What is the main benefit of using a framework like React?

The main benefit of using a framework like React is that it improves code performance and maintainability. React is designed to enhance the development process by utilizing a component-based architecture, which means developers can create self-contained modules with well-defined functionality. This modularity allows for better code organization and reusability, making it easier to maintain and scale applications over time.

React also employs a virtual DOM that optimizes rendering by only updating parts of the UI that have changed, resulting in improved performance compared to directly manipulating the actual DOM. This efficient updating process saves time and resources, ultimately leading to a smoother user experience. Additionally, features like hooks and context API further promote clean and manageable code, making it simpler for developers to handle state and side effects in their applications.

In contrast to the other options, while static websites can be created, it is not the primary focus of React. React is not the exclusive framework for building front-end applications, and it does assume a foundational understanding of JavaScript, making the idea that no special knowledge is required misleading. Thus, the correct answer emphasizes the key advantages React provides in terms of performance and maintenance of code.