Unleash Your Creativity with React.js Components (Tutorial)

Written By V. Andreaus Washington

https://ionicframework.com/docs/icons/logo-react-icon.png

React.js has become a popular choice among developers for building web applications. Its component-based architecture makes it easy to create and reuse UI components. In this article, we will walk through the process of creating a simple React.js component that can be expanded upon for creating your own components.

Step 1: Set Up Your Environment

Before we dive into creating a React.js component, we need to set up our development environment. If you haven’t already, you will need to install Node.js and npm onto your machine.

For more information on installing Node and npm: https://docs.npmjs.com/downloading-and-installing-node-js-and-npm

Once we have these installed, we can create a new React.js project using the create-react-app command. In the terminal, run the following command:

npx create-react-app test-app

This will create a new React.js project with the name “test-app”.

Step 2: Creating a Component

Once our project is set up, we can start creating our component. In the “src” folder, create a new file named “TestComponent.js”. In this file, we will create our component. You can use the code below to set up the component.

import React from 'react'; 

function TestComponent() { 
  return ( 
    <div> 
      <h1>Hello, World!</h1> 
    </div> 
  ); 
}; 

export default TestComponent;

In this code, we import the React library and define our component as a function named “TestComponent”. We return a simple JSX element that displays a heading inside the function. We then export our component so that it can be used in other parts of our application.

When it comes to exporting our component, it should be noted that you should use the “default” keyword between the export and component name. The “default” keyword is used because it allows us to give a name to the imported module, which makes it easier to use in our code. If you should choose to leave out the “default” keyword, you would have to import the module’s specific name enclosed in curly braces “{}”.

Step 3: Using the Component

Now that we have created our component, we can use it in our application. In the “App.js” file, import our component and add it to the JSX code.

import React from 'react'; 
import './App.css';
// import using the "default" keyword
import TestComponent from './MyComponent';
// import WITHOUT using the "default" keyword
import { TestComponent} from "./TestComponent";

function App() { 
  return ( 
    <div className="App"> 
      <TestComponent /> 
    </div> 
  ); 
};

export default App;

In this code, we import our component and add it to the JSX code inside the “App” function. We then export the “App” function so that it can be rendered in our browser for our view.

Step 4: Viewing the Component

To view our component, we need to start our development server. In the terminal, navigate to the project directory and run the following command:

npm start

This will start our development server and open our application in the browser. If everything was set up correctly, we should see our component displayed in the browser with the heading “Hello, World!”.

In conclusion, creating a React.js component is a straightforward and uncomplicated process. With the right tools and knowledge, developers can create reusable components that can be used across their applications in as many other components as wished. If you follow the steps outlined in this article, you too can start building your own React.js components in no time and take a major step towards joining the ranks of other great developers.