Hi everyone 👋
I recently built my first React portfolio as part of my journey into full-stack web development, and I wanted to share a few things I learned along the way.
This project helped me understand not just React itself, but also how modern web applications are structured and how different tools work together.
Why I Built a React Portfolio
I wanted a single place to:
Showcase my projects
Practice real-world React patterns
Learn state management with Redux
Work with external APIs
Instead of just following tutorials, I decided to build something practical that I could improve over time.
Key Technologies I Used
Here are some of the tools and technologies I worked with:
React – for building reusable UI components
Redux Toolkit – for managing global state
Axios – for handling API requests
CSS – for responsive layouts and styling
Public APIs – such as random quote APIs and Dev.to articles
What I Learned
Some of the most important lessons from this project were:
How useEffect is used to fetch data when a component loads
Why global state (Redux) is useful for shared data
How to structure a React project properly
How small UI details (like hover effects) improve user experience
How to debug common issues like incorrect imports and state updates
Challenges I Faced
One challenge was understanding how asynchronous code works in Redux. At first, concepts like thunks were confusing, but after practicing, they started to make sense.
Another challenge was organizing files correctly and keeping components clean and readable.
What’s Next?
I plan to:
Add more projects to my portfolio
Improve styling and animations
Write more technical blog posts
Continue learning backend technologies
Final Thoughts
Building projects is one of the best ways to learn web development. Even simple applications can teach you a lot if you focus on understanding how things work under the hood.
Thanks for reading!
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