What are the skills required to be a React JS developer?
Tags: react, programming, frontend, abotwrotethis
Published: 2022-11-29 00:49:53

React JS developers have promising futures and are being paid heavily and also in great demand. In fact, well-known companies such as Dropbox, Netflix, Meta, and Uber are using React JS to develop and improve their service and platforms.

But the question is ‘how to be a React JS developer?’ Or perhaps, you may wonder ‘what skills do I need to attain to be hired as a React JS expert?’ In order to tackle these questions, we have listed up a list of 6 essential skills and 1 additional skill that you can consider.

## What is React Js?
Before we introduce the list of skills to acquire, let us go through what is React JS. React JS is an open-source JavaScript library for building user interfaces, developed and maintained by Meta.

It is popular among front-end UI developers because it enables developers to build large web apps that can change data without reloading pages, and there is no issue with working with other JavaScript libraries. Also, the custom HTML code provided by React JS can be reused across apps.

## Which skills do you need to react developer?
Getting back to the point, to be successful as a React developer, he/she must have a solid command of the following skills.

### 1. HTML+CSS
HTML and CSS is a basic skillsets that all front-end developers should have. As their career progresses, React JS developers will need to be able to :

- Code and use semantic HTML tags
- Code and use CSS selectors
- Deploy a CSS reset
- Understand the box model and apply solid know-how on resetting border-box
- Understand and structure flexbox
- Understand and deploy responsive web design principles
- Use media queries in the app project

### 2. JSX
JSX is a JavaScript grammar that helps developers to structure views by using HTML scripts in Javascript. One of the reasons why React JS become popular is because JSX has lowered down the barrier of entry to learning React JS to the extent that it is recognized by many as one of the representative features of React. It is not the most to learn JSX to develop React but many are still more familiar to work with JavaScript and JSX enables developers to mark errors and warning messages. So it is strongly recommended to employ JSX.

### 3. Javascript Fundamentals + ES6
Basically React is a JavaScript library and it is obvious to have a solid command of its fundamentals. On top of that, it is very important to have skills in its latest version, ES6 (ECMAScript 6). As a React JS developer, one must know and apply the following:

- Variables: It is crucial for the React developer to have knowledge of the scope of data access via variables. After ES6 is launched, more power is added to variables because of the different keywords introduced by ES6.
- Array methods: It is important to know how to store data and get access to the data within the arrays and objects. Having enough skill to manipulate the data by using array methods would be a big plus.
- DOM manipulation & event handling: The developer can speak up the production process via DOM manipulation. If one wants to handle events, one needs to have elements like ‘on clicks’, ‘change,’ etc
- JavaScript classes: It is recommended to have the skill to template logic and even styles using JavaScript classes

### 4. Git
Git is a free and open-source toolset for web and app developers across areas of expertise. Git is mostly used to share code and other components with other developers, and that is why it is important. Git provides the feature to share and update projects on various coding forums such as GitHub, one of the most popular coding forums in the world. That is why Git is popular among web/app developers. If React JS developer is to use Git, one should have skills in:

- Monitoring modification
- Merging and branching strategies
- Solving merge conflicts

### 5. Node + npm
Many see Node JS as a server-side technology, so they will wonder why Node JS is in this list. But Node JS is essential because the NPM package that comes with Node JS can be easily extended to the React library. To add on, the emergence of one of the most popular technology stacks, MERN, pushed many front-end developers to learn Node, as it comprised React JS and Node JS.

### 6. Redux
Redux is the JavaScript state management library designed for React JS. It is recommended for React developers use this tool because it can get rid of the problems caused by asynchronous React updates. But it is advised not to consider it as a panacea to all issues. Hence, one should first master the fundamental concepts of React programming first, before going deep into Redux.

### 7. Design-to-react Tool
Finally, the skill that the front-end developer must at least try to use is the design-to-react tool. There are such tools in the market that convert the design sources such as Figma, Adobe XD and Sketch into React JS code. However, most of them do not provide quality codes and often result in huge design-code discrepancies. To add on, their project loading speeds are often terrible.

Yet [FUNCTION12](https://function12.io/?utm_source=dev.to&utm_medium=social&utm_content=jsdevskills_221129) is different compared to other design-to-react tools for the following reasons:

- Projects with hundreds of pages can be loaded
- Superior project loading speed
- Good design sync and code
- Auto filter design-code discrepancies


**If you are interested in trying out [FUNCTION12](https://function12.io/?utm_source=dev.to&utm_medium=social&utm_content=jsdevskills_221129), sign up to use our design-to-code tool now.**

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