Interface Contracts in Microfrontend Architectures

What if you could modernize a legacy monolith without a risky rewrite? Learn a frameworkless approach using native browser tech and formal interface contracts.

#1about 1 minute

Why incremental modernization beats a big bang rewrite

Rewriting a legacy monolith from scratch is risky and expensive, making an incremental approach better for both developers and the business.

#2about 6 minutes

Evolving from layered architecture to vertical slices

Microfrontend architecture extends backend microservice patterns to the frontend, creating autonomous, full-stack teams aligned with business domains.

#3about 4 minutes

Defining microfrontend boundaries using domain-driven design

Use principles from domain-driven design (DDD), like bounded contexts and communication patterns, to determine the right size and scope for each microfrontend.

#4about 8 minutes

Implementing communication with attributes and custom events

Microfrontends communicate indirectly by receiving data through HTML attributes and emitting data via custom events, with the host page acting as a mediator.

#5about 7 minutes

Standardizing interfaces with the open MFE specification

The Open MFE standard provides a formal way to define, document, and test microfrontend interfaces using a manifest file, similar to OpenAPI for REST APIs.

#6about 4 minutes

Applying the strangler fig pattern to legacy apps

Gradually modernize a legacy application by wrapping existing features in microfrontends or introducing new ones, slowly 'strangling' the old monolith.

#7about 1 minute

Avoiding runtime coupling with a shared UI library

To maintain autonomy and avoid runtime dependencies, teams should consume shared assets like CSS and icons from a versioned UI library at build time.

#8about 6 minutes

Architectural trade-offs and testing strategies

A frameworkless approach prioritizes migration over raw performance, and testing should focus more on integration tests than unit tests to validate cross-component flows.

#9about 7 minutes

Securing and monitoring microfrontend communications

Secure interface contracts like any other web API, and monitor component interactions by emitting analytics events to be handled by the host page to preserve encapsulation.

#10about 9 minutes

Managing shared dependencies and component nesting

Avoid runtime nesting of microfrontends and instead share common logic through versioned libraries consumed at build time, accepting code duplication as a trade-off for autonomy.