Key Takeaways
- Composition over inheritance is React's core principle; build flexible UI by composing small components together
- Custom hooks have replaced HOCs and render props as the primary way to share stateful logic between components
- Compound components share implicit state through Context, eliminating prop drilling in complex UI widgets
- Error boundaries should wrap independent features so one failure does not crash the entire application
- Feature-based folder structure scales better than type-based organization for teams and growing codebases
Composition and Reusability Patterns
React's component model is built on composition. Understanding how to compose components effectively is the foundation of building scalable, maintainable applications.
| Pattern | Use Case | Complexity | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children composition | Layout wrappers, containers | Low | Simple content projection |
| Render props | Sharing behavior with flexible UI | Medium | When hooks are not suitable |
| Compound components | Related component groups (tabs, menus) | Medium-High | Complex widgets with shared state |
| Custom hooks | Sharing stateful logic | Low-Medium | Most logic-sharing needs |
| Higher-Order Components | Cross-cutting concerns | High | Rarely needed with hooks |
When sharing logic between components, start with a custom hook. Only reach for compound components or render props when the shared logic needs flexible, caller-controlled rendering.
- Use children props for layout components (Card, Modal, Section) that wrap arbitrary content
- Extract shared behavior into custom hooks (useForm, useAuth, usePagination)
- Use compound components for tightly-coupled widget groups (Tabs/TabPanel, Accordion/AccordionItem)
- Prefer composition over conditional rendering when component variants diverge significantly
State Management Patterns
State management pattern selection directly impacts application complexity and performance. The right pattern depends on who needs the state, how often it changes, and whether it originates from the server or client.
| State Type | Recommended Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Local UI state | useState / useReducer | Form inputs, toggles, modals |
| Shared client state | Zustand / Jotai | Shopping cart, user preferences |
| Server state | TanStack Query | API data, paginated lists |
| URL state | React Router searchParams | Filters, pagination, active tab |
| Global config | React Context | Theme, locale, auth status |
React Context re-renders all consumers when the provider value changes. For frequently updating state (mouse position, timers), use Zustand or Jotai instead. Reserve Context for values that change infrequently (theme, auth).
Error Handling and Resilience Patterns
Robust error handling prevents one broken feature from crashing the entire application. React's Error Boundaries combined with strategic fallback UI create resilient user experiences.
- Wrap independent features in separate Error Boundaries (sidebar, main content, widgets)
- Create a generic ErrorFallback component with retry functionality and error reporting
- Use try-catch in event handlers and async operations (Error Boundaries only catch render errors)
- Implement graceful degradation: show simplified UI when a feature fails rather than hiding the entire section
- Log errors to a monitoring service (Sentry, LogRocket) for production debugging
Error Boundaries only catch errors during rendering, lifecycle methods, and constructors. They do not catch errors in event handlers, async code, or server-side rendering. Use try-catch for those scenarios.
Scalable Project Organization
Project structure should scale with team size and codebase complexity. Feature-based organization co-locates related code, making it easier to understand, modify, and delete features.
| Approach | Structure | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Type-based | components/, hooks/, utils/, pages/ | Small projects, solo developers |
| Feature-based | features/auth/, features/cart/, features/profile/ | Growing teams, modular apps |
| Domain-driven | domains/user/, domains/order/, domains/product/ | Large enterprise applications |
| Hybrid | shared/ + features/ + pages/ | Most mid-size applications |
- Co-locate tests, styles, hooks, and types with the components they serve
- Create a shared/ directory for truly reusable components (Button, Input, Modal)
- Keep feature directories self-contained: a feature deletion should be a folder deletion
- Use barrel exports (index.ts) to define the public API of each feature module
- Enforce module boundaries: features should communicate through well-defined interfaces, not direct imports
Frequently Asked Questions
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