The micros and macros of Microfrontend
What is Microfrontend?
Microfrontends is a software architectural approach in which a single web application is built as a collection of modular, self-contained components that can be independently developed, tested, and deployed. Each part is called a microfrontend and represents a specific piece of the overall user interface. This approach allows for greater flexibility, scalability, and maintainability than monolithic architectures.
It also enables teams to work on different parts of the application in parallel and independently release new features and updates. In a microfrontends architecture, each microfrontend is responsible for its user interface and communicates with other microfrontends and the back end via well-defined interfaces. This allows for a more modular and reusable codebase and easier testing and deployment. Overall, microfrontends can help organizations build more complex and feature-rich web applications in a faster and more efficient manner. Microfrontends were also known as Frontend Integration for Verticalised Systems.
Comparing Monolithic architecture with the Microfrontend approach
Let’s consider a simple example of a web application that has a homepage, a user profile page, and a shopping cart page.
In a monolithic architecture, the entire application would be developed as a single, cohesive unit. This means that the homepage, user profile page, and shopping cart page would all be tightly coupled and interdependent. For example, if the team working on the homepage wanted to update the design of the page, they would have to do so in a way that didn’t break the user profile page or the shopping cart page.
In contrast, a microfrontend approach would involve developing each of the homepage, user profile page, and shopping cart page as separate, self-contained components. These components, called microfrontends, would communicate with each other and the back end via well-defined interfaces. This would allow the team working on the homepage to focus on that specific part of the application, without having to worry about the other pages. Similarly, the team working on the user profile page could focus on that part of the application, and so on.
Some key differences between the monolithic and microfrontend approaches in this example include:
Development: In the monolithic approach, the team would have to develop the entire application as a single unit, which could slow down the development process and make it difficult to work on different parts of the application in parallel. In the microfrontend approach, the team could develop each microfrontend independently, which could improve the overall speed and efficiency of development.
Scalability: In the monolithic approach, the entire application would have to be scaled as a unit, which could make it difficult to handle heavy traffic and add new features without impacting performance. In the microfrontend approach, each microfrontend could be scaled independently, which could make it easier to handle increased demand and add new features without affecting the rest of the application.
Maintainability: In the monolithic approach, changes to one part of the application are likely to affect other parts, which could make the application difficult to maintain and update over time. In the microfrontend approach, each microfrontend is self-contained and can be updated independently, which could improve maintainability and make it easier to fix bugs and add new features.
Overall, while the monolithic approach may be simpler to implement initially, the microfrontend approach offers greater flexibility, scalability, and maintainability in the long run.
Benefits of using Microfrontend architecture
Let’s take a look at the benefits of microfrontend architecture.
Improved flexibility: Because each microfrontend is self-contained and can be developed, tested, and deployed independently, teams can work on different application parts in parallel. This can help accelerate the overall development process and allow teams to quickly iterate on new features and updates. For example, imagine a web application that has a homepage, a user profile page, and a shopping cart page. Using a microfrontends approach, each of these pages could be developed as a separate microfrontend. This would allow the team working on the homepage to focus on that specific part of the application, without having to worry about the other pages. Meanwhile, the team working on the user profile page could focus on that part of the application, and so on. This would enable teams to work more efficiently and quickly release new features and updates.
Increased scalability: Each microfrontend can be scaled independently of the rest of the application, which makes it easier to handle heavy traffic and adds new features without impacting the performance of the entire system. For example, if the shopping cart page of the web application experiences a sudden spike in traffic, the microfrontend can be quickly and easily scaled up to handle the increased demand. This would allow the rest of the application to continue functioning normally, without any downtime or performance issues
Improve maintainability: The modular and self-contained nature of microfrontends makes it easier to update and maintain the application over time. For example, if a bug is discovered in the user profile page, the team working on that microfrontend can quickly fix the issue without affecting the rest of the application. This can help ensure that the application remains stable and reliable, even as it evolves and grows.
Technological independence: Teams working on various UI components can choose runtime environments, JavaScript frameworks, and overall technology stacks based on business requirements. As the components are maintained separately, this helps in reducing technological dependence. New technology can be used to create features on top of older features.
Overall, the use of microfrontends can help organizations build more complex and feature-rich web applications in a faster and more efficient manner. By allowing teams to work on different parts of the application in parallel and enabling more modular and reusable code, microfrontends can help improve the development process and enhance the overall user experience.
Implementation of Microfrontends
As we now know that Microfrontends architecture involves splitting a monolithic frontend application into multiple smaller, independent applications, or “microfrontends.”
Let’s briefly understand how we can implement a microfrontend approach.
Identify the different features or functionalities of your frontend application that can be split into independent microfrontends. For example, let’s say you split your application into a home page, a login page, and a product details page. These three would be independent microfrontends for your application.
Develop each microfrontend as a standalone application, using the framework of your choice. For example, you might develop the home page microfrontend using React, the login page microfrontend using Angular, and the product details page microfrontend using Vue.js.
Creating the main container application that will host the individual microfrontends. This application will orchestrate the communication between the different microfrontends and ensure they work together seamlessly. For example, you might use a single-page application framework like React or Angular to create the main container application.
Integrate the microfrontends into the main container application by using techniques such as iframes or web components. This will allow you to load and run the individual microfrontends within the main container application. For example, you might use an iframe to load the home page microfrontend into the main container application and use web components to load the login page and product details page microfrontends.
Test the microfrontends to ensure they are working properly and that the integration with the main container application is seamless. For example, you might use automated testing tools to test the functionality of each microfrontend and make sure they are working properly when integrated into the main container application.
Challenges with Microfrontends architecture
While microfrontends can provide many benefits, such as improved modularity, scalability, and maintainability, there are also some challenges that you should be aware of when implementing this approach.
Let’s take a look at a few of the most common challenges with the microfrontends approach.
Complexity: One of the biggest challenges with microfrontends is the increased complexity of the overall architecture. With a monolithic front-end application, all of the code is in a single codebase, which makes it easier to understand and maintain. With microfrontends, the code is split into multiple independent applications, which can make it more difficult to understand the overall architecture and how the different microfrontends work together. For example, let’s say you have a web application with a home page, a login page, and a product details page, each implemented as a separate microfrontend. In this scenario, you would need to understand how the different microfrontends communicate with each other, how they share data, and how they are integrated into the main container application. This can add complexity to the development process and make it more difficult to maintain the application in the long run.
Dependencies: Another challenge with microfrontends is the increased number of dependencies between the different microfrontends and the main container application. With a monolithic front-end application, the dependencies are typically well-defined and easy to manage. With microfrontends, the dependencies can be more complex and harder to manage, especially if the microfrontends are developed using different frameworks or technologies. For example, let’s say you have a web application with a home page microfrontend developed using React, a login page microfrontend developed using Angular, and a product details page microfrontend developed using Vue.js. In this scenario, you would need to manage the dependencies between these microfrontends, as well as between the microfrontends and the main container application. This can require careful planning and coordination to ensure that the dependencies are managed properly.
Performance: Another challenge with microfrontends is the potential impact on performance. With a monolithic frontend application, all of the code is loaded and executed in a single bundle, which can improve performance by reducing the number of network requests and allowing the code to be executed more efficiently. With microfrontends, the different microfrontends are loaded and executed independently, which can increase the number of network requests and potentially impact the overall performance of the application. For example, let’s say you have a web application with a home page microfrontend, a login page microfrontend, and a product details page microfrontend. In this scenario, the user would need to load and execute the code for each of these microfrontends separately, which could potentially impact the performance of the application. To address this, you would need to carefully optimize the performance of the individual microfrontends and the main container application to ensure a good user experience.
Use cases for microfrontends
While microfrontend approach can be a good idea for web applications with complex, large-scale frontend architectures that require high levels of modularity, scalability, and maintainability, however, there are also some use cases where using the microfrontend approach may not be the best idea.
Here are some use cases where using the microfrontend approach is a good idea:
Large-scale web applications with multiple features and functionalities: For web applications with a large number of features and functionalities, the microfrontend approach can help improve the modularity and scalability of the frontend architecture. By splitting the front end into multiple independent microfrontends, each focused on a specific feature or functionality, you can make the application easier to understand, maintain, and update.
Applications with multiple teams working on the front end: For applications with multiple teams working on the front end, the microfrontend approach can help improve collaboration and coordination. By splitting the front end into multiple microfrontends, each team can focus on a specific microfrontend and work on it independently, without interfering with the work of other teams. This can help reduce conflicts and improve the overall development process.
Applications with a need for high performance and scalability: For applications with a need for high performance and scalability, the microfrontend approach can help improve the overall performance of the front end. By splitting the frontend into multiple microfrontends, you can optimize the performance of each microfrontend independently, and then integrate them into the main container application in a way that maximizes overall performance.
Here are some use cases where using the microfrontend approach may not be a good idea:
Small-scale web applications with simple frontend architectures: For small-scale web applications with simple frontend architectures, the microfrontend approach may not be necessary. In these cases, a monolithic frontend architecture may be sufficient, and implementing microfrontends may add unnecessary complexity to the development process.
Applications with a single team working on the front end: For applications with a single team working on the front end, the microfrontend approach may not be necessary. In these cases, a monolithic frontend architecture may be easier to manage and maintain, and implementing microfrontends may not provide any significant benefits.
Applications with strict performance requirements: For applications with strict performance requirements, the microfrontend approach may not be a good idea. In these cases, the increased complexity and number of dependencies introduced by microfrontends may impact the overall performance of the application, and a monolithic frontend architecture may be a better choice.
Conclusion
In conclusion, microfrontends is a software architecture pattern that involves splitting a monolithic frontend application into multiple smaller, independent applications, or “microfrontends.” This approach can provide many benefits, such as improved modularity, scalability, and maintainability of the frontend application.
However, there are also some challenges with the microfrontend approach, such as increased complexity, the need to manage dependencies, and potential performance impacts. To address these challenges and ensure a successful implementation of microfrontends, it’s important to carefully plan and coordinate the development and integration of the individual microfrontends and the main container application.
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While microfrontends can be a powerful tool for improving the architecture of a front end application, it’s important to carefully consider the potential benefits and challenges to determine whether this approach is right for your specific use case.
