10 Mistakes React Native Developers Make and How to Fix Them

React Native is widely used for various projects. While some appreciate it for its ability to work across different devices and platforms, others believe this framework makes their job a lot easier.

Over more than a decade of offering React Native development services, we have seen this framework advance with new updates resulting in growing demand. According to recent updates from StackShare, 2078 companies (including Instagram and Shopify) reportedly use React Native in their tech stack.

But no matter how perfect a technology might be, loopholes are sometimes inevitable. Even the most perfect developers end up making mistakes. Since this could be a barrier in successful project completion, in this blog we are going to discuss the most common mistakes that a React Native developer makes and how to fix them.

Benefits Of Developing a React Native App

Despite a tough competition by Flutter, React Native keeps up its place as one of the most preferable frameworks for cross-platform development. Certainly, there are reasons for it.

1. The Use Of JavaScript: React Native is entirely based on the JavaScript programming language. JavaScript is one of the most commonly used programming languages for creative interactive and dynamic web pages. No matter how many new programming languages emerge in the industry, JavaScript has an irreplaceable significance. While most developers are well-versed with JavaScript, React Native has a smooth learning curve.
2. Cross-Platform Compatibility: Being a cross-platform framework, React Native can build applications that work across different platforms and devices. This saves up a lot of time that will be taken to develop different apps for individual platforms.
3. Native-like Applications: Although a React Native developer need not use any web-based technologies, they can create native-like apps. These apps offer the same performance on Android, iOS or web platforms. Again, it saves time and resources.
4. Community Support: React Native’s popularity has significantly grown over the years. Because of its reliability and ease of development, many industries, businesses, and developers have adopted it. This has resulted in a continuously growing, strong React Native community that offers necessary support considering the pros and cons of this technology.

Challenges Of React Native App Development

Like two faces of a coin, along with benefits there are several challenges of building a React Native app.

1. Requires Native Developers: JavaScript programmers often require help from native developers to deal with various complex computations. To manage heavy computational loads for an app, native app development experience can be considered necessary.
2. Abstraction Layer Limitations: The Abstraction Layer helps the developers add new functionalities to the app. However, this abstraction layer itself comes with several limitation. Higher dependency on third-party libraries and services  Necessity of implementing a custom design  Problems is detecting bugs
3. Lack Of Multi-Processing Support: React Native only has a single JavaScript thread. This slows down the speed of other operations that can be completed parallelly. Lack of parallel threading is something that often adds to the downside of this framework.
4. Difficult to Deploy On Native Platforms (Specifically iOS): Many times developers have reported that testing a React Native app on Apple’s services is often troublesome. However, things work smoothly when it comes to Android. Considering the cross-platform capabilities of the framework, this is a point of improvement to make sure the overall performance of apps remains reliable and consistent across platforms.

Understanding these shortcomings and making the best use of the pros of this framework will help you come up with reliable React Native apps that perform well. Let’s dive into our primary topic of discussion now!

Common Mistakes That React Native Developers Make and How to Fix Them

As we said earlier, great technologies and skilled developers are still prone to loopholes and mistakes. But these mistakes can negatively affect the performance of your React Native app. Therefore, understanding them is important to avoid making any in future and fix the ones that were made earlier. Here are a few common mistakes that React Native developers make.

Not Optimizing App Performance:

One of the most common mistakes React Native developers make is not optimizing the performance of their apps. React Native is known for its fast and responsive user interface, but this can be easily compromised by poor optimization.

It would be suitable to use performance optimization techniques like lazy loading, code splitting, and caching to improve the performance of their React Native apps.

Overusing setState:

Another mistake that developers make is overusing setState. setState is a powerful method in React that allows developers to update the state of a component.

However, overusing it can cause performance issues, as every time the state is updated, React has to re-render the component. Developers may consider using other methods, such as props or context, to manage state whenever possible.

Not Using the Right Components:

React Native comes with a set of pre-built components that developers can use to create their app's user interface.

However, not all components are created equal. Some components are optimized for performance, while others are not. Developers should choose the right components for their app's UI to ensure that it performs well.

Improper Error Handling:

When an error occurs in a React Native app, it can cause the app to crash or behave unexpectedly. Not handling these errors well can affect the app’s success negatively in the long run.

Developers should make sure they resolve such issues with reliable practices. They may consider using techniques like try/catch blocks and error boundaries, to ensure that their app remains stable and usable.

Lack Of Thorough Testing:

Testing is an essential part of software development, but many developers don't test their React Native apps thoroughly enough. Testing can help identify bugs and performance issues before they reach the end-user. We would suggest using tools like Jest and Enzyme to create comprehensive tests for your React Native apps.

Choosing Inappropriate Third-party Libraries

React Native has a vast ecosystem of third-party libraries that developers can use to add functionality to their apps. However, not all libraries can meet your requirements.

Some libraries are poorly maintained or not optimized for performance. With the help of developers, make sure you choose the right libraries for the app. It's always suitable to go for the ones that offer competitive performance and upgraded services.

Also Read: 10 Best React Native Component Libraries You Should Know About

Ignoring Specific Coding Practices

React Native app development requires following specific coding practices that ensure reliable app performance. For example, using the FlatList component instead of the ScrollView component for long lists can improve performance. Developers should familiarize themselves with React Native's specific coding practices and use them wherever possible.

Disproportionate Image Optimization

Images can take up a lot of space in a React Native app, which can slow down its performance. Make sure to optimize images by using the right format and compressing them to reduce their size. Tools like Image Resizer and FastImage can help developers optimize images for their apps.

Missing Out On Platform-Specific Differences

React Native is designed to be cross-platform, but there are still some platform-specific differences that developers need to consider. For example, the way that iOS and Android handle push notifications is different. You should be aware of these differences and ensure that your React Native app works correctly on both platforms.

Lacking Upgrades

The React Native framework is constantly evolving, with new features and improvements. Developers who don't stay up-to-date with the latest developments can miss out on performance improvements and new features. You must make sure to keep their React Native apps and libraries up-to-date to take advantage of the latest features and functionalities.

Conclusion

Successful apps are the ones that offer excellent user experience. Understanding the most commonly occurring mistakes will help a React Native developer take their job seriously and create an impeccable app.

We hope this blog gives you an insight into possible mistakes while developing React Native apps so that you can avoid them in the future.

Moreover, finding a reliable development partner is always key to building successful applications for your business.