Review — Is React Courses on Coursera Worth it? [2024]

This is one of the best full-stack web developer specializations on Coursera and if you want to become a full-stack developer in 2024, this is a great resource to start with.

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8 min readOct 17, 2021

Review — Is The Fullstack Web Development with React Coursera Specialization Worth it?

Hello guys, if you are looking for the best Coursera courses to learn Fullstack development using React.js in 2024 or just want to join Full Stack Web Development with React Specialization in Coursera but are not sure whether it’s worth it not then you have come to the right place.

Earlier, I have shared the best React books, React Developer roadmap, and websites, and in this article, I will review Coursera’s most popular React course.

Full-stack web development is the new area of software development where one person is talked to create the whole website, and there is a huge demand for full-stack developers.

It’s a difficult job but salary hikes and career opportunities make it very attractive and that’s why a lot of developers are learning about Fullstack development.

It’s expected from Fullstack developers to have a solid knowledge of front-end technologies and usually will be the HTML and CSS and customize the look of the website using the JavaScript and also learn the back-end development where the different operations of the website happen like authentication and searching and learn developing a database solution to store the user’s data.

Most learners fail in finding the right programming languages to start developing the whole website from scratch with a server-side solution.

The website should be simple and faster to provide a great users experience, and also this framework should be rich in libraries and algorithms so you can implement anything you want in your web application so many people use the JavaScript language and its frameworks like Express and Node.js for the back-end and React for the front-end to build the website.

Thousands of online courses teach you how to use JavaScript and its framework to create the complete website from the front-end to the back-end.

Still, many of them are created by amateurs and maybe can give you all you need to know about this development, so I’ve found an online course created by the Hong Kong university called Full-Stack Web Development with React Specialization.

Is Full-Stack Web Development with React Specialization on Coursera Worth it?

Now that you know that this is one of the best React course on Coursera and thousands of developers have already joined this course to learn, and master React, it’s no brainer to say that it’s worth it or not.

It’s definitely worth it, and both beginner and experienced web developers can use this course to learn React.js for web development.

Now, let’s deep dive into this course review and check this course from three important points of view, instructor reputation and style, course structure and content quality, and other people’s reviews. These are the three criteria you can use to review any online course before you join.

1. The Instructor Review

This specialization is created by Jogesh K. Muppala, an associate professor in the computer science department at the Hong Kong university. In 1991 Jogesh K. Muppala received his Ph.D. from Duke University, and this course is offered from Hong Kong University.

Jogesh has created some of the very best web development courses on Coursera, like Frontend JavaScript Framework: Angular and Server-side Development with Node JS, Express, and Mongo DB.

He has a knack for explaining things in detail, which makes learning easier and offers a unique perspective. I really like how he explains every single React concept step by step, and I think both intermediate and beginner developers will find it useful.

2. Specialization Courses, Content, and Structure

This specialization is very well structured to teach you full-stack development using React. There are 3 courses in this specialization, and you will first explore the frontend and GUI Development part before jumping into backend developing using Node JS, Express, and Mongo DB.

Now, let’s take a quick look at what you are going to learn in these 3 courses which are part of this React specialization in Coursera.

2.1. Front-End Web UI Frameworks and Tools: Bootstrap 4

This is the first course of this full-stack development specialization in Coursera. Before you ever jump to this specialization, you have first to know the basics of front-end development: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

You will get an overview of full-stack web development, learn the basics of Bootstrap, a CSS framework for developing responsive websites, and learn a few things about the Node.js framework.

Later, you will learn about the Bootstrap components like the navigation bar, making buttons, adding images, media, and more.

Next, you will learn about Bootstrap’s JavaScript-based components like tabs, bills, and tabbed navigation. Finally, learn about the building and deployment of the web project using the NPM script and task runners such as Grunt and Gulp.

best Coursera course to learn Frontend framework and tools

2.2. Front-End Web Development with React

This course will require you to complete the previous one or have some knowledge in using Bootstrap 4 before jumping more about learning the front-end development.

You will learn about using the React framework, which is a JavaScript framework to create the front-end of the websites, and also learn its components and how to use React Router to design and create a single page application SPA that will allow the users to navigate the website pages without refreshing the browser.

Later you will learn about the controlled and uncontrolled forms and form validation on the React framework.

Also, learn about the model view controller framework, the flux architecture, which is a pattern that manages how the data flow in the React application, and learn about Redux that is used most of the time in the application state management.

The last section will further explore Redux and client-server communication and deploying your application.

best Coursera course to learn React.js for Beginners

2.3. Server-side Development with NodeJS, Express, and MongoDB

The first two sections in the specialization were about the front-end and the client-side development. Still, now we are going to learn the back-end development and developing database solution for your application. You will learn about Node.js and its modules and creating a Node HTTP server.

You will also explore the Express framework and how to set up REST API using this framework. Next, you will create a NoSQL database using MongoDB and interact this database with the Node.js framework.

Later you will develop a basic user authentication that will allow a device to verify someone connected to a network.

Finally, learn about making the secure connection using the HTTPS protocol, uploading files, and using the OAuth with passport and Facebook for authentication purposes.

3. People’s Review

This is another important thing to check before joining an online course. When it comes to people’s reviews this course has got some amazing numbers.

It has on average 4.7 ratings on 5 from close to 6000 developers, and more importantly, more than 16,000 people have already joined this React certification on Coursera, which is a big testament for this course.

Most of the people are quite happy with professor Jugesh’s teaching style and the way this course is structured. It also seems that both beginners and intermediate developers have liked this course as it helped them to learn and fill gaps in their understanding of React.

Here is the link to join this course — Full-Stack Web Development with React Specialization.

Overall a fantastic course to join on Coursera to learn React JS and Fullstack Development. You can either join this course individually which costs around $39 per month, or you can take the Coursera Plus subscription which provides unlimited access to certification and specifications for $59 per month.

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That’s all about reviewing Coursera’s most popular Fullstack Web Development course and certification — The Fullstack Web Development with React by Hong Kong University. The course is introductory to the full-stack web development using the React framework and bootstrap for the front-end and also uses other JavaScript frameworks like Node.js and Express for making the back-end.

Still, you have to practice more to be able to build more complex applications.

Other Web Development Articles and Resources You May like to explore

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like this course review of Full-Stack Web Development with React Specialization by Hong Kong University on Coursera, please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a comment.

P. S. — If you are a fan of Udemy courses and looking for the best React.js courses to learn React from scratch on Udemy, I highly recommend you check out this React complete Guide course by Maximilian Schwarzmuller. When it comes to teaching web development, he is a genius, and I have learned a lot from his React.js and Angular development courses. You won’t regret joining this React course on Udemy.