WebFrontends

WebFrontends refer to the client-side components of web applications that run in a browser, handling presentation, interaction, and user experience. They are built with HTML for structure, CSS for styling, and JavaScript for behavior, and they often rely on frameworks and libraries to structure code and manage state.

Architecture and patterns: WebFrontends may be built as multi-page applications or single-page applications, and can use server-side rendering, client-side rendering, or static site generation. Component-based design is common, with reusable UI elements. Web standards include the DOM, Web Components, and advanced CSS capabilities. Data is fetched from servers via REST or GraphQL, and frontend apps may employ progressive enhancement and offline support via service workers.

Performance and accessibility: Key metrics include time to interactive, largest contentful paint, and cumulative layout shift. Techniques include code splitting, lazy loading, image optimization, caching, and efficient asset delivery. Accessibility and inclusive design are core concerns, using semantic HTML, proper ARIA roles, and keyboard navigation.

Tooling and workflow: Build tools, transpilers, and package managers support development, testing, and deployment. Practices include automated testing across unit, integration, and end-to-end levels, and continuous integration/continuous deployment pipelines. Popular frontend frameworks include React, Angular, Vue, and Svelte, with tooling such as Webpack, Vite, Babel, and TypeScript.

Trends and context: The field evolves with Web Components, mobile-first and responsive design, JAMstack architectures, and evolving web standards. The frontend interfaces with backends via APIs and may involve edge computing and content delivery networks to optimize performance.