Frontend

UI & user experience · 40 articles · Page 1 of 4

Diagram showing a parent element being styled based on the state of its child using the CSS :has() selector

The CSS :has() Selector: A Practical Guide

How the :has() pseudo-class finally gives CSS a parent selector, and the patterns, pitfalls and performance trade-offs that come with it.

Oct 7, 2026·4 min read

Diagram showing a tooltip positioned relative to a button using CSS anchor positioning

Frontend

CSS Anchor Positioning: The End of Popper.js

CSS anchor positioning lets you position tooltips, popovers, and menus relative to any element without a JavaScript positioning library.

Sep 23, 2026·4 min read

Next.js Server Actions code handling form mutations with TypeScript types

Frontend

React Server Actions: Patterns, Pitfalls, and Production Use

Server Actions bring form handling and mutations back to the server in Next.js — how to use them well, what to avoid and which patterns actually scale.

Apr 1, 2026·4 min read

TypeScript code showing a finite state machine transition definition for a form submission flow

Frontend

Finite State Machines for Complex UI Logic in TypeScript

Replace boolean flag spaghetti with finite state machines: a TypeScript-first approach to UI states that makes impossible states impossible by construction.

Mar 30, 2026·4 min read

Design system component library showing tokens, variants, and composition patterns

Frontend

Building a Design System: From Tokens to Components

Design tokens, component APIs, and the organizational patterns that make a design system a force multiplier instead of a maintenance burden.

Mar 22, 2026·3 min read

Frontend

React Performance: Patterns That Move the Needle

Practical React performance techniques — memoization, virtualization, code splitting and profiling — with real before/after benchmarks and their tradeoffs.

Mar 5, 2026·3 min read

Decision tree from “new state?” to four homes: local UI hooks, a TanStack Query server cache, a Zustand client store and URL parameters.

Frontend

State Management in 2026: What to Use and When

A practical guide to choosing the right state management approach in modern React apps — useState, Zustand, React Query — and the reasoning behind each.

Jan 15, 2026·3 min read

Tangled stylesheets and override labels being pulled into an ordered structure of design tokens, reusable components and utilities.

Frontend

CSS Architecture at Scale: From Chaos to Confidence

How to structure CSS in large applications — design tokens, component patterns, utility classes, and the principles that prevent stylesheet entropy over time.

Nov 25, 2025·3 min read

A timeline showing optimistic state applied instantly on the client while the server processes the mutation in the background

Frontend

Optimistic UI Updates: Instant Interfaces with Rollback

Implement optimistic UI updates that feel instant by showing expected state immediately, reconciling with the server and rolling back when a mutation fails.

Oct 9, 2025·4 min read