Mobile apps are everywhere they are how we shop, talk, bank, learn and entertain ourselves. But for businesses attempting to launch or scale mobile products, the real problem is not the big idea, it’s the execution. And that tends to fall to getting the right React Native developer.
React Native has emerged as one of the most popular frameworks for building cross-platform apps. It is fast, inexpensive, and native quality. But before you run out and hire, there are things every founder, CTO or product manager should know. Let’s break it down.
Why React Native?
Before you start, consider why React Native is getting so much attention.
- Cross-platform development. Apps for iOS and Android can be built with a single codebase.
- Native feel. In contrast to earlier hybrid solutions, React Native is capable of producing near-native performance, smooth animations, and a well-functioning UX.
- Strong ecosystem. Built by and for Meta, with an enormous community behind it, React Native is loaded with libraries, updates and tools to make it future proof.
In short: it’s a smart bet. But it’s only as good as the people behind it.
When To Use A React Native Developer
The cross-platform nature of React Native allows for manifold use cases. However, the technology is not the panacea so there are certain cases where it’s super cool to hire a react native developer and others where it’s not. Here are some of the former:
Want to get a new mobile app product idea to market ASAP (both for iOS and Android)? React Native staffing team build a solid groundwork and minimize time-to-market with unified code base management.
- Porting Existing Apps to React Native. Companies with 2 native apps hire React Native developer to join the two codebases and ease their maintenance, also making the apps more consistent on both platforms.
- Scaling Mobile Development Operations. As mobile projects grow, companies need full-time developers working on React Native to sustain the complexity, continue building new features, and keep the performance up while writing quality code in an app that keeps expanding.
Issues You Might Encounter When Hiring React Native Developers
Selecting a React Native dedicated team has its own set of hurdles that can be overcome with systematic planning and forethought.
Identifying Truly Qualified Developers
It’s no wonder that as the React Native platform has become more and more popular, more developers would call themselves as experts without having the skills or the background to work on your React Native project. There is plenty of React Native experience and there are many developers with none and sorting through everything you read in resumes and portfolios can consume hours of your day.
Technical Skills Evaluation
In the absence of standardized testing, it can be a real challenge to assess someone’s React Native skill based on their resume. So interviews for technical skills would incorporate theoretical and practical sides and it should interview reasonably about how well a candidate knows with cross-platform development and performance optimizations.
Overlooking Cross-Platform Experience
React Native is a cross-platform framework, but not every React Native app works on both iOS and Android. I’ve known developers who are magicians with Android yet find iOS’s navigation idiosyncrasies impossible to master. Or, worse, they produce an app that appears perfect on one platform yet ends up feeling like a train wreck on the other.
What You Should Do Instead:
Specify that cross-platform experience is required. While interviewing, inquire about their knowledge of iOS and Android both. If they hedge or express uncertainty, press them further. The idea is to identify developers who produce a similarly high-quality and consistent experience across both.
Cost Challenges and Quality Requirements
And when organizing the process of hiring junior and senior React Native developers, business owners are faced with a discrepancy between the total amount they summon to complete such a job and the rates of React Native development in recent reality. That gap is felt most sharply, for example, when looking for seasoned day-one operators for complex mobile projects.
Final Thoughts
When you’re hiring a React Native developer you’re not just filling a role. It’s just a matter of finding a partner who can help realize your vision.
Define your needs then look for the right skills, watch for red flags and don’t underestimate cultural fit. Get it right and you won’t just hire a coder, you’ll gain a collaborator who will enable you to construct an app that’s not only functional, but fast, elegant and ready to scale.
Because in the current app market, people don’t look for just apps. They want experiences. And the right React Native developer is how you get them.
