Why You Still Can't Build Real React Projects After 5 Tutorials

You've followed tutorials, cloned Netflix, built a weather app. But the moment you try building something on your own—everything falls apart. Here's why.

You've followed the YouTube tutorial. Cloned Netflix. Built a Weather App. Maybe even deployed a blog CMS.

But the moment you try building something on your own—everything falls apart.

You stare at a blank VS Code screen. Google random errors. End up watching "React project for beginners" again.

Why does this keep happening?

🔥 Tutorials Teach You How, But Never Why

They tell you what to write, not how to think like an engineer.

In the real world, no one tells you:

• Which state management to use
• How to structure your folders
• When to split components

You make those calls. And those decisions? They only come with experience.

🚩 1. No Space for Debugging Pain = No Space for Growth

When you follow a tutorial, everything is pre-checked. The code just works.

But what happens when:

• API fails silently?
• useEffect runs twice and causes infinite loop?
• State doesn't update due to stale closure?

If you've never seen these issues in a clone… You're not building, you're replicating.

🚩 2. Tutorials Kill Your Decision-Making Muscle

When someone asks "Why did you use Redux here?" and your answer is:

"Because the tutorial used it…"

That's a red flag. And interviews will expose it.

🚩 3. You Never Touch Edge Cases

Tutorials never ask:

• "What if the user closes tab mid-request?"
• "What if a form partially submits?"
• "How do you show a skeleton loader and handle timeout fallback?"

✅ So What Should You Do Instead?

Yes—build clone projects. They're great to start. But do it smartly.

🧠 My Recommended Method

When you're watching a tutorial, don't blindly code along.

Every 5–10 mins, pause and ask:

• "If I had to build this feature from scratch, what would I do?"
• "Is this the only way to pass data across components?"
• "Why did they use a separate state instead of props?"
• "Can I build this component without React Router?"
• "Why use useMemo here? Would I?"

This reflection will feel slow. You'll take 10–12 hours for a 3-hour video. But that delay is your growth.

🎯 Do This Across 5–6 Solid Clone Projects

1. Pause and question every major implementation
2. Try writing features before watching the solution
3. Refactor the cloned app your own way after completing
4. Add README + deploy every project like a real dev would

The result? You'll stop being a tutorial follower. You'll start being a developer who thinks.

💡 If You Feel Stuck

Build with someone. Join a code review thread. Push your project on GitHub and ask for feedback. Discuss your thought process—that's where gaps show up.

Final Words

React is not just JSX and hooks. It's problem-solving. It's making tradeoffs. It's learning how your decisions affect users and performance.

That's why tutorials fail you. Because they hide the mess.

Your job is to embrace the mess.

Originally published on LinkedIn