☝️ One thing which has helped me IMMENSELY in learning React...

Alok Kumar — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 06:39:22 +0000

✨ A quick look back at how I started coding, about a year ago:
HTML → CSS → JavaScript → React 👩🏻‍💻

One strategy that’s really worked for me?
Focusing on a single project and continuously refactoring it over time 🔁
Now, don’t get me wrong—breadth matters.
Exploring different projects and learning from diverse sources is super valuable 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
But for me, depth—really digging into one project—has been a game-changer 👍

Here’s how I approached it:

Start simple: I found a basic to-do list on CodePen. I kept the HTML/CSS, stripped out the JavaScript, and rewrote it myself. This helped me zero in on just JavaScript without getting overwhelmed.
Redesign from scratch: Once the logic was in place, I rebuilt the CSS to match my own style. Again, starting fresh helped me learn more deeply.
Level up with React: I refactored the app using React class components.
Modernize it: Then I refactored again using functional components and React hooks.
Style it smartly: Finally, I rewrote all the CSS using Styled Components.

This iterative approach helped me understand how the same functionality can be implemented in multiple ways—and gave me a deeper appreciation for how vanilla JavaScript connects with React.

I started with a basic app and evolved it into what I work on today:
AI Browser — AI Browser lets people automate web browser with just a single prompt.

Hope this helps someone out there!
Drop any questions in the comments 👇

Image credit: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/

DEV Community: Alok Kumar

☝️ One thing which has helped me IMMENSELY in learning React...