Why I Still Love React in 2025

React has been around for over a decade now, and honestly? I'm still a fan. Here's why I think it's still the go-to for building UIs.

React Isn't Going Anywhere

Look, I get it. Every other week there's a new JavaScript framework that's supposed to be the React killer. Solid, Svelte, Qwik... the list goes on. And yeah, some of them are genuinely impressive pieces of engineering.

But here's the thing - I've been building stuff with React since like 2016, and it just *works*. The ecosystem is massive, the job market still wants React devs, and the patterns are battle-tested.

What I Actually Like About It

The Component Model

This is still, in my opinion, the cleanest way to think about UI:

function UserCard({ user }) {
  return (
    <div className="card">
      <img src={user.avatar} alt={user.name} />
      <h2>{user.name}</h2>
      <p>{user.bio}</p>
    </div>
  );
}

Simple. Declarative. Easy to reason about.

Hooks Changed Everything

Remember class components? Yeah, me too. Not fondly. Hooks made React code so much cleaner:

function useWindowSize() {
  const [size, setSize] = useState({ width: 0, height: 0 });
  
  useEffect(() => {
    const handleResize = () => {
      setSize({ width: window.innerWidth, height: window.innerHeight });
    };
    
    window.addEventListener('resize', handleResize);
    handleResize();
    
    return () => window.removeEventListener('resize', handleResize);
  }, []);
  
  return size;
}

Custom hooks are probably my favorite pattern in all of frontend development.

The Ecosystem

Need routing? React Router. State management? Take your pick - Redux, Zustand, Jotai, or just Context. Forms? React Hook Form is *chef's kiss*. Testing? React Testing Library is fantastic.

You're never stuck wondering "how do I do X in React" because someone has already solved it.

But It's Not Perfect

I'm not gonna pretend React doesn't have issues:

The bundle size can get out of hand if you're not careful
useEffect can be a footgun (looking at you, infinite loops)
The "rules of hooks" are annoying until they're second nature
Server components are still a bit confusing

The Bottom Line

Is React the absolute best framework objectively? Probably not. Is it the one I reach for when I want to build something and not fight my tools? Absolutely.

Sometimes boring technology is the right choice. React is my boring technology, and I'm okay with that.

What about you? Still on the React train or have you jumped ship to something else? Hit me up on Discord - I'm genuinely curious what people are building with these days.

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