Create a React Dashboard In 3 Steps

How to Create a React Dashboard

Creating a React Dashboard is an essential skill for web developers, especially given React’s popularity as a front-end library for building dynamic and interactive user interfaces.

According to StackOverflow’s annual developer survey, React consistently ranks among the top choices for developers, and many modern dashboards and admin panels are built using React because of its flexibility and efficiency.

But here’s the truth: building a React dashboard doesn’t have to be complicated. In this tutorial, I’ll guide you through how to create a React dashboard from scratch using modern tools.

What Is a React Dashboard?

A React dashboard is a dynamic, component-based application built using React, a leading JavaScript library for developing interactive user interfaces. Dashboards display data and insights through various components such as charts, tables, and forms, providing users with an interactive and user-friendly experience.

React dashboards allow developers to build scalable and efficient applications that offer real-time data updates and seamless user interactions. React is primarily focused on the front end but can be integrated with backend technologies like Node.js, Express.js, or Firebase to build full-stack dashboard solutions.

React Dashboards: Required Tools and Frameworks

React is a powerful, declarative JavaScript library designed for creating user interfaces using a component-based architecture, making it perfect for building dashboards. It allows developers to create modular and scalable applications that can efficiently render and update components as data changes.

One reason React is ideal for dashboards is its flexibility, performance, and the vast ecosystem of tools and libraries available for development.

For dashboards that require navigation and routing, React Router is a must-have. It enables developers to manage multiple views within a dashboard and ensures seamless transitions between components without reloading the entire page.

To handle state management efficiently, Redux is commonly used. It helps manage complex data flows, ensuring that all components within the dashboard have consistent and synchronized access to updates—particularly useful in dashboards where data frequently changes.

To build polished and modern user interfaces quickly, Material-UI (MUI) is a popular choice. It offers pre-designed components that follow Google’s Material Design guidelines, making it easy to create visually appealing, user-friendly dashboards.

Other useful tools include Recharts or Chart.js for visualizing data, Next.js for server-side rendering, and libraries like React Hook Form for managing form state efficiently within the dashboard.

Five: The Fastest Way to Build a Dashboard for React Developers

Five offers React developers an incredibly efficient way to build web applications, providing an alternative for those looking to speed up development without sacrificing control or flexibility.

As a rapid application development environment, Five eliminates much of the repetitive work involved in web app creation, particularly when it comes to integrating with back-end data sources and managing complex functionalities.

One of the most compelling features of Five is its ability to auto-generate fully responsive interfaces, connected to almost any data source.

Whether you’re working with databases or APIs, Five simplifies backend integration, allowing developers to stay focused on the front-end user experience.

Alongside this, Five includes a built-in MySQL database modeler, enabling you to design and manage your database schema directly within the platform.

No need to switch between different environments—everything can be handled in one place, improving the entire process.

For developers needing to connect external services, Five’s connection wizard makes it easy to integrate REST APIs or external databases, saving time and effort. This is particularly useful for full-stack projects that require robust data management and fast, reliable integration capabilities.

On the front end, Five provides form, chart, and report wizards that allow you to quickly create intuitive components for data collection and visualization.

You won’t need to rely on additional libraries like React Hook Form or Chart.js—Five covers these needs directly, making it easier to deliver dynamic, user-friendly web apps.

Perhaps one of the most valuable features of Five is its single-click deployment capability. Whether you’re testing your app or deploying it to production, Five handles the backend setup with minimal friction. It allows you to go from development to launch in a few clicks, eliminating many of the traditional hurdles associated with deployment.

All of this is done within your browser, with no need for additional external tools or installations. Five covers the entire development lifecycle, from database modeling to deployment, making it an efficient solution for developers who want to focus on creating high-quality user interfaces without being bogged down by backend complexities.

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Web App Tutorial: Build and Deploy an Web App

In this web app tutorial, you will learn step-by-step how to create a fully functional web app using Five. Whether you are starting from scratch or integrating with an existing project, this hands-on guide will walk you through everything you need to build a web app interface in no time.

Here’s what you’ll achieve by the end of this tutorial:

Database Creation:
We’ll start by creating a database from scratch using Five’s built-in MySQL modeler, so you can manage and structure your data with ease.

Auto-Generated Admin Panel:
With your database ready, you’ll instantly generate an admin panel that includes essential features like forms for data collection, interactive charts for visualization, and a PDF report generator.

User Management & Authentication:
Learn how to add user management and authentication features to control who accesses your admin panel.

Third-Party Integration:
Finally, you will integrate your admin panel with external services like Slack, giving your application the ability to send real-time notifications and alerts.

If you prefer written, step-by-step instructions for this web app tutorial, visit our code-along article here.

What Developers Say About Five

Here is what developers say about Five:

“Five is a great product for building admin panels or CRUD applications. It is easy to use, scalable and has great customer support. I highly recommend Five to anyone who needs to build a web application without much effort.” – Shweta Kale, Software Developer

“Five took away a lot of headaches of frontend development by providing a highly customizable UI and navbar alongside a MySQL database.” – Nebiyu Elias, Software Engineer

“Five is an excellent approach to that disconnect between relational database development and the web.” – Crag Jones

“With Five, we were able to very quickly develop a prototype of the solution we had in mind. We liked the fact that inside Five, we can work in no code, low code, or even full code, which gives us full flexibility to design software applications.” – Kurt Bornhutter, Group Manager, Revenue & Optimisation, Canstar

“Five is a rapid, robust way to take spreadsheet-based business processes, and replace them with better validated forms for data collection, and approval workflows. Five makes it easy to write custom functions, and perform traditional integrations, using JavaScript.” – Philip Antrobus, Data & AI Capability Lead, NCS Australia

Create a React Dashboard Tutorial

This React tutorial begins by introducing React as a JavaScript library designed to create dynamic and interactive user interfaces.

No prior knowledge of React is necessary, though a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is recommended. The course builds a production-grade video game discovery app with features like dark/light mode, dynamic page updates, and filtering by genre and platform. The app is developed using components, React’s core building blocks, which allow for modular, reusable code.

The course emphasizes building with Typescript, a superset of JavaScript that adds static typing, ensuring that errors are caught early. It explains JSX, a syntax extension that combines HTML with JavaScript, allowing developers to create complex UIs in an efficient, readable manner. The tutorial details how React’s virtual DOM optimizes updates by comparing changes before rendering them to the real DOM.

Students are guided through setting up a React environment, using VS Code, and choosing either Create React App or Vite as their project tool. The instructor provides step-by-step instructions on creating components, managing state with the useState hook, and handling events such as clicks.

Conditional rendering, dynamic class application, and passing data between components using props are thoroughly explored. Students also learn how to make components reusable by accepting dynamic content, further enhancing the modularity of the app.

The course includes practical advice on tools like React DevTools for debugging and optimizing React applications. By the end of the tutorial, students gain hands-on experience in creating dynamic, data-driven UIs using React components, mastering key concepts such as JSX, state management, event handling, and props. The tutorial is part of a larger, more comprehensive React course that delves into advanced topics like routing, state management, and performance optimization.

Conclusion: Create a React Dashboard

Creating a React application from scratch is an essential and valuable skill for web developers, given React’s widespread use and versatility in building dynamic user interfaces.

While the process may seem daunting initially, with the right tools and a step-by-step approach, building a React app can be streamlined and efficient.

Platforms like Five further simplify the process, offering an all-in-one environment for building, integrating, and deploying web apps without unnecessary complexity.