frontend-builder

Building a React frontend with Next.js App Router involves a server-first architecture using Server Components for data fetching and distinct component types, yielding a performant and maintainable UI structure.

State management in Next.js depends on scope: use useState for local UI, Context for shared state, Zustand for complex client state, and URL parameters for shareable state, resulting in predictable component behavior.

Handling data fetching and forms in Next.js Server Components requires fetching data directly within the component and submitting mutations via Server Actions, eliminating manual API routes and reducing client-side JavaScript.

You can use Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui together in a React project. shadcn/ui components use Tailwind CSS for styling, allowing you to copy accessible UI components directly into your codebase for full architectural control.

A maintainable React frontend uses a structured component architecture categorizing files into Page, Feature, UI, and Layout components, which enforces strict separation of concerns and predictable data flow.

Use TanStack Query instead of Next.js Server Components when you need complex client-side caching, optimistic UI updates, or frequent background data synchronization that the server-first architecture cannot efficiently handle.