Top 8 resources to learn React and JavaScript

Disclaimer: Sunscrapers is not affiliated with anyone mentioned within this post. Opinions stated within this review are solely our own.

Before we begin…

ReactJS is a JavaScript library used in web development to build interactive website elements. But it does not seem like a helpful definition if you are unfamiliar with JavaScript or JavaScript libraries.

It is essential to base on a firm understanding of what we are discussing. Let’s explain then.

React is the most popular way to build user interfaces. In May 2021, over 80,000 developers decided to share how they learn and level up, which tools they use, and what they want. According to a Stack Overflow survey, over 40 percent of developers said they had a chance to work with React at some point. It shows that, as being said, React has never been more popular.

Meaning that spending the time mastering the React skills might be a worthwhile investment.

There are plenty of opportunities to learn, understand the principles, and practice your coding skills. Some of them are great, some not so much… So, to save your time, we took a trip around the internet and found some top resources for learning both Javascript and React JS.

Without further ado, let’s go!

ES6 for Everyone

A premium training course to strengthen your core JavaScript skills and master all ES6 has to offer.

Sounds interesting?

ECMAScript2015, also known as an ES6, is a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language that executes inside a host-provided environment. Therefore, it is unable to function independently.

ES6.io is one of the best courses for the groundbreaking version of JavaScript called ECMAScript. We can read on their website that it is "Updated for ES7/ES2016 and ES8/ES2017 including Async+Await, Babel 7, and more".

It has over seven hours of video materials, but every second is worth watching. Wes Bos - Full Stack Developer, Speaker, and Teacher from Canada - can translate some very complicated nuances into something that can be easily understood.

Remember, though, that this is not JavaScript from scratch, so you should have some knowledge before diving into the course. The main goal is to "strengthen your core JavaScript skills while preparing and updating you to write modern JavaScript".

“You don’t know JS yet” (book series)

The worldwide bestselling “You don’t know JS yet” is a series of books diving deep into the very core mechanisms of the JavaScript language. It explains concepts related to JavaScript and tricks in a very detailed way.

It doesn’t matter how experienced you are; if you are a beginner or a senior developer, these books are an absolute must if you code in JS.

Books are available to be bought on the Lean publishing website (if you want to pay the author for his hard work) but are also available for free on GitHub.

There are also some courses made by the book’s author available on the Frontend Masters website (check number 4 on our list).

Egghead

Concise Full Stack Courses for Busy Web Developers high-quality video tutorials and curated learning resources with zero cruft.

This is how Egghead describes itself.

It is one of the best resources for modern javascript frameworks, typescript, and javascript themselves. Not only is the content really up to date, but they even show how to use some upcoming language/framework functionalities (when it comes to React). Lessons are very condensed and brief - with a usual length of around 2-5 minutes, whole courses take approximately 25-40 minutes. They also have transcripts and code sandbox examples.

If you are a senior or mid-level developer and value your time - there is nothing better than Egghead. As well as, if you are a beginner looking for knowledge, you will find a lot of helpful content.

Frontend Masters

Frontend Masters is an online training platform focused on Web Development. It is perfect if you are looking for some more detailed explanation of the modern frontend stack. Not only does it have excellent and lengthy lessons but also quizzes and workshops.

But where the website really shines is the fact that they recruit actual professionals who teach you their specialties.

If you’d like to learn more about JavaScript, you must go for the already mentioned Learn from Kyle Simpson’s courses.

Epic React

Epic React is the most detailed course about React and its API’s.

It goes through details you wouldn’t have a problem finding inside React documentation in an obvious way. It also goes through Hooks, composition patterns, testing, performance, and context API.

It’s quite pricey, but if you have to buy only one course, I would definitely recommend this one.

The only con we could find is that the course material is in JavaScript instead of TypeScript, but the author, Kent. C Dodds announced that there would be an upgraded version with Typescript soon.

Testing JavaScript with Kent C.Doods

Testing JavaScript by Kent C. Dodds is an online course that is concentrated on topics like JEST, mocking, React Testing Library (authored by - guess who? Kent C. Dodds himself), and Cypress.

Basically - everything which is “HOT” in the JavaScript testing world. The course explains the philosophy between different testing types and helps you start writing your test straight away.

Codecademy

Codecademy is a web platform that focuses on teaching programming through concrete examples.

If you are a beginner and wonder if coding is for you - this is your place. This platform aims to educate the next generation of IT professionals (but advanced coders also will find something for themselves).

Codecademy lessons, interactive practice, and feedback will significantly help while learning React.js.

They have a free React course - learn React, which will teach you React’s concepts like JSX, class and functions components, props, state, lifecycle methods, and hooks.

The lessons are organized around exercises, so learning something is easier when you instantly try it in practice.

As we know - practice makes it perfect.

Khan Academy

KhanAcademy is a similar concept to Codecademy. It is a nonprofit organization that aims to provide free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. It offers instructional videos and practice exercises. You also have access to a personalized learning dashboard that allows you to study at your own pace, wherever you feel.

To summarize…

The resources above should give you an idea of how broad the choices and possibilities of learning are. You can learn from the mentioned platforms, books, and courses as much as you want, and what is the most important - in a manner best for you. The way one sees it, you can choose from fast tutorials just to get to know the subject a little better. However, to become an expert, you should dig deeper and choose the course that gives you the more detailed information. What matters are your goals, so make sure you choose the path that makes the most sense for you and your future career.

Have fun, and we wish you good luck on your learning journey!