App Development Without the Black Box: How We Build Apps Together With Our Clients

Why React Native with Expo isn't just a technical decision, but changes the way we collaborate with our clients.

Ideas We Can't Implement Alone

Time and again, clients come to us with clear visions: apps for specific target audiences where specialized content takes center stage. Not generic products, but something that requires real expertise in areas where we have none.

The problem? We're developers, not experts in our clients' fields.

We can build technically sound apps, design intuitive interfaces, and make sure everything runs smoothly. But whether the content is accurate, which target audience needs what, how to properly present complex topics – that's outside our expertise.

That's why it's clear from the start with projects like these: they only work if we collaborate closely. Not in weekly status meetings, but continuously.

The First Meeting: Idea Meets Technology

Our clients come with clear ideas of what their app should accomplish. Our job in that first conversation is to translate their vision into technical reality.

Together, we discuss:

• How can the specialized content be properly highlighted in the app?
• What structure does the app need to organize content in a meaningful and accessible way?
• What's technically possible, what would be overkill, what's essential?

This phase isn't a formality for us. This is where the foundation for everything that follows is built. If we don't understand the goal, we'll miss the mark.

Why React Native With Expo

For our app projects, we use React Native with Expo. Here's a quick explanation of what that means and why.

React Native is a framework that lets us develop an app once and publish it for both iOS and Android. Instead of building and maintaining two separate apps, there's a single codebase. This saves time and money, and ensures both versions are always in sync.

Expo is a toolset that sits on top of React Native and significantly speeds up the development process. The most important advantage for us: Expo allows us to test every change immediately on a real device – without going through app stores or complicated build processes.

In practical terms, this means: when we add a feature or make an adjustment, our clients can see and try it out on their own smartphone within minutes.

For projects where we rely on our clients' expertise, this is crucial.

The Real Difference: Feedback in Real Time

Traditional app development often works like this: the client describes what they want. The agency disappears for weeks or months. At the end, there's a big presentation – and then the surprise when something looks different than expected.

We do things differently.

Thanks to Expo, our clients can open the current version of the app on their own device at any time. Not as a video, not as a screenshot, but as a working app. Every change, every new feature, every adjustment is immediately visible and testable.

This fundamentally changes the collaboration:

Short feedback cycles: Instead of planning large iterations, we discuss small details as soon as they're done. If something doesn't fit, we know immediately – not three weeks later.

Fewer misunderstandings: A mockup can be interpreted. A working app cannot. When clients swipe through the screens, they see exactly how the app feels.

Faster decisions: "Could you move the button over here instead?" – We implement it, ten minutes later it's live for testing. Decision made, moving on.

Where This Really Matters: Integrating Specialized Content

The best example of this workflow is the integration of specialized content.

As mentioned: we're not subject matter experts in our clients' fields. We know how to structure data, how to present content appealingly, how to build navigation. But whether the content is accurate? Whether the structure makes sense for the target audience? Whether the presentation meets the requirements? We have to rely on our clients for that.

That's why we build the technical structure and let our clients add the content. Through Expo, they can immediately see how everything looks in the app. If something doesn't fit – text too long, a category confusing, a presentation unfortunate – we adjust it right away.

The result: accurate content, fully integrated, in the shortest time possible. Not despite our lack of expertise in these areas, but because we have a workflow that combines our strengths with those of our clients.

Why We Work This Way

Our experience shows how app development can work when you have the right tools and the right mindset:

Technology is a means to an end. React Native and Expo aren't just technical decisions. They enable a type of collaboration that wouldn't be possible with other setups.

Clients are experts. Not in code, but in their product, their target audience, their vision. A good development process leverages this expertise rather than excluding it.

Transparency saves time. When everyone involved can see the current status at any time, there are fewer surprises, fewer corrections, less frustration.

We don't build apps behind closed doors. We build them together with the people who know what they're meant for. That's exactly how it should be.