## Introduction

In 2025, the demand for mobile apps continues to surge as users seek seamless experiences across devices. For businesses with existing web applications, migrating to mobile using React Native offers a cost-effective, efficient solution. React Native, now at version 0.75, enables developers to reuse web app logic while delivering native performance on iOS and Android. This guide walks you through the process of turning a web app into a mobile app using React Native, leveraging the latest tools and practices. Plus, discover how [Dopebase](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;dopebase.com) templates can accelerate your migration with pre-built, production-ready solutions.

## Why Migrate to React Native in 2025?

React Native remains a top choice for cross-platform development due to:
- **Performance Boosts**: The Hermes engine, now default in React Native 0.75 and Expo SDK 51+, optimizes startup times and memory usage, ideal for web-to-mobile transitions.
- **Code Reusability**: Share up to 80% of your JavaScript codebase from web (e.g., React) with minimal adjustments.
- **Modern Ecosystem**: Integration with TypeScript, React Navigation 7, and Reanimated 3 ensures a future-proof stack.
- **Community Support**: Active updates and a robust plugin ecosystem keep React Native relevant for startups and enterprises.

## Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:
- Node.js 20.x (LTS) and npm 10.x installed.
- React Native CLI or Expo 51 (latest as of 2025) set up.
- A web app built with React 18.x (or a similar framework like Next.js).
- Basic knowledge of JavaScript&#x2F;TypeScript and mobile development concepts.

## Step-by-Step Migration Process

### 1. Assess Your Web App

#### What to Evaluate
- **Component Structure**: Identify reusable React components (e.g., buttons, forms).
- **State Management**: Check if you use Context API, Redux Toolkit, or Zustand.
- **APIs and Data**: Ensure your REST or GraphQL endpoints are mobile-friendly (e.g., handle offline data with WorkManager).
- **UI&#x2F;UX**: Note web-specific styles (e.g., CSS) that need adaptation for mobile screens.

#### Action
- Document your app’s architecture and list components for reuse. Use tools like Bit to extract reusable UI components.

### 2. Set Up a New React Native Project

#### Using React Native CLI
1. Initialize a new project:
   &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
   npx react-native@0.75 init MobileApp --template react-native-template-typescript
   &#96;&#96;&#96;
2. Navigate to the project:
   &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
   cd MobileApp
   &#96;&#96;&#96;

#### Using Expo (Recommended for Simplicity)
1. Create a project:
   &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
   npx create-expo-app@latest MobileApp --template blank-typescript
   &#96;&#96;&#96;
2. Start the app:
   &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
   npx expo start
   &#96;&#96;&#96;
- **Hermes Compatibility**: No extra configuration is needed in &#96;app.json&#96; for Expo 51+ as Hermes is enabled by default:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;json
  &quot;expo&quot;: {
    &quot;jsEngine&quot;: &quot;hermes&quot;
  }
  &#96;&#96;&#96;

#### Why Expo?
Expo 51 simplifies native module integration and includes Hermes, reducing setup time. [Dopebase](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;instamobile.io) offers Expo-compatible templates to jumpstart this step.

### 3. Migrate Reusable Code

#### Transfer Components
- Copy reusable React components (e.g., &#96;Button&#96;, &#96;Input&#96;) from your web app to the &#96;src&#x2F;components&#96; folder.
- Update imports to use React Native’s core components (e.g., replace &#96;div&#96; with &#96;View&#96;, &#96;span&#96; with &#96;Text&#96;).
- Example:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;tsx
  &#x2F;&#x2F; Web: src&#x2F;components&#x2F;Button.js
  import React from &#x27;react&#x27;;
  import &#x27;.&#x2F;Button.css&#x27;;

  const Button = ({ children, onClick }) =&gt; (
    &lt;button className=&quot;btn&quot; onClick={onClick}&gt;{children}&lt;&#x2F;button&gt;
  );

  &#x2F;&#x2F; Mobile: src&#x2F;components&#x2F;Button.tsx
  import React from &#x27;react&#x27;;
  import { TouchableOpacity, Text, StyleSheet } from &#x27;react-native&#x27;;

  const Button = ({ children, onClick }) =&gt; (
    &lt;TouchableOpacity style={styles.button} onPress={onClick} accessible={true}&gt;
      &lt;Text style={styles.text}&gt;{children}&lt;&#x2F;Text&gt;
    &lt;&#x2F;TouchableOpacity&gt;
  );

  const styles = StyleSheet.create({
    button: { padding: 10, backgroundColor: &#x27;#007AFF&#x27;, minWidth: 48, minHeight: 48 }, &#x2F;&#x2F; 48x48 touch target for accessibility
    text: { color: &#x27;#fff&#x27;, textAlign: &#x27;center&#x27; },
  });

  export default Button;
  &#96;&#96;&#96;

#### Adapt State Management
- **Context API**: Migrate directly with minor adjustments for mobile lifecycle events.
- **Redux Toolkit**: Install &#96;@reduxjs&#x2F;toolkit&#96; and &#96;react-redux&#96;:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  npm install @reduxjs&#x2F;toolkit react-redux
  &#96;&#96;&#96;
  Configure a store and reuse reducers from your web app.
- **Zustand**: Works out of the box with no platform-specific issues. Continue using your stores as-is if they’re not tightly coupled to DOM APIs. Example:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;tsx
  import create from &#x27;zustand&#x27;;

  const useStore = create((set) =&gt; ({
    count: 0,
    increment: () =&gt; set((state) =&gt; ({ count: state.count + 1 })),
  }));

  export default useStore;
  &#96;&#96;&#96;

### 4. Handle Styling and Layout

#### Replace CSS with StyleSheet
- Convert web CSS to React Native’s &#96;StyleSheet&#96;. Use flexbox for responsive layouts:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;tsx
  import { StyleSheet } from &#x27;react-native&#x27;;

  const styles = StyleSheet.create({
    container: {
      flex: 1,
      justifyContent: &#x27;center&#x27;,
      alignItems: &#x27;center&#x27;,
      padding: 20,
    },
  });
  &#96;&#96;&#96;

#### Use Tailwind CSS (Optional)
- Integrate &#96;react-native-tailwindcss&#96; for a web-like styling experience:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  npm install react-native-tailwindcss
  &#96;&#96;&#96;
- Example:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;tsx
  import tw from &#x27;react-native-tailwindcss&#x27;;

  const App = () =&gt; &lt;View style={tw&#96;flex-1 justify-center items-center bg-gray-100&#96;}&gt;Hello&lt;&#x2F;View&gt;;
  &#96;&#96;&#96;

#### Accessibility Note
Ensure touch targets are at least 48x48 dp for accessibility, as required by React Native guidelines. Adjust button styles accordingly (see example above).

### 5. Implement Navigation

#### Use React Navigation 7
1. Install dependencies:
   &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
   npm install @react-navigation&#x2F;native @react-navigation&#x2F;native-stack
   npx expo install react-native-screens react-native-safe-area-context
   &#96;&#96;&#96;
2. Set up a stack navigator:
   &#96;&#96;&#96;tsx
   import { NavigationContainer } from &#x27;@react-navigation&#x2F;native&#x27;;
   import { createNativeStackNavigator } from &#x27;@react-navigation&#x2F;native-stack&#x27;;

   const Stack = createNativeStackNavigator();

   const App = () =&gt; (
     &lt;NavigationContainer&gt;
       &lt;Stack.Navigator initialRouteName=&quot;Home&quot;&gt;
         &lt;Stack.Screen name=&quot;Home&quot; component={HomeScreen} &#x2F;&gt;
         &lt;Stack.Screen name=&quot;Details&quot; component={DetailsScreen} &#x2F;&gt;
       &lt;&#x2F;Stack.Navigator&gt;
     &lt;&#x2F;NavigationContainer&gt;
   );

   export default App;
   &#96;&#96;&#96;

#### Deep Linking (Optional)
If your web app uses routing, set up deep linking:
&#96;&#96;&#96;tsx
&lt;NavigationContainer linking={linking}&gt;
  &lt;Stack.Navigator&gt;
    &lt;Stack.Screen name=&quot;Home&quot; component={HomeScreen} &#x2F;&gt;
  &lt;&#x2F;Stack.Navigator&gt;
&lt;&#x2F;NavigationContainer&gt;

const linking = {
  prefixes: [&#x27;yourapp:&#x2F;&#x2F;&#x27;],
  config: { screens: { Home: &#x27;&#x27; } },
};
&#96;&#96;&#96;

### 6. Test and Optimize

#### Run on Emulators
- For Android:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  npx react-native run-android
  &#96;&#96;&#96;
- For iOS:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  npx react-native run-ios
  &#96;&#96;&#96;

#### Optimize with Hermes
- Hermes is enabled by default in React Native 0.75. Verify in &#96;android&#x2F;app&#x2F;build.gradle&#96;:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;gradle
  project.ext.react = [
    enableHermes: true,
  ]
  &#96;&#96;&#96;

#### Debugging
- **React Native CLI**: Use Flipper for real-time debugging:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  npm install --save-dev @react-native-community&#x2F;flipper
  &#96;&#96;&#96;
- **Expo**: Flipper isn’t supported out-of-the-box. Use Expo DevTools, or integrate Sentry&#x2F;LogRocket manually:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  npm install @sentry&#x2F;react-native
  &#96;&#96;&#96;

### 7. Deploy to App Stores

#### For React Native CLI
- Android: Create a signed APK&#x2F;AAB:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  cd android &amp;&amp; .&#x2F;gradlew bundleRelease
  &#96;&#96;&#96;
- iOS: Archive in Xcode and submit via App Store Connect.

#### For Expo Managed Workflow
- Use EAS Build:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  npx eas build --platform android
  npx eas build --platform ios
  &#96;&#96;&#96;
- Alternatively, with classic Expo build:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  npx expo build:android
  npx expo build:ios
  &#96;&#96;&#96;

#### Dopebase Templates
[Dopebase](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;dopebase.com) provides pre-configured templates with CI&#x2F;CD setups (e.g., Fastlane) to streamline deployment. Check [instamobile.io](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;instamobile.io) for React Native options.

## Best Practices for 2025

- **Leverage TypeScript**: Use TypeScript for type safety across web and mobile codebases.
- **Optimize Images**: Use &#96;react-native-fast-image&#96; for efficient loading. Additionally:
  - Integrate &#96;react-native-svg&#96; for scalable vector graphics:
    &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
    npm install react-native-svg
    &#96;&#96;&#96;
  - Load images from CDNs like Cloudinary for dynamic content.
- **Enable Dark Mode**: Implement theming with &#96;Appearance&#96; API:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;tsx
  import { useColorScheme } from &#x27;react-native&#x27;;

  const App = () =&gt; {
    const colorScheme = useColorScheme();
    const theme = colorScheme === &#x27;dark&#x27; ? darkStyles : lightStyles;
    return &lt;View style={theme.container} &#x2F;&gt;;
  };
  &#96;&#96;&#96;
- **Platform-Specific Behaviors**: Use &#96;expo-device&#96; to detect device capabilities:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  npm install expo-device
  &#96;&#96;&#96;
  &#96;&#96;&#96;tsx
  import * as Device from &#x27;expo-device&#x27;;

  if (Device.osName === &#x27;iOS&#x27;) { &#x2F;* iOS-specific logic *&#x2F; }
  &#96;&#96;&#96;
- **Consistent Layouts**: Use &#96;react-native-responsive-dimensions&#96; for adaptive designs:
  &#96;&#96;&#96;bash
  npm install react-native-responsive-dimensions
  &#96;&#96;&#96;

## Conclusion

Migrating a web app to mobile with React Native in 2025 is a strategic move to reach wider audiences with minimal rework. By reusing your React components, adopting modern tools like Hermes, React Navigation 7, and optimizing for accessibility and performance, you can launch a native app efficiently. For a head start, [Dopebase](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;dopebase.com) offers production-ready templates at [instamobile.io](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;instamobile.io) and [instaflutter.com](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;instaflutter.com), tailored for React Native and Flutter. Follow us on [X](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;x.com&#x2F;instamobileio) or [Facebook](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.facebook.com&#x2F;dopebase001) for more migration tips and join our community to share your journey!

## Hashtags
#Dopebase #MobileApps #ReactNative #WebToMobile #AppDevelopment #Expo #Hermes #TypeScript #ReactNavigation #Flutter #Tech2025


## Additional Resources
- [dopebase.com](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;dopebase.com) - Mobile app development resources and templates
- [instamobile.io](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;instamobile.io) - Explore our production-ready React Native templates
- [instaflutter.com](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;instaflutter.com) - Check out our Flutter templates for cross-platform development
- [iosapptemplates.com](https:&#x2F;&#x2F;iosapptemplates.com) - Premium iOS app templates for quick development

Step-by-step guide to migrating your web app to mobile using React Native in 2025. Learn how to reuse code, optimize with Hermes, and deploy with Dopebase templates.

Turning a Web App into Mobile: Migrating to React Native

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