Cybermaxi's Blog

React UI Component Splitting Demystified: The Ultimate Guide to Building Better UIs

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Agbe Moses
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3 min read

In React, we often encounter the challenge of splitting the User Interface (UI) into components. The size of a component matters significantly, and finding the right balance is crucial; we want to avoid going too small or too big.

###IF A COMPONENT IS TOO SMALL 🤏

  • We end up with hundreds of tiny components. 😩
  • This leads to a confusing codebase, making it difficult to understand and navigate complex and disorganized source code in software development. 🕵️‍♂️
  • Everything becomes overly abstracted, a process that simplifies complex concepts by focusing on essential details and hiding unnecessary complexities. 🧩

###IF A COMPONENT IS TOO BIG 💥

  • It takes on too many responsibilities. 🧱
  • Requires an excessive number of props. 🪚
  • Becomes challenging to reuse. ♻️
  • Leads to complex code that's hard to understand. 🤯

###HOW TO SPLIT A UI INTO COMPONENTS We've established four fundamental criteria for splitting UI into components, which involve asking yourself the following questions:

####1. LOGICAL SEPARATION OF CONTENT/LAYOUT

  • Does the component contain pieces of content or layout that don't naturally belong together? For instance, both the navbar and the sidebar have their unique purposes, yet together they contribute to overall navigation and content organization. 🧭

####2. REUSABILITY

  • Is there a genuine potential for reusing a part of the component? 🔄
  • Do you want or need to reuse it? 🔄

####3. RESPONSIBILITY / COMPLEXITY

  • Is the component attempting to do too many things at once? 🤹‍♂️
  • Is it reliant on an excessive number of props? 📦
  • Does the component incorporate numerous pieces of state and/or effects? ⚡️
  • Is the JSX code within the component overly complex and confusing? 😵‍💫

####4. PERSONAL CODING STYLE

  • Do you lean towards smaller or larger functions/components? Here, I'd advise creating components in a manner that enhances your productivity. ⚖️

NOTE When unsure, start with relatively larger components and then split them into smaller ones as needed. 🛠️ In light of this, here are some general guidelines:

  • Remember that creating a new component introduces a new level of abstraction. Keep in mind that more abstraction comes with a cost as it demands more mental effort to switch between components. Hence, avoid creating new components prematurely. 🧠

  • Name a component based on its functionality and display. Don't shy away from using descriptive component names, even if they're lengthy. 🏷️

  • Avoid declaring a new component within another one. Instead, for related components, consider the approach in point 4 below. 🚫➡️➡️

  • Place related components in the same file (co-locate). Don't separate components into different files too hastily. 📁

  • Understand that it's entirely normal for an application to comprise components of varying sizes, ranging from small to large. 📐

In conclusion, keep these considerations in mind. Strive to avoid incorporating overly extensive functionalities into a single component, and make an effort to merge functionalities into fewer components when possible, always keeping reusability in mind. 🤝

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Please feel free to show your support by leaving a like, comment, or feedback. I'm eager to hear your thoughts! ♥