Full stack Universal React with Redux, Node js and MongoDB (Udemy.com)
Learn full stack Javascript: Client and Universal React with Redux, Node js, Express, MongoDB and build a Shopping-cart
Created by: Marco Tomasello
Last updated July 2018
Our take
Based on the ratings of 736 students and a sample of their written reviews. No course pays to be reviewed.
This is a short, project-driven course for people who already understand state and props in React. It opens with Redux and server-side rendering, then builds a shopping cart with Express, MongoDB, sessions and a deploy to Heroku or AWS. At 5.2 hours it moves fast, and the description says plainly that it is not for absolute beginners. The code is plain ES6 without shortcuts, and an attached e-book holds the code lecture by lecture. Expect a guided build of one app, not a reference on any single tool.
Students praise the Redux explanations, the setup walk-throughs for webpack, nodemon and Robo 3T, and how quickly Marco Tomasello answers questions. Several say it finally tied the MERN pieces together. The complaints are just as consistent. Reviewers say he types fast and skips explanations, the e-book and videos sometimes disagree, and the login and session sections are hard to follow. One experienced developer says the topics are touched rather than explored. Another reports a follow-up question that went unanswered.
The course was last updated in 2018, and that matters with a stack this tied to tooling versions. Low-star reviews mention error after error and ask for parts to be re-recorded, so expect some debugging. The 3.9 rating from 736 reviews reflects the split: happy intermediate students on one side, frustrated ones on the other. It is a fair pick for a developer who wants to see isomorphic React and Redux wired up end to end and can sort out problems alone. Beginners, and anyone after current practice, should look elsewhere.
Pros
- Clear Redux explanations that reviewers call the best they found, built up step by step
- Walks through webpack, nodemon and Robo 3T setup, which reviewers say helps beyond the course
- Covers server-side rendering, sessions and Heroku and AWS deploys in a single project
- Instructor is quick to answer questions and help students who get stuck
Cons
- Last updated in 2018, and some reviewers hit errors and an out of date project structure
- Fast pace with code typed without explanation, and the e-book and videos sometimes disagree
- Touches many topics without going deep, and the login and session sections confuse some students
The best resource I've found for a deep understanding of Redux. Many other tutorials or books throw Redux in as an afterthought into a more complicated application which makes it tough to pick up what is really going on.
Intermediate fits: students need a React to-do app under their belt, plus basic Node, HTML and JavaScript.
What you will learn
- To develop entire "client" and "universal" web applications in React js and Redux.
- To implement server-side rendering in React js and mantaining state in Redux
- To build your own API in Nodejs Express and MongoDB
- To build your own MongoDB database
- To deploy your React App to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and to Heroku
- To develop a Universal Shopping-cart application in React, Redux Express and MongoDB
- To manage user sessions in Express
- To learn how all parts in full stack javascript applications fits together
- To use React-router to develop Single Page Applications
How it compares
Against the other 173 rated Udemy courses in React on CourseDuck:
- Rating3.9 out of 5higher than 4% of them
- Reviews736#70 of 174 by number of reviews
- Length5.2 hoursshorter than 79% of them
- Last updatedJuly 2018earlier than 93% of them
Quality Score
Overall Score : 78 / 100
Course Description
In this course you will learn:
- how to develop scalable web applications by managing the "state" in Redux
- how to implement Universal or Isomorphic React applications to maximise performance and SEO compliancy
- how to build APIs with Node Express js and MongoDB
- How to deploy your app to AWS (Amazon Web Services) or to Heroku.
- in the course you will find an eBook with all code & changes lecture by lecture!
Redux allows you to manage the state in React in a convenient and flexible fashion. Without Redux, you will never be able to develop scalable apps.
Server-side rendering, it is critical for performances and SEO compliancy. Without understanding server-side rendering, you will never be able to develop commercially valuable web applications.
Initially, I will be focusing on explaining the concepts and patters in React js (MERN stack) and writing the bear minimum code to make easier for you to absorb all new notions without distraction, but later in the course you will write an entire React js Shopping-cart application from scratch.
It will give you the opportunity to consolidate all your learnings in a challenging project!
By developing an entire shopping-cart, you will be exposed to the most critical patterns in React js web development allowing you to build complex and scalable web application on your own after the course.
THIS COURSE IS NOT FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS. Beside a basic knowledge of html and javascript the students must have a good understanding of "state" and "props" in React.
In principle, if you are able to write a basic "To-do" app in React, you will not encounter any problem on understanding the lectures and benefit from the course.
THE CODE IS ES6 WITHOUT SYNTACTIC SUGAR to make the code less cryptic and more readable and transparent to those who don't have much experience in javascript. If you are an experienced javascript developer, you will have no issue to adopt any syntactic sugar you wish on the fly.
You can find the entire source code in the e-book attached in the last section of the course.
Who this course is for:
- Someone who started learning React but finds difficult to grasp some of the critical topics to build an entire app independently
- Someone who wants to learn server-side rendering and build Universal or Isomorphic React app
- Someone who wants to understand most critical patterns involved on building an e-commerce application
Instructor Details
- 3.9 Rating
736 Reviews
Marco Tomasello
Nine years of experience in an FMCG company managing full software development life-cycle of a wide range of Global and Regional IT projects.
Five years managing a creative agency and overall fifteen years of experience in software, web and multimedia development for various size of private and public companies.
Robust background in project and change management with a deep knowledge of Digital Marketing, PRINCE2, Agile SCRUM and Business Analysis methodologies.
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Reviews
By Andrei Rosu
This course is absolutely awesome. I've learned a lot from it, even if I felt overwhelmed by the quantity of information. All in all, I think it's the BEST course for someone who wants to mix React, Node and MondoDb in order to create a complete application.
By Matthew Anderson
The best resource I've found for a deep understanding of Redux. Many other tutorials or books throw Redux in as an afterthought into a more complicated application which makes it tough to pick up what is really going on. Thanks!
By Moataz El Wesimy
great progressive course however i think it is better to go with the best practice from the beginning rather than building and then refactoring , it gets more confusing this way.
overall very good progression
By Kumar Krishnamoorthy
Pretty good overall --
however, the sections dealing with logging in & using sessions
did not register in my mind..
maybe, you should edit that part/explain better..
By Leah P Watt
I thought this was a fantastic course and really appreciated Marco as an instructor. I absolutely loved the supplemental PDF, which turned out to be the perfect debugging tool. Marco's explanations were clear and detailed; however, there were times when he wrote code without explanation and I wasn't totally sure what was going on. The pace was also quite brisk and I typically had to stop and/or rewind a video several times to review or keep up with writing the code. However, in his defense, I think that is often the case with online learning and one should expect to do it regardless.
I would recommend this course if you've already had some exposure to React and are looking for supplemental tutorials. However, for total newbies, you might find yourself struggling a bit. In either case, Marco definitely knows what he's doing.
THANK YOU for a great course!
By Pang Kai Loung
Very helpful, quickly to understand and setup React project in short time. Clear explanation by instructor.
Highly recommended.
By Isaac Hayes
I usually try to keep my critiques positive. I took this course to look into isomorphic rendering and deploying to aws. I already am a seasoned react dev, and saw some issues and redundancies in this project. i.e the use of the proxy server when both the client and backend can be on the same server. If it's just an example I can understand that, but you should make that clear. I also think you should define the dependences and their properties you use so it makes sense to the beginning users
By Alex Kyprianou
Well written, easy step by step courses which make react and redux way simpler than it looks. Marco is also very responsive and helpful. Fully deserves 5 stars!
By Aleksander Golaszewski
It is a very comprehensive course about building web application with modern technologies. There is also some emphasis on code architecture and on good coding practices. I highly recommend this course for mid-developers. I think the moment has come and it is the time for the author to fix the mistakes recorded in the videos and update them accordingly.
By Ronly Leung
Great course. Highlight: Marco installed each package and gave a quick run down of the configurations to setup each additional package. As an web dev learning a more modern stack, this process of showing the setup of webpack and different tools such as nodemon and Robo 3T provide value beyond the course.
By Tipper Truong
This was my 3rd React/Redux course I've taken on Udemy and safe to say, this course helped solidify my understanding of MERN Stack as a whole. I just finished the course and Marco was able to break down the concepts very well compare to other courses I've taken. If you don't fully understand React/Redux and would like to understand more, this is definitely the course for you. Thanks Marco!
By Mehmet Yetişmiş
Its not a explained course and its not intermedia level. Nothing has explained... Not liked... I do not recommend.






