React Native vs Ionic: Choosing The Best Cross-Platform Framework in 2019

During the simple times of mobile applications development, there were fewer things that you needed to be concerned with. All you had to do was to agree on the design, the features and how much you would be willing to spend in order to create it. Nowadays you have to make more overarching choices such as which framework to use during development. While there are seemingly endless possibilities out there, in this article, we will look at Ionic and React Native.

Ionic vs. React Native: What Cross-Platform Framework to Choose

The Ionic mobile app framework is very portable and offers parts that can be wholly customized components that will work on any platform. Ionic gives you such a possibility with open web standards. Your app will even work on new platforms such as Progressive Web Apps. However, perhaps the biggest reason why developers love Ionic is the level of customization that it offers. You can customize every little piece of the user interface. Also, since you are working with one codebase, it will be easier to customize the design of the app to suit a particular platform better. The stability that Ionic offers can be enjoyed by both users and developers alike. Developers can sleep soundly at night knowing that what they wrote one day will continue to work tomorrow. Think about this from the business perspective as well. Since the number of mobile users is increasing every day, there is a good chance that prospective customers are finding you via mobile. It is imperative that you provide them with a quality experience or else they will leave.

Here is an Ionic framework review:

• Open source framework;
• Includes a command line interface which means that the apps can be created and tested regardless of the platform;
• UI focused thus providing a great user experience;
• Apps will be available on Android, iOS, and Windows.

React Native vs. Ionic Performance

This is tricky because in most cases there is not a sizeable difference between hybrid and native as far as performance is concerned. Since performance is usually the top priority when creating an app, it would best to build natively and utilize the tools offered by iOS and Android.

Therefore, apps built with Ionic will be great in terms of performance since you do not have to worry about the unique behaviors of each platform. This will not be an issue with React Native, and the user will get a seamless experience. Also, React Native offers better responsiveness and stability when working with large amounts of data. Ionic will require Web Views to render the apps on mobile which will lead to longer upload times and more memory being used.

React vs. Ionic: When and What to Use

Making the right decision will not be easy. One of the best things to do from the get-go would be to identify a long terms vision. This means trying to fill in the pieces of the puzzle of the long-term picture. This includes thinking about how you see people using it, are you willing to pay extra, if needed, to get top-notch performance, do you want your app to be accessible only on mobile devices but desktops as well. By answering some of these questions, you will be able to make a choice easier. For example, if it is vital for you that your app be accessible from any device, not just mobile, this will require a hybrid web approach, which means that you should use Ionic.

One of the clear advantages React Native has is the documentation. Since it has the full support of a big company like Facebook, all of the documentation is readily available. This cannot be said about Ionic which only has the documentation for essential support. The additional benefits of having support from Facebook is React Native will mature faster. Any of the problems that you may have encountered in the past will be dealt with quicker simply because Facebook uses React Native to power Messenger and Instagram and will, therefore, work to improve any issues continuously. This means that Facebook will continually test React Native at a level which Ionic cannot match.

Why you should choose React Native to develop a mobile application:

• Certain parts can recycle and be used on both Android and iOS;
• Supports viewing changes in real-time;
• Fast problem resolution;
• Uniform code development.

Conclusion

Whenever you are making a big decision about the development process, make sure that everybody is on the same page in terms of the commitment that you are making to the framework that you choose. This includes the approach towards development and the global vision. The decisions should not be based on the tech stack but rather how the app’s usefulness align with the approach towards its development.

With all the factors mentioned above, it is essential to take into account the skills that your team have right now. Even if it would be better to use one framework, you might not have the necessary skills available to do and the timelines of the project do not allow you to train your team so that they will have the required proficiency levels. There might be many other aspects your decision will have to be based on such as what you have right now and what it is possible to get from the outside. For example, if you have the budget to hire additional developers to fill some of the skills gaps, then you certainly give yourself a lot of options to work with. Therefore, be sure to weigh everything carefully and come to a conclusion based on not just which technology has the most pluses but what is physically possible.