Checklist to Deploy React Native to Production
Many React Native developers came to mobile development from a background of web development (like me). That’s one of the reasons React Native is appealing — it’s so much like the web.
But because of this we often have a gap of knowledge, namely around bringing the app to production. The web has its challenges but mobile development has a different set of challenges — challenges we may not necessarily be familiar with.
I know this is something I struggled with so I wanted to put together a quick checklist of tasks you can use to successfully bring your React Native app to production.
iOS
- Create a development account with apple (this can take some time for verification so do it early — $99/year)
- Add app icons to your app (I typically use this tool to generate all necessary sizes)
- Add splash screens to your app (I typically use this tool to generate all necessary sizes)
- Create a new explicit app id on developer.apple.com (this gives you more flexibility in the future rather than using a wildcard)
- Select your explicit app id as the bundle identifier in Xcode
- Create development and production certificates for your app (Fastlane match can help with this)
- Create development and production provisioning profiles for your app (Fastlane match can help with this)
- Create app in iTunes Connect
- Upload
- …
- Profit? 🤑
Android
- Create Google Play Developer Account ($25)
- Add app icons to your app (I typically use this tool to generate all necessary sizes)
- Add splash screens to your app (I typically use this tool to generate all necessary sizes)
- Update the package name of your application
- Generate the Signed Production APK
- Create app in the Google Play Console
- Upload
- …
- Profit? 🤑
Other Considerations
- Throughly test your app! Uploading a new version of your app isn’t quite as fast as it is on the web so you really want to make sure your app isn’t going to crash 😅
- Add basic offline support. A network connection isn’t guaranteed (especially if you’re targeting emerging markets) so test things on a disconnected device or at least one with a slow connection
- Spend time on your release management. I don’t automate much but I do try to make it as easy and error free as possible. Tools like Fastlane and CodePush help a ton.
I hope that brief checklist gives you something to follow along with as you bring your React Native app to production! If you’re looking for more information in regards to bringing an app to production I’ve put together an in-depth, step-by-step course that walks you through this entire process via video.
If you’re interested in learning more check it out: React Native to Production
