React Native is a common cross-platform framework that has taken over the tech world as a great solution to develop apps for both iOS and Android simultaneously. Since it has become a must in mobile app development, it’s worth knowing the basics. In this article, we give you the top tips that will make the life of every React Native developer easier.

Things you will learn

In this article, we present top React Native best practices that will help you improve your coding. The tips will come in handy, especially for beginners who struggle with developing their first serious projects. Let’s find out:
  • Why is it worth using React Native in 2022?
  • React Native vs. React – what’s the difference?
  • Best practices for app development with cross-platform framework

React vs. React Native

React (also known as ReactJS) is a JavaScript library of reusable components. It is used for building the skeleton of applications, whereas React Native is meant to create native mobile apps thanks to reusable components. It enables taking advantage of UI components to quickly compile and launch apps for iOS and Android as well. The framework has been gaining popularity since 2013, when it was created by Facebook engineers, and now it’s still considered top-notch technology.

Why is it worth using React Native in 2022?

Cross-platform development is not only a passing trend – it has become something obligatory in modern app development. React Native, as a cross-platform tool, allows for building mobile applications for IOS and Android simultaneously. Hence, the basic knowledge of this framework is essential for developers. Let’s discover the main benefits of using React Native for your mobile app project:

Code reusability

Developing cross-platform applications fosters code reusability. That’s the big advantage for developers who no longer need to generate codes for each platform separately.

Faster app development

ReactNative requires only one codebase to manage both iOS and Android. Since everything is in one place, app development becomes much faster.

Cost efficiency

Native app development requires hiring different specialists – one for iOS and one for Android. Needless to say, the ability to reuse code and faster development can lead to lowering overall project costs.
You can discover 9 mobile applications built with React Native:

9 Amazing Mobile Apps Built with React Native

Top Best Practises for React Native Developers in 2022

React Native is a technology with great potential and turns out really useful when performing your daily tasks in the project. We’ve gathered the top 8 tips to help you code like a pro!

1. Remove logs on production

Turning off all logs from your release builds is crucial here. You can do this either manually or with a script. Why is it so important? Too many console.log statements will slow down an application.

2. Organize your components

App development is not only about writing your code – it requires good organization. Ordering components is the key to success with React Native. Classifying your components into smart and functional categories is a really good way to maintain the logic behind the whole project. Smart containers transfer data from APIs, and functional ones display data to users. Such classification fosters further reuse of components.

3. Keep up with a consistent style

Remember to name all the components consistently. For instance, when you name a given style object container, stick to this naming within the whole project. Otherwise, you can end up with a long list of components, each of them performing multiple tasks.

4. Monitor how complex your code is

Growing (and active) react-native community offers many tips and tools that will help you improve the performance of your apps. It’s good to take advantage of it and use free tools to check the level of complexity of your code. Thanks to extensions like code metrics, you can track and measure your code’s complexity effortlessly.

5. Diminish your application’s size

Many factors impact the app’s size, so you should remember to reduce its size. In order to do this, you need to optimize the resources and prepare various sizes matched to different devices. Using free online tools, such as ProGuard, will help you shrink your code.

6. Segregate files

You should keep all files related to a given component in one folder. Creating folders and subfolders for the components will help you keep things organized. It’s really important while working on the React Native project (and not only), for instance, when other developers need to find some part of your code to modify it.

7. Transform your code at ease

Transforming code from one format to another can cause some problems, e.g. there’s a risk of losing data. You can prevent missing some information by using online tools and applications to update and reformat data when transforming your code, such as transform.tools.

8. Use Flexbox

Using Flexbox is always a good practice. It is a CSS tool that enables you to build layouts to fit multiple screen sizes. Without flexbox, your code won’t provide expected reusability.

Summary

Since React Native is becoming more and more popular, it’s always good to be up to date with existing techniques and tricks that can make your life with RN even easier! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us — we’ll be more than happy to advise you on your IT issues! For more fresh news from the IT world, visit our blog. Here, we regularly post on technology-related topics.