React Tutorial Series: Learn React from Scratch

React has become the go-to JavaScript library for building fast, interactive user interfaces. Whether you're a front-end developer looking to level up or a total beginner interested in web development, this React Tutorial Series is designed to help you learn React from scratch — no prior experience required.

In this series, we'll cover everything you need to build modern web applications with React, from basic concepts to advanced features like hooks, context, and routing. This first post lays the foundation and guides you through setting up your React development environment and understanding how React works.

Why Learn React?

React, developed by Facebook, is used by companies like Netflix, Airbnb, Instagram, and Uber. Its component-based architecture, virtual DOM, and rich ecosystem make it ideal for building scalable and maintainable front-end applications.

Key Benefits:

• Reusable components: Build modular UIs.
• Fast rendering: Thanks to the virtual DOM.
• Strong community: Tons of resources, tools, and libraries.
• Backed by Facebook: Actively maintained and constantly evolving.

If you’re familiar with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you’re ready to get started.

What You’ll Learn in This Series

Here’s a quick overview of what to expect in upcoming tutorials:

1. Setting Up a React Project
2. Understanding Components and JSX
3. State and Props
4. Handling Events
5. Conditional Rendering and Lists
6. Forms and User Input
7. React Hooks (useState, useEffect, and more)
8. React Router for Navigation
9. Context API and Global State
10. Deploying Your React App

Let’s start with the basics: setting up your environment and understanding how React fits into modern web development.

Setting Up Your React Development Environment

You can build React apps in many ways, but the most beginner-friendly method is using Create React App (CRA) — a tool that sets up everything you need with zero configuration.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js and npm installed (check by running node -v and npm -v in your terminal)

Step 1: Install Create React App

 npx create-react-app my-first-react-app

npx comes with npm 5.2+ and allows you to run packages without installing them globally.

Step 2: Navigate and Start the App

cd my-first-react-app
npm start

This command starts a development server and opens your app in the browser at http://localhost:3000.

Congratulations — you’ve just created your first React app!

Understanding React’s Folder Structure

After creating your app, you’ll see a folder like this:

my-first-react-app/
├── public/
├── src/
│   ├── App.js
│   ├── index.js

• public/ contains the index.html file, the shell of your app.

• src/ contains JavaScript files, including:

  • index.js: Entry point for your React app.
  • App.js: The root component of your app.

React apps work by rendering components, which are JavaScript functions or classes that return JSX.

What is JSX?

JSX (JavaScript XML) is a syntax extension that allows you to write HTML-like code in JavaScript.

Example:

function Welcome() {
  return <h1>Hello, React!</h1>;
}

JSX gets compiled into regular JavaScript calls like React.createElement() under the hood. It makes writing UI components more intuitive.

Your First Component

Let’s edit App.js and create a simple component:

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Welcome to My First React App</h1>
      <p>This is the beginning of your React journey.</p>
    </div>
  );
}

export default App;

Save the file, and your browser will auto-refresh to show the updated UI.

How React Works (Simplified)

1. Components: The building blocks of your app.
2. JSX: Syntax to describe what the UI should look like.
3. State: Local data each component can manage.
4. Props: Data passed between components.
5. Virtual DOM: React updates only the parts of the UI that change, making it very fast.

In future posts, we’ll dive deeper into each of these concepts.

Next Steps

You’ve just taken the first step into the world of React. In the next tutorial, we’ll explore components and JSX in more detail, including how to create reusable components and nest them together.

To follow along, keep your my-first-react-app project handy — we’ll build on it as we progress.

Final Thoughts

React can seem overwhelming at first, but with a structured approach, you’ll find it’s both powerful and fun. This series is designed to help you learn by doing — each post will include examples, code snippets, and practice exercises.

If you’re serious about building modern web apps, React tutorial is an essential skill to have in your toolkit.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Understanding Components and JSX — coming up next!