Today's best practices can quickly turn into tomorrow's antipatterns, making it crucial for us as React developers to stay vigilant. Class components, mixins, Redux—these have all had their moment. However, the React ecosystem evolves rapidly. Each month brings new techniques, frameworks, and state management libraries that solve previous issues and sometimes introduce new ones.
Failing to keep up means your code could quickly become outdated, or you might find yourself on the wrong path. Without realizing it, you could be stuck in an endless cycle of issues, potentially reinventing the wheel.
Fortunately, with a few selected resources, it's possible to stay informed, both passively and actively, about what's happening in the React world and beyond.
X (formerly Twitter)
X is more than ever the place to be if you want to stay updated with React. The great exodus announced when Elon Musk bought the social network never happened. I even had to add a “bonus” section to my top 3 because of the amount and quality of influential developers on the platform:
- Kent C Dodds: Kent is one of the most experienced React developers out there. He’s produced an insane amount of training content, worked at PayPal and Google, and co-founded Remix.
- Cory House: Cory is more well-known for his YouTube channel, but his X account is well worth it too—a mix of amusing posts and overreactions to the latest news in the frontend world. But behind the agitation, Cory is an amazing, hardworking React developer.
- Addy Osmani: Addy is a well-known figure in the frontend development community. He works at Google on the Chrome team, and his insights into performance optimization, React best practices, and JavaScript are invaluable. His X account is a treasure trove of information for any developer.
Newsletters
Staying updated via newsletters is one of the best ways to keep your knowledge fresh without much effort:
- Bytes: Your Weekly Dose of JavaScript: Bytes is a delightful newsletter that delivers the latest JavaScript and React news with a touch of humor. It’s a quick and easy read, perfect for busy developers.
- React Status: React Status is a weekly roundup of the best React news, articles, and tutorials. It’s curated by Peter Cooper and the Cooperpress team, who are known for their high-quality content.
- Frontend Focus: Frontend Focus is another excellent newsletter that covers not just React but all aspects of frontend development. It’s a great way to stay informed about the broader web development ecosystem.
Websites
There are several websites that provide excellent resources and updates for React developers:
- react.dev: The official React website is an essential resource. It includes comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and updates directly from the React team.
- Frontend Masters: Frontend Masters offers in-depth courses on React and other frontend technologies. Their content is produced by industry experts and covers everything from beginner to advanced topics.
- CSS-Tricks: While not exclusively focused on React, CSS-Tricks frequently publishes high-quality articles and tutorials about React and frontend development in general.
YouTube Channels
Visual learners can benefit greatly from YouTube channels that focus on React and frontend development:
- Academind: Maximilian Schwarzmüller’s channel, Academind, provides excellent tutorials on React, Next.js, and many other web technologies.
- Traversy Media: Brad Traversy’s channel, Traversy Media, is known for its high-quality, beginner-friendly tutorials on a wide range of web development topics, including React.
- The Net Ninja: The Net Ninja offers comprehensive, step-by-step tutorials on React and other frontend technologies. His clear teaching style makes complex topics easier to understand.
Extras
OK, I could go on like this forever. Tech X is the place to be when you’re a frontend developer. But let’s cut it short and wrap this with a few more people.
Whether you like Next.js or not, Vercel is always going to be on top of the React game, and its CEO, Guillermo Rauch, is here to prove it. But maybe you’re more into Remix? Then Ryan Florence is your guy. And what about Tanner Linsley, creator of the TanStack? Let’s not forget Daishi Kato, the author of the only state libraries you want to use in 2024 (Zustand, Jotai,…). Finally, I wanted to mention Matt Pocock, the TypeScript wizard (he also has a newsletter and free tutorials).