YOKE NETWORK
Upgrading the React Native app to increase performance and give it a UX boost.
Objective
To revolutionize the user experience and elevate the functionality of the leading tool for social media influence marketers, ensuring it's more intuitive, engaging and technologically advanced and scalable for future needs.
About The Client
YOKE Network is an Influencer Marketing Agency that drives exponential app growth through curated influencer engagement.
They came up with the idea of an app with two simultaneous goals: to help you reach the right influencers that will enhance your commercial activities on social media and to help influencers find great products they could advertise and get paid for doing so. The app became an effective tool to match influencers with their advertising possibilities.
Challenge
YOKE Network team faced significant challenges due to the use of an outdated version of React Native.
These challenges included:
Limited performance and complicated implementation of new features: The outdated React Native version decreased the app performance and led to compatibility problems with newer libraries and tools, affecting the app's integration capabilities and future growth.
Code Quality Issues: The existing codebase had issues affecting its maintainability and efficiency. The outdated framework deepened these problems, making the code difficult to manage and scale.
Lack of TypeScript Implementation: The absence of TypeScript in the codebase limited the robustness and developer-friendliness of the app.
Outdated Libraries for API Communication: The use of outdated libraries restricted the app's functionality, particularly in terms of API communication and data handling.
Build Problems on Developers' Machines: Developers faced difficulties in building the application on their machines, leading to inefficiencies in the development process.
YOKE Network team was committed to keeping the app in React Native. This decision was made based on the previous, positive experiences with this technology and to avoid the complexities and additional resources required for building two separate apps for iOS and Android, allowing them to maintain everything within a single codebase. During this project YOKE also aimed to revamp the app with a new look and feel, incorporating new ideas and functionalities to enhance the user experience.
Using outdated versions of React Native is a common yet critical issue in various industries, often leading to significant challenges. Outdated frameworks can expose apps to security vulnerabilities and escalate development costs due to the accumulation of technical debt. As the codebase becomes more outdated, the effort and resources needed to update and maintain it increase, impeding the development pace and innovation. This situation not only affects the immediate operational efficiency but also has strategic implications, impacting a company's ability to respond swiftly to market demands and maintain a competitive edge.
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Solution
Our plan for the whole mobile app update was to:
UPDATE REACT NATIVE TO THE LATEST VERSION
Migrate App to Expo
ENHANCE USER EXPERIENCE WITH NEW DESIGN
ADD NEW FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITIES
TECHNOLOGIES USED DURING THIS PROJECT
React Native
Expo
Redux
Styled Components
Axios
Sketch
react-native-charts
Firebase Push Notifications
Development
For YOKE Network, their app is the core of their business. Recognizing this, the update of the app was not just routine maintenance but a crucial undertaking pivotal to the company's success.
We approached the development phase with a strategy aimed at ensuring that the app overcame its existing limitations and stood ready for future scalability and enhancements. Our development team, embarked on a two-pronged approach:
1. Updating React Native and Packages
The first part of the strategy involved a thorough update of the React Native framework and its associated packages. This process included:
Assessing Current Versions and Target Versions: The team began by evaluating the existing framework and package versions to determine the optimal targets for the upgrade.
Updating React Native Core and Gradual Dependencies: The core of React Native and its dependencies were updated in a controlled, step-by-step manner to manage the transition effectively.
Reviewing Breaking Changes and Optimizing Performance: Each update was scrutinized for breaking changes. The team focused on optimizing performance, ensuring that the new version delivered enhanced speed and responsiveness.
Ensuring Compatibility and Updating Third-Party Libraries: A key aspect was to ensure that all third-party libraries were compatible with the new version of React Native, updating them as necessary to maintain functionality and stability.
2. Migrating to Expo
The second major task was migrating the app to Expo, which involved:
Initializing an Expo Project and Adjusting File Structure: The project was started anew within the Expo environment, requiring a reorganization of the file structure to align with the Expo's framework.
Managing Dependencies and Adjusting Components/Modules: Dependencies and various components and modules were managed and adjusted to fit within the new Expo context.
Configuring App Settings and Conducting Extensive Testing: Finalizing the migration involved configuring app settings for optimal performance and conducting extensive testing to ensure everything functioned seamlessly in the new environment.
Results
The transformative upgrades undertaken on the YOKE Network app have yielded remarkable results, reshaping it into a more powerful and user-friendly tool for influencers and social media marketers.
Effects of the Upgrades:
Updating React Native
The upgrade to the latest version of React Native has been a critical change, delivering substantial performance gains and improved stability. It allows for reinforced security, and the app now benefits from an array of new features. Higher compatibility with third-party libraries and better ecosystem support have further augmented the app's capabilities.
These changes have boosted developer satisfaction and simplified troubleshooting processes. The app's long-term viability has been secured, reducing technical debt and ensuring it supports the latest devices, thus offering an enriched user experience.
Migrating to Expo
The migration to Expo has optimized the app-building process, utilizing building in NAS for greater efficiency. Access to the Expo SDK has provided a wealth of pre-built components and modules, accelerating development timelines.
One of the most significant advantages has been the implementation of over-the-air updates, enabling rapid deployment of bug fixes and new features. The built-in security and performance improvements and the support from Expo's active community have added an extra layer of reliability and excellence to the app.
Refactoring the Codebase
The extensive refactoring led to a significant improvement in code quality, enhancing both maintainability and scalability. The integration of TypeScript has introduced a new level of robustness and developer-friendliness, streamlining the development process. And all of that resulted in increased code reusability and a noticeable reduction in development effort.
With these vast advancements, from the source code to the design, and the scaling up with new functionalities, the YOKE Network app has been reborn. It's not just an upgrade but rather a brand-new product, crafted to meet the evolving needs of today's influencers and social media marketers.
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Put very simply, Pagepro is amazing to work with. They feel like an extension of my own team. They’re fast and effective and I feel like they deeply understand our product and what we’re building. For a startup this is paramount for us.
Mustafa MohamedCo-founder & CTO, YOKE Network
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