Frontend architecture isn’t just about components and state anymore, it’s about how teams build, scale, and ship experiences across platforms and devices. The old patterns don’t hold up at scale. It’s time to rethink how we structure the frontend.
What’s changing?
- Micro-frontends are gaining traction
- Design systems are becoming platforms
- Monorepos and package-based development are standard
- SSR and SSG are blending into hybrid rendering
- Dev tooling is more opinionated and powerful
Principles for modern frontend architecture
Think in boundaries, not pages
Split your frontend by responsibility, not by route. Feature modules, isolated UI packages, and vertical slices scale better than flat folders.
Local-first mental model
Minimize global state. Push state ownership down. Use context or signals carefully. Embrace colocation, styles, logic, and state together.
Shared UI, isolated logic
Design components to be reusable, but business logic should stay close to where it's used. Favor presentation components over monolithic ones.
Build as packages
Split your app into internal packages:
@acme/uifor design system@acme/authfor auth logic@acme/dashboardfor dashboard features
This forces clear contracts and improves testability and reusability.
Tooling and infrastructure
Monorepos
Use Turborepo or Nx for dependency-aware builds. Easier code sharing, unified tooling, and atomic deployments.
Type safety as a baseline
TypeScript everywhere. Infer when you can. Validate at boundaries (API, DB, etc). DX and maintainability both benefit.
CI/CD pipelines
Automate tests, builds, previews, and deploys. Integrate checks on every push. Infrastructure should never be a blocker.
Hybrid rendering mindset
Don’t just pick SSR or SSG. Mix them:
- Static for marketing pages
- SSR for dynamic routes
- Client-only islands for interactivity
Tools like Next.js and Remix make this seamless.
Conclusion
Frontend architecture is now about systems, not just structure. Think in terms of boundaries, packages, and scalability. Prioritize maintainability, developer experience, and adaptability. The frontend is no longer the “last mile”, it’s the foundation.