Recently, we’ve talked about the benefits of a headless Drupal set up and how it's different from the traditional, monolithic one. If you choose the decoupled approach, you will have to develop the frontend of your digital product separately. This gives you the freedom to choose whichever technology you want - and today we’re going to discuss why you should consider using React.
Get All The Benefits Of React Without Compromising On Your CMS
The first thing to consider is your current CMS. If you’ve been using Drupal for a long time, making a switch to a different one can be challenging and painful, not to mention costly. Which is why going headless is such a great idea for many businesses.
React offers significant advantages when it comes to frontend, so if you decide to implement the decoupled approach, you will be able to enjoy the benefits. Let’s go over some of the main advantages of React that, combined with Drupal, will make your website an experience users love.
Excellent Performance
The first major benefit of using React is its excellent performance. React is known for how well it handles large amounts of real-time data in applications, which makes it a great choice if your website has a lot of different content. Additionally, React can also be used for server-side rendering to improve performance by pre-rendering components of your digital product.
Technology Friendly To Both Users And Developers
React is not only loved by the users of the beautiful apps it creates. It’s also loved by a large community of developers around the world. React uses JavaScript as its programming language and seeing as JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages out there, this means you will have an easier time finding developers. Choosing to work with React and Drupal will help you avoid vendor lock-in and will make it easier to add new features and functionalities in the future.
Powerful APIs & Integrations
Starting with Drupal 8, the CMS has embraced the API-first approach. This means you can leverage API and third-party integrations to offer your users a better, more complete experience. And React is the perfect partner to analyse data from those integrations. Because its component logic is written in JavaScript and not templates, it can easily go through large data sets without slowing down the website and affecting your users’ experience.
Component-Based Friends
Both Drupal and React are based on components or modules. You can easily add new features or implement changes without disrupting the entire architecture. Another great benefit is the ability to reuse components or modules whenever you need to expand your website or application. This helps to cut down development time and cost significantly.
Best Use Cases For A React And Drupal Product
In general, a headless solution is the best choice for larger applications and websites with a lot of content that require excellent performance as well as a top-notch user experience. With React and Drupal it’s no different. However, there’s other factors you need to consider when choosing your tech stack. Here’s a few points you should think about:
- What is your current tech stack? If you’re using Drupal or React currently, then adding one or the other to your tech stack will help you better leverage the benefits of both technologies.
- What is the nature of your digital product? If you’re working with a content-rich website or application, you could greatly benefit from using Drupal and React in a headless set up. However, if it’s a smaller site with little content, chances are there’s no need for a tech stack this advanced.
- How crucial is the frontend experience? Of course, the frontend experience is always important, but in some cases it directly impacts your revenue. If that applies to your business, choosing a Drupal and React stack will help you optimise the user experience without compromising on the backend-side management of your product.
In the end, it always comes down to your specific needs and objectives. We hope this article gives you a better understanding of how React and Drupal can work together, but if you’d like to talk about your specific case - contact us and we’ll help you decide on the best tech stack for your project.
