How to create React App

React.js, also known as React, is an open-source JavaScript library for building user interfaces and single-page applications.

Developed by Facebook (Meta) and released in 2013, it’s a popular choice for Headless eCommerce.

Detailed Steps to Create a React App

Creating a React app involves several steps, including installing Node.js and npm, choosing a package manager, creating a new React app, and starting the development server.

Setup Node.js

Visit the official Node.js website and download the latest version. After downloading, install Node.js on your machine, verify the installation, open a terminal, and enter below mentioned command.

node -v

This command will display the version of Node.js that has been installed on your system.

Choose a Package Manager

In this step, we have to choose a package manager, A package manager is a tool that helps you install, update, and manage packages (libraries and dependencies) for your React application.

Here, we will use npm (Node Package Manager), which is the default package manager for Node.js.

npm install -g npm

Create a New React App

To create a new React app, run the following command in your terminal or command prompt.

npx create-react-app my_app

Our React app name is my_app and you can provide your accordingly, once the app is created, change it into the app directory by running the below command.

cd my_app

Over set up the React application, and you can see the final structure.

.
├── src/
│   ├── App.js
│   ├── App.css
│   ├── App.test.js
|   ├── index.js
|   ├── index.css
│   └── logo.svg
├── public/
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── logo.svg
│   ├── robots.txt
│   └── manifest.json
├── package-lock.json
├── package.json
└── README.md

Take a look around the app directory. You’ll notice that there are several files and directories.

• README.md: A Markdown file containing information about the app. This file is essentially the app’s instruction manual, providing details about the app’s features, usage, and configuration.
• package.json: A JSON file containing metadata about the app. This file contains information such as the app’s name, version, dependencies, and scripts.
• public/: This directory contains static assets (such as images and stylesheets) that are used by the app.
• index.html: An HTML file containing the app’s HTML structure. This file serves as the app’s entry point and is responsible for rendering the app’s UI.
• src/: A directory containing the app’s JavaScript code. This directory is where all the app’s logic and functionality reside.
• App.js: A JavaScript file containing the app’s main component. This file defines the app’s UI and handles user interactions.
• index.js: A JavaScript file containing the app’s entry point. This file is responsible for rendering the app’s main component and kicks off the app’s execution.

Start the Development Server

Now we can start our React application development server, to run the following below-mentioned command.

npm start

By default, the React application starts at http://localhost:3000 with a 3000 port if the 3000 port is already in use it’s asking for running into the 3001 port.

Conclusion

In just a few steps, you’ve laid the foundation for building your own React applications by utilizing Node.js.

we are now ready to build our own applications, combining the power of Node.js and React.js to create efficient and scalable single-page applications.

Start your Headless Development with Webkul.
Happy Coding !!