by Ben Kudler
As a growing company in today’s world, it’s more important than ever to not only have a website and an app, but to ensure that both are effective and user-friendly. React Native is a platform that supports building mobile apps using only JavaScript. Developed by Facebook, this platform is rapidly taking over the mobile development game with 92% of developers saying they would use it again, as many development teams are venturing into the world of building websites that directly imitate mobile apps. Here are some tips for doing just that:
Maintain Consistent Component Styles
Often times, developers and designers will implement different styles across components. A component is a building block that contains information and functionality. When a user lands on a new component, there is no reason for the user to suddenly be interacting with a new style — consistency is key.
Use Transitions Rather Than Scrolling
Instead of having the window placement change to where a component lives, consider adding a cool transition (get creative, c’mon!) when displaying a component — no need to move around the window.
Change Up the Navigation Bar
Consider having the navigation bar on the web version live in a different place than the mobile version. This makes the web version feel a lot more like a website, while allowing the mobile version to feel like mobile with a simple change of style to one or two components
Use React Router!
React Router allows developers to tie everything together with routes that have all the same functionality as regular applications.
In conclusion, React Native is a powerful tool that’s quickly transforming the design and development landscape — but let’s make sure that technology doesn’t make every decision for how we design and build apps.