React Design Patterns and Best Practices for 2025

Let’s see React design patterns and best practices for 2025 so you can build more robust and maintainable applications.

React has come a long way since its first release in 2013. What began as a library for building user interfaces has evolved into a comprehensive ecosystem for developing modern web applications. With React 19’s stable release in late 2024 and the continued maturation of the ecosystem, developers now have access to powerful features that streamline development workflows and enhance application performance.

In this article, we’ll explore React design patterns and best practices for 2025. We’ll examine how modern component patterns, state management approaches, TypeScript integration and the latest React 19 features can help you build more robust and maintainable applications.

Modern Component Patterns

Function Components as the Standard

Function components have become the de facto standard for React development, replacing class components for practically all use cases. This shift reflects React’s move toward a more functional programming paradigm, emphasizing simplicity and composability.

function UserProfile({ userId }) {
  const [user, setUser] = useState(null);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);

  useEffect(() => {
    async function fetchUser() {
      setLoading(true);
      try {
        const userData = await fetchUserData(userId);
        setUser(userData);
      } catch (error) {
        console.error("Failed to fetch user data:", error);
      } finally {
        setLoading(false);
      }
    }
    fetchUser();
  }, [userId]);

  if (loading) return <LoadingSpinner />;
  if (!user) return <ErrorMessage message="User not found" />;

  return (
    <div className="user-profile">
      <h2>{user.name}</h2>
      <p>{user.email}</p>
      {/* Additional user information */}
    </div>
  );
}

The above UserProfile component uses hooks to fetch and display user data based on a given ID, handling loading and error states along the way.

Function components follow a straightforward input-output model, making them easier to understand and test. They also enable using React’s hooks system for state management and lifecycle events.

💡New to React’s core hooks?
Check out this guide to useState and this deep dive on useEffect to better understand how they power function components.

Custom Hooks for Logic Reusability

Custom hooks represent one of the most powerful patterns in modern React development. They enable the extraction of stateful logic into reusable functions, promoting code reuse and separation of concerns.

In the example below, a useFormInput custom hook manages form input state and behavior, allowing components to reuse this consistent input logic easily.

// Custom hook for handling form input
function useFormInput(initialValue) {
  const [value, setValue] = useState(initialValue);

  function handleChange(e) {
    setValue(e.target.value);
  }

  return {
    value,
    onChange: handleChange,
    reset: () => setValue(initialValue),
  };
}

// Usage in a component
function LoginForm() {
  const email = useFormInput("");
  const password = useFormInput("");

  function handleSubmit(e) {
    e.preventDefault();
    // Login logic here using email.value and password.value

    // Reset form after submission
    email.reset();
    password.reset();
  }

  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
      <input type="email" placeholder="Email" {...email} />
      <input type="password" placeholder="Password" {...password} />
      <button type="submit">Login</button>
    </form>
  );
}

Custom hooks can help extract complex logic components, making them more focused on rendering. The same logic can be shared across multiple components without duplication, and custom hooks can be tested independently from the used components.

State Management

Context API for Application-Wide State

The Context API has matured into a reasonable solution for managing application-wide state, reducing the need for external state management libraries. With React 19, the Context API has become even more powerful by introducing the use function for accessing context values.

// Creating a context
const ThemeContext = createContext({
  theme: "light",
  toggleTheme: () => {},
});

// Provider component
function ThemeProvider({ children }) {
  const [theme, setTheme] = useState("light");

  const toggleTheme = () => {
    setTheme((prevTheme) => (prevTheme === "light" ? "dark" : "light"));
  };

  const value = { theme, toggleTheme };

  return <ThemeContext value={value}>{children}</ThemeContext>;
}

// Using context with the new 'use' API in React 19
function ThemedButton({ variant }) {
  // We can use the 'use' function in conditional blocks
  if (variant === "primary") {
    const { theme, toggleTheme } = use(ThemeContext);

    return (
      <button className={`btn-${variant} ${theme}`} onClick={toggleTheme}>
        Toggle Theme
      </button>
    );
  }

  return <button className={`btn-${variant}`}>Regular Button</button>;
}

The above example sets up a theme context and provider, allowing components like ThemedButton to access and update the current theme using the new use() API introduced in React 19.

The Context API is well-suited for theme management, user authentication, localization and feature flags across an application.

💡Want a deeper understanding of when and how to use React Context?
Take a look at this article on React Context for a clear explanation of its use case and benefit.

TypeScript

TypeScript has become an integral part of React development, with many new projects in industry adopting it from the outset. The benefits of using TypeScript with React include type safety by catching type-related errors at compile time rather than runtime, improved developer experience with enhanced IDE support, and self-documenting code with type annotations serving as documentation.

Type-Safe Components and Props

TypeScript enables the creation of type-safe components with well-defined props interfaces:

// Defining prop types
interface UserCardProps {
  user: {
    id: number,
    name: string,
    email: string,
    role: "admin" | "user" | "guest",
    profileImage?: string,
  };
  onEdit?: (userId: number) => void;
  variant?: "compact" | "detailed";
}

// Type-safe component
function UserCard({ user, onEdit, variant = "detailed" }: UserCardProps) {
  return (
    <div className={`user-card ${variant}`}>
      {user.profileImage && (
        <img src={user.profileImage} alt={`${user.name}'s profile`} />
      )}

      <h3>{user.name}</h3>
      {variant === "detailed" && (
        <>
          <p>{user.email}</p>
          <p>Role: {user.role}</p>
        </>
      )}

      {onEdit && <button onClick={() => onEdit(user.id)}>Edit</button>}
    </div>
  );
}

The above example defines a strongly typed component using a UserCardProps interface, so the props passed to UserCard are validated at compile time.

Type-Safe Hooks

TypeScript enhances React hooks by providing type safety for state, effects and custom hooks:

function useLocalStorage<T>(key: string, initialValue: T): [T, (value: T) => void] {
  const [storedValue, setStoredValue] = useState<T>(() => {
    try {
      const item = window.localStorage.getItem(key);
      return item ? JSON.parse(item) : initialValue;
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(error);
      return initialValue;
    }
  });

  const setValue = (value: T) => {
    try {
      setStoredValue(value);
      window.localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify(value));
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(error);
    }
  };

  return [storedValue, setValue];
}

// Usage with type inference
function UserPreferences() {
  // TypeScript infers that preferences is of type UserPrefs
  const [preferences, setPreferences] = useLocalStorage<UserPrefs>('userPrefs', {
    theme: 'light',
    notifications: true,
    fontSize: 'medium'
  });

  // Now we get autocompletion and type checking for preferences
  return (
    <div>
      <h2>User Preferences</h2>
      <label>
        Theme:
        <select
          value={preferences.theme}
          onChange={(e) => setPreferences({
            ...preferences,
            theme: e.target.value as 'light' | 'dark'
          })}
        >
          <option value="light">Light</option>
          <option value="dark">Dark</option>
        </select>
      </label>
      {/* More preference controls */}
    </div>
  );
}

The custom hook useLocalStorage uses generics (i.e., type variables) to provide type-safe access and updates to local storage values for consistent usage across components.

Generic Components

TypeScript’s generics allow the creation of highly reusable components that maintain type safety:

interface SelectProps<T> {
  items: T[];
  selectedItem: T | null;
  onSelect: (item: T) => void;
  getDisplayText: (item: T) => string;
  getItemKey: (item: T) => string | number;
}

function Select<T>({
  items,
  selectedItem,
  onSelect,
  getDisplayText,
  getItemKey
}: SelectProps<T>) {
  return (
    <div className="select-container">
      <div className="selected-item">
        {selectedItem ? getDisplayText(selectedItem) : 'Select an item'}
      </div>

      <ul className="items-list">
        {items.map(item => (
          <li
            key={getItemKey(item)}
            className={item === selectedItem ? 'selected' : ''}
            onClick={() => onSelect(item)}
          >
            {getDisplayText(item)}
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
}

// Usage with different data types
interface User {
  id: number;
  name: string;
  email: string;
}

function UserSelector() {
  const [selectedUser, setSelectedUser] = useState<User | null>(null);
  const users: User[] = [
    { id: 1, name: 'John Doe', email: 'john@example.com' },
    { id: 2, name: 'Jane Smith', email: 'jane@example.com' }
  ];

  return (
    <Select<User>
      items={users}
      selectedItem={selectedUser}
      onSelect={setSelectedUser}
      getDisplayText={(user) => user.name}
      getItemKey={(user) => user.id}
    />
  );
}

The generic Select component above adapts to any data type using TypeScript generics, enabling reuse while preserving strict typing for props like display text and keys.

💡Looking to level up your TypeScript skills?
Explore Mastering TypeScript: Benefits and Best Practices for an introductory foundation, and dive into How To Easily Understand TypeScript Generics to better understand generics and what they offer.

React 19 and Ecosystem Updates

New Hooks

React 19 introduced several new hooks, which include useActionState, useFormStatus, useOptimistic and the new use API. These hooks provide elegant solutions for everyday tasks like form handling and optimistic UI updates. Here’s an example of the useOptimistic hook in action:

function MessageList({ messages, onSendMessage }) {
  const [optimisticMessages, addOptimisticMessage] = useOptimistic(
    messages,
    (state, newMessage) => [...state, newMessage]
  );

  const handleSubmit = async (formData) => {
    const content = formData.get("message");

    // Create optimistic version of the message
    const optimisticMessage = {
      id: `temp-${Date.now()}`,
      content,
      status: "sending",
    };

    // Update UI immediately
    addOptimisticMessage(optimisticMessage);

    // Send the actual message
    await onSendMessage(content);
  };

  return (
    <form action={handleSubmit}>
      <input name="message" />
      <button type="submit">Send</button>
      <div className="messages">
        {optimisticMessages.map((message) => (
          <div key={message.id} className={`message ${message.status || ""}`}>
            {message.content}
          </div>
        ))}
      </div>
    </form>
  );
}

In the example above, the useOptimistic hook immediately displays a new message in the UI before the network request completes, providing a smoother and faster user experience through optimistic updates.

React Server Components

React Server Components represent a significant paradigm shift in how React applications are structured and rendered. They enable components to run exclusively on the server, accessing data sources directly without client-side API calls and reducing JavaScript bundle sizes.

The key distinction between Server and Client Components lies in where they execute and what capabilities they have:

Server Components:

• Execute on the server before sending HTML to the client
• Can access server resources directly (databases, file system)
• Cannot use client-side browser APIs or React state hooks
• Do not increase the JavaScript bundle size
• Automatically marked as Server Components by default in frameworks like Next.js

Client Components:

• Execute in the browser
• Can use interactive features (state, effects, event handlers)
• Must be explicitly marked with the "use client" directive
• Contribute to the JavaScript bundle size

Here’s a simple example of how a Server Component and Client Component work together:

// Server Component
async function ProductPage({ productId }) {
  // Direct server-side data access
  const product = await db.products.findById(productId);

  return (
    <div className="product-page">
      <h1>{product.name}</h1>
      <p className="description">{product.description}</p>
      <p className="price">${product.price.toFixed(2)}</p>

      {/* Client Component for interactivity */}
      <AddToCartButton productId={product.id} />
    </div>
  );
}

// Client Component for interactive elements
("use client");
function AddToCartButton({ productId }) {
  const [isAdding, setIsAdding] = useState(false);

  async function handleAddToCart() {
    setIsAdding(true);
    await addToCart(productId);
    setIsAdding(false);
  }

  return (
    <button onClick={handleAddToCart} disabled={isAdding}>
      {isAdding ? "Adding..." : "Add to Cart"}
    </button>
  );
}

The ProductPage above is a Server Component that fetches product data directly from the database and renders static HTML, while the AddToCartButton is a Client Component that handles interactive behavior like managing button state and responding to user clicks in the browser. Together, they separate data fetching from interactivity which can optimize performance and user experience.

💡Want a more complete rundown of what’s new in React 19?
Check out our previous article, What’s New in React 19, for a detailed look at the latest hooks, the use() API, server components and other key updates introduced in the latest React release.

Frameworks

The modern React ecosystem has evolved significantly, with frameworks playing a critical role in elevating developer experience and application performance. In 2025, three solutions often stand out in the React development landscape: Next.js, Remix and Vite.

Next.js offers a comprehensive solution for building React applications. It offers flexible rendering strategies, built-in support for API routes and full-stack capabilities. Features like automatic image optimization and Incremental Static Regeneration contribute to performance and scalability for complex applications.

Remix emphasizes web fundamentals and progressive enhancement. Its routing system combines data loading and UI rendering through nested routes. It strongly uses browser-native features and HTTP conventions and provides smooth transitions through built-in support for loading states and optimistic UI patterns.

Vite can be used as a standalone build tool or as a powerful complement to frameworks like Remix. It transforms the development workflow with near-instantaneous startup times and rapid hot module replacement. By leveraging native ES modules during development, Vite eliminates the need for bundling in the dev cycle, allowing servers to start in milliseconds rather than minutes. Whether used independently or alongside a framework, Vite offers a fast, modern development experience without compromising performance.

Component Libraries and Design Systems

The Rise of Utility-First CSS with Tailwind

Tailwind CSS has become a popular choice for styling in React applications, fundamentally shifting how developers approach component design. This utility-first CSS framework provides low-level utility classes that can be composed directly in JSX markup, eliminating the need for separate CSS files and reducing context-switching during development.

function ProductCard({ product }) {
  return (
    <div className="bg-white rounded-lg shadow-md overflow-hidden duration-300">
      <img
        src={product.imageUrl}
        alt={product.name}
        className="w-full h-48 object-cover"
      />
      <div className="p-4">
        <h3 className="text-lg font-semibold text-gray-800 mb-2">
          {product.name}
        </h3>
        <p className="text-gray-600 text-sm mb-4">{product.description}</p>
        <div className="flex justify-between items-center text-indigo-600">
          <span className="font-bold">${product.price.toFixed(2)}</span>
          <button className="bg-indigo-600 hover:bg-indigo-700 text-white rounded-md">
            Add to Cart
          </button>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
}

Notice in the above example, all styling is handled inline using Tailwind’s utility classes. This allows developers to rapidly build visually consistent components without writing custom CSS.

In 2025, Tailwind has continued to evolve with improved tooling, better IDE integrations and an expanded ecosystem of plugins and components, cementing its position as a popular styling approach for many React developers.

Professional UI Component Libraries: KendoReact

While utility-first CSS frameworks like Tailwind excel at building custom interfaces, enterprise applications can sometimes require complex components with sophisticated behaviors and accessibility features. This is where professional UI libraries like Progress KendoReact shine.

KendoReact offers a comprehensive suite of UI components for React applications, covering everything from essential building blocks like Buttons and Dialogs to advanced, highly specialized components like Charts and Data Grids.

In 2025, KendoReact has continued to evolve with regular updates, expanding its component offerings while maintaining backward compatibility. Developers looking to get started can now take advantage of KendoReact Free. This freely available library version includes more than 50 customizable, enterprise-grade components, making it easier to build high-quality UIs without upfront cost.

💡 Curious how Tailwind can be used in conjunction with KendoReact?
Check out Tailwind CSS and KendoReact Unstyled Mode to learn how to apply utility classes to KendoReact components.

For a broader perspective on where Tailwind shines (and where it might not), explore A Primer on Tailwind CSS: Pros, Cons and Real-World Use Cases.

Wrap-up

This article explores some of the key React patterns, tools and ecosystem updates shaping development in 2025, from function components and custom hooks to TypeScript integration, new React 19 features, and modern frameworks and libraries. While the article doesn’t cover everything, it highlights practical patterns and approaches developers use today to build scalable, maintainable and performant applications.

For more details on any of the topics discussed, be sure to reference the articles linked throughout the respective sections above. And if you’re ready to get started with KendoReact Free:

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