Mobile Bridge: Making WebViews Feel Native
Article Summary
Shopify had 600 mobile screens to build. Building them all natively would have crushed their velocity, but WebViews felt slow and broken.
Shopify's mobile team created Mobile Bridge, a framework that transforms WebViews from clunky web pages into experiences that feel indistinguishable from native screens. This post breaks down their three-part approach to solving WebView performance, appearance, and integration challenges.
Key Takeaways
- Preloading and caching WebViews cut load times 6x: from 6 seconds to 1.4 seconds
- TransportableView moves WebViews between screens without losing state or session data
- Native components like date pickers integrate directly into WebViews via Mobile Bridge
- Snapshots prevent blank screens during back navigation on iOS
- Now shipping as a library across Balance, POS, and Shop apps
Critical Insight
Mobile Bridge turned WebViews into a core mobile strategy at Shopify, freeing engineering bandwidth to focus on critical native features while maintaining near-native UX.
