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When starting a new feature, junior devs often jump into coding. Senior devs pause to think first.
In this post, I’ll walk you through a mental checklist I use before writing a single line of code—something I’ve honed over years of building frontend features in React, Next.js, and beyond.
1. Understand the Feature
Before writing JSX...
- What does this component need to do?
- Are there dynamic behaviors like modals, dropdowns, and toggles?
- Will it fetch data? From where? How often?
- Can I reuse existing hooks, utilities, or services?
Think: What problem am I solving, and has someone already solved parts of it?
2. Map the Data Flow
Clarity here avoids spaghetti later.
- What are the inputs? (props, query params, context)
- What outputs or events does it trigger? (onClick, onChange)
- How will data flow across components?
- Do I need a wrapper or a layout component?
Think: Can a future teammate trace this flow in 30 seconds?
3. Choose the Right State Strategy
Every piece of state needs a home.
- Local (useState) or lifted to a parent?
- Global (Zustand, Redux, Context) if shared across features?
- Should it persist? (e.g., localStorage)
- Does it affect multiple components or pages?
Think: Am I overengineering or under-planning the state?
4. Design for Reusability
Avoid copy-pasting tomorrow what you hardcode today.
- Can this component or part of it be reused?
- Should I make it generic (e.g., Dropdown) or contextual (e.g., UserDropdown)?
- Do we already have something similar I can tweak?
- Should this logic live in a custom hook or utility?
Think: Will I regret hardcoding this next week?
5. Don’t Ignore Performance
Bad UX often hides behind slow code.
- Are we dealing with large datasets, rapid user input, or complex visuals?
- Use debounce, memoization, or virtualization where needed.
- Can I break this into smaller pieces to reduce re-renders?
- Are there animations or blocking tasks that need concurrency?
Think: Will this slow down on low-end devices?
6. Plan for Failure (Because It Will)
A broken UI is a bad experience. Silence is worse.
- What happens if the API fails? Or returns no data?
- Do we need retries? Fallbacks?
- Should we use ErrorBoundary, Suspense, or manual error states?
- How do we inform the user and log the issue?
Think: Can this fail gracefully?
Final Thoughts
The goal isn’t to overthink—it’s to pre-think.
Spending 10–15 minutes planning a feature can save hours of refactoring, debugging, and technical debt.
?️ Code is craft. Build thoughtfully.