An illustrated guide to becoming a React.js Developer with links to relevant courses The or simply is one of the leading JavaScript libraries for developing front-end or GUI of web applications. React JS React Backed by Facebook, React JS, also known as just React is has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years and became the de-facto library for component-based GUI development. Though there are other front-end frameworks like and available, what sets React apart from others is maybe the fact that it just focuses on component-based GUI development and doesn’t invade on other areas. For example, is a complete framework and gives you a lot of features out-of-the-box, such as a , Routing system, Forms handling, HTTP requests, Animations, i18n support, and a strong module system with easy lazy-loading. So, if you already have libraries to do those stuff or you might not need them altogether than React is a great choice, but learning React is not so easy, especially if you are starting as fresh in web development. When I started learning this year, I have some background in web development, used , , and before and knows a thing or two about front-end development, but I also struggle a lot to learn React JS. In fact, I am still learning it. When I was doing some research about the right way to learn React JS, I come across excellent React Developer RoadMap which outlines what is mandatory, what is good to know and what are some extra stuff you can learn as React developer. This React Developer RoadMap is built by and it outlines the paths that you can take and the libraries that you would want to learn to become a React developer. So, if you are wondering What should you learn next as a React developer? then this roadmap can help you. Angular Vue.js Angular Dependency Injection React JS HTML CSS JavaScript this adam-golab Similar to the I have shared earlier, this React JS roadmap is also great on exploring the React and you can use this to become a better React developer. But, if you are wondering where to learn those mandatory skills, then don’t worry, I have also shared some online courses, both free and paid, which you can take to learn those skills. DevOps RoadMap The Fullstack React.js Developer Roadmap Anyway, here is the React Developer RoadMap I am talking about: image source: https://github.com/adam-golab/react-developer-roadmap/blob/master/roadmap.png Now, let’s go through the RoadMap step by step and find out how you can learn the essential skills to become a React Developer : 1.Basics No matter, which framework or library you learn for web development, you must know basics and when I say basics, I mean HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, these three are three pillars of web development. HTML It is one of the first pillar and the most important skill for web developers as it provides the structure for a web page. If you want to learn HTML, you can check to course on Udemy. Build Responsive Real World Websites with HTML5 and CSS3 And, If you don’t mind learning from free resources then you can also check out my list of . free HTML courses CSS It is the second pillar of web development and used to style web pages so that they look good. If you want to learn CSS then you can find a couple of free CSS courses on my list of . free web development courses JavaScript This is the third pillar of web development and used to make your web pages interactive. It is also the reason behind React framework, hence you should know JavaScript and know it well before attempting to learn React JS. If you want to learn JavaScript from scratch, I suggest you to you join simply awesome. The Complete JavaScript Course: Build Real Projects! course. It’s To start with you can also take a look at my list of . Btw, instead of learning these technologies individually, it’s better to join a complete web development course like by Colt Steele which will teach you all the essential skills you need to become a web developer. free JavaScript courses The Web Developer Bootcamp 2. General Development Skills It doesn’t matter whether you are a frontend developer or a backend developer, or even a . You must know some general development skills to survive in the programming world, and here is a list of some of them full-stack software engineer 2.1 Learn GIT You must absolutely know Git to become React developer. Try creating a few repositories on GitHub, share your code with other people, and learn how to download code from Github on your favorite IDE. If you want to learn then is a great course. Git Complete: The definitive, step-by-step guide to Git If you need more choices and don’t mind learning from free resources then you can also explore my list of . free courses to learn Git 2.2 Know HTTP(S) protocol If you want to become a web developer then it’s an absolute must to know HTTP and know it well. I am not asking you to read the specification but you should at least be familiar with common HTTP request methods like the , , , PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS and how HTTP/HTTPS works in general. GET POST PUT 2.3. Learn the terminal Though it’s not mandatory for a frontend developer to or terminal, I strongly suggest you get familiar with terminal, configure your shell (bash, zsh, csh) etc. If you want to learn terminal and bash then I suggest you take a look at this course on Udemy. learn Linux Linux Command Line Basics And, If you need more choices, you can also explore my list of for developers. free Linux courses 2.4. Algorithms and Data Structure Well, this is again one of the general programming skill which is not necessarily needed for becoming a React developer but absolutely needed to become a programmer in the first place. To learn Data Structure and Algorithms you either rad a few books or join a good course like . Algorithm and Data Structure part 1 and 2 If you need more choices, you can also check my list of . And, if you love books more than courses, here is a list of every developer should read. free Data Structure and Algorithms courses 10 algorithms books 2.5. Learn Design Patterns Just like , it’s not imperative to learn design patterns to become a React Developer but you will do a world of good to yourself by learning it. Algorithms and Data Structure Design patterns are tried and tested solutions of common problem occur in software development. Knowing them will help you to find a solution which can withstand the test of time. You can read a few books about design patterns to learn them or join a comprehensive course like . Design Patterns libraries If you need more choices, you can also check to get more ideas. my list of OOP and Design pattern courses 3. Learn React.js Now, this is the . you got to learn React and learn it well to become a React developer. The best place to learn React is the official website but as a beginner, it can be a little bit overwhelming for you. That’s why I suggest you enroll in a couple of courses like Max’s or Stephen Grider’s to learn to React well. main deal React MasterClass Modern React with Redux Those two are and also trusted by thousands of web developers. If you are serious about your React skills I strongly suggest you look at those courses. my favorite React courses And, if you don’t mind learning from free resources, then you can also take a look at this list of . free React JS courses 4. Learn Build Tools If you want to become a professional React developer then you should spend some time to get familiar with tools that you will be using as a web developer like built tools, unit testing tools, debugging tools etc. To start with here are some of the build tools mentioned in this roadmap: Package Managers There are a lot of package managered mentioned in the roadmpa but It’s not important to learn all these tools, just learning npm and Webpack should be enough for beginners. Once you have more understanding of web development and React Ecosystem you can explore other tools. If you want to learn Webpack then is a great place to start with. Webpack 2: The Complete Developer’s Guide If you are aiming to become a front-end developer like React developer then knowing a bit of Styling will not hurt. Even though the RoadMap mentions a lot of stuff like CSS Preprocessors, CSS Frameworks, CSS Architecture and CSS in JS. I suggest you to at least learn Bootstrap, the single most important CSS framework you will end up using every now and then. And, if you need a course, is a handy course. Bootstrap 4 From Scratch With 5 Projects And, if you want to learn bootstrap, If you want to go one step ahead, you can also learn Materialize or Material UI. 6. State Management This is another important area for a React developer to focus upon. The roadmap mention the following concepts and frameworks to master: Component State/Context API ReduxAsync actions (Side Effects) If this sounds too much to you, I suggest you to just focus on Redux, it’s great and there is a great course from Stephen Grider to learn Redux framework well. Both Max’s and Stephen Grider’s courses also covers State Management in React and Redux in good detail. React 16- The Complete Guide Modern React with Redux 7. Type Checkers Since JavaScript is not a strongly typed language, you don’t have the luxury of a compiler to catch those sneaky type related bug. As your app grows, you can catch a lot of bugs with type checking, especially if you can use JavaScript extensions like Flow or to type check your whole application. But even if you don’t use those, React has some built-in type checking abilities and learning them can help you to catch bugs early. Since Angular also uses TypeScript, I think it’s worth to learn TypeScript along with JavaScript, and if you also think so then you can check out the course on Udemy. TypeScript Ultimate TypeScript And, If you need more choices, and don’t mind learning from free resources then you can also check out my list of for web developers. free TypeScript courses 8. Form Helpers Apart from Type Checkers, it’s also good to learn Form Helps like Redux Form, which provides the best way to manage your form state in . Apart from Redux Form, you can also take a look at Formik, Formsy, and Final form. Redux 9. Routing Components are the heart of React’s powerful, declarative programming model, and Routing components are an important part of any application. React Router provides a collection of navigational components that compose declaratively with your application. Whether you want to have bookmarkable URLs for your web app or a composable way to navigate in React Native, React Router works wherever React is rendering. Apart from React-Router, you can also take a look at Router 5, Redux-First Router and React Router. Both Max’s and Stephen Grider’s courses also covers React Router in good detail. React 16 — The Complete Guide Modern React with Redux 10. API Clients In today’s world, you will rarely build an isolated GUI, instead, there is more chance that you will build something which communicates with other application using APIs like and . REST GraphQL Thankfully, there are many API clients available for React developers, here is a list of them: REST Fetch SuperAgent axios GraphQL Apollo Relay urql Apollo Client is my favorite and provides an easy way to use GraphQL to build client applications. The client is designed to help you quickly build a UI that fetches data with and can be used with any JavaScript front-end Btw, if you don’t know GraphQL and REST, I suggest you to spend some time learning them. If you need courses, the following are my recommendations: GraphQL GraphQL with React: The Complete Developers Guide REST API Design, Development & Management 11. Utility Libraries These are the libraries which make your work easier. There are many utility libraries available for React developers as shown below: Lodash Moment classnames Numeral RxJ SRamda I don’t suggest you learn all these and so does RoadMap. If you look closely only Lodash, Moment, and Classnames are drawn in yellow, stating that you should start with them. 12. Testing Now, this is one of the important skill for which is often overlooked, but if you want to stay ahead from your competition then you should focus on learning which will help you in testing. Here also, you have libraries for Unit testing, Integration testing, and end-to-end testing. Here is a list of libraries mentioned in the roadmap: React Developers libraries Unit Testing Jest Enzyme Sinon Mocha Chai AVA Tape End to End Testing Selenium Webdriver Cypress Puppeteer Cucumber.js Nightwatch.js Integration Testing Karma You can learn the library you want but Jest and Enzyme are recommended. also covers Testing React application covering both Jest and Enzyme. The Complete React Web Developer Course (with Redux) 13. Internationalization This is another important topic for developing front-end which is used worldwide. You may need to support the local GUI version for Japan, China, Spain, and other Europian countries. The RoadMap suggest you learn the following technology but they are all under good to know: React Intl React i18 Next Both these library provides React components and an API to format dates, numbers, and strings, including pluralization and handling translations. 14. Server-Side Rendering You might be thinking what is the difference between Server-Side Rendering and Client Side rendering, let’s clear that before talking about the library which supports Server Side Rendering with React. Well, In Client-side rendering, your browser downloads a minimal HTML page. It then renders the JavaScript and fills the content into it. While in the case of Server-side rendering, React components are rendered on the server and output HTML content is delivered to the client or browser. The RoadMap recommends following Server-Side Rendering: Next.js After.js Rogue But, I suggest learning just Next.js should be enough, and Thankfully, Max’s also covers Next.js basics which should be good enough to start with. React 16 — The Complete Guide 15. Static Site Generator The Gatsby.js is a modern static site generator. You can use to create personalized, logged-in experiences website. They combine your data with JavaScript and create well-formed HTML content. Gatsby 16. Backend Framework Integration React on Rails integrates Rails with (server rendering of) Facebook’s React front-end framework. It provides Server rendering, often used for SEO crawler indexing and UX performance and not offered by rails/webpacker. 17. Mobile This is another area where learning React can really beneficial as is quickly becoming the standard way to develop mobile application in JavaScript with native look and feel. The RoadMap suggests you learn following libraries: React Native React Native Cordova PhoneGap But, I think, just learning React Native is good enough. Thankfully, there are some good courses to learn React Native are also available like Stephen Grider’s Course which will teach you how to build full React Native mobile apps ridiculously fast! The Complete React Native and Redux 18. Desktop There also exists some to build desktop GUI like React Native Windows which allows you to build native UWP and WPF apps with React. The Framework suggests the following libraries: React based frameworks Proton Native Electron React Native Windows But, they all are for advanced exploring. If you already mastered React, you can take a look at them. 19. Virtual Reality If you are interested in building Virtual Reality based application then also you have some frameworks like React 360, which allows you to exciting 360 and VR experiences using React. If you are interested in that area, you can further explore React 360. That’s all about . It’s indeed very comprehensive and there is good chance that you won’t learn all of these, but don’t worry, all the technologies are still valid for a long time and you can this  React RoadMap as per your convinience. Other you may like The Modern React Developer RoadMap Programming Articles 10 Reasons to Learn Python 10 Programming languages You can Learn 10 Tools Every Java Developer Should Know 10 Reasons to Learn Java Programming languages 10 Frameworks Java and Web Developer should learn 10 Tips to become a better Java Developer Top 5 Java Frameworks to Learn 10 Testing Libraries Every Java Developer Should Know The DevOps RoadMap for Senior Developers Closing Notes Thanks for reading this article so far. You might be thinking that there is so many stuff to learn, so many courses to join, but you don’t need to worry. There is a good chance that you may already know most of the stuff, and there are also a lot of useful free resources which you can use, I have also linked them here and there along with best resources, which are certainly not free, but completely worthy of your time and money. I am a particular fan of as they are very affordable and provide a lot of values in very small amount, but you are free to choose the course you want. Udemy courses At the end of the day, you should have enough knowledge and experience about the things mentioned here. Good luck with your React JS journey! It’s certainly , but by following this roadmap and guide, you are one step closer to becoming the React Developer, you always wanted to be Please consider entering subscribing to this blog if you’d like to be notified for every new post, and don’t forget to follow on Twitter and on Medium. All the best for your React Journey !! not going to be easy javarevisited javinpaul If you are looking to learn React.js in depth with some modern features like Hooks then you can also  check out my list of to start your journey. P.S. — best React.js Courses

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