The App Router changed the way we think about React applications. Server Components are a fantastic default, but they force you to rethink where state and interactivity should live. In this post I share a simple mental model for deciding when to reach for 'use client', how to structure layouts, and how to keep your bundle lean while still building highly interactive interfaces.

We build a realistic portfolio section together — from data layout to component composition to animation boundaries — and talk about accessibility and keyboard interactions along the way.

Key takeaways

• Start from the problem you are trying to solve, not the tool you want to use.
• Measure the baseline first — most improvement ideas fail without one.
• Close the loop: review, write down what you learned, and share it.

Thanks for reading

If you found this article useful, you'll probably enjoy the rest of the writing in this category — a mix of practical field notes and framework-agnostic engineering ideas.