React + TypeScript remains the default for every serious storefront and dashboard I touch. In 2026 the debate isn't "TS or JS" — it's where rendering happens.
Rendering choices
| Pattern | Use when |
|---|---|
| SSR | Personalized, auth-gated pages |
| ISR | PLP/PDP SEO at scale |
| Client components | Cart, chat, dashboards |
| Server actions | Mutations with colocated validation |
Type safety across boundaries
- Zod (or similar) at API edges
- Generated types from GraphQL / OpenAPI where possible
- Strict
tsconfigon greenfield; incremental strict on legacy
Performance habits
- Image optimization via
next/image - Route-level code splitting
- Measure INP on interactive checkout — not just LCP hero scores
Takeaway
Server Components didn't kill SPAs — they relocated work to the right tier. Senior frontend work in 2026 is orchestration, not component count.
