In the current time, WordPress is gaining appraisal across the globe for its latest release of Gutenberg editor for its block editing feature. The surprising part of this editor – ReactJS functions as a backend. ReactJS had taken the community of WordPress developers to surprise by introducing the Calypso for an incredibly fast and API-powered interface written purely in JavaScript by leveraging libraries like Node and React.
Basically, react is a library that provides a declarative method of defining UI components like ReactDOM which is a combined library offering rendering and DOM diffing while React-Redux gum offers the glue between React and Redux as a data store. By using the Javascript, React Native lets you build mobile applications and also write the rich mobile UI from declarative components. React is very much popular among the big brands like Airbnb, Dropbox, Alipay, Netflix, Facebook and much more because of it’s easy to use and flexible approach.
On its release, this made a rush among the PHP developers as it became mandatory to learn JavaScript for taking advantage of the newly proposed tech stack. But with the Gutenberg editor, it becomes very easy to work with different libraries. It does make a lot of sense for WordPress developers from a product strategy point of view to continue its development using React but you may also wonder why was React chosen in the first place.
Let us look at some advantages and disadvantages of using WordPress with ReactJS when the initial decision has been made.
PROs of using React
- 1 Allows to Re-use Code Components
The best advantage any ReactJS developer can get is to reuse the existing components which forget the general upgrading headache. All the components are isolated and such kind of change does not affect another component if you make a change in the first one. Such a feature of reusing the components can increase the speed of production by making programming more precise and accurate for developers.
- 2 Easy to Write
The developers who have experienced writing in HTML will find extreme similarity when writing the React templates with interpolation thanks to JSX. The HTML is directly in your Javascript component code and looks same as the Mustache templates. If you desire to put all your markup, style and functionality in one place then React is considered extremely flexible as it provides convenience and extreme modularity in the upcoming time.
- 3 Faster Speed
The WordPress developers do not need to worry whether something has been rendered before or it is for the first time. It is considered that the React rendering is immutable which proceeds first render and the fifteenth rendering of one component in the exact same way. The Redux re-renders the relevant components on the page when the state changes.
- 4 Separate Data and Presentation
The WordPress is using the REST API for the data to reach Redux and React as it allows a complete separation of data and presentation. When you place as much of your data in your Redux store it will generally provide the best result as anything you lose on the new render can go into the React state. Thus, React gives more than a presentation layer for short-term storage.
- 5 Simple Framework
The WordPress developers have confessed to finding ReactJS more easier to use than many frameworks or libraries. With the help of basic programming knowledge, you can create and support professional mobile and web applications. Also, a unique syntax names JSX allows the combination of Javascript and HTML.
CONs of using React
- 1 Encourages build tool
The React community strongly recommends build tools for all the front-end applications but the simplest and decent tools are highly suggested. You often need to participate with a shell script in your ‘package.json’ file for the simplest application. For instance, you can use tools like Gulp to manage more tasks for more complex applications. also, Browserify and WebPack-Dev-Server are important to build tools which stick to NPM scripts for your command line interface without making things unnecessarily complicated.
- 2 Prohibited Licensing
If you want your projects safer, error-free and upgraded with the latest features, it is always a better choice to opt for the licensed software. Even the Automattic or WordPress team decided to go with React in spite of knowing about the restrictive licensing which nearly made them loose months in re-writing Gutenberg and Calypso.
- 3 React is not a framework
React can be quite frustrating when the developers want to work quickly. For instance, if you have clients coming up with more projects and presses the deadline then working with the React can be quite frustrating. React is considered a little bit complex and hence you cannot expect to save time while working on it.
- 4 React is still under-development
The community of React conventions is still developing as there arises a problem in a turnover when the changes are very fast and don’t have time to solidify into general practices. While the react changes or updates generally occur on a monthly basis which makes the tasks difficult and hence the projects cannot get configured at the right time with the latest features.
Conclusion
WordPress developers have a wide choice of frameworks and libraries which can be chosen from React, Angular, and VueJS. There seems a little confusion among the developers when it comes to choosing the right framework for their projects. As there are multiple uses for the variant libraries, for instance, WordPress as a back-end to build a mobile application, VueJS for simply a Single Page Application or Angular2 and TypeScript according to your client demands and project requirements.
The WordPress users are keen to try their hands on websites by using the React to see the commemorative positive effects it offers to their projects. WordPress has always been at the top when it comes to design a custom website as it allows their users to have a plethora of features and also makes them unique by customizing according to the needs. In the end, it all depends on how you want to customize your project using the best options.
Author Bio:
Olivia Diaz is working at eTatvaSoft.com, an Enterprise level Mobile & Web application Development Company. Being a tech geek, she keeps a close watch over the industry trends focusing on the latest technology news and gadgets.