Cross-platform app for municipal publication
Development of a mobile application for magazine readers and a chart building tool for publishers
Client
ZFK is one of the most important specialized media in the German energy sector. The media publishes independent and expert reporting on municipal energy and supply in Germany
Business challenges
- Limited budget for mobile app development
- Offline mode support
- Automatic transfer of content from a website to a mobile app
- The need to collect data and build charts
Our solutions
- Cross-platform mobile application with offline mode
- Web tool for publishers to build charts
Technical solution
When developing a web tool for publishers, it was necessary to create a database with reliable information on the German energy sector. Retrieved via the API, we aggregated the industry data from a government resource and enabled the client company's publishers to work with it. Additionally, we developed a web builder to generate charts and comparison tables based on this data to easily integrate them into publications both on the client's and third-party resources.
We used the React Native framework to develop a mobile app, and the cross-platform approach made it possible to cut the development costs by 40% and get applications for both iOS and Android platforms.
Our solution provides the ability to save previously opened articles to a local storage and read them without the network access. We designed and implemented an authorization system to separate the accessible content for two groups of users. To view the magazine in PDF format, we integrated a convenient viewer into the mobile application using the rn-pdf-reader-js library. We also deployed the application to the App Store and prepared all the accompanying documentation.
Technology stack
- React Native
- Redux
- Expo
- Styled-components
Key activities
Business results
The project we implemented has allowed the client to gain the following ends:
- Stay within budget thanks to cross-platform development approach
- Provide readers with a convenient mobile application for iOS and Android
- Get a web tool for publishers that collects data from public sources, aggregates it, and allows to build charts and tables
- Strengthen the market positions and gain a competitive edge
