Unlock the Power of React Native: Top UI Libraries and Best Practices
The React Native community is thriving, with thousands of contributors and a vast array of modules and third-party libraries at your disposal. As a mobile developer, it’s essential to know which libraries to use to create the best possible user and developer experience. In this article, we’ll introduce you to 15 React Native UI libraries that can elevate your mobile app development game.
Styling Your App with Restyle
When it comes to styling, the React community is spoiled for choice. After experimenting with various CSS-in-JS approaches, I’ve settled on using Tailwind CSS for web and Restyle for React Native. Developed by Shopify, Restyle offers a type-enforced system for building UI components. By defining colors, spacing, and variations, you can create a complete design system that guides your coworkers and keeps your application clean.
Navigating Your App with React Navigation
React Navigation has come a long way since its early days. With the help of Software Mansion, the community has optimized three of the most-used libraries in the React Native ecosystem: React Native Screens, React Native Gesture Handler, and React Native Reanimated. Today, React Navigation is the go-to choice for navigation, offering a seamless performance improvement.
Creating a Splash Screen with React-Native-Bootsplash
Adding a splash screen to your mobile app can be a tedious task. That’s where react-native-bootsplash comes in – a CLI-based package that enables you to create a fancy splash screen with ease. Simply provide an image and background color, and the package will do the rest.
Automating App Icons with React Native Make
Generating app icons for iOS and Android platforms can be a chore. React Native Make, a plugin available through the React Native CLI, simplifies the process. With a 1024×1024 version of your app icon, you’re ready to generate app icon assets in no time.
Loading Placeholders with React-Content-Loader
Creating a loading experience similar to Facebook and YouTube can be achieved with react-content-loader. This package, based on react-native-svg and Reanimated, provides a playground to help you create a placeholder in your browser.
Handling Errors with React-Native-Exception-Handler
Even with high testing coverage, users may still encounter bugs. React-Native-Exception-Handler offers a simple way to handle native and JavaScript errors, providing feedback to users when the app isn’t working as expected.
Fetching Data with React-Query and Urql
Depending on your back-end implementation, react-query or urql can be your best choice for handling API calls. These libraries provide features like caching, offline support, optimistic UI, prefetching, and more.
Using Icons with React-Native-SVG and SVGR
Instead of using React Native Vector Icons, consider creating custom fonts with react-native-svg and the amazing SVGR package. This approach allows you to generate a React component from any SVG file, even directly from a Figma file.
Optimizing Images with FastImage
If your application relies heavily on images, you may notice performance issues. FastImage, a performant React Native image component, can help improve your app without extra effort.
Handling Forms with React Hook Form
For handling forms in React Native, React Hook Form is an excellent solution. This library offers state management, validation, errors management, and multiple array fields.
Testing Your App with React Native Testing Library and Detox
When it comes to testing, your knowledge of frontend testing libraries can be applied to React Native. React Native Testing Library has a similar API, and Detox from Wix is ideal for writing end-to-end tests.
Tips and Best Practices for Using React Native UI Libraries
- Create a React Native template to easily start new projects
- Follow open source projects to stay updated about new libraries and best practices
- Use TypeScript with React Native to improve code quality and developer experience
By leveraging these top React Native UI libraries and following best practices, you’ll be well on your way to creating high-quality mobile apps that delight users.