How To Learn React.js

Are you eager to explore React? You can do many things with React, like making web apps and making mobile apps with React Native. You can also create the backend with the same language you used for React. If you are wondering how to learn React.js, I will tell you the background of why we use it and some great platforms to learn it.

How to Learn React- Logo.js

React has recently been my leading choice in building side projects because it is one of the hottest technologies and front-end UI libraries today

What is React?

React is a great library to build user interfaces and single-page applications. This means that you develop your project by rerendering one web page based on the dynamic code the programmer writes instead of writing multiple pages in server-side rendering.

Since its inception by Facebook in 2013, there have been great updates.

One of the features I love is when hooks were introduced in February 2019 with React v 16.8. No longer did you have to use the previous class components to update the state of your data.

This was a step further in incorporating one of my favorite programming paradigms, functional programming. What is functional programming? I have written an excellent introductory overview of functional programming that I encourage you to read.

Hooks made React a Lot Easier

I am probably not the only person to think this. Hooks make managing state a lot easier. There are multiple hooks I use that supercharge the ability to make sweet applications.

useState()

useState() is one of the most popular hooks. You are now able to manage the component state in a component. Before Hooks, we could only manage state with class components.

The actual output when you run the above code is Ninja. You can also pass the state down to another component. This process is called prop drilling, and it gets really unwieldy when you pass state through multiple components, not to mention confusing.

Since some components don’t need the state that another component has, we get great state libraries like Redux. However, one of the main complaints about Redux is that there is a lot of boilerplate code.

useReducer()

useReducer() is ideal if you have a complex state or multiple properties of the state. useReducer() is also different from useState() because it handles global state, and useState() only handles state locally. Let me give you an example.

how to learn React.js - UseReducer

This is a contrived example, but it has the same output as useState(). This example also points to a significant benefit of useReducer(); it separates your logic into one file. You can also use this global state data in any component, no matter how far down in the component tree the component is located.

In the previous example, you could pass down the data with useState() to a component 2 levels underneath it. Still, the problem is the component underneath your current component doesn’t need the state. That is one of the problems with prop drilling.

useContext() with useReducer()

This is a hook used for the Context API, another state management system, but not as much boilerplate and external packages as Redux. When you combine this with useReducer(), you get similar functionality that Redux has minus all the boilerplate.

Learn React.js Context

You can see that the logic is all in one place. This is an excellent practice because logic isn’t scattered across our component tree. Other developers will love you for it because they don’t have to look through every component.

At the bottom of the previous example, I made a custom hook. This is just more convenient, so you don’t have to import app context and use useContext() in every file where you want to use Context.

I like to think of the Context API as the wrapper that bundles useReducer() to make it more powerful. Below, I will show you how to implement it.

Learn React.js Context IMPLEMENTATION

Unlike using the useReducer without the Context API, we declared const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, initialState) in the file where we declared the Context. So. now we can destructure the properties or functions that we want.

useEffect()

You may have noticed the useEffect() I used in the previous example is for performing side effects. In my example, I used it because I called data from an external API.

Hoks Summary

There are many more hooks. I don’t understand them all. This previous section was just a brief snapshot of the hooks that I use. To learn more about hooks, check out React’s official documentation.

Why is it useful?

React is unopinionated, highly customizable, and easier to learn than other JavaScript frameworks because it is a smaller user-interface library.

How to Learn React.js - Library

Because React is smaller than Angular, it is easier to learn because you need to understand the MVC pattern and TypeScript with Angular. However, if you already know a lot of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, you don’t need to learn as much extra knowledge with React.

React uses JSX, a popular syntax extension that lets you write HTML and JavaScript in your React app.

One more efficiency is the Virtual DOM. React doesn’t manipulate the DOM like a lot of frameworks. It has a virtual representation of a DOM element, much like a copy.

The Virtual DOM is far better because manipulating the DOM is slow instead of manipulating one element with the Virtual DOM. If you want to learn more about the Virtual DOM, CodeCademy has a fantastic article.

Talk about a lot of efficiencies.

How to Use It

Are you ready to get started with React to build a powerful website? Go over to documentation, where you can see a lot of amazing use cases for React.

How to Learn React.js - How to use it

Although this is an excellent way to get it started, sometimes you need someone to show you where to start. I will tell you more about these places below.

Benefits of React JS

Component-Based Architecture

React’s component-based structure allows developers to build reusable UI components. This promotes a more organized and modular way of developing applications, making code more manageable and scalable.

Declarative UI

React makes it easier to create interactive UIs. Design simple views for each state in your application, and React will efficiently update and render just the right components when your data changes.

Virtual DOM

React implements a virtual DOM that is basically a DOM tree representation in JavaScript. So when it needs to read or write to the DOM, it will use the virtual representation of it. This leads to improved performance and a smoother user experience.

Strong Community Support

With backing from Facebook and a huge community of developers, React is continuously improving. There’s a wealth of resources, libraries, and tools available, making it easier for new developers to get started and for existing ones to find solutions to their problems.

SEO Friendly

React can run on the server, rendering and returning the virtual DOM to the browser as a regular webpage. This process, known as server-side rendering, can help improve the SEO of web applications by making them more indexable and crawlable by search engines.

Rich Ecosystem

React has a rich ecosystem that includes tools, extensions, and a vast number of libraries like Redux for state management, making it a versatile choice for developing complex applications.

 

Weaknesses of React JS

Learning Curve

While React itself is straightforward to grasp, the ecosystem around it can be overwhelming. The abundance of choices for additional tools and libraries can confuse newcomers.

Rapid Pace of Development

The React ecosystem evolves quickly, and sometimes it can be hard to keep up with the changes. Continuous learning is required to stay on top of the latest developments, which can be a challenge for some developers.

JSX as a Barrier

JSX, a syntax extension that allows mixing HTML with JavaScript, is used in React. While it provides a powerful way to describe UI components, it can be a barrier for new developers who are not familiar with it.

Performance Issues with Large Applications

Although React’s virtual DOM is efficient, performance bottlenecks can still occur in large applications or when handling complex state management. Optimizing performance in such cases requires a deeper understanding of React and its reconciliation process.

Overhead of Integrating with Other Libraries: React is often used in conjunction with other libraries for state management, routing, and more. Integrating and maintaining these libraries can introduce overhead and complexity.

In summary, React JS offers a powerful and efficient way to build and manage UIs for web applications, supported by a strong community. However, its rapid development pace and the complexity of its ecosystem can pose challenges, especially for beginners.

Where to Learn it

There are many places where you can learn React online and accelerate your career. There are so many jobs for React that employers post. It is definitely in demand. Since it is so easy to learn, you will be able to make applications like a pro. So, do you want to know some incredible places where you can learn React?

Codecademy

Codecademy is a fantastic platform. They utilize AI in their platform. How cool is that?

There are some React courses you can learn for free, and more advanced React courses have a cost. I have created a more in-depth review of Codecademy that you would love.

Read My In-Depth Codecademy Review

Udemy

Udemy is a place that is known for massive open online courses. This learning platform has a plethora of courses. They don’t just specialize in software development, but they have courses in a broad spectrum of subjects.

These courses are marked at a higher price. Most of the time, you can get them at a ridiculous discount, sometimes even 90%.

A while ago I completed a React course on Udemy. This course covers the basics and intermediate concepts of React and walks through a bunch of projects that you can do. I highly recommend that course as one of the courses you can do to increase your React skills.

My Experience

At various stages of my learning path, I have these platforms throughout my online learning journey. No platform is going to go over everything. Although these platforms’ drawbacks might be that you can’t learn in a community-based manner.

Some people learn best within a community of like-minded individuals with the same learning goals.

Next Steps

Let’s increase your chances of getting hired by using some of these platforms to get more in-depth knowledge about React.

I would love to get a conversation going, and I have a few questions I would love to hear your opinion on.

  1. What is your experience with React?
  2. How can I best update this article in the future?

If you have any other questions, let me know by commenting below.

I absolutely love that React leads you to exercise your creative problem-solving and build awesome apps, and I wanted to share my passion with you.

Thank you for reading my post. Leave your comments below to participate in this engaging community. Be sure to sign up to receive updates of more incredible articles.

10 thoughts on “How To Learn React.js”

  1. Your guide on learning ReactJS is incredibly informative and well-structured. I appreciate the step-by-step approach you’ve outlined, especially for beginners like me. As someone who’s interested in diving into React, I found your recommendations on online courses and resources very helpful. Have you personally tried any of the suggested learning platforms? I’m curious to know which ones you found most effective for mastering React.

    Additionally, your emphasis on building projects to solidify understanding resonates with me. I’ve found that hands-on experience is key to truly grasping new concepts in programming. Have you encountered any challenges while learning React, and if so, how did you overcome them? Sharing your personal experiences would provide valuable insights for readers navigating their own learning journeys. Thank you for sharing these valuable tips and resources!

    Reply
    • I learned React through the bootcamp I went though, BloomTech. But, I have taken additional courses on React from Udemy.

      The challenges with React just like any library or framework is mastering the concepts. You do this by with React courses that offer follow along projects from Udemy or Youtube.

      Reply
  2. I have entered a world that terrifies me! JavaScript is not something to take lightly on a website! One mistake can be website death and that is not a joke.

    I do appreciate the article and have learned from this as well. I have added it to my bookmarks to reference later. There is a lot of information to soak in, and I really want to be less intimidated by JS. You have a new student (grasshopper), I hope you do not mind that I visit your site daily to learn about JavaScript and maybe React.js will make the process easier and less scary.

    Thanks,

    Stacie

    Reply
    • Definitely. I was there too. When I started out I couldn’t even write any code but the online platforms explain it clearly, I started with codecademy. They have a full stack engineering course that guides you through the introduction to intermediate concepts. They even have the dedicated career support team.

      Of course, there is freecodecamp that is absolutely free. However, it may not be the most up-to-date platform.

      I usually have new posts Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They are around the topic of web development and not only React, but other frameworks and informational articles as wel.

      Reply
  3. Anyone wanting to know more about React, including beginners, will find this guide very informative and helpful. It covers the hooks that you use, although you do say that there are many more hooks, that you don’t use. Is that because they are too difficult to learn? Or do they have very specific applications that are not required by most users?

    You mentioned that React is used for web development, but can it also be used for developing apps? Thank you. 

    Reply
    • Some of the hooks that aren’t used, don’t have a giant use case. Some of them are outdated too. 

      When I mention Web development, that is also called web application development. However, you can use react for mobile, also known as react native.

      Reply
  4. Hey Jordan, great article! I plan to use your link to sign up and learn this stuff. A lot of people these days aren’t learning code like they used to because of the cookie cutter platforms that they use for building websites and apps. I feel like know how to code is a great plus, it allows for someone to be able to create something unique that nobody else has ever seen. Creativity is a big deal to me. Thanks again for this valuable information!

    Reply
    • Thank you for your comment. If there are others that are interested, please share that article. I sincerely know that you will enjoy codecademy. It has made so much improvement since I have used it.

      Reply
  5. As a beginner in ReactJS, I’ve found the learning curve quite steep, especially when it comes to understanding the lifecycle methods and hooks. Does anyone have tips on how to effectively grasp these concepts? Also, are there any projects or resources you’d recommend to practice these skills in a real-world context? Appreciate any advice from the community!

    Reply
    • Chat GPT is a good tool to explain concepts. Also, Youtube videos are good too FreeCodeCamp has an excellent YouTube channel.

      Reply

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