What To Flag in a ReactJS Development Company

Whether you’re seeking expert guidance for your ReactJS project or just starting to explore the world of front-end web development, our list of top ReactJS development companies is a great resource to kick off your search. As you navigate your options, you may also be considering whether to collaborate with an outsourced ReactJS development company or a freelance ReactJS developer.

Whichever path you choose, it’s important to keep an eye out for potential red flags when evaluating a developer or team. It’s easy to focus on the positive attributes—like technical expertise or client testimonials—while overlooking warning signs that could impact your project. These red flags might include questionable technical skills, poor communication, cultural mismatches, or a shaky client history.

Paying equal attention to both red and green flags is crucial in making an informed decision that will benefit your project in the long run. To help you avoid any pitfalls, we’ve compiled a list of key red flags to watch out for. With this knowledge, you’ll be better equipped to select a top-tier ReactJS development company that can bring your vision to life with reliable, lasting results.

The Popularity of ReactJS Development Companies

An open-source front-end Javascript library used for building user interfaces, ReactJS is mostly used for single-page applications on the web and mobile applications. Created by software engineer Jordan Walke (who worked for Facebook at the time), ReactJS quickly grew in popularity when it was officially introduced on two major platforms - in 2011 on Facebook’s News Feed and in 2012 on Instagram.

According to Statista, React JS was the second most used web framework among development companies globally. With its adaptability, user-friendly code, and flexibility among a bevy of other advantages over JavaScript and other languages and tools, it’s no wonder ReactJS has been dominating libraries and user interfaces all over the world. Large-scale businesses and small companies alike can attest to the technical ease that ReactJS development companies bring to projects.

ReactJS Technical Skills and Tools

When considering a ReactJS development company, it’s important to consider the engineers’ technical skills and years of experience working in the field. Developers are susceptible to making errors when building applications for a variety of reasons that can include a lack of experience with ReactJS and/or oversight.

One mistake to watch out for involves the number and size of components within applications–ideally, a strong application will have a large number of small components instead of a few large components. This ensures that errors will be easier to find if debugging is required as the code will be simpler to read. Other common mistakes include using class instead of className when indicating the class name of an element, modifying the state directly (the state should be unchangeable), starting React component names with a lowercase letter, forgetting to use key props within the Array map method, and calling hooks from class components to name a few.

Additionally, to better assess a ReactJS development company, it would help to solidify your own knowledge of ReactJS’ features, framework, and the pros and cons of ReactJS. To learn more about ReactJS’ unique framework, such as its component-based design and SEO-friendliness, head over to our Ultimate Guide to ReactJS. To inform yourself about what separates ReactJS from AngularJS, check out our guide which can help you confirm why you are choosing the former over the latter. A pen and paper can serve well even when comparing digital practices.

Developers who are successful at working with ReactJS have an incredible ability to adapt to new features as the framework continues to develop rapidly over time and older features depreciate. Is your ReactJS development company of choice agreeable to working longer on projects that may require additional testing and QA requirements for project stability? Are they willing to put in the time to keep apprised of amendments and additions on the ReactJS platform as well? If your ReactJS developer is not willing to accommodate this fast-moving framework, that is a surefire red flag and it’s best to know that sooner rather than later so you can consider other development companies.

The Culture Fit

While technical prowess can easily be learned, the team culture of the ReactJS development company you’ll be collaborating with is just as crucial to consider. Good culture-fit candidates want you to thrive just as much as you want them to do their best work. However, if you feel like team members of the development company are lacking drive, dynamism, interpersonal skills, or perhaps you simply anticipate clashing personalities – you’ll want to pay attention to that feeling and be ready to cut ties if necessary. Sometimes a good fit can be easily explained while other times it may be a mystery, but ultimately you’ll have a felt sense of calm and confidence around a ReactJS development company that you have a good rapport with.

We have a wonderful guide on managing an outsourced ReactJS development team and all the things that can go right. If you’re working with an outsourced team, the distance doesn’t have to mean a distant relationship. Good communication knows no borders. However, is your development company inconsistent in communication? Have they clearly outlined their communication channels and availability?

Vagueness is a thief of peace and not knowing when you’ll hear from your ReactJS developers may instill a sense of dread and anxiety in you that could significantly impair the quality of your project. Even if an engineer isn’t as available to you as they might have anticipated, a responsible business partner would communicate any changes in availability. Starting with daily calls and moving towards weekly calls, for example, is a great green flag and can build a solid foundation for both of you.

Client History

While it’s crucial to get clear on a ReactJS developer’s hard skills, as discussed in our article about interviewing developers, asking about past clients and projects, as well as perusing client testimonials, will help you gather information about how the company collaborates and you’ll have an opportunity to hear outside perspectives. Is the development company vague about its accomplishments in the past? Are they nowhere to be found via a search engine or unable to provide past references? Perhaps they’re a newer team and still building their presence online as well as offline, in which case, are you willing to take the risk of working with a company that has minimal backed references or experience? Or do you have a tight deadline and scope of work that requires team members from a veteran ReactJS development company? A strong foundation in ReactJS development is a promising quality of an engineer who has the capacity to build an impressive user interface.

At Pangea, we have a plethora of resources covering all aspects of ReactJS, such as more hiring considerations for development companies as well as what the future of ReactJS might look like. Pretty soon, the red and green flags will become obvious and you’ll rest assured that you are making the right decision. We’re eager to hear from you about your project’s needs around ReactJS development companies. Why not react quickly and write us today – we’ll link you to at least 5 excellent companies within 72 hours at no cost, so there’s nothing to lose. We can work together to actualize your unique project and let all the victory flags wave.

FAQs

Q1. What are some red flags for ReactJS companies?

Red flags for ReactJS development companies can include inconsistency of hard technological skills as well as incompatible soft skills such as difficulty with maintaining interpersonal relations or a shared common vision.

Developers should be able to describe complex processes to a non-technical audience, such as project managers, web designers, and product owners. Hard skills to watch out for include a weak understanding of the ReactJS framework, a lack of knowledge of object models, an inability to handle functions, variables, scoping, events, objects, and arrays as well as an incomplete basic knowledge of mathematics, design, and algorithms. When asked about developer experience in a 2022 survey, 75% of developers reported working in the field for 14 years or less with a majority of them working for 1 to 4 years (28.43%) and 5 to 9 years (27.45%).

If your candidate company consists of employees with less amount of time, that can be a red flag. However, having technological prowess doesn’t alone carry the recipe for a successful collaboration. A few additional red flags include the inability to provide a full portfolio of past projects, a lack of industry knowledge and competencies, and resistance to sharing one’s technology stack. With these red flags, one should be wary of proceeding with a ReactJS development company.

Q2. What are the cons of working with a company?

Working with a ReactJS development company as opposed to a freelance developer can have many drawbacks. These include higher costs (companies often have set prices they cannot go under), a longer hiring process involving more parties, a greater need for collaborations to go smoothly with more players, less flexibility with hours, limited encounters with developers from various geographical locations, as well as an inability to see customer reviews on a public platform as one might find with freelancers on Upwork or Fiverr.

On the other hand, the number of professional developers who identify as freelancers, self-employed, or independent contractors has sharply risen in the last year. Advantages of hiring a freelancer include saved costs such as overhead, saved time from what could be a grueling hiring process for a team, the ability to hire at the last minute for specific amounts of time, as well as finding developers with more nuanced and project-specific skills.

Q3. What are some ReactJS coding quality red flags?

Red flags in ReactJS coding generally include unorganized and unreadable code, rigid code that doesn’t allow for edits, adaptability, or reusability, and unpredictable and untestable code. The hirer should also be familiar with ReactJS on a level that will enable them to notice when a development company’s ReactJS coding practices and coding quality is questionable, poor, or “dirty.” Tell-tale coding red flags include using conditional rendering for one condition, a large file symptom (a too-large file or one with too many functions), or not following general principles or patterns.