Best Approach for Developing a Cross-Platform Mobile App alongside a Django Web App?

Using Django Getting Started
1

I’m currently working on building a Django app, and I anticipate that it will eventually require a cross-platform mobile app as well.

While the Django web app can be designed to be mobile responsive, I’m considering the option of developing a native app. I’ve done some research, and it seems like React Native could be a good choice. However, I’m open to suggestions since React Native involves a completely different world and language compared to Django and Python.

I’d appreciate any recommendations or insights you may have regarding the best route to take for building a native mobile app alongside my Django app.

2

Building a native mobile app alongside your Django web app is a great idea to provide a seamless experience for your users. React Native is indeed a popular choice for developing cross-platform mobile apps, and it can integrate well with Django. However, there are other options available as well. Let’s explore a few possibilities:

  1. Flutter: A cross-platform framework developed by Google using the Dart programming language.Resources:
  1. NativeScript: A framework for building native mobile apps using JavaScript or TypeScript.Resources:
  2. Kotlin Multiplatform / Swift Package Manager: Platform-specific approaches using Kotlin Multiplatform for Android and Swift Package Manager for iOS.Resources:
3

React Native would work perfectly fine for a cross-platform mobile app. If speed is a factor and you do not have experience with React, I suggest looking into Progressive Web Apps

4

You might want to look at HyperView project.

1 Like
5

Thank you @nafi-ullah @r3dm1ke @rtpm for your suggestions.

The reason I was looking into react native was because it’s the one I have found to be more of a future proof and the UI can be modern and native.

However, using react native looks like I am throwing away all the batteries included with django. django will serve only as the api to react native and I have to convert all the views to api and duplicating the codes. Also, I couldn’t use all the time saving features django provide.

I was looking for something from which I could build native mobile apps in as less time as possible.

Any suggestions for that?

6

If you want to use as much Django as possible you need to look for SDUI solutions (Server Driven UI). I used hyperview in a small project.

There are some other projects you might be interested. Google for react sdui, flutter sdui.

If not, Django-rest-framework + react native (expo) but yes… you will need to rewrite the logic, create rest endpoints etc.

Hope SDUI gets more popular.
Personally I will be more looking at hyperview as soon as “navigation” branch is completed (which lets you manage navigation stacks). Guys from InstaWork really do a great job.