Micro Frontends
Architectural pattern that extends microservices to frontend development, allowing teams to build and deploy frontend features independently.
Definition
Micro frontends decompose monolithic frontend applications into smaller, manageable pieces that can be developed by separate teams using different technologies. Each micro frontend represents a distinct business domain and can be deployed independently.
This approach enables organizations to scale frontend development across multiple teams while maintaining consistency through shared design systems and communication protocols between components.
Why It Matters
Large organizations can parallelize frontend development across teams, reducing dependencies and accelerating time-to-market for new features. Teams gain autonomy to choose optimal technologies for their specific domain requirements.
The architecture supports incremental modernization of legacy systems and reduces the risk of frontend deployments by isolating changes to specific business areas.
Examples in Practice
Spotify's desktop application uses micro frontends to let different teams manage playlists, search, and player controls independently while maintaining seamless user experience.
IKEA's e-commerce platform employs micro frontends for product catalog, shopping cart, and checkout processes, enabling specialized teams to optimize each customer journey stage.
Zalando implements micro frontends for their fashion marketplace, allowing product teams to iterate on browse, search, and recommendation features without coordinating releases.