Senior Frontend Roadmap: Beyond Frameworks

cengiz ilhan — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 19:39:29 +0000

Senior Frontend Roadmap: Beyond Frameworks

I recently created a Senior Frontend Roadmap and wanted to share it here.

Most frontend roadmaps focus on frameworks and tools.

This one tries to focus more on real-world frontend work: domains, architecture, engineering practices, and the impact of technical decisions.

The roadmap is based on experience from long-lived products and team work.

It is not meant to be a strict guide, but rather a reference for discussion.

View the Roadmap

You can view the interactive version on roadmap.sh:

https://roadmap.sh/r/senior-frontend-developer-v0r9c

GitHub Repository

The GitHub repository is open for feedback and improvements:

https://github.com/cengizilhan/senior-frontend-roadmap

Comments, suggestions, and different perspectives are welcome.

Component-Based MVC

cengiz ilhan — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 19:31:37 +0000

Modern component architecture for server-side MVC applications

In the modern frontend world, large bundle files are gradually being replaced by component-based architectures.

Thanks to modern frontend frameworks like React and Vue, the following approach has become common:

UI is built from components
each component owns its own code
only the necessary code is loaded

However, many server-side MVC applications still follow the older approach:

site.css
bundle.js

Over time these files grow larger and create several problems:

unused CSS
unnecessary JavaScript
hard-to-debug global code
risky refactoring

In this article, I will describe a simple approach to solve this problem in MVC applications:

Component-Based MVC

The Idea

In Component-Based MVC, a page is composed of a layout and UI components.

Page = Layout + Components

Each component contains its own HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

And the most important rule:

If a component is not rendered, its assets are not loaded.

This prevents unnecessary CSS and JavaScript from being loaded.

If there is no HTML, there is no need for its CSS or JS.

A Simple Component Example

@{
    Html.RegisterStyle("/styles/components/gallery/gallery.css");
    Html.RegisterScript("/scripts/gallery.js", ScriptLocation.Footer);
}

<div class="gallery">
    <h2>Gallery</h2>

    <div class="gallery-images">
        <img src="/images/gallery1.jpg">
        <img src="/images/gallery2.jpg">
        <img src="/images/gallery3.jpg">
    </div>
</div>

The component registers its own assets.

Page Usage

@{
    Html.RegisterStyle("/styles/pages/home.css");
}

<h1>Homepage</h1>

@Html.Partial("~/Components/Gallery/Gallery.cshtml")
@Html.Partial("~/Components/Gallery/Gallery.cshtml")

Even if the gallery component is called twice:

gallery.css → loaded once
gallery.js → loaded once

SCSS Structure

Styles can be organized with a simple folder structure:

/styles
  /components
    /gallery
      gallery.scss
  /pages
    home.scss
    article.scss

components/ → reusable UI elements
pages/ → page-specific styles

Layout

Assets are rendered in the layout.

<head>
    @Html.RenderRegisteredStyles()
</head>

<body>

@RenderBody()

    @Html.RenderRegisteredScripts(ScriptLocation.Footer)

</body>

Rendered Output

The final HTML output looks like this:

<html>

<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/styles/pages/home.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/styles/components/gallery/gallery.css">
</head>

<body>

<div class="gallery"></div>
<div class="gallery"></div>

<script src="/scripts/gallery.js"></script>

</body>
</html>

Even if the component is rendered multiple times, its assets are loaded only once.

Why It Matters

Modern frontend architectures (including React) are built around:

component architecture
code splitting
on-demand assets

Component-Based MVC brings the same idea to the server-side rendering world.

MVC does not change.

Only the View layer becomes modernized.

Summary

Component-Based MVC is based on a few simple principles:

UI is built from components
components own their assets
assets are loaded only when needed

DEV Community: cengiz ilhan

Senior Frontend Roadmap: Beyond Frameworks

Senior Frontend Roadmap: Beyond Frameworks

View the Roadmap

GitHub Repository

Component-Based MVC

Modern component architecture for server-side MVC applications

The Idea

A Simple Component Example

Page Usage

SCSS Structure

Layout

Rendered Output

Why It Matters

Summary