Choosing the Right Frontend Folder Structure: From MVP to Enterprise

Mercy OyeludeMercy Oyelude
5 min read

A lesson I painfully learned while working on my tour aggregator project was that folder structure does matter — especially as your codebase grows.

I originally started with the classic Layer-Based Architecture, but as new features piled in, it became harder to refactor cleanly without introducing chaos. Eventually, I had to restructure the entire project into a hybrid Feature-Based + Shared UI architecture — and believe me, that refactor hurt.

While restructuring, I took time to research common frontend architectural patterns and realized this: developers need to learn the art of choosing the right frontend folder structure — from beginner MVPs to enterprise-ready apps.


The Pain of Late Refactoring

Let me be real with you: refactoring from a flat, layer-based structure to a feature-driven architecture gave me mental whiplash. It’s a common misconception that folder structure doesn’t matter early on, especially when you're solo-building an MVP.

But if there's even a chance your MVP will scale — or if you want to onboard collaborators or future-proof your work — having a clean, intentional structure from day one saves you a world of pain.


6 Common Frontend Folder Structure Styles

Here are six architecture styles I explored — with pros, cons, and where each one shines.


  1. Layer-Based Architecture (Classic MVC-ish)

src/
├── components/
├── services/
├── utils/
├── pages/
├── hooks/

When to Use: Small projects, prototypes, tutorials

  • Easy to understand

  • Great for solo devs or MVPs

  • Poor separation of concerns

  • Hard to scale and refactor later

This pattern organizes code by type — all components in one folder, all services in another. It’s simple, but once features start to intertwine, this structure becomes a tangled mess.

  1. Feature-Based Architecture

src/
└── features/
    ├── auth/
    ├── tours/
    ├── bookings/
    └── dashboard/

When to Use: Most production apps, team projects

  • High modularity and scalability

  • Easy to isolate and work on features

  • Encourages cross-functional collaboration

  • Requires discipline

  • Can introduce duplication if not managed well

Each folder represents a business domain, with its own components, services, and tests. This makes it easier for developers to own or ship a complete feature in isolation.

  1. Domain-Driven Design (DDD) Structure

src/
└── domains/
    └── booking/
        ├── domain/          # Business rules
        ├── application/     # Use cases
        ├── infrastructure/  # APIs, persistence
        └── ui/              # UI components

When to Use: Large-scale, complex apps with multiple teams

  • Very clean separation of concerns

  • Scalable and testable

  • Steeper learning curve

  • Overhead for small projects

DDD borrows from backend principles and structures each domain into its own vertical stack of logic, API, and UI.

  1. Next.js / File-Based Routing Convention

app/
└── dashboard/
    ├── layout.tsx
    └── page.tsx

When to Use: Projects using Next.js, Remix, or similar

  • Optimized for SSR and SSG

  • Enforces clean route structures

  • Tied to framework conventions

  • Less flexible for non-routing logic

With this structure, your file system is your router, which makes routing intuitive but sometimes rigid.

  1. Atomic Design / Component-Driven

components/
├── atoms/
├── molecules/
├── organisms/
├── templates/

When to Use: Design systems, UI libraries, component-heavy apps

  • Great for scalable UI systems

  • Encourages consistent design

  • Doesn’t account for business logic

  • Best as a UI layer, not project-wide structure

This model focuses on building UI components by complexity — it’s ideal for design teams and reusable systems.

  1. Package-Based Monorepo

packages/
├── ui/
├── auth/
├── games/
├── utils/

When to Use: Large codebases, shared libraries, micro-frontends

  • Total separation of concerns

  • Easy to share/publish packages

  • More tooling required

  • Overkill for small teams

Common in monorepos (with Turborepo, Nx, or Yarn Workspaces), this approach treats features or modules as independent packages.

Hybrid Structures (Best of Both Worlds)

In real-world projects, hybrid approaches often win. For example, I now use:

  • Feature-Based for domain isolation

  • A Shared UI layer for reusable components

  • Layered folders within each feature for clarity (e.g., components/, forms/, pages/)

Here’s what my tour platform structure evolved into:

src/
├── app/
│   ├── App.jsx
│   ├── routes.jsx
│   └── layout/
├── features/
│   ├── auth/
│   ├── tours/
│   ├── bookings/
│   └── dashboard/
├── shared/
│   ├── ui/
│   ├── form/
│   ├── utils/
│   ├── constants/
│   └── hooks/
├── config/
├── redux/
├── assets/
├── styles/
└── index.js

How to Choose the Right Structure

Project SizeRecommended Style
Solo or MVPLayer-Based or Flat
Mid-size AppFeature-Based
Enterprise ProjectDDD or Hybrid
Design SystemAtomic (UI layer)
MonorepoPackage-based

Bonus Tips:

  • Don’t over-engineer too early

  • Use index.js barrel exports for clean imports

  • Separate UI and business logic

  • Stay consistent with naming and nesting

Final Thoughts

Folder structure is architecture — and architecture is communication.

Whether you're building solo, with a team, or shipping for users, structure can make or break your speed, sanity, and success. Choose wisely.

If you’re currently working on a React project and unsure how to structure it, feel free to drop a comment or DM — I’d love to help.


Have a folder structure that works great for your team? Share it below and let’s learn together.

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Written by

Mercy Oyelude
Mercy Oyelude

🌍 Frontend Engineer | Green Software Advocate💻 Writing sustainable code, one doc and div at a time.🔁 Building a dev series on green coding best practices.✒️ Sharing dev-friendly climate solutions. Let’s collaborate!📬 Reach out: mercyoyelude2@gmail.com