React Best Practices

React is powerful, but with great flexibility comes great responsibility. As your application grows, so does the complexity, and that’s when best practices become essential.

In this article, we’ll walk through practical techniques and habits that help you write clean, maintainable, and scalable code.

Keep Components Small and Focused

A component should do one thing, and do it well. Split large components into smaller ones for better reusability and readability.

Use Functional Components and Hooks

Avoid using class components unless you have a specific reason (like legacy codebases). Functional components with hooks are simpler, cleaner, and the current standard in modern React development.

Functional component

function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
  return <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>{count}</button>;
}

Class component

class Counter extends Component {
  constructor(props) {
    super(props);
    this.state = { count: 0 };
  }

  handleClick = () => {
    this.setState((prevState) => ({
      count: prevState.count + 1
    }));
  };

  render() {
    return (
      <button onClick={this.handleClick}>
        {this.state.count}
      </button>
    );
  }
}

export default Counter;

Use a Clear Folder Structure

There’s no single "perfect" folder structure in React. What matters most is that it’s clear, consistent, and aligned with your team’s chosen architecture.

Whether you follow a feature-based, domain-driven, or atomic design approach, pick one that fits your app’s complexity and stick to it. Constantly mixing styles leads to confusion and tech debt.

Example of a feature-based structure:

/src
  /features
    /auth
      AuthForm.tsx
      useAuth.ts
      authService.ts
    /dashboard
      Dashboard.tsx
      useDashboardData.ts

Example of a clean architecture structure:

/src
  /domain
    user.ts
  /application
    useLogin.ts
  /infrastructure
    api.ts
  /presentation
    LoginForm.tsx

Custom Hooks for Reusable Logic

Whenever you find repeated logic across components, consider extracting it into a custom hook. Custom Hooks allow us to separate concerns, create cleaner and more testable components, and have better composition.

Custom hooks are not just about reuse. They're about clarity.
They help enforce clean architecture, reduce repetition, and improve the developer experience.

Use TypeScript (if possible)

Adding TypeScript helps catch bugs early, improves autocomplete, and makes code more robust.

Avoid Prop Drilling with Context

Prop drilling happens when you pass props through multiple layers of components just to get data to a deeply nested child. This makes your code harder to maintain and clutters component APIs.

React Context allows you to share values like state, theme, language, or user data across your entire component tree without passing props manually at every level.

Use Meaningful Names

Good naming improves readability for everyone, including your future self.

Write Tests for Critical Logic

Writing tests for critical logic ensures that key functionality works as expected. Tests catch bugs early, reducing the risk of introducing errors in production and improving overall code stability.

By testing the core behavior of your app, you ensure that essential features are always functional, even as new features are added or the codebase evolves.

Additionally, tests act as living documentation. As your project grows, automated tests help new developers quickly understand how certain features should behave. They ensure that everyone on the team is aligned on expectations, improving collaboration and reducing the chance of miscommunication.

Conclusions

React is just a tool. The way you structure, write, and organize your code makes all the difference in long-term quality.

Adopting these best practices doesn't mean rewriting everything overnight, but gradually improving your codebase will pay off in the long run. Your future self (and your teammates) will thank you.