React Shop: Considerations for building a web shop in React

In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, having a custom webshop that stands out is crucial. React, a powerful JavaScript library, allows developers to build dynamic and responsive user interfaces, making it an ideal choice for creating a custom webshop. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to build a React-based webshop with integration to Stripe for payments, Plausible for privacy-friendly analytics, and popular web hosts to deploy your site.

This is by no means an exhaustive guide. It’s just providing some guidance. DYOC. Do Your Own Coding.

Why Choose React for Your Webshop?

React’s component-based architecture makes it easy to build and maintain a large application by breaking it down into smaller, reusable components. Its virtual DOM ensures efficient updates and rendering, providing a smooth user experience. With React, you can create a custom webshop that is both scalable and performant.

Step 1: Setting Up Your React Project

First, you’ll need to set up a new React project. You can use Create React App to quickly bootstrap a new application:

npx create-react-app my-webshop
cd my-webshop

This command will create a new directory called my-webshop with all the necessary files and dependencies to start your React project.

Step 2: Integrating Stripe for Payments

Stripe is a popular payment processing platform that provides a seamless and secure way to handle transactions on your webshop. To integrate Stripe, follow these steps:

1. Install Stripe’s React library:

npm install @stripe/react-stripe-js @stripe/stripe-js

2. Create a Stripe account and obtain your API keys from the Stripe Dashboard.

3. Set up Stripe in your React application:

Create a StripeProvider component to wrap your application:

// src/StripeProvider.js
import React from 'react';
import { Elements } from '@stripe/react-stripe-js';
import { loadStripe } from '@stripe/stripe-js';

const stripePromise = loadStripe('your-publishable-key-here');

const StripeProvider = ({ children }) => (
  <Elements stripe={stripePromise}>
    {children}
  </Elements>
);

export default StripeProvider;

4. Wrap your main application component with the StripeProvider:

// src/index.js
import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
import App from './App';
import StripeProvider from './StripeProvider';

ReactDOM.render(
  <StripeProvider>
    <App />
  </StripeProvider>,
  document.getElementById('root')
);

5. Create a checkout form component to handle payments:

// src/CheckoutForm.js
import React from 'react';
import { CardElement, useStripe, useElements } from '@stripe/react-stripe-js';

const CheckoutForm = () => {
  const stripe = useStripe();
  const elements = useElements();

  const handleSubmit = async (event) => {
    event.preventDefault();

    if (!stripe || !elements) {
      return;
    }

    const cardElement = elements.getElement(CardElement);
    const { error, paymentMethod } = await stripe.createPaymentMethod({
      type: 'card',
      card: cardElement,
    });

    if (error) {
      console.error(error);
    } else {
      console.log(paymentMethod);
    }
  };

  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
      <CardElement />
      <button type="submit" disabled={!stripe}>
        Pay
      </button>
    </form>
  );
};

export default CheckoutForm;

Step 3: Adding Privacy-Friendly Analytics with Plausible

Plausible is a lightweight and privacy-friendly analytics tool. It doesn’t use cookies and is fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR.

1. Sign up for a Plausible account and add your website:

Go to Plausible and sign up for an account. Add your website to get the tracking script.

2. Add the Plausible tracking script to your React application:

// src/index.js
import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
import App from './App';
import StripeProvider from './StripeProvider';

ReactDOM.render(
  <>
    <script async defer data-domain="yourdomain.com" src="https://plausible.io/js/plausible.js"></script>
    <StripeProvider>
      <App />
    </StripeProvider>
  </>,
  document.getElementById('root')
);

There are several popular web hosting services where you can deploy your React webshop. Here are a few options:

Step 4: Deploying Your Webshop

1. Netlify:

Netlify offers a straightforward deployment process with continuous integration. You can connect your GitHub repository and deploy your site with a single click.

2. Vercel:

Vercel is optimized for frontend frameworks and static sites. It provides an easy-to-use platform for deploying React applications with automatic scaling.

3. GitHub Pages:

GitHub Pages allows you to host static websites directly from your GitHub repository. It’s a good option for smaller projects or personal sites.

If you’re using a web host with variable billing: remember to, wherever you can, set budget alerts! You don’t want to wake up to a Reddit hug of death and a six figure bill.

Building a custom webshop with React, integrating Stripe for payments, and using Plausible for privacy-friendly analytics is a powerful combination. By following the steps outlined in this post, you can create a dynamic and secure webshop tailored to your needs. Deploy your site using popular web hosts like Netlify, Vercel, or GitHub Pages, and you’re ready to start selling online.