React’s rise in popularity changed how developers think about building user interfaces. Instead of manipulating the DOM directly, developers could focus on describing what the UI should look like and let React handle updates efficiently. However, as React apps grew larger, managing routing, data fetching, performance, and build tooling quickly became repetitive and complex.

This is where React frameworks come in. While React itself is just a UI library, frameworks build on top of it to solve common problems that nearly every real-world application faces. They provide structure, conventions, and performance optimizations that would otherwise require significant manual setup.

Much like ES6 streamlined JavaScript by reducing boilerplate and improving clarity, React frameworks aim to make large-scale React development faster, cleaner, and more efficient.

What Makes a React Framework Different

At its core, React focuses on rendering components. It does not include built-in solutions for routing, server-side rendering, or data loading. A React framework fills in those gaps by providing:

• File-based or structured routing
• Data-fetching patterns
• Rendering strategies (client, server, or static)
• Build and bundling optimizations
• Sensible project conventions

Without a framework, developers often rebuild the same infrastructure repeatedly.

For example, routing in plain React usually requires external libraries and manual setup:

import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route } from "react-router-dom";

function App() {
return (
<BrowserRouter>
<Routes>
<Route path="/" element={<Home />} />
<Route path="/about" element={<About />} />
</Routes>
</BrowserRouter>
);
}

Frameworks standardize these patterns, allowing developers to focus more on application logic rather than configuration.

Rendering Strategies: The Big Shift

One of the biggest reasons React frameworks exist is to support different rendering strategies. Traditional React apps were almost entirely client-side rendered (CSR), meaning the browser downloaded JavaScript first and built the UI afterward. While this works, it can hurt performance and SEO.

Frameworks expanded React’s capabilities to include:

• Client-Side Rendering (CSR): UI renders entirely in the browser
• Server-Side Rendering (SSR): HTML is generated on the server for faster initial load
• Static Site Generation (SSG): Pages are built ahead of time
• Hybrid approaches: Mixing all of the above as needed

These strategies allow React apps to scale from simple dashboards to content-heavy production websites.

In a traditional React app, data fetching often happens after the page loads:

function Posts() {
const [posts, setPosts] = React.useState([]);

React.useEffect(() => {
fetch("/api/posts")
.then(res => res.json())
.then(setPosts);
}, []);

return posts.map(post => <Post key={post.id} {...post} />);
}

Frameworks allow much of this work to happen before the page ever reaches the browser.

Next.js

Next.js is the most widely used React framework, largely because it attempts to cover nearly every common use case.

It introduces file-based routing, built-in SSR and SSG, API routes, and more recently, React Server Components. Instead of manually configuring routers and servers, developers define pages and layouts directly through the file system.

A basic page in Next.js looks like this:

export default function Home() {
return <h1>Hello, world</h1>;
}

Server-side data fetching is handled through built-in functions:

export async function getServerSideProps() {
const res = await fetch("https://api.example.com/posts
");
const posts = await res.json();

return { props: { posts } };
}

export default function Page({ posts }) {
return posts.map(post => <Post key={post.id} {...post} />);
}

Behind the scenes, Next.js handles routing, bundling, and rendering. This drastically reduces setup time and encourages consistent project structure.

Efficiency benefits include:

• Automatic code splitting
• Optimized image handling
• Hybrid rendering per page
• Built-in performance defaults

Next.js is best suited for production applications where SEO, scalability, and long-term maintainability matter.

Remix

Remix takes a different approach by leaning heavily into web standards. Instead of relying on extensive client-side state, Remix emphasizes server-driven data loading and form handling.

Data is fetched using loaders tied directly to routes:

export async function loader() {
const res = await fetch("https://api.example.com/data
");
return res.json();
}

That data is accessed inside the component:

import { useLoaderData } from "@remix-run/react";

export default function Page() {
const data = useLoaderData();
return <pre>{JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)}</pre>;
}

Forms work without JavaScript by default:

<form method="post"> <input name="email" /> <button type="submit">Submit</button> </form>

This approach keeps data logic close to routing logic, making flows easier to reason about. Forms work without JavaScript by default, improving reliability and accessibility.

Remix focuses on:

• Predictable data loading
• Reduced client-side JavaScript
• Strong alignment with browser behavior

For developers who prefer explicit control and clear data flow, Remix can feel refreshingly straightforward.

Gatsby

Gatsby is a static-first React framework, designed primarily for content-heavy websites like blogs, documentation, and marketing pages.

Pages are generated ahead of time, meaning users receive fully built HTML instantly. Data is often pulled using GraphQL:

export const query = graphql query { allMarkdownRemark { nodes { frontmatter { title } } } };

export default function Blog({ data }) {
return data.allMarkdownRemark.nodes.map(post => (
<h2 key={post.frontmatter.title}>
{post.frontmatter.title}
</h2>
));
}

The tradeoff is complexity. While Gatsby excels at static content, it can feel heavy for applications that require frequent dynamic updates.

Gatsby works best when:

• Content rarely changes
• Performance and SEO are critical
• Pages can be prebuilt

Vite and Plain React

Not every project needs a full framework. For simpler applications, tools like Vite provide fast builds and minimal configuration without enforcing architectural decisions.

A basic Vite + React entry point looks like this:

import React from "react";
import ReactDOM from "react-dom/client";
import App from "./App";

ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById("root")).render(
<App />
);

This approach keeps things lightweight:

• No server rendering
• No framework conventions
• Full control over structure

This approach is ideal for dashboards, internal tools, or learning projects where simplicity matters more than scalability.

Choosing the Right Framework

Much like choosing between ES6 features depends on context, picking a React framework depends on project requirements.

Need SEO or fast first loads? -> Next.js or Remix

Mostly static content? -> Gatsby

Simple SPA or internal tool? -> Vite + React

Want strong conventions and full-stack support? -> Next.js

A common mistake is assuming that more features automatically mean better performance. In reality, the best framework is the one that solves your specific problems without unnecessary complexity.

Conclusion

React frameworks represent a natural evolution of the React ecosystem. As applications grew larger and expectations increased, developers needed better tools to handle routing, rendering, and performance without writing endless boilerplate.

Much like ES6 improved JavaScript by reducing verbosity and improving clarity, React frameworks improve development efficiency by providing structure and powerful defaults. They allow developers to spend less time configuring infrastructure and more time solving real problems.

Ultimately, React itself is only the foundation. Frameworks are what turn it into a production-ready platform.