – React Native is compatible with back-end technologies such as Django, Node js and ASP.net. You can also use a variety of third-party plugins and farmworks.
• Hot Reloading – with hot reloading, developers can make changes to the app code while your app is still running. As the app can refresh automatically, the app development process is significantly faster. 
• Modular architecture – the modular architecture of React Native enables different software functions to be separated and swapped out using modules and discrete blocks of code. This makes updates simpler, quickly upgrading and updating apps and reusing modules. 
• Declarative style – React Native uses a declarative style, which means that developers tell it what to do instead of how to do it. Focusing on what the app should look like instead of having to manually update the DOM, add and remove classes and so on saves time and ensures developers can focus their efforts wisely. 

Could React Native Improve Your Startup?

React Native has a lot to offer Startups who are looking to develop great cross-platform apps quickly and cost-effectively. It has a vibrant ecosystem, a rich platform and the ability to deliver high-quality applications. If you need quick scalability and the ability to expand your business rapidly, React Native may well be for you. Moreover, React Native development is perfect if you want to quickly create a robust minimal viable product (MVP) to pitch to investors. 

You can work to a tight deadline with a limited budget and still deliver something incredible. 

React Native can be a lifesaver for startups that don’t want to spend a fortune producing an app or for anyone on a restricted budget. The framework delivers the perfect combination of short delivery time, low cost and high quality. By partnering with a reliable React Native app development company, you can quickly leverage the full potential of the framework and give your business the boost it needs.