UI development has undergone a major transformation with modern front-end technologies in such a short span of time. React JS is one of these recent technologies. It is an open source library for creating composable interfaces and it is maintained by Facebook.
In this article, I am giving you some useful tips to build an awesome, well built React app. These are the best practices which will help you to improve your react apps as well as your personal knowledge base about React, time by time.
Always keep yourself updated
Never use the old or outdated version. As of 2018 April, current major version of React is React 16. You should keep checking things, which have been deprecated too. Try not to skip even minor updates. For example, if we talk about the latest, React 16 is the first version which is built on top of a new core architecture, name as “Fiber”. Fiber is responsible for most of the new features in React 16, like error boundaries and fragments. React 16 provides better error handling techniques. You can refer this link for version wise list of changes.
Follow design patterns and best practices
In programming, they say, libraries are temporary, but good design patterns are permanent. Learn those patterns and try to make use of them in real life situations. It will help you to make your applications more flexible, perform better, and easier to maintain that will lead to giving your workflow a huge boost when it comes to speed, without reducing quality. Take a look here and help yourself as much as you can. Various forums and sites like StackOverFlow etc. can also help you improve your code, where developers suggest a lot of pretty good ways to achieve a single goal.
Look under the hood
Learning React.js in depth is time well spent. Create a dummy project with or without JSX to get closer to the underlying virtual DOM to optimize your apps more efficiently. Have expertise in the use of “this” keyword in React JS. Read about React’s true strength like the composition, unidirectional data flow, freedom from DSLs, explicit mutation and static mental model. Try to dig deeper into React’s internal properties, it’s lifecycle methods, concepts whenever you get sufficient time. Get familiar with how the state actually changes in react, event delegation and the context API and all of its issues. Finally, grasping the broad overview of React.js Fiber gives a sense of control. Get command in Redux
Redux is one of the hottest libraries in front-end development these days. It is a predictable state container for JavaScript apps. Redux provides a solid, stable and mature solution to managing state in your React application. Through a handful of small, useful patterns, Redux can transform your application from a total mess of confusing and scattered state, into a delightfully organized, easy to understand modern JavaScript powerhouse. You can always refer https://redux.js.org/ for this.
Performance optimization for slow devices
People may have requirements to use the web app you built on low-end devices with slow connections. So do not get obsessed with your application’s speed and performance on your MacBook. Always measure before you act. And It’s not only about the size of the code, but the quality too. A good quality code also helps you to maintain your code time by time. Use Lighthouse tool to get a rough idea of what needs improvement, then go on with the new webpack dashboard or webpack bundler analyzer to see where can you cut down on size. Use chrome react plugin to inspect your react application while development. If you really need everything you import, performance can still be improved with code splitting and dynamic imports, HTTP/2’s multiplexing and push capabilities and the new prefetching link attribute – to name a few. Improve the performance of your with the official React.js optimization tips. It’s a pretty good list.
Try new things
Always keep your eyes open and check what others in the community do. React uses ES6 syntax in latest versions. One should study and keep checking latest function and syntax in ES6, which eventually would help in React development too. Apart from that have you ever heard of “Electron”? With the help of “Electron” and React, you can build desktop applications too.
Have a look here. You can start creating some great React applications and we hope you’ve learned something new. Do share your ideas in comments below.
In the world of product design, consistency is the cornerstone of delivering a seamless user experience. As digital products evolve and scale, the challenge of maintaining design consistency across multiple platforms, teams, and touchpoints becomes more complex. This is where design systems come in. A design system is a comprehensive set of guidelines, components, and tools that help designers and developers create a consistent and cohesive user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). From a designer’s perspective, building and maintaining a design system requires a strategic approach to ensure scalability, flexibility, and alignment with business goals.
Design systems are more than just style guides or pattern libraries. They offer a unified language for design and development, bridging the gap between creativity and functionality. Here are a few reasons why they are critical:
Consistency Across Products
One of the primary goals of a design system is to ensure uniformity across different platforms and devices. When users interact with a product, whether on a website or a mobile app, they expect a consistent experience. A well-implemented design system ensures that visual elements, interactions, and behaviors are aligned, offering a familiar and intuitive experience for users.
2. Faster Iteration
With a design system in place, teams can reuse components and patterns rather than reinventing the wheel for each new feature. This speeds up the design and development process, allowing teams to focus on solving new problems instead of reworking existing designs. For designers, it means less time spent on repetitive tasks and more time dedicated to innovation.
3. Scalability
As products grow and new features are added, maintaining a coherent UI/UX without a design system can become chaotic. A design system provides a scalable framework, enabling teams to add new elements or modules without compromising the overall consistency of the product.
4. Improved Collaboration
A design system fosters collaboration between designers, developers, and other stakeholders by providing a shared language and reference point. This ensures that design decisions are communicated effectively, reducing friction and misunderstandings between teams.
Building a Design System: A Designer’s Perspective
Designing a system from scratch can seem like a daunting task, but with a clear roadmap and understanding of core principles, it becomes a powerful tool for creating scalable and user-centered products.
1. Define the Core Principles
Before diving into visual components, it’s essential to establish the core principles of your design system. These principles serve as the foundation and guide decision-making throughout the process. Ask yourself:
• What are the key values of your brand?
• How should the design reflect the needs and emotions of users?
• What goals are you trying to achieve with your design system (e.g., accessibility, flexibility, innovation)?
For instance, if accessibility is a top priority, you’ll need to ensure that your design system accommodates users with different abilities, by providing color contrast guidelines, clear typographic hierarchies, and accessible components.
2. Create a Unified Visual Language
Once the principles are established, the next step is creating a cohesive visual language. This includes defining elements such as:
• Color Palette: A well-structured color palette ensures harmony across different UI components. It’s crucial to include primary, secondary, and accent colors, along with usage guidelines to avoid inconsistency.
• Typography: Define a typography system that establishes hierarchies and clarity, including font styles, sizes, line heights, and spacing. Consistent typography helps users navigate content effortlessly.
• Spacing and Grids: An established grid system ensures a balanced layout and harmony between different UI elements. Proper spacing guidelines prevent crowded or misaligned components.
• Iconography and Illustrations: Design guidelines for icons and illustrations help maintain visual consistency. Icons should follow a standard style (outlined, filled) and size, ensuring they align with the overall visual language.
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Iconography and Illustrations: Design guidelines for icons and illustrations help maintain visual consistency. Icons should follow a standard style (outlined, filled) and size, ensuring they align with the overall visual language.
A design system is incomplete without reusable UI components. These components include buttons, forms, modals, and navigation elements that can be used across various features and pages. Each component should be:
• Modular: Components should be flexible and adaptable for different contexts. For example, a button should have variations for different states (hover, active, disabled) and types (primary, secondary, destructive).
• Documented: Each component needs comprehensive documentation that explains how it should be used, its variants, and the rules governing its application. This ensures consistency when different team members use the same component.
4. Implement Accessibility Guidelines
Accessibility should be at the forefront of every design system. As a designer, consider:
• Color Contrast: Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background for readability.
• Keyboard Navigation: Ensure that interactive components are navigable via keyboard for users who rely on keyboard shortcuts.
• Responsive Design: Components should be responsive, adapting seamlessly across different screen sizes and devices.
• Assistive Technologies: Design components should be compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies to provide an inclusive experience.
Maintaining a Design System: Evolving with the Product
Once a design system is in place, the work doesn’t stop there. Maintaining it requires ongoing effort as the product evolves and new design challenges emerge. Here’s how designers can ensure the design system remains relevant and effective:
1. Regular Audits and Updates
A design system should be treated as a living document that evolves with the product. Regular audits are necessary to identify outdated or unused components. Designers should collaborate with developers to ensure new features are aligned with the existing design system, and updates should be documented to avoid fragmentation.
2. Version Control and Documentation
Version control is essential for keeping track of changes in the design system. Documenting why and how changes are made ensures that the design system grows in an organized manner. It also helps onboard new team members quickly, as they can reference updated guidelines.
3. Foster Collaboration Across Teams
Designers need to maintain an open line of communication with developers and other teams using the design system. Tools like Figma, Sketch, and Zeplin allow designers to share components and guidelines in real-time, fostering collaboration and ensuring that everyone is aligned.
Some well-known examples of design systems that have set benchmarks in the industry:
Overview: Google’s Material Design is one of the most comprehensive design systems available. It provides guidelines on how to create visual, motion, and interaction design across platforms and devices. Material Design is known for its grid-based layouts, responsive animations, and depth effects like shadows and lighting.
Features:
Comprehensive color palettes, typography, and iconography.
Overview: Salesforce’s Lightning Design System provides a comprehensive library of UI components and resources to help build applications on the Salesforce platform. It ensures a consistent experience across Salesforce products and enables developers to create custom apps easily.
Features:
Ready-to-use components, design tokens, and code snippets.
Comprehensive accessibility guidelines to ensure inclusivity.
Detailed documentation for developers to integrate components into Salesforce applications.
Overview: Fluent Design is Microsoft’s design system, created to provide an engaging and scalable UI across all Microsoft products. It is heavily focused on interaction, animation, and motion while ensuring accessibility across various device ecosystems.
Features:
Focus on depth, motion, and light to create modern and interactive UIs.
Cross-platform components supporting web, desktop, and mobile applications.
Accessible components with detailed guidelines for developers.
Conclusion
Building and maintaining a design system is an investment that pays off in the long run. It ensures consistency across your product, improves collaboration between teams, and allows for faster iteration and scalability. For designers, a design system is more than a collection of reusable components — it’s a framework that enables you to create user-centric products with confidence and clarity. By embracing modularity, documentation, and accessibility, you’ll ensure that your design system remains a valuable asset as your product grows.
About the Author:
Shristi is a creative professional with a passion for visual storytelling. She recently transitioned from the world of video and motion graphics to the exciting field of product design at Mantra Labs. When she’s not designing, she enjoys watching movies, traveling, and sharing her experiences through vlogs.
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