Despite many worthy contenders, React remains the most popular front-end framework, and a key player in the JavaScript development landscape. React is the quintessential reactive engine, continually innovating alongside the rest of the industry. A flagship open source project at Facebook, React is now part of Meta Open Source. For developers new to JavaScript and web development, this tutorial will get you started with this vital technology.
React is not only a front-end framework, but is a component in full-stack frameworks like Next.js. Newer additions like React server-side rendering (SSR) and React server components (RSC) further blur the line between server and client.
Also see: Is the React compiler ready for primetime?
Why React?
React’s prominence makes it an obvious choice for developers just starting out with web development. It is often chosen for its ability to offer a smooth and encompassing developer experience (DX), which distinguishes it from frameworks like Vue, Angular, and Svelte. It could be said that React’s true “killer feature” is the perks that come with longstanding popularity: learning resources, community support, libraries, and developers are all plentiful in the React ecosystem.
