In reply to Ben.

Yes. I think people are getting confused with use case here. The theme is an example of what you can do, but the real benefit comes in when you use multiple API's from external services. For example, I can build a react based app built on React and then hook into API's from Etsy, and WordPress, and create, manipulate, and/or retrieve just the data I need, building a custom application to my taste that has my own Etsy store, and my blog presented precisely the way I want it to display and behave. Learning javascript application development and design is different, but it's also the best method for many use cases today. If all you want is a simple blog, then you obviously don't need the above.