Cross-Platform Mobile LMS
How we shipped a full-featured learning management app to both Android and iOS from a single React codebase — in under 10 weeks.
The Challenge
The client had an existing web-based LMS that was struggling on mobile browsers — poor performance, no offline support, and no push notifications. Student engagement was dropping and churn was increasing, especially among mobile-first users.
Building separate native apps for Android and iOS was quoted at over $40,000 by other agencies and would take 6+ months. They needed a faster, more cost-effective path that still delivered a genuinely native feel.
Key Pain Points
- Mobile web LMS had 68% bounce rate — students leaving due to poor mobile UX
- Zero offline capability — students in low-connectivity areas couldn't access content
- No push notifications — re-engagement relied entirely on email (low open rates)
- Separate Android and iOS builds would require two codebases and double the maintenance
The Solution
We built a single React application using Capacitor to wrap it as native Android and iOS apps. The app shares 95% of its codebase between platforms, dramatically reducing development time and ongoing maintenance costs.
Supabase handles authentication, content delivery, and real-time progress sync. Service workers provide offline capability, and Capacitor's native push notification plugin handles engagement — all from one codebase.
Architecture & Tech Stack
A React web app wrapped by Capacitor into native Android and iOS containers. Supabase provides the backend. A shared codebase means features and bug fixes are deployed to both platforms simultaneously.
React + TypeScript Core
The entire app UI is built in React with TypeScript. Mobile-first design with touch gestures, swipe navigation, and optimised asset loading for slower mobile connections.
Capacitor Native Bridge
Capacitor wraps the React app into native Android (APK) and iOS (IPA) containers. Native APIs (camera, push notifications, biometrics, offline storage) are accessed via Capacitor plugins.
Supabase Backend
Supabase handles authentication (email, Google SSO), content storage (course videos and documents), and a PostgreSQL database for progress tracking and quiz scores with row-level security.
Offline-First Architecture
Course content is cached to device storage on first load. A sync engine reconciles offline progress with the Supabase backend when connectivity is restored — no progress is ever lost.
Tech Stack
The Results
The app launched on both stores simultaneously. Student engagement metrics reversed completely within the first month.