Will you create React/ Vue / Other-framework Courses?
I get this question once in a while from students who bought one of my books or courses. Each time, my answer is No.
I wanted to give a thorough reasoning behind why I say No, and how this No helps me focus on the content I want to create.
There are a few reasons for No.
Because I don’t use the framework
The first reason is I don’t use that framework much personally. I don’t know the ins-and-outs of the framework, so I have no idea what to write about.
I could research on the framework and gain expertise, but I don’t want to do this for the sake of writing a course. I only want to write a course if it resonates with me, if I love the language (or framework), if I support the mindset, or if I really like that tool I’m using.
Since I don’t use React and Vue personally in my projects, I’d rather not talk about them.
But if you ask me on a personal level, I’d say I prefer Vue more than React. I might even have a chance to play more with Vue on a project I want to work on soon!
Because I want to focus on the fundamentals
The second reason is because I prefer writing about things that are fundamental and unlikely to change. This helps people build better foundations in their learning and coding capabilities, which excites me more than chasing the latest frameworks.
Plus, I don’t care about frameworks. All I care about is creation. It doesn’t matter what tools you use (and hence what frameworks you use) to create things. What matters is you make it happen.
So I don’t see the need to use the latest framework. I can use the fundamental knowledge if I wanted to, and supplement them with ideas I learned from frameworks.
That’s why I’m so into writing about the fundamentals of the language – I want to help people gain the ability to create. That’s why I spent so much time fleshing out over 350 lessons just for JavaScript.
Other courses I’m excited to write
Besides my JavaScript course (which is called Learn JavaScript), I’m excited to write two more courses in the future:
- One on CSS
- One on Node
Both are going to be huge, like Learn JavaScript.
For the CSS one, I intend to talk about layouts, animations, strategies for structuring code, cool stuff like gradients, and possibly even touching some design aspects so people can create better-designed websites.
For the Node one, I intend to talk about Node, Express, and MongoDB as a structure. I also want to teach people how to set up user accounts, how to create structure for their database, how create tests for their backend, how to send emails, how to accept images, and how to collect money via possibly Stripe or Paddle.
There are all sorts of details we can go into here. Most of these details are glossed over by other courses. I had to learn these details the hard way through personal experiments.
I believe there’s a better way to learn for everyone (than to painfully experiment things and see how they don’t work). I want to compile my experiences so you walk a smoother path.
Of course, contents of both these courses are not fixed. I haven’t even started fleshing out the table of contents yet. Suggestions are more than welcome.
This brings me to the third reason why I don’t create courses for frameworks.
Because the courses I intend to create are HUGE
Learn JavaScript (with 350+ lessons) took me 3 years to create. I probably going to spend the same amount of time creating content deliberately for the CSS and the Node courses I mentioned.
If I pour the same amount of deliberation into creating a course for frameworks, that course would become outdated by the time I’m done with it. Simply put, I don’t have a process for quickly capturing things I want to share about frameworks.
Besides, I want to finish up the basics stuff first before exploring the peripherals. So if people needed information on the basic stuff, I know where to point them to – and I have confidence that the material will be great and effective.
Wrapping up
I don’t know whether I’ll ever create courses for frameworks like React and Vue. But I do know I’ll have to finish up the fundamental courses first. And I’d like to focus on those.
Secondly, I like to refrain from writing about frameworks unless they’re super special and I have something to share about them. (Like how I wrote a book on Susy back in 2015).
That’s it! I hope this gives you some insight into the courses I create and how I create them.