React Native vs React JS – what to use and when?
Introduction
If you are going to develop an app or a website for your brand, you should choose the right framework to develop them. Choosing the right framework for developing your website or app navigates the success of your digital presence.
In this context, React Native and React JS come into play. Though the name of these two frameworks seems to be similar, the function differs largely based on the case of your application. This blog is going to discuss how these two frameworks function differently and what to use based on your unique requirements.
What is React JS?
React JS is a heart-throb in modern web development. It has been developed by Facebook, and it’s not just a library, it’s a revolution of building your user interface in a modern way that helps developers create easily maintainable, high-octane web applications. The virtual DOM (Document Object Model) seems to act like some kind of smart buffer between the possible changes a developer might implement and the real DOM. It does most of the heavy lifting done by the browser to make sure you get an outstanding performance that delivers a smoother user experience.
React JS basically forms an idealized concept where using a component-based architecture and leveraging the reusability of code, takes a modular way of creating complex interfaces. React JS, with its speed, efficiency, and modularity in combination, gives an idea to developers who try and push further the limits of what can be done with web application capabilities.
What is React Native?
React Native is like a secret passageway that connects and brings these two worlds together—the world of the web and that of mobile app development. React Native was brought to life by Facebook and it is an opportunity for React developers to deploy their development knowledge onto a mobile stage. The developer is empowered to write an app’s algorithm in JavaScript only once and run that across both Android and iOS, as Javascript frameworks turn the code into native components for both platforms.
This ability to produce smooth-running highly attractive applications that have a native look, all from the same codebase across mobile platforms, literally forces one to say that React Native is a must-have tool if one wants to efficiently conquer the mobile landscape.
Key Differences between React JS and React Native
These are the primary differences between React JS and React Native optimization development-
- React JS is the leading way to build dynamic and responsive web apps. This way, one can develop fast execution within web browsers with the use of its updated virtual DOM framework. This provides users with perfectly smooth experiences. This technology optimizes web page changes to ensure that user interactions run as quickly and smoothly as possible.
- React Native is a toolkit for the development of mobile applications that makes it possible to create cross-platform applications using a single code in JavaScript. Building completely separate native applications for iOS and Android becomes very time-efficient and cost-efficient with its application. With such efficiency, React Native aims to meet the remarkably high levels of performance set by native applications. It even has a native look that feels like an app with responsiveness.
Developers use React JS with the aim to provide unrivaled experiences online, while on the other hand, React Native is made to enable effective and qualitative cross-platform development of mobile applications.
When to Choose React JS?
Build a Web App: Web App Development
You should leverage web development with the right tools using React JS. Its course-efficient and component-based architecture offers an excellent environment for the development of expressive, interactive UI components that can be reused all over the pages of your web application. React JS is one thing every developer would ask for when it comes to Single-Page Applications (SPAs) and sophisticated web platforms, as a foundation on which one can build seamless, captivating experiences.
SEO is a Priority:
React JS can assist you in increasing the exposure of your online application. React JS has been around in every digital era, whereby search engine rankings can sustain or suppress your online presence. In such an era, React JS guarantees your project is built with every consideration of speed, response, and also search engine optimization. Search engines can easily understand the React app’s content and index it for better results. So, it helps your project to get good results from SEO and the required attention of the internet audience.
When to Choose React Native?
Mobile Apps Development:
This is a framework for developing mobile applications. It is able to generate perfect, united source code in order to explore potential belongings to the platforms – Android and iOS. React Native crosses through many doors, left open by traditional app development and offers a quick and inexpensive way to produce high-quality, cross-platform mobile applications. What this means is that every project seeking to find wide mobile user penetration, yet not desiring to invest heavily in hiring various development teams for each single platform, can fluently utilize this.
Native Performance:
React Native puts native components to work in an effective way so your app uses the GPU and is indistinguishable from apps built using Objective-C or Java. Basically, this is a game changer in the space where native development is considered impractical due to financial or time constraints in independent development. Thus React Native proves hybrid programming is possible and, in some cases, it can be even better than native applications.
Real-world Applications
Examples of React JS: Some of the major examples of websites developed with React JS are Airbnb, Netflix, and Facebook. Their interfaces are dynamic, and that’s the reason customers get smooth experiences here.
Examples of React Native: Brands like Instagram, Skype, Tesla, and others have adopted React Native to be one of the most cross-compatible at nearly a native level in mobile applications.
FAQs
1. Can React JS and React Native be used together in the same project?
Yes, React JS and React Native are able to complement each other in a single project. With regard to the web part of this project, you might decide to use React JS in order to leverage its powerful UI capabilities, while with respect to the mobile application part, use React Native so that a unified end-user experience can be achieved from the shared logic present in both applications.
2. How does React Native achieve near-native performance?
It can engineer performance nearly equal to the native programs by compiling their elements. While old hybrid frameworks based themselves on web views, dictating all operations, React Native gives it a modern twist. Your JavaScript code will be interacting with native components. This would make your consumer anticipate the performance and responsiveness of the app to be almost at par with a fully native app.
3. Is it easier to find developers for React JS or React Native?
With such a huge and powerful community of JavaScript developers, React JS and React Native continue to be on top of the best front-end technologies, hence easier to find developers with these skill stacks. React JS is one of the oldest and most popular technologies on the front end, and the community has an immense pool of experienced engineers. This is due to an increased demand for mobile programming that has led to an increased community of React Native.
4. What are the main advantages of using React JS for web development?
The main benefits why React JS being a preferred programming language in the development of web applications are component-based design of its framework, offering reusability in UI components, and a virtual DOM to improve application rendering performance. In this line, React JS best fits those desiring to have dynamic, high-performance online applications with the characteristics of being maintainable and easily scalable.
Conclusion
You must have understood that React Native and React JS are two important tools that developers should keep in their tech stack. The important thing to consider is you need to proceed with any one of these, carefully and strategically whether you are developing a website or an app for your business. Therefore, you should understand the strengths and unique potentials of both of these to transform your brand into a digital success.
Through this blog, you must have come across a few excellent examples of brands using these frameworks for their success. You should also proceed with establishing your digital presence by taking inspiration from them. Use it as per your unique business requirements.