An app, when an app is genuinely needed
Mobile app development — React Native, or a PWA if that is enough
For most shops and clinics an installable web app does the job for a fraction of the cost. When it does not, React Native gives you Android and iOS from one codebase, published under your own developer account.
App or PWA? The rule we use
An app earns its place when it needs something the browser cannot reach, or when people open it several times a week. Otherwise it is a second product to build, test, release and maintain — and an icon nobody taps.
A PWA is enough when the job is browsing, ordering, booking or reading; when web push notifications are enough; and when the value is "on the home screen, opens full screen, works offline for what it has already loaded".
A native app is worth it when you need the camera as a working tool rather than a file picker, background location, Bluetooth or a scanner, reliable offline work with sync, or when the app is used daily by staff in the field.
We tell you which one before you commission either. It is the cheapest advice we give and the one that most often saves a budget.
Why React Native
One codebase produces both platforms, which halves the build and — more importantly — halves every change you make for the next three years. It is native rendering, not a web view in a wrapper, so lists scroll properly and the app feels like the platform it is on.
The app talks to the same API as your website, so a price, a stock level or an order exists once. If the site is ours, that API already exists; if it is not, we build it as part of the work.
What you get
- Android and iOS from one codebase, in your brand
- Published under your Google Play and App Store accounts, not ours — the listing, the reviews and the users are yours
- The source in your repository, with the release pipeline documented
- Push notifications, deep links, and analytics if you want them
- The API the app runs on, documented, whether it is new or already there
App development pricing
Installable web app (PWA)
- On your existing site or shop
- Web push notifications
- Home-screen icon, full-screen mode
- Offline for what it has loaded
- The cheapest route by far
React Native app · customers
- Android and iOS from one codebase
- On your own site API
- Published under your accounts
- Figure from the written scope
- Source in your repository
Operational app · staff and field
- Camera, location, offline
- Sync with your core system
- Device management
- Figure from the written scope
Five things that kill an app, all visible before it starts
- No reason to open it. If nothing changes between visits, there is nothing to come back to. Loyalty points, order status and appointments are reasons; a catalogue alone is not.
- A web view in a wrapper. It ships fast, feels wrong, and gets rejected by review or abandoned by users.
- No API. An app on top of a site that has no API means building the API too — plan for it rather than discovering it in week three.
- Published under the agency's account. Then the listing is not yours and neither are the users. We publish under your accounts, always.
- No budget for the year after. Both platforms change their rules annually; an app that is not maintained stops being installable within about two years.
Questions about app development
How much does a mobile app cost?
A PWA on an existing site is a fraction of an app and is often the honest answer. A React Native app is quoted from the written scope, because the cost is in what it has to do — offline sync, payments, maps — not in the number of screens. We do not publish a headline figure we would then have to walk back.
Can a PWA really replace an app?
For browsing, ordering, booking and reading, usually yes: it installs to the home screen, opens full screen and can send web push. It cannot do background location, Bluetooth, or reliable heavy offline work. Those are the cases where we recommend a native build.
Why React Native rather than two native apps?
Because you pay for one codebase instead of two, and every later change costs half as much. Native Swift and Kotlin still win for games, heavy graphics, or deep platform integration; for a business app they are two products to keep in step forever.
Whose developer account is it published under?
Yours. We set up or use your Google Play and App Store accounts, so the listing, the reviews, the users and the ability to publish an update never depend on us.
Do we need a website first?
You need an API, and a website is usually where it comes from. If your site has one, the app uses it. If it does not, building it is part of the project and it makes the website better too.
First, whether you need an app at all
Send a paragraph about what the app should do. We reply by the next working morning and say honestly whether a PWA covers it — and if it does not, what the app would take.