Developers usually experience frustration when dealing with unexpected bugs in new App Store or Play Market releases. Each fix requires creating a new build, undergoing another round of platform checks, and waiting for approval. This process is time-consuming, but a more efficient way is backend-driven UI (BDUI).
Backend-driven UI is a development approach that transfers components' business logic and functionality to the server side. The client-side builds the UI based on instructions from the server, allowing for more dynamic and flexible updates.

How Backend-Driven UI Streamlines Dynamic Updates?

The App Store and Play Market allow specific changes to be made dynamically without resubmitting the application. For example, if you need to add a product’s serial number to a list of products, you can implement this change using BDUI without resubmitting the app. This approach leverages server-side control to update the UI based on new data dynamically.

Practical Implementation

Now, let’s explore how you can implement BDUI in your mobile app. Let's consider an app that displays a list of items for sale, like shoes. Here’s how we can dynamically use BDUI to manage and update the UI.

Step 1: Create Hooks for Fetching Data and Rendering Components

First, we need some hooks to fetch instructions from the server and render components dynamically.
useFetchData Hook: This hook fetches instructions from the server.

useRenderComponent Hook: This hook dynamically imports and renders components based on the server's instructions.

useRenderItemsList Hook: This hook renders a list of items based on the fetched instructions.

Step 2: Create Reusable Components

Next, we need reusable components that will be rendered based on server instructions. Here’s an example of a button component.
Button Component:

Step 3: Integrate Hooks and Components in the App

Finally, let’s integrate these hooks and components into our main app component to render the UI dynamically.

App Component:

In this setup, useFetchData fetches the instructions from the server. The useRenderItemsList hook uses these instructions to dynamically render components using useRenderComponent. This allows for dynamic UI updates without requiring a new app release.

Over To You

Many leading tech companies successfully use BDUI, making it a valuable skill for developers to master and enhance the user experience. Interested to learn more about BDUI? Check out this article: How Backend Driven UI is Changing the Approach to Mobile Development?