Freelance mobile developer
Freelance mobile developer: iOS, Android and cross-platform
A mobile app isn't always the right answer to your needs. I help you choose between PWA, cross-platform and native, then build the solution that lasts.
Mobile is a whole family of very different solutions, and the right choice depends mostly on your project, not on trends. I work mainly in cross-platform — React Native for a real app on the stores, PWA when the web is enough — and on the mobile integration of existing platforms (API, customer area, notifications). I have a working knowledge of iOS/Swift, enough to interface with native code and integrate modules, but I don't present myself as a specialist in pure, advanced native development: when a project genuinely calls for it, I tell you honestly and point you in the right direction. The goal isn't to sell you an app at all costs, but to start from your real usage and answer it with as little complexity as possible.
My default approach on mobile is cross-platform with React Native. The principle is simple: instead of building one application for iOS and then a separate one for Android, you write a single codebase that runs on both systems. In practice, that means a single development effort, bug fixes that immediately benefit both platforms, and new features that ship everywhere at the same time. For a small business, a craftsperson or a young company in the Caribbean, this is often the difference between a feasible mobile project and one that's over budget.
React Native isn't a makeshift workaround: it's the tool behind consumer apps used by millions of people. The rendering relies on the phone's native components, so the interface looks and behaves like a real app, not a website wrapped in a shell. And since it's the React ecosystem, I work with the same habits as on the web: TypeScript to limit integration bugs, reusable components, and logic shared with the web front-end when the project allows it.
In practice, I most often rely on Expo, the tooling that makes life easier around React Native: cloud builds, over-the-air updates, clean access to the phone's features (camera, geolocation, notifications). It avoids spending days configuring iOS and Android environments before even writing a useful line, and it lets me deliver a build very early that you install on your own phone to judge in real conditions, not from a video or screenshots.
Cross-platform obviously has its limits, and I'm not going to hide them. Certain features very specific to one system, certain cutting-edge performance needs (games, intensive graphics processing, advanced augmented reality) are better served by pure native. But for the vast majority of business applications — a catalog, order taking, a member area, a field tool — React Native covers the need without the double cost of native.
Before talking about stores and applications, you have to ask an honest question: do you really need a native application, or a good mobile experience? Many projects presented to me as "I need an app" are in fact perfectly served by a PWA, a Progressive Web App. It's a modern, fast website that installs on the phone's home screen, runs full screen, can work partly offline and send notifications. No store, no Apple review, instant updates, and a much lower cost.
The PWA shines when your need stays close to the web: a customer area, a browsable catalog, an internal tool for your team, the mobile extension of a site you already have. You reach your users immediately, without asking them to go through a download, and you keep a single thing to maintain. For a shop or a service in Martinique that wants a credible mobile presence without committing to heavy development, it's very often the best result-to-effort ratio.
You do need to know the limits of the exercise, though. On iPhone, a PWA remains a bit more constrained than on Android: push notifications arrived there late and certain deep hardware accesses aren't open. For a consumer use case where part of your audience is on iOS, I account for it right from the scoping stage, even if it means concluding that a real app will be more robust. A well-built PWA covers a huge number of cases, but I won't sell it to you as the exact equivalent of an installed application if your need goes beyond it.
An app installed from the stores remains justified in specific cases: needing to be visible and downloadable on the App Store and the Play Store, fine-grained push notifications, deep hardware access (sensors, Bluetooth, intensive offline use), or simply strong market expectations in your sector. My role is to help you decide with full knowledge of the trade-offs — even if it means advising against the app you came looking for if a PWA does the job for less.
A mobile application is rarely alone in the world: it almost always talks to a server. That's exactly where my profile makes all the difference. I build both the back-end — APIs in Laravel, Symfony or Node.js — and the mobile side that consumes it. So I don't deliver an app on one side and an API on the other and hope they get along: I design both together, with a clear API contract, solid authentication and, where possible, types shared end to end to avoid surprises at integration.
This consistency changes a lot day to day. Authentication stays under control rather than cobbled together, offline data handling and synchronization are thought through from the design stage, and notifications rely on clean server-side logic. When you already have a web platform — a customer area, a back-office, a store — building a mobile version becomes a natural extension: we reuse what exists instead of rebuilding everything.
Offline, in fact, deserves a closer look, especially for field use in the Caribbean where network coverage isn't always perfect. An app designed for this keeps useful data locally, lets the user keep working without a connection, then syncs as soon as the network is back. It's not magic: it's decided upfront, because it touches the data model and the way the app talks to the server. I prefer to set these rules from the start rather than bolt them on afterwards.
On the truly native features that go beyond cross-platform, I stay clear-headed. I have a working knowledge of iOS and Swift, enough to integrate a native module, unlock a system API point or collaborate with a native developer. But if your project rests on very advanced pure native, I prefer to tell you upfront and point you to the right person, rather than commit beyond what I seriously master. That's what lets me guarantee the rest: a cross-platform mobile app or a PWA, well integrated, tested and maintainable.
Getting an app live isn't pressing a button and moving on. On the App Store and the Play Store, every release goes through a listing to polish (visuals, description, screenshots), validation rules to follow and, on Apple's side especially, a human review that can require back-and-forth. I anticipate these steps to spare you nasty last-minute surprises, and I prepare clean builds, properly signed, ready to be submitted.
One point I'm uncompromising on: the Apple and Google developer accounts, along with their fees, stay in your name. It's healthier for the ownership of your app — you keep control of it, the reviews and the version history belong to you, and you're never held hostage by a provider to publish an update. I support you in creating these accounts and publishing with peace of mind, but the app stays yours, end to end.
Once live, an application is a living thing: iOS and Android evolve every year, libraries get updated, bugs surface from the field. I set up error monitoring to see what actually breaks for your users, not just on my phone, and I plan updates reasonably. With React Native and Expo, some fixes can even be pushed remotely, without systematically going back through store validation — a real gain in responsiveness on small adjustments.
My approach is to start small and solid rather than big and fragile. I prefer to scope a genuinely useful MVP, put it in the hands of real users, listen to what comes back, then grow the app through iterations. You invest in the right place, you validate your use case before paying for secondary features, and you keep an application that stays understandable and maintainable over time. It's less spectacular than a fifty-page specification, but it's what makes mobile projects that succeed.
The advantages
- A single React Native codebase for iOS and Android: fewer duplicates, a contained maintenance cost.
- PWA possible when an installable app without going through the stores is enough: instant deployment and instant updates.
- Back-end and mobile designed together (Laravel, Symfony, Node): a clear API, solid auth, a seamless web/mobile experience.
- Honest advice upfront: PWA, cross-platform or native, we choose based on your real usage and your budget, not on trends.
- Testing on real iOS and Android devices throughout development, delivery screen by screen.
- Transparent referral to a specialist if your project requires very advanced pure native.
Limitations to be aware of
- Very advanced pure native (heavy graphics, advanced AR, deep system features) isn't my core business: I own that and refer you when needed.
- Cross-platform may require some native code for certain features very specific to one system.
- An application published on the stores involves paid Apple and Google developer accounts, in your name, and validation lead times to anticipate.
- A PWA doesn't cover every need: store presence, very fine-grained push notifications or deep hardware access remain the domain of a real app.
There's no right answer in the absolute, only the solution suited to your usage, your budget and your expectations around store presence. Here's how I help you decide.
Choose Mobile development if…
- You want an app on iOS AND Android without paying for two separate developments: React Native is the natural fit.
- Your need stays close to the web (customer area, catalog, internal tool): a PWA does the job for far less.
- You already have a web platform and want to extend it to mobile by reusing your back-end.
- You want to validate a use case with a mobile MVP before investing heavily.
- You're looking for a consistent experience between your site and your application, designed by the same person.
Prefer something else if…
- Your app rests on very advanced pure native (3D game, intensive graphics processing, advanced AR): a native specialist will be more relevant.
- You need very specific iOS or Android system features, at the heart of the product, right from the start.
- Extreme raw performance is the number-one criterion, ahead of cost and timeline.
- A dedicated native mobile team already exists and owns the technology: you might as well rely on it.
- Your product requires deep platform expertise (advanced Swift/Kotlin) that I prefer to tell you I don't cover at that level.
- Cross-platform iOS + Android application from a single codebase
- Installable PWA to extend a site or customer area to mobile
- Mobile version of an existing web platform (API, auth, notifications)
- Mobile prototype or MVP to validate a use case before investing heavily
The right choice before the technology
PWA, cross-platform or native: I start from your real usage and your budget to decide, instead of locking you into an oversized solution.
A single codebase
With React Native, iOS and Android share most of the code: fewer duplicates, consistent updates and a more reasonable maintenance cost.
Consistent with your web
I design the back-end (Laravel, Symfony, Node) and the mobile side in the same spirit: a clear API, solid auth, shared types, and a seamless experience across web and mobile.
Scoping the use case
We clarify who uses the app, in what context and for what. This is where we decide PWA, cross-platform or native — not afterwards.
Mockup and API
Mobile flow mocked up, API contract defined with the back-end, auth and offline handling thought through from the start.
Screen-by-screen development
Delivery screen by screen in React Native or PWA, on a build regularly testable on real iOS and Android devices.
Release and follow-up
Going live (stores or PWA install), error monitoring, and support for the first updates.
Client projectBonnes Affaires Immo
A real estate website in Martinique with clear listings, professional photography and immersive drone video.
Client projectMen'Immo
Custom-built Symfony real estate platform with a multi-criteria search engine and a filterable property catalog in Martinique.
Client projectElianza Conseil
Symfony showcase site for an organizational performance consulting firm, with service-specific conditional appointment booking.
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