A successful React Native App doesn’t come with fancy animations or rich features. The only way to make your React Native app successful and scalable for millions of users is to manage your code repository effectively, keep dependencies up to date, utilize the latest code architecture, implement security features, and more.​

In this article, we will walk through the ways by which we can scale our React Native app to millions of users and increase the app’s lifecycle for a long time.

The following are some ways to make a React Native app scalable. We will take a deep look at each method, one by one.

• Security Implementations
• Atomic Design Pattern
• Check and Update Library Version
• Unit Tests
• Keep React Native Version Up to Date
• Don’t use the Older Library
• No lint and TS Errors

Security Implementations

Security is a key factor for a successful app. There is always a risk of a security breach because APKs or IPAs can be reverse-engineered, exposing your API keys and secrets, and potentially compromising users’ personal data. The following are key techniques to secure your React Native app.

• Certificate Pinning (SSL Pinning)
• Code Obfuscation
• Secure Local Storage
• API Key & Access Token Protection
• Secure Session Management
• Jailbreak & Root Detection

I have written a whole separate article on Security Implementations, in which I have explained each factor in detail. You can read it to explore security implementations further. Below is the link.

https://www.codegranted.com/blog/is-your-react-native-app-secure

Atomic Design Pattern

The Atomic Design pattern is a way to organize your code structure and UI components. Atomic Design means building your UI in small chunks, like Lego blocks.

1. Atoms

Atoms are basic and small UI elements that cannot be further broken down, with no business logic involved.

Examples

• Button
• Text
• Input
• Icon

2. Molecules

Molecules are combinations of atoms that do one small job.

Examples

• Input + Label
• Icon + Text
• Search Bar

3. Organisms

Organisms are bigger UI blocks, can be a section of the screen, and can have business logic

Examples

• Login Form
• Header
• Product Card List

4. Templates

Templates can be a page layout structure that is applied to the entire application or to specific screens.

Example

• SameAreaView Template

5. Pages (Screen)

Pages are real screens that use real data, APIs, state, and business logics.

Example

• LoginScreen
• HomeScreen

With the help of the atomic design pattern, we can create a very organized UI, components are easy to reuse, and we can achieve a consistent design. Development time will decrease because everything is organised and easy to use.

The following is an example of the Atomic Design Pattern Structure

src/
 Components/
  Atoms/
   Button/
    Button.tsx
    Button.styles.ts
    Button.types.ts
    Button.utils.ts
    Index.ts
  Molecules
   TextInput
  Organisms
   LoginForm
  Templates
   SafeAreaView
  Pages
   Login

Check and Update Library Version

If you use any third-party libraries, you should regularly check and update them to the latest version if necessary. Ideally, you should check for any critical updates every three months.

If you run npm outdated or yarn outdated, you will see complete details of all libraries, including the current version, the latest version, and any libraries that are very old or outdated, which will be marked in red.

Unit Tests

Unit testing in React Native means checking small parts of the app (like a function, component, or hook) to make sure they work correctly. Each test focuses on one small thing only.

The main benefit of unit testing is that it helps find bugs early, makes the app more stable, and gives confidence when changing or updating code. If something breaks, unit tests quickly show where the problem is. This saves time and helps keep the app reliable as it grows.

Keep React Native Version Up to Date

You will not regret it in the future if you keep your app’s React Native version up to date. React Native updates rapidly, with a new version released roughly every three months. For example, React Native recently introduced a new architecture in version 0.71+, which includes Fabric and TurboModules.

Another reason to keep your React Native version up to date is that the Google Play Store recently made it mandatory for apps to support at least Minimum API Level 34. This was a breaking change, and apps that did not meet the required minimum API level were removed from the Play Store.

You can use this https://react-native-community.github.io/upgrade-helper/ helper tool to update your app’s React Native version

Don’t use the older library

When choosing a library to install in a React Native app, you should always check when it was last published and how many weekly downloads it has. If the library was last published within the past 3 to 6 months, it is generally safe to install. However, if a library has not been updated for more than a year, you should be cautious when choosing it.

Always choose libraries that are actively maintained and has large community support.

No lint and TS/JS Errors

During development, you should make sure not to leave any linting, TypeScript, or JavaScript errors in the code, as this creates a very bad impression on anyone who works on the same code repository later.

You should install the Prettier VS Code extension to detect and resolve any lint issues. For TypeScript/JavaScript issues, you can set Airbnb ESLint rules in the code repository. If there are any bugs or errors, the affected lines and files will be marked in red until the errors are resolved.

Airbnb rules are a set of coding rules made by Airbnb to keep JavaScript / React code:

• Clean
• Consistent
• Easy to read
• Less buggy

Final Notes

There could be many other ways, but the above are some very useful methods to make your React Native app scalable and long-lasting, because updated code never dies. If you liked this article, please share it with your friends. Thank you.