This article delves into the details of crafting a WordPress theme using React. We highlight the benefits that WordPress theme development with React brings to your online presence.
Content reigns supreme. Every website owner is aware of this fact. However, simply producing content isn’t sufficient. You must also have the capacity to effectively manage it: add it to your site, modify it, or delete it.
In the early days of the Internet, content management was not a task for the average user. The game changed with the introduction of the first content management systems (CMS). These platforms gave individuals with no prior digital technology experience the ability to easily and quickly carry out fundamental operations with website content.
Among these, WordPress stands as one of the most seasoned and widely used platforms. It powers millions of websites of various kinds, from blogs to e-commerce sites. Its intuitive, user-friendly admin panel, which allows site admins to effortlessly handle both back-end and front-end tasks, is a key attraction.
A significant change occurred in the WordPress ecosystem a few years back when the REST API was incorporated into the system’s core. This gave WordPress developers the freedom to work with technologies beyond PHP and HTML for custom WordPress theme creation.
The WordPress front-end has been separated from the back-end, allowing for independent development and even operation from a separate server. This has opened up a world of possibilities.
Developers began using various JavaScript frameworks for custom WordPress themes or enhancing existing ones, relying on WordPress for data retrieval and database interaction.
React.js, a JS library released by Facebook in 2013, is one of the most favored among these. Let’s explore why.
REST API: The Key Enabler for Developing a WordPress Theme with React
Discussing the creation of a WordPress theme using React necessitates an understanding of the fundamental concept that makes it feasible – the REST API. Previously, REST API was integrated as a plugin in older versions of WordPress. Now, it’s part of the system’s core, marking one of the most transformative improvements in WordPress history.
API stands for Application Programming Interface, while REST denotes Representational State Transfer. Essentially, REST is a set of guidelines dictating how website data should be manipulated (creation, reading, updating, and deletion) in the form of collections and objects.
Each data type in WordPress is represented by a specific endpoint or URL. For instance, the base route for posts is /wp/v2/posts, and for themes, it’s /wp/v2/themes. These endpoints can be used within the code to manipulate database data when creating a WordPress theme with React or a similar JS framework.
Data travels between the back-end and front-end as JSON objects. JSON, JavaScript Object Notation, is a convenient document format containing JavaScript objects with key-value pairs. Consider it akin to a TV remote control. You press the power button, a signal is sent to the TV to switch on, and you start receiving information. The endpoint can be compared to the button, and the corresponding JSON object is the signal.
You’re not concerned about how this signal is processed inside the TV. Your interest lies in the information. The remote control is the interface that lets you communicate with the TV by pressing various buttons.
When your WordPress theme is powered by React, the REST API functions as the interface connecting you to the database and facilitating data operations. Two points worth noting:
- The same security restrictions apply to the REST API, whether you’re building a WordPress theme with React.js or using the reliable old PHP.
- Using the WordPress REST API isn’t mandatory.
The REST API offers WordPress site owners one major benefit: clear separation of front-end and back-end. You could have two distinct development teams operating from different places and running their website parts from separate servers.
Other benefits include:
- Creating a React app as a WordPress theme results in a Single Page Application (SPA) with a distinctive design and superior user experience.
- A WordPress React.js theme is highly dynamic/interactive, performs well, and can incorporate animations. While other frameworks also permit animation usage in themes, React.js simplifies the process.
- A React theme for WordPress can store data client-side for added speed.
- A WordPress theme powered by React can function even without Internet connectivity, thanks to Service Workers.
These points should be compelling enough to persuade you to leverage the REST API in your next or ongoing project. But why build a WordPress theme with React when other technologies are available? Here’s why.
WordPress Theme Development with React: The Optimal Choice for Your Website
In a previous article, we underlined the primary benefits of using React for WordPress theme development. Let’s discuss the key aspects that render React an excellent choice for WordPress theme development.
Fast and Easy WordPress Theme Development
This feature is greatly valued by WordPress developers. If you examine the syntax, known as JSX, it appears as JavaScript code embedded with HTML. Moreover, everything in React is characterized as a component, encapsulating logic, structure, and visual presentation in one place.
Although this seems to contradict the separation of concerns principle, developers typically adapt to this approach and find it beneficial.
Individuals with a working knowledge of JavaScript and HTML can understand the basics of React relatively quickly, though mastering advanced concepts may take some time.
The uncomplicated syntax and familiar technologies make React WordPress theme development quite speedy (though tasks like implementing server-side rendering may require more time). This leads to a reduction in development costs.
Numerous Components Available for Use
Another advantage that accelerates React WordPress Theme Development is the option to reuse many components from one project in another. Similar to Lego blocks, WordPress developers can take one ‘block’ and integrate it into a different site.
There might be specific features that are challenging to transfer smoothly to another project. However, for simple components, this is entirely feasible. The best part: all these building blocks are not interdependent and can be modified without risking damage to others.
Only Updated Components in a WordPress React.js Theme Are Redrawn
React.js employs the concept of the virtual DOM. Manipulating the actual DOM can be a time and resource-intensive process. For instance, if you have a group of six checkboxes and you select one, with Vanilla JavaScript or a different framework, the entire group of checkboxes is reloaded to mirror the changes in the DOM.
Conversely, if you opt to create a React app for a WordPress theme, only the selected checkbox will be redrawn in the DOM. How so? For every actual DOM object (e.g., checkbox or radio button), React offers a virtual DOM object with identical properties.
But it’s just that: “virtual.” It’s a “phantom” copy of the actual object, used solely for comparison. When a checkbox is selected, React redraws the entire virtual DOM. Unlike the actual DOM, the virtual DOM is re-rendered at lightning speed.
React then compares the new virtual DOM with the previous version before the checkbox was selected and redraws only that checkbox in the physical DOM, leaving the rest of the page elements untouched. This results in ultra-fast themes.
These are just a few of the impressive features of React.js that are persuading an increasing number of site owners to choose React themes for their WordPress projects.
However, like any other technology, React isn’t without its flaws, albeit minor.
Potential Drawbacks to Consider When Opting for React WordPress Theme Development
React.js Is Continually Evolving
Despite being fast and efficient, React is still relatively new. It was initially released in 2013. Hence, the platform is still being actively developed. Instances of issues and bugs aren’t uncommon.
That said, with each new version, React is becoming more mature and sturdy. The React development community is already considerable, meaning WordPress theme developers using React should easily find solutions to their challenges.
Implementing the WordPress REST API with React May Necessitate Additional Workarounds
Simply connecting React.js to WordPress via the REST API doesn’t guarantee your site will perform rapidly. This is because the React app still needs to retrieve ample data from the database, particularly if the user interface is complex.
Thus, to build a truly fast WordPress theme with React, developers need to put in extra effort. They might need to create an indexer to populate a single document with frequently used data from the database, among other strategies to enhance the efficiency of the React-WordPress combination.
Final Words
The integration of React.js with WordPress theme development offers a compelling range of benefits – speed, ease, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to reuse components. Moreover, the use of React.js results in a highly dynamic WordPress theme, supporting data storage on the client-side, offline functionality, and efficient manipulation of DOM.
However, like any technology, it is not without its challenges. Being a continuously evolving platform, it may present instances of bugs and require additional workarounds for optimal performance. Nonetheless, with an active development community and the potential for frequent improvements, React.js remains a worthwhile choice for innovative web development.
Finally, while choosing a perfect implementation technology is super important, everything truly originates from the design phase. It’s of paramount importance to craft a visually stimulating theme that not only captivates but also converts. This is precisely when enlisting the services of a white label design agency might become necessary.
These agencies offer businesses expert, high-quality website creation without the need for in-house resources. They save entrepreneurs time and effort, provide customization to uphold brand identity, potentially improve online visibility through SEO services, and allow for rebranding opportunities.