I learned React in 2015. It was a simpler time. Or maybe not. Maybe we’ve always been a bit JS fatigued.
When I think of “React”, I think of React all alone, by itself, with no libraries. Now – that’s not how people actually use it, in practice. React doesn’t do a whole lot on its own, and we end up adding libraries for routing and API calls and maybe state management (like Redux).
But when you’re learning React, it’s the best place to start: just vanilla React.
Start with the base layer (React), then once you’ve built a couple small things, layer on one new library at a time.
Diving in on a big project can leave you scattered and confused. There is a TON of tech out there, and you do not need to learn and use all of it right away. One thing at a time :) Learning React? Start small.
You might be interested in my own learning path and How I Learned React.
Read through Learning React as an Experienced Developer if React is not your first framework, or if you’re maybe new to frontend but not new to development in general.
One of the best ways to learn is to copy existing apps. It frees you up to focus on the code, and when you’re learning something new, focus is paramount. Cheat to Win: Learn React with Copywork
For all this learning you’ll need to build projects! Here are 6 Fun React Project Ideas you can practice with, and another post on how to come up with your own project ideas that includes a list of 16 more. Don’t get stuck agnonizing over what to build! Pick one and start.
If you’re spinning up a ton of projects, Create React App might start to eat up a lot of your disk space! Reclaim some of it by switching to Parcel.
I have a comprehensive React Tutorial that starts from zero and builds up a small app using only React.