Selecting the appropriate architecture is crucial in any frontend project. A poorly chosen structure can transform even a small application into a confusing mess that is difficult to scale, test, or maintain.
Does every existing architecture scale well by default?
No, not all of them do.
When choosing a component architecture, I focus on three key aspects:
- Clarity - Is the structure easy to navigate and understand?
- Scalability - Can it grow alongside the application?
- Ease of Use - Does it enhance or hinder the developer experience?
One of the best frontend architectures I have encountered in my career is Atomic Design. If you're not familiar with the concept, I highly recommend starting with the original explanation by Brad Frost.
Why Atomic Design?
Atomic Design offers a clear mental framework for building user interface (UI) systems by breaking down components into five hierarchical levels:
- Atoms - The basic building blocks (e.g., buttons, input fields).
- Molecules - Simple combinations of atoms (e.g., an input field combined with a label).
- Organisms - More complex components made up of molecules and atoms (e.g., a header, a form).
- Templates - Page-level layouts that contain placeholder content.
- Pages - Final pages filled with actual content.
In practice, I often skip the Templates stage, as it can seem unnecessary. You can still achieve a clean separation of elements without them.
Applying Atomic Design in a Vue Project
Imagine we are creating a straightforward "Contact Us" page. This page may consist of the following elements:
- Headers and subheaders.
- Descriptive text and instructions.
- A feedback form that includes input fields and a submission button.
- A header and footer for navigation and branding purposes.
Here's how we would organize that using Atomic Design in a Vue-based project:
🔹 Atoms
Atoms are the smallest components and should be reusable across your application. Keep them stateless and focused.
- Logo.vue — logo contains an image or text.
- Link.vue — link component used in the footer.
- Input.vue, Button.vue — form elements.
🔹 Molecules
These are simple component compositions. They can receive data via props and render a structure of atoms.
- Header.vue – composed of Logo, maybe some navigation links.
- Footer.vue – combines text blocks and atomized Link components.
🔹 Organisms
Organisms are more complex components that combine both UI and internal logic. They often serve as the core building blocks for full-page layouts and can include other components such as atoms, molecules, or even other organisms.
- FeedbackForm.vue – includes Input, Textarea, Button, and handles internal logic like validation and submission.
🔹 Pages
Pages consist of various components.
- ContactUs.vue - includes FeedbackForm, Header, Footer.
Folder Structure Example
Here's a sample directory layout for this contact page:
Atomic Design works incredibly well with Vue (and other frameworks like React). It creates a shared vocabulary and natural hierarchy that reflects how we think about interfaces. More importantly, it makes it easier to:
- Maintain consistency across your UI
- Reuse components with confidence
- Scale your application without losing control
If you're starting a new Vue project or refactoring an existing one, try adopting Atomic Design. You'll quickly see the benefits.
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