My story

Fun fact, I myself have a business/engineering background, and there was this one Entrepreneurship class I attended where people ideated brilliant ideas. However, due to limited knowledge in the mobile app building space, they were unable to realize their ideas, wasting massive potential – lots of “could-be”s.

Traditionally, building a mobile app has always been reserved for the 0,5% of the population, but Natively.dev wants to change that.

Creating your own mobile app has never been easier, all you have to do is write a prompt in natively.dev and press enter. However, unlocking the full potential of natively.dev, that’s harder. So in this blog, I am aiming to go through the whole mobile app building process using natively, and document it as a step-by-step tutorial.

Step 1 - Ideate (often overlooked)

The ideation phase is crucial in product development but often overlooked. Without a clear idea and vision, your product will lack direction and purpose, leading to features that don’t solve real user problems and ultimately to wasted resources and low adoption.

Ideation helps you define the problem, identify target users, and explore solutions before development. It fuels creativity and ensures your app has a unique value that resonates with users.

Skipping ideation often leads to team misalignment, rework, and delays. A structured ideation phase ensures everyone shares the same vision, understands user needs, and works towards clear, validated goals.

So brainstorm, write everything down on a paper and compare. What are the pros and what are the cons?

What is the purpose of this product? Is it aimed for B2B or B2C? Read more about why targeting teenagers is such an advantage for virality here.

Step 2 - Build a solid foundation

Aiming for a mobile app that can cause global impact is amazing. However, don’t try to put everything down on one single prompt and expect the AI to be able to spit out the perfect app. Because the reality is that no AI will ever be able to do such things, and even if it does, there is very likely to be bugs.
Instead, try to start with building a solid foundation with the most necessary buttons and designs. Then, from this, expand.
Our recommendation:

Build a solid foundation or choose one of the projects that other users have built under “examples”.
Drop pictures of your logo or inspiration for app design onto the prompt section and our AI will adapt the design of your mobile app.
Make sure that there is a consistent flow between the pages and that you minimize the amount of clicks it takes for a user to move from one page to the next. The easier it is for the user to move between pages, the more likely they will keep on using your mobile app.

Step 3 - Add features and adjust ‘til perfection

Now we are stepping up the level by implementing a back-end and APIs. It will make your mobile app feel much more complete and advanced. Hardcore effects, but easy to implement – low effort, but outrageous outcome.

Step 3.1 - Integrate Supabase (almost mandatory)

Supabase is a platform where you can store all your users’ inputs and data, and then later access the same data to output accordingly. Supabase is super important if you want to achieve a fully functional mobile app that can store information and output accordingly.

With backend (Supabase): Your app becomes a cloud-connected product capable of user accounts, data sync, real-time updates, and multi-device access.

Without backend (Supabase): Your app is a standalone tool on each user’s phone, with no online features or cross-user interaction.

If you want the full explanation of Supabase, the full extent to what Supabase is capable of, and how to connect to Supabase, look into this blog about Supabase.

Step 3.2 - Implement APIs (optional but a huge plus)

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are tools that let your app talk to other websites or services to use their features and data. Think of an API as a bridge between your app and another company’s platform.

For example, with an API, your app can ask another website for information or use its services, like:

Showing weather data from a weather API
Translating text using Google Translate API
Generating AI responses with the OpenAI API
Processing payments through Stripe API

With APIs: Your app becomes supercharged by connecting to powerful services built by others. You don’t have to build complex features yourself – you just “call” the API to handle it for you.

Without APIs: Your app is limited to what you build directly into it. There’s no external data, real-time information, or advanced functionality beyond your own code.

If you want the full explanation of what APIs are, how they work behind the scenes, and how to connect your app to an API, check out this blog about APIs.

Step 4 - Deploy your app

Now for the best part... sharing your work of art with the rest of the world by deploying the mobile app to either App Store or Google Play Store. This process has traditionally been a very complicated and never-ending process. However, with Natively, all it requires is the click of a button and your mobile app will be up and running soon!

Uploading to App Store and Google Play Store

Without Natively: Write and maintain your app code in Swift (for iOS) to ensure your React Native project builds correctly for iOS, which often requires platform-specific adjustments.

With Natively: No coding required. Natively builds your app in React Native, packaged automatically for both iOS and Android.

Code signing & Certificates

Without Natively: Complex setup involving distribution certificates, provisioning profiles, and correct entitlements in Xcode. Errors here are common and can block submission.

With Natively: Fully handled by Natively’s automated deployment system – no manual certificate management required.

If your app is rejected

Without Natively: Read Apple’s technical or design feedback and edit code, UI, privacy settings, and rebuild for resubmission.

With Natively: Press "Fix it" and the AI will adjust your code accordingly to the feedback you received from App Store/Google Play Store and resubmit.

In summary, Natively offers a simple, unified flow: type your app idea, iterate with prompts, and click “Deploy” to publish. No code, no admin hassle, just your imagination.

Step 5 - Create hype!

This step is arguably the most important step of them all if you are creating a B2C mobile app. After you've launched your mobile app to App Store or Google Play Store, reach out to your audience. Have them try your product and gather as much feedback as possible and adjust if you believe the feedback is relevant. The first 100 dedicated users will be the hardest, but if you have 100 dedicated users, that often means your product is good enough to be used by thousands. And that's where marketing comes in.

For more about marketing, please visit out our Tips and Tricks. It includes Nikita Bier talking about how he built two mobile apps that got acquired by Facebook and Discord.

Join the Natively Community

We’re building more than a platform—we’re building a movement. Whether you’re dreaming up your first app or scaling your startup’s next big release, Natively is here to help you succeed. Here’s how you can get involved:

Try Natively Today: Visit our homepage to start building your app for free.
Connect with Us: Follow us on social media platforms, X, and LinkedIn to share your journey and join the conversation.
For video tutorials: Check out Natively's video tutorials.