Build Mobile App MVP

Preparing for TestFlight and Play Store internal testing. Wrote the app description, created preview videos, and submitted builds.

11 comment

Kashish Yadav3 months ago

Good work!

Built an onboarding tutorial overlay for first-time users. Highlights key features with tooltips.

Fixed the top 8 issues from testing. Biggest one: the feed was re-fetching on every navigation. Now properly cached.

Internal testing with 5 friends. Got great feedback — they found UX issues I totally missed. Made a priority fix list.

Set up CI/CD with EAS Build. Automated builds for both iOS and Android. First build took forever but subsequent ones are fast.

Spent the day on accessibility — screen reader support, proper labels, minimum touch targets. Important but often skipped.

Added haptic feedback on key interactions — like, comment, save. Small detail but makes the app feel more native.

Implemented offline mode — basic functionality works without internet, syncs when back online. Used watermelon DB.

Designed app icons, splash screens, and store listing screenshots using Figma. The branding is coming together.

Built a simple admin panel (web-based) to manage reported content and user accounts. Connected to the same Firestore backend.

Testing day — ran through every flow end to end. Found 6 bugs. Fixed 4, the other 2 are edge cases I'll address later.

Added deep linking so shared links open directly in the app. Also implemented universal links for iOS.

Built a bookmarks/favorites feature. Users can save posts and view them in a dedicated tab. Used local SQLite for offline access.

Performance optimization — lazy loaded images, memoized expensive components, reduced re-renders. App feels snappier now.

Worked on the settings screen — notification preferences, theme toggle, account deletion. Also added analytics tracking.

Built the comments system — nested replies, timestamps, and user avatars. Used Firestore for real-time updates.

Implemented push notifications using Expo Notifications. Users get notified when someone comments on their post.

Added a search feature with debounced input and filtered results. Also built category-based browsing.

Designed and built the profile screen — user info, their posts grid, and an edit profile modal with image cropping.

Built the 'create post' screen with text input, image picker, and category selection. Images upload to Firebase Storage.

Created the main feed screen with a FlatList of cards. Added pull-to-refresh and infinite scroll pagination.

Implemented authentication — email/password with Firebase Auth. Built login, register, and forgot password screens.

Built the onboarding flow — 3 swipeable intro screens with illustrations. Used Expo's gesture handler for smooth swiping.

Set up React Native with Expo. Created the project structure — screens, components, navigation. Designed the app flow on paper first.