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React Website Starter

Isomorphic React static website starter. Optimized for speed and SEO.

Check also React Web App Starter.

Technologies

  • React
  • Webpack
  • Babel
  • PostCSS
  • Browsersync

Features

  • Babel compiler + ES2015 and React presets
  • React + React Router setup
  • Webpack dev server + Browsersync
  • Hot Module Replacement
  • PostCSS compiler + cssnext
  • Normalize.css
  • Static website generation (isomorphic React)
  • Assets minification + bundling
  • Google Universal Analytics
  • Folder structure + best practices
  • React Dev Tools ready

Setup

Fork and/or clone this repository. After executing npm install and npm install http-server -g, perform the following:

  • In webpack.config.js, replace the appName value by yours
  • In app/index.html.ejs, replace the <title> value by yours
  • In app/Template.jsx, replace ga.initialize('UA-000000-01') with your Google Universal Analytics ID
  • Replace app/favicon.ico by yours

Run

To launch the project in development mode, type npm start. To test on multiple synced browsers, use the external IP address in the console (ex: External: http://172.20.206.64:8000/). This also works with any other device on the same network (smartphones, tablets, etc).

To generate the production package, type npm run build. To test the package locally, type npm run serve.

Conventions

  • JSX and PCSS filenames in PascalCase (React community convention)
  • JS filenames in camelCase
  • JSX components with related PCSS file are colocated for easier dev/maintenance and dead code elimination as files that are not required are not bundled
  • Single quotes in JS and PCSS, double quotes for HTML in JSX files (React community convention)
  • No semicolons in JS(X) files (see design decisions)

Design decisions

  • React as the main technology as it can be used for many purposes: websites, web apps (see React Web App Starter) and mobile apps. Learn once, write anywhere.
  • Isomorphic website for best UX (1st page load speed) and SEO (static pre-render).
  • Static pre-render so no backend required. Can be hosted on Amazon S3, NGINX, shared hosting etc.
  • Webpack as it's the de facto choice for React projects and much more powerful out of the box than Browserify.
  • ES2015 via Babel. No brainer.
  • PostCSS as it's the most flexible and innovative approach.
  • Only essential libraries for speed optimization. Lodash, Moment etc can be installed later on when necessary.
  • No app/vendor bundle split, leading to fewer HTTP requests as static websites usually only have a few dependencies.
  • No semicolons in JavaScript files for nicer/simpler looking code. Popular convention in modern projects such as Redux. Can be easily restored/removed via Semi.
  • To understand the project design more in depth, have a look at the commits history which contains clear, small commits related to a single feature at a time.

Remarks

  • When adding a new page, update the routes array of StaticSiteGeneratorPlugin in webpack.config.js.
  • In app/App.jsx, leave import './App.pcss' at the top as base styles (such as Normalize.css) have to be imported first.
  • Don't put global styles in app/Theme.pcss, which is meant to be imported by components. Global styles go in app/App.pcss which is imported once at application startup.
  • If the development web server port (8000) is already used by another process on your machine, you can change the configuration in webpack.config.js.