React Day by Front End Nation delivered exactly what every React dev craves: unfiltered opinions, real-world insights, and a glimpse into the future of building for the web.

🚀 Kicking Off With Kent C. Dodds: AMA Style

We opened the day with a live Ask Me Anything with Kent C. Dodds, creator of EpicReact.dev and one of the most influential voices in the React world. It was engaging, real, and packed with thought-provoking insights:

  • Most controversial opinion? The browser might not be the future. AI clients and MCP-like servers could take over.
  • Biggest shift in mindset? Burnout is real. Slowing down can be the best move for sustainable impact.
  • Favorite patterns? Composition over everything (compound components too!).
  • Testing tools? He recommends Playwright over Cypress, Vite Test (V-test) over Jest, and skipping JSDOM entirely.

Kent also touched on the React Compiler, advising caution unless you’re solving major performance challenges. For newbies moving from vanilla JS? His answer: start with the free resources at EpicReact.dev.

🎤 Top Talks

💥 Maya Shavin – “We Are React-ing Wrongly”

Think you’ve mastered React? Think again. Maya challenged us to let go of assumptions, dig deeper, and question how we use React daily—especially with the docs still evolving.

🧠 Tejas Kumar – “UI Engineering for the AI Age”

This wasn’t just futuristic fluff. Tejas walked us through how to design resilient UIs with streaming data, server components, and partial JSON handling—skills every dev will need as AI becomes more integral to front-end development.

⚡ Leah Thompson – “Using React with Inertia.js”

Leah broke down Inertia 2.0 and showed how it brings speed to your frontend dev without sacrificing control. If you haven’t explored Inertia yet, now’s the time.

🦻 Shruti Kapoor – “Building Accessible Web Applications in React”

Shruti made it clear: accessibility isn’t an afterthought. It’s a core part of quality development. Her talk included practical strategies and real-world examples to bake inclusion into your workflow from the start.

🎯 Key Takeaways

  • The React ecosystem is evolving fast. Tools like Inertia.js and concepts like React Server Components are redefining what’s possible.
  • AI will reshape our roles. We’ll soon be orchestrating logic, not just writing components.
  • Accessibility and sustainability aren’t optional. They’re non-negotiable for modern development.

React Day wasn’t just a conference—it was a call to level up. Whether you’re just starting out or years deep into React, the future is here—and it’s time to build smarter, not just faster.