React Native: a Comprehensive Guide for Startups

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Let’s start our journey by looking at what React Native actually is.

🚀 What is React Native?

Let’s start with the basics:

React Native (RN) is a JavaScript framework for mobile app development.

This is the most common, basic and simple definition of React Native.

What is a framework? It’s a collection of libraries, APIs, toolsets and patterns that make app development easier (and actually even possible in the first place). To put it simply, think of it as a set of methods or rules that provide pre-prepared logic and structure for the mobile application.

💡 Useful links: Website | Docs | Github | Community

Key takeaways of the paragraph:

• React Native is a JavaScript-based framework for mobile development.
• It combines the possibility to create a stunning UX for mobile platforms with the great developer experience of web development. Thus, developers are able to deliver mobile apps easier, cheaper and faster while keeping the good UX.
• The framework was introduced by Facebook in 2015 and so far continues to rapidly grow.

📱 React Native vs Native Development: What’s the Difference for Your Startup?

The native approach is often considered as the most proven, even “classic” way to build mobile applications. For many years it was true - all the alternative development options (like hybrid app development using WebViews) had significant disadvantages if talking about performance.

With React Native it’s possible to achieve native performance but reduce development costs and time. However, if React Native was better than Native in every single moment it would probably become the main way to create mobile applications. Yet, it hasn’t happened so far.

Why? Let’s compare those approaches and find out!

Native Functionality

Obviously, the React Native ecosystem isn’t as big as the Native one. What does it mean in practice? For example, React Native developers may be not able to use some third-party components (like APIs and libraries) that are available only in the native environment.

The same is true for the new native devices’ features (remember the introduction of FaceID, for example). While for native iOS/Android developers they are available right away, React Native teams need to wait more time while this functionality will become available for Facebook’s framework as well.

🛠 The 18 Most Helpful React Native Tools: an Ultimate List for your Team

If you’re quite new to React Native (or plan to switch your Web Team to this framework), this list can save you a lot of time. Here we gathered all key technologies that help us:

• keep code consistent and easily maintainable;
• deliver React Native apps even faster and with less effort;
• make Team scaling easier.

But what if you’re looking for someone who is already familiar with these technologies and can build a React Native application for your Business or Startup? Where to find one? This is the question we’re going to answer in the next paragraph!

👨‍💻 React Native Developers: Where to Find & How to Choose?

Now as you know what React Native is and how it can be useful for your project, your next question may be “Where can I find rockstar React Native Developers for my Project?”. Who may you look for?

• A remote full-scale RN Team to which you can outsource any type of more or less big Project: from the MVP development to creating an app for another platform.
• Hire a Remote Team to start building your application while you're building your In-House Squad.
• Outstaff an iOS/Android developer who can write a platform-specific code (if your Team knows only JS).
• Find someone to urgently fix bugs when your Team is busy working on some core functionality.

These were just some examples of possible cases.

Looking for individual developers may seem a little more complicated. You will need to use Google search tools.

For example, it may work out for websites like StackOverflow or SlideShare:

• site:slideshare.net intitle:cv React Native developer
• site:stackoverflow.com/users «React Native developer»

Finally, you will get a list of developers that match your search request.

# 4: Recommendations

Don’t underestimate the importance of your connections.

If you’re friends with someone from the startup/mobile/web community, maybe they’ve already faced the same challenges as you and can share a good contact with you!

Moreover, such recommendations can be considered as the most reliable and trustworthy source of information. Who will advocate a developer who disappeared, failed deadlines or lied about his experience?

💰 How Much Does It Cost to Build a React Native App?

If you're at the early financing stage (FFF, Seed A/B etc.), costs will be a super crucial matter.

Development costs will greatly vary from project to project. Even the costs to build applications within the same category (for example, car rental apps) may be quite different depending on features the client wants to see in his app.

However, we’ve worked on projects in different fields and prepared estimates for them. Notice that these are only rough estimates just to give you at least some perspective of what the development costs may be.

We used an average hourly rate for Eastern Europe which is $40/hour. For Agencies from Western Europe or North America the rate is probably going to be higher for the same scope of work.

To get an accurate estimate for your own project, please, drop us a line with some details!

The types of apps are clickable and lead to related articles.