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Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

ReactJS is a JavaScript framework initially created by Facebook in 2011 for its news feed feature. This specific feature is a complex, dynamic function that also needed to be fast and personalized for each user. Try saying that in one breath. Anyway, none of the existing frameworks worked, so Facebook created their own.

 

Not only did ReactJS fulfill its purpose, but it turned out to be even more amazing than anyone expected. However, it was only after Facebook made ReactJS open source in 2013 that it caught the eyes of the market. 

 

Today, ReactJS has about 153,000 stars on GitHub and over 1350 contributors, constantly updating and improving the framework. This makes ReactJS one of the most popular JavaScript-based frameworks, but, which are the top ReactJS websites today? 

 


1. Facebook

Facebook currently has over 2.6 billion active users, making it the biggest social platform in the world. When ReactJS was created, Facebook only had 680 million users but was already looking for a scalable solution for their news feed. Specifically, they needed the news feed to work independently from the rest of the page. This included automatically updating the latest posts, pushing suggestions for each user based on their preferences, etc. All of this, without messing with the left or right columns on the page.

 

Facebook Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

Source: Facebook

 

Today, however, ReactJS powers several other key components. For a start, Facebook uses React for small elements such as the Like and Login buttons. However, the share function, the comments function, and the post and video embedding are also powered by React. Other important features built with the tech include the chat function, user profile, and subscribe function.

 

2. Instagram

When Facebook bought Instagram, back in 2012, Instagram only had a simple one-page promotional site showcasing the iOS app. After Facebook acquired the company and launched the new Instagram app for iOS and Google Play, the team decided to build a proper website for Instagram, using ReactJS.

 

Instagram Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

Source: Instagram

 

Today, ReactJS powers most of the Instagram web application, like the news feed, geolocation, the login, and comment functions. Other features also include the status text block editor and the comment counter.

 

3. Netflix 

Netflix was created over two decades ago with the mission of bringing the best video entertainment right into people’s homes. Today, Netflix has evolved into one of the most popular and most recognized entertainment sources. From fascinating original series to trendy movies and tv shows, Netflix has it all!

 

Netflix Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

Source: Netflix

 

Another thing that Netflix has is an amazing, intuitive, and modern user interface built with ReactJS and RxJS. Combined with NodeJS for enhanced functionality, this suite is bringing Netflix’s over 190 million users, more than ten billion hours of content every single day. Moreover, this tech combination also performs flawlessly no matter the devices, as well as when your internet connection is not that great.

 

4. Uber 

When we looked into the most popular React Native apps of 2020 we mentioned Uber. More importantly, we mentioned that the main reason why Uber chose React Native as their mobile development framework, was experience. In other words, their development team already knew ReactJS, and since React Native is based on it, it made a ton of sense to go down that route.

 

Uber Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

Source: Uber

 

However, the Uber dev team doesn’t just have experience with ReactJS, they master it. More precisely, in 2018, after years of working with the framework, they realized that the more Uber grows, the harder it is to maintain a uniform, seamless experience for each Uber web app. So, to simplify everything, they created Base Web. Base Web is an open-source design system based on ReactJS, which comprises of pre-built elements and features. Somewhat like a library, but with UI included. This way, the team ensures the same vibe, and high-quality code throughout all of their platforms, all build with and around ReactJS.

 

5. The New York Times

Founded in 1851, The New York Times has spent over a century and a half bringing us the top headlines in news from around the world. With almost 400 million unique monthly visitors, the New York Times website is one of the most popular websites in the world. 

 

New York Times Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

Source: The New York Times

 

However, before 2017, the tech stack used by The New York Times development team was all over the place. In some places they used PHP, in others they used a “unique codebase”. In short, it was a mess. As a solution, they rebuilt the entire infrastructure from scratch using ReactJS for UI. For backend and enhanced functionality, The New York Times team relied on more Facebook technologies, GraphQL, and Relay. Both are based on NodeJS, but GraphQL is a query language for APIs, while Relay is a codebase.

 

6. Reddit 

Reddit, as many of us know, is often referred to as “the front page of the internet”. The platform is built around communities and is currently one of the most popular social news sites in the world. Reddit is not just a social media site. It is a place for people to find like-minded groups, discuss, learn, debate, and connect.

 

Reddit Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

Source: Reddit

 

From a technological point of view, Reddit is a prime example of intricate and complicated infrastructures. Their system includes tools like Python, NodeJS, BackboneJS, Google Firebase, and Amazon AWS, and so many more others. However, according to Brian Holt – Reddit former senior software engineer team lead – Reddit pushed their first React code in 2014. This was initially used on Reddit’s Gifts page. Soon after, Reddit developers used ReactJS for the mobile website as React was faster and easier to work with. However, as Brian explains in a Reddit thread, React also started to replace frontend elements on the main site as well.

 

We are unsure how much of the former codebase React actually replaced over time. But we see a possibility that it might have taken over a significant part of Reddit, and soon, maybe it will take over completely. Who knows? 

 

7. Airbnb

Whenever we travel we look for affordable yet comfortable sleeping accommodations that make our vacation even better. However, hotels and motels can get quite expensive, especially in big cities. But not with Airbnb. Airbnb, like Reddit in a way, is built for the community and around it. With Airbnb, travelers can rent an entire home, a room, or even a couch, thus saving their money on accommodations, and enjoying their visit to the fullest.

 

Airbnb Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

Source: Airbnb

 

It’s a well-known fact that Airbnb’s user interface is built with ReactJS. Aside from that, in 2016, developers at Airbnb launched an open-source component testing library based on React, called Enzyme. Enzyme is a clever tool that helps simulating scenarios and testing React components, much like how the jQuery API works with DOMs. The project has generated quite the buzz within the development community as more and more ReactJS devs started using it and contributing to its development. Enzyme currently has over 18.000 stars on GitHub and more than 340 contributors.

 

8. Salesforce

Salesforce has been on the market for over 21 years. Throughout time, they helped more and 150.000 companies grow and build a strong relationship with their customers. Today, Salesforce is the world’s most popular customer relations management (CRM) system.

 

Salesforce Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

Source: Salesforce

 

Salesforce, like many other giants today, are organizing their codebase within an MVC – Model, View, Controller – system. In short, MVCs are a clean way of sorting your code, where each block has a purpose. In this example, the Model holds the data, the View tech renders pages and information, and the Controller dictates the functionality of the app.  

 

For Salesforce, ReactJS is used as the View element of their MVC. And the reason Salesforce chose ReactJS is scalability, performance, and speed. They needed a framework that would run fast and flawlessly no matter how large the application gets, and ReactJS was the perfect solution. 

 

9. Dropbox

Dropbox made its debut in 2007 as a participant in the Y Combinator Demo Day. The startup was a success and in just two years, Dropbox already had one million users. Today, the smart workspace company has over 14 million paying users around the world and is valued at more than $10 billion.

 

Dropbox Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

Source: Dropbox

 

Every day, Dropbox deals with thousands of users simultaneously downloading and uploading all kinds of files. This requires Dropbox to provide a stable platform, with quick rendering. ReactJS does more than that. Not only that React is scalable and lightweight. But, it also helps developers code faster, improves testing, and reduces the chances of errors in the code.

 

10. CNN

One of the most recognizable news networks in the world, CNN is an American based company that started back in 1980. CNN is also the world’s first 24h news channel, reaching hundreds of millions of American families every day. However, CNN is also a prominent information source on the internet. In fact, cnn.com registered an average of more than 750 million visitors each month.

 

CNN Top 10 Most Popular ReactJS Websites of 2020

Source: CNN

 

Although ReactJS is not the only technology in their stack, CNN cleverly combines it with other compatible tools to bring the world the top news stories. With literally hundreds of articles each day, CNN needed a fast and scalable solution for their platform. So it’s no surprise that ReactJS made its way into their tech suite.

 

Conclusion

The list of companies using ReactJS for bettering their online presence and user experience is a long one. However, we found that the websites discussed today have shown best what React is capable of. This JavaScript framework took the world by storm ever since Facebook made it open-source, and it’s here to stay.

 

More importantly, ReactJS benefits from the support of a huge development community that works constantly to improve the framework. And while this means that developers have to constantly make sure their code is up-to-date, it also means that websites that use ReactJS will always be on top of their game.

 

 

We hope our article today inspired you. And if we missed a popular website powered by ReactJS that you know of, reach out to us on our social media platforms and tell us all about it!

 

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