Top 10 Websites built with React

React is a great framework for building great websites. It's popular among the developers all over the world not without  a reason - React-based website is easy to code, test, and it boasts great performance. User interfaces of the React websites are easily recognizable, which does not make them somewhat mainstream. On the contrary, they look new and fresh. But you’d better see it yourself to make sure. Find out what are the top 10 websites that use React in our article.

Quick history of React js in 6 lines

Here we’ve collected a dozen of wow-websites built with React. For sure there are tons of them, but below you’ll read about the most popular websites that you definitely heard about but might not know that those are websites built with React.

Before we start, though, let’s have a quick look back on how React js has conquered the world.

• React js was created in 2012 by Jordan Walke, a software engineer at Facebook.
• Two years later, in 2013, it was open-sourced by Facebook.
• 2014 - the year of expansion and community growth (ReactJsWorldTour conferences, React London 2014, emerging of ReactiveX.io, React Hot Loader, PlanOut)
• Netflix comments positively on their React experience and Airbnb adds React to its tech stack in 2015, React Native for iOS and Android become available.
• 2016-2020 - continuous and successful framework improvements (React Sketch.app,  React Fiber, Improved Support for Fragments), community growth and events (ReactEurope 2016, International JavaScript Conference, React Barcamp, etc.) 
• 2021 - 1,300 contributors, 5,000 ready-to-use components, almost 11 million downloads per week and the start of a new React-powered era of web development.

Now to the main theme. What are the top 10 websites built with React js? Let’s find out!

Facebook

There’s nothing surprising about Facebook, the iconic social network and single-page app, using React. Sure thing, their tech stack extends far beyond simply React js. However,  seamless loading of dynamic front-end elements and their displaying in real time is due to the React framework. We dare say it’s a huge amount of work given the numbers (Facebook has 2,7 billion monthly users) with which React deals just great. 

React js uses the light-weight virtual DOM version which refreshes only those nodes that need changes (unlike the original DOM). This approach guarantees that even such a giant as Facebook looks and feels fresh and airy and has great performance even at peak hours.

Instagram

Instagram is another giant with an impressive front end powered by the React framework. Owned by Facebook since 2012, it did not have a website at the moment of acquisition. To a great relief of many, a 100% based web version saw the light the same year. The web Instagram users now can upload their photos and enjoy Geoshare, Localgram, Instatype and other cool features that were implemented through React js.

Netflix

Next goes Netflix on our list of the websites that use React.

Everybody loves Netflix, because how can you not to?!

Netflix did a lot to create their seamless user experience and make their front end both light-weight and super functional. Clear and visually-rich options display, intuitive layout and well thought-out details like replay or skip buttons show how massively Netflix invests in client experience. And React proves so helpful to the multimedia giant in it!

The Netflix team described in detail why they opt for ReactJS in their Netflix TechBlog. They praise React for addressing some of the Netflix’ specific issues:

• Startup speed (load time reduced significantly)
• Runtime performance (top UI responsiveness for the website and mobile platforms)
• Modularity (allows easy A/B testing).

The Netflix team also mentioned other advantages, namely “being relatively easy to grasp and ability to opt-out, for example, to handle custom user interactions and rendering code”. 

We trust Netflix, and would give a try to the practices they recommend. What about you? 

Airbnb

Another website created to bring joy and happiness into our lives and built with React. Airbnb website is swift and airy, super user-friendly and intuitive. More important than that, of course, is that it easily solves one of the toughest challenges that travellers may face - accommodation. 

Already back in 2019 the Airbnb tech team shared with the global React community why and how they made their shift to the React open-source library. What they especially like about React is:

• Reusability/portability. Many React users emphasize that React components are super reusable
• Refactorability. In the case with Airbnb, they had to refactor much of their code during their transition to React and this javascript library made it so much easier for them. Airbnb front end was originally built using a wide set of different frameworks, which used to bring compatibility issues.

The New York Times

The New York Times is not simply a media giant. Not only is it one of the oldest media publications, but it is also one of the most respected and trusted ones, which is a unique combo. 

To keep up with the times, the media chose to use React js and GraphQL on its website. While GraphQL allows clean data retrieval from multiple sources, React js is responsible for clear display and high performance across a great number of various devices (tablets, screen readers, Apples TV, etc.). Due to the great reusability of React js components, a new version of the good old New York Times quickly became available on any device of choice of its many users.

CNN

CNN has been the national news feed for the Americans for more than 30 years. Since its first broadcast, its image has changed a lot. So has its online channel. Nowadays it is an easy to navigate website with clear layout and impressive performance. Despite tons of articles and videos available on cnn.com, using React js made it possible to give the website an airy look and feel and guarantee great UX for each and every of its 615,000 monthly visitors.

Reddit

The front page of the Internet where people post and discuss like anything? Virtually anything. It’s Reddit. And if you feel like discussing the video games from the 90’s, weird names of the kids living in your neighbourhood, latest fashion trends or the union election at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, you’re in the right place to do that.

Yes, Reddit is among the websites that use React. It has slightly less (yet still a lot of ) interactive content than Facebook, 48 million of monthly active users and 130,000 sub-forums and communities. React made it possible for such web giants as Reddit to stay light-weight and easily available for its wide audiences.

Uber

Uber couldn't miss our list of the best React websites.

The Uber team loves everything about React applications - reusability, high performance, server-side rendering, virtual DOM and more. They like it to such an extent, that they have created their own React component library, the Base Web designing system.

As regards the Uber website, sure it is built with React. This open-source javascript library is perfect for designing apps for huge audiences (Uber has 93 million users worldwide).

By the way, React Native is used for Uber's mobile app, and not without a reason. Thus, both web and mobile versions of Uber platforms are built using React (or React Native).

Trello

 How could Trello not use React? For sure it could not but say yes to the Facebook brainchild, as just have a look at Trello’s modular structure! It’s born to be among the websites that use React.

As you remember, virtual DOM and server-side rendering make React websites lightning fast. That is what the Trello team kept in mind when they decided to migrate from Backbone JS and Coffeescript to React and Typescript (GraphQL was added up later on).

Now, with the new powerful tech stack, Trello, which has reached 50 million of users, is ready for new achievements.

Codecademy

Codecademy is an online platform for those wanting to learn to code without badly hitting their budget. There are pretty many of those - 45 million as of 2018 and the numbers are growing. In 2020, the platform saw a 100% YOY growth and doubled annual revenue.

With such impressive growth rates, Codecademy could not but make it into our best React websites list! 

The Codecademy chose to use React to enable UI components testing in isolation and leverage the SEO capabilities this popular javascript library avails.

Concluding lines

To use React or not to use it is not a common question nowadays. Many companies have already shown the world that using React web development library will surely make your users happy. Choose React.js if you are a social media like Facebbok or a team-management platform like Trello. Maybe you are a hosting service like Dropbox (which is also based on React, but wasn't mentioned on our list) or an international forum like Reddit? React is great for many purposes, as far as the development of web solutions goes.

Let's have a final recap of why React will be of great use for your project.

• It is a perfect solution for websites development, as it allows building a platform that is running lightning fast due to SSR and virtual DOM
• React website is easy to code (no steep learning curve) and test.
• Your team will appreciate reusable components, so developers can do their job faster, code less and deliver more.
• Users are going to love great performance that can be easily compared to that of Facebook, Instagram, Netflix and others.

Choose React to give your users a web platform that they will be happy to use every day. React is one solution to please both your team and your audience all at once.

Stay with us and read more on React development.

Qulix Systems is a software development company with tons of experience in React. Check our website for more info or contact our Support team.