What are the best mobile app navigation patterns for cross-platform development?

1 Tab Bar

A tab bar is a horizontal row of icons or labels at the bottom or top of the screen that allows users to switch between different sections of the app. It is one of the most popular and simple navigation patterns, as it provides clear and consistent access to the main functions of the app. A tab bar works well for apps that have a limited number of sections, usually between two and five, and that require frequent switching between them. For example, a social media app might use a tab bar to navigate between home, explore, notifications, and profile.

To create a tab bar for cross-platform development, you can use frameworks and libraries such as React Native, Ionic, or Flutter, which provide ready-made components and styles for both iOS and Android. You can also customize the appearance and behavior of the tab bar using props, attributes, or themes, depending on the framework you choose. For example, in React Native, you can use react-navigation and react-native-paper to create a tab bar with icons, labels, badges, and animations.

2 Drawer Menu

A drawer menu is a vertical list of items that slides out from the left or right edge of the screen when the user taps a button or swipes from the edge. It is also known as a hamburger menu, a sidebar, or a navigation drawer. It is useful for apps that have a large number of sections or categories, and that need to save screen space for the main content. A drawer menu can also contain submenus, icons, headers, footers, and other elements to organize and display the app's options. For example, a news app might use a drawer menu to navigate between different topics, regions, settings, and account.

To create a drawer menu for cross-platform development, you can also use frameworks and libraries such as React Native, Ionic, or Flutter, which offer components and styles for both iOS and Android. You can also customize the appearance and behavior of the drawer menu using props, attributes, or themes, depending on the framework you choose. For example, in Ionic, you can use ion-menu and ion-menu-toggle to create a drawer menu with transitions, gestures, and content overlays.