Hey everyone! I'm planning to build a small online store that should work well on both mobile and desktop. My background is in Laravel/PHP and vanilla JS, so I was thinking about using a Laravel 12+React starter kit. However, I recently learned that React Native can cater to both mobile and desktop. The problem is, Laravel doesn't offer a starter kit for React Native, so I'm feeling a bit lost. Is it possible to use Laravel with Inertia and then integrate React Native on my own, or do you recommend a different approach? Thanks for your input!
6 Answers
Many Laravel developers get stuck on these frontend choices. If your main goal is a web store, Laravel + Inertia + React is a straightforward and effective setup. It keeps everything within one codebase and integrates well with Laravel's routing. While React Native is more suited for mobile apps, you could share logic between React and React Native later, but for now, focus on getting your website up and running with Laravel + Inertia + React!
In my experience with e-commerce, going for Laravel paired with React via Inertia is a strong choice for a web store. React Native is mainly for building native mobile applications, not so much for responsive websites, even if it can run on multiple platforms. If your aim is to develop a site that works on both desktop and mobile browsers, Laravel + Inertia + React is usually simpler. Mixing React Native with Laravel could complicate things without much added value unless you need native app features. For an online store, a responsive React web app is often the way to go!
Consider an API-driven approach for better scalability. Start by building REST APIs with Laravel using Sanctum, then utilize React Native for a mobile app alongside those APIs. For the web app, you could use React Router 7 or Next.js also leveraging the Laravel APIs.
I recommend going with Laravel, Sanctum, and sticking to either React Native or React for your project. I wouldn't suggest using Inertia.
Just to clarify, are you aiming for a mobile app or is a responsive web app sufficient? As highlighted, React Native doesn't integrate perfectly with React for web applications. I heard about solito.dev, which claims to help share code between web and native apps; I haven't tried it but it sounds interesting if you're looking to blend both types.
While React Native has the potential to run on mobile and desktop, it’s important to know that many libraries typically support just iOS and Android, not the web. In my opinion, the React Starter Kit is the better move for what you’re trying to accomplish.
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