It’s no secret that React has played a huge role in many software development projects, including many of our own. But it’s been a couple of years since React took its place as one of the best JavaScript libraries in the market, and I feel like it’s time to revisit React and understand the reasons behind its success.
With the demand for both React development services and React developers skyrocketing as we speak, I can see how many businesses could be interested in learning if React is the best choice for them. And considering all of the things you can use React for, this could also be a great resource for startups and business leaders.
#1 It’s Simple to Read and Easy to Use
This trait seems to be one of the common denominators between the most popular technologies out there. The K.I.S.S. mentality is definitely valuable for software development libraries, and the popularity of React stands as proof of that. Being simple to read and easy to use made React easy to understand and implement, allowing businesses to hit the ground running and build what they need as quickly as possible.
Beyond that, React’s ease of use has also helped many developers adopt the technology and make it part of their toolkit. As a result, the talent pool of React developers is now larger than ever before, and any company has a chance of hiring top software developers—especially through tailored-fit solutions like Staff Augmentation.
#2 It’s Designed for Easy Maintenance
React code is easier to maintain thanks to its amazing reusable components. What are reusable components you ask? Well, as the name suggests, these are code elements that developers can use multiple times in an app and even across different projects. Custom buttons or stylized dropdown menus are examples of small components, which can later become part of bigger conglomerates known as wrapper components.
Without getting too deep into the details, all you need to know is that this feature becomes crucial as the project progresses. Simply put, React’s simple and flexible approach makes software development easier and more cost-effective in the short and long term.
#3 It’s Robust, Interactive, and Dynamic
React developers choose to specialize in this technology because the library does practically everything. With React, you can build interactive and dynamic applications without compromising the robustness of its infrastructure in any way. And this goes for web, Android, iOS, and even IoT platforms.
#4 It’s SEO-Friendly
One of the most known features of React is its ability to leverage the benefits of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). By using React, businesses can considerably reduce page load times and start ranking higher in search engines (a.k.a. Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc). How is this possible? Well, it’s all thanks to React’s focus on rendering speed.
You see, Reach lets you use similar code for both the client and server-side of an application (this is what many people describe as isomorphic). This means that any website using React immediately has an advantage in terms of speed and, thus, is more attractive for both users and crawlers.
#5 It’s Easy to Test
One of the things that make React so great is how convenient it is to test React-based apps. How so? Well, in React, views can be treated as functions of a specific state. As a result, React developers can work closely with testing engineers to manipulate any states moved across React View.
In essence, this allows the development team to easily manage the output of the code and all of its functions, actions, and events. Then, they can easily tell whether or not the app is working as expected and, if not, pinpoint the location to concentrate on.
#6 React Native Changed Mobile Development
A decade ago, developing cross-platform mobile apps was a guaranteed way to get a headache. Businesses knew that if they wanted their apps on multiple platforms, that would mean spending a lot of time, money, and staff in practically creating the whole thing in another programming language. React Native changed all of that for the better.
With React Native, developers can now build powerful and high-quality mobile applications in one single codebase that interacts directly with the native operating system of a mobile device. React Native is extremely used to develop cost-efficient mobile apps that run smoothly on both Android and iOS—and that, unlike most apps before this technology, run on the same codebase.
The Bottom Line
Since its launch date, React showed a lot of promise in becoming one of the most popular technologies in the software industry. Now, in 2021, we can definitely say that it lived up to the expectations. React has had a huge impact in frontend development, and now plays a major role in the tech stacks of some of the most renowned companies in the world, including Netflix, Skype, Instagram, Airbnb, Tesla, and many more.
If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out our other React articles.
