Why I Scrapped My React Native App and Rebuilt SavePoint for the Web
· SavePoint, App Dev, Web Dev, Nuxt, Tailwind
I maaay have been playing video games instead of working on my new project, SavePoint.
But it’s fine, since taking this short break has let me really rethink about how I want to build my app.
SavePoint was initially designed as a mobile-first app, built in React Native for iPhones and Androids. I even had a working prototype, with a home, details, and inventory screen connecting to my backend. But working in my co-op and seeing how effective websites are for an inventory system, I’ve decided to switch my focus and tech stack completely.
SavePoint is now going to be a website, which dynamically resizes to work on mobile screens. This will allow me to focus on one codebase instead of two for web and mobile separately and should hopefully result in a more unified product.
As for my new tech stack, I’m going to be using Nuxt and Vue with Typescript as the core of my website, while keeping Supabase as my database and ExpressJS as my backend and trying out Tailwind CSS!
I’m choosing Vue because I already use it at work, and I personally find it easier to understand than React. Naturally because I’m using Vue, I’ll also use Nuxt.
As for why I’ve picked Tailwind (over Bootstrap), I’ve always heard about this new UI styling library, and it seems pretty in-demand as well. Tailwind also seems super customizable and seems to have a lot of documentation as well, which would make it easier to learn/troubleshoot.
In the future, I’m thinking about switching from ExpressJS to .NET to handle my backend but since I’m still not too familiar with .NET and I already have a basic API set up, I’ll leave my backend running on ExpressJS as-is.
Below I’ve linked images of my (cancelled) React Native prototypes, and my new Figma redesign for SavePoint envisioned as a website.
What do you think about the new design? Let me know below!
P.S. Persona 3: Reload is an unexpectedly good game. I’d recommend giving it a try, even if you’ve never played a JRPG before (like me)