How To Develop An E-Commerce App In React Native?

There are several ways to develop an e-commerce application. So much so, that it has become quite hard to keep track. Some ways include dragging and dropping various elements into the application, and others hands-on coding. Platforms such as Shoutem, Appypie, and Swiftic offer adequate tools to a beginner developer. While these platforms have their benefits, they do not provide the freedom and flexibility one might need.

E-commerce is the market that can reap a lot of benefits from React Native. Unlike other platforms, React Native offers all the functionalities that an e-commerce platform might need. It has component libraries that, when bundled with an application, takes care of various app functions by itself. Acknowledging that, below are some of the ways to e-commerce app develop using React native:

Development Elements

Prerequisites: The prerequisites in app development often depend on the platform used to create an application. These elements ensure a smooth development journey as one moves further in the process. Before getting started with the process, here are some ideas and concepts to be mindful of:

Get familiar with computational concepts such as functions, objects, arrays, and classes.

Develop a basic knowledge of JavaScript.

Harbour some familiarity with HTML and CSS.

Installing a few packages such as npm and node.

Setting Up: There are essentially two ways to set up your first React Native project. You can use two bootstrapping tools, either CRNA/Expo CLI or the react-native CLI. CRNA/Expo CLI can get recommended to the ones who are new to mobile development, while react-native for the ones with some experience in the development field.

CRNA/Expo CLI used to be two different tools. They got merged into a single one to make a more flexible development tooling component. In case one wants to initialize a traditional-style project containing all of the necessary sources that one may need; they can opt for the 'react-native init’ option.

Creating a new project: Depending on the library used initially, one can create a new project respective to its process. While creating a project, the proper practice is to make definitive and properly labeled relevant folders.

For example, one could use IDEs such as Android Studio (Android) and XCode (iOS) to instantly create proper folders and files, using its automated processes. Either that or they could use expo CLI for quick creation of React Native applications. That helps initiate projects at a glance and set them up instantly.

Installing required packages: React Native offers a large pool of built-in Core Components and APIs. These components are ready to be used with your application, but you're not limited to just them. If the core components do not suffice your needs, the developer is free to find and install libraries from the community section. Below are some of the steps to undertake when installing required packages:

Select a Package Manager.

Find Libraries (React-native-elements, React-native-navigation).

Determine Library Compatibility.

Install a Library.

Link Native Code to iOS/Android.

Developing a stack navigator: In a mobile application, a flow is present between various screens or within the elements present in a screen itself. For example, initially, the application should load itself, following by loading the products page. The users should also be able to navigate the product details page after selecting a specific product.

All of these elements are made possible by developing a stack navigator. "A Stack Navigator helps the app transition between screens where each new screen gets placed on top of a stack.", as explained in React Navigation Official Document.

Adding Cart to the App: A shopping cart is an essential part of an e-commerce application. A shopping cart is like a medium between the process of shopping and buying. Hence, it becomes one of the most crucial aspects of an e-commerce app experience. Using expo, you can develop and implement the following elements in your app's cart system:

Checkbox.

Delete Button.

Quantity Field.

Voucher Text Box.

Select All.

Subtotal.

Checkout Button.

Parsing the data: Data Parsing is a method of converting a string of data into a different type. It is a process that usually gets performed to transform code into a more readable data format. React Native uses XML in its Data Parsing process.

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is one of the most famous formats for document and data encoding using markup tags. React Native offers many inbuilt React APIs, such as fetch, async/await, etc. to parse data.

Implementing user authentication: Almost every online application needs a login or a sign-up funnel. It is a sort of portal between the application and the user. With a user-authentication feature, a user of an e-commerce application should be able to:

Create an account.

Log into their account.

Access the product page.

Save and retrieve products from the cart.

Manually Log out.

Recover forgotten passwords and hacked accounts.

Applying Aesthetics to the UI: React Native has one of the best tools for creating beautiful user interfaces and experiences. An aesthetically pleasing UI is the gateway to long-lasting user interaction and relationships. Keep in mind that an application's aesthetic should always be consistent with the brand image and theme.

Testing and Debugging: Testing and debugging is one of the most crucial elements of app development. In React Native, testing gets done on a part called React Native Unit. A React Native Unit is the smallest testable part of a React Native application.

A developer can thus perform React Native unit testing on individual methods, functions, classes, procedures, modules, elements, or objects. Unit Testing makes the process of debugging much more accessible than other testing processes.

Conclusion

Reading the blog above, one should get the fundamental idea behind e-commerce application Development with React Native The framework, being developed by Facebook, has revolutionized how we create our applications. With that, it is quite a wise choice to hop on to the platform to create the next big e-commerce application of the future.