Micro-Frontends: 8 Benefits of Using Micro-frontend Architecture

Micro-Frontends: 8 Benefits of Using Micro-frontend Architecture

Micro-frontend Architecture

Extending the microservice idea to frontend development….

“An architectural style where independently deliverable frontend applications are composed into a greater whole.”

In software development world, different types of software development approaches has been using over the years. A traditional monolithic architecture which was used widely is a traditional model of a software program, which is built as a unified unit that is self-contained and independent from other applications. But for large applications, it became unwieldly.

Here is the answer to all modern complex web applications: Micro-Frontends. In today’s development, frontend is getting more and more importance than the backend. Tis type of architecture allows to divide the application into smaller modules that will act independently.

What are Micro-Frontends?

Micro-frontend architecture is a design approach in which a front-end app is decomposed into individual, semi-independent modules or individual functions working loosely together with same level of flexibility and speed that microservices provide to backend teams.

In simple terms, micro-frontends means a website or web app is treated as a composition of features which are owned by independent teams.

Benefits of Using Micro-frontend Architecture:

  1. Design and development flexibility: Different teams have different modules or functions can use different technology , each with unique requirements for how and what services they want. 
  2. Separate code bases: Here large chunks of code is broken into smaller and manageable pieces. This ensures efficient development, testing, and deployment cycles.
  3. Autonomous, Team-Based Development:  These smaller, self-contained microapps give individual teams full ownership of all changes and updates and thus reducing team workload.
  4. Scaling up to multiple teams: Multiple small teams that are free to use the technologies they prefer which helps them more motivated to write higher quality code.
  5. Adopting different tech stack: Each of these independent pieces can be implemented using different technology stacks. So we will not be dependent on a particular technology.
  6. Favors native browser over custom APIs: Micro-frontend architecture relies on browser which gives best user experience and quicker rendering even for slow internet connections.
  7. Reduced Maintenance Demands for Frontend Applications: With microapps and smaller codebases, developers spend less time maintaining your frontend since they are based on based on the divide and conquer approach.
  8. Unrivaled Scalability: Micro frontend styled application can be scaled up or down by adjusting the size of its components without impacting the overall speed of your online app.

Conclusion:

Micro-frontends are suitable for medium to large-scale projects with different teams since it facilitates easy scaling of the development process. It’s no surprise that micro-frontend architecture is now trending. They are most effective on web projects.