How we develop and scale apps is evolving rapidly. Developers and startups are both abandoning large, monolithic codebases and moving towards more intelligent, modular systems that are less difficult to handle and scale.
If you’re still developing apps the old way, it’s time to change your game.
Why Monolithic Apps Are Holding You Back
Large, monolithic-codebase apps used to be okay. But as applications get bigger, they’re more difficult to maintain, test, and refactor. A single little bug can destroy the whole system. That’s why we see more teams making the move to microservices and micro-frontends — small, isolated chunks of your app that work separately but in harmony.
That implies:
- Simpler deployments
- More effortless team collaboration
- Simpler separation of concerns
Micro-Frontends: Build UIs Like You Build APIs
Just as we would break backends into little services, we can do it for frontends as well. Rather than a single gigantic UI, divide it up:
- A checkout module
- A user settings component
- A dashboard card
Each can be deployed, updated, or rolled back without having to touch the rest of the app.
Backend-as-a-Service: Speed Without Sacrificing Control
Services such as Supabase, Firebase, and Hasura are revolutionizing the way we approach the backend. You don’t need to spin servers or write boilerplate code just to have a working API.
These services take care of:
- Authentication
- Real-time data
- File storage
- Role-based access
You get to focus on building what’s important the product.
Local-First Is the New Cloud-First
Users want apps to perform instantly and offline. That’s why local-first apps are becoming popular. These apps cache data on the user’s device initially, and sync to the cloud when necessary.
Advantages are:
Faster performance
Offline availability.
Improved privacy
It’s a design used in new tools such as Notion, Figma, and a lot of modern web apps.
Today, smart developers are choosing flexibility and speed over complexity. Whether you’re working solo or with a large team, building apps in small, reusable parts is the way forward.
Forget heavy architecture. Build light, move fast, and think modular.