Introduction#

Over the past year, I've had the opportunity to build several production web applications, from a clinical research platform serving 200+ participants to an AI-moderated social forum. Here are some key lessons I've learned about building scalable, maintainable web applications.

1. Design Your Database Schema Carefully#

One of the most important decisions you'll make is your database schema design. I learned this while building Kiddit, where I designed a 3NF-normalized MySQL schema with 10+ tables.

Key principles:

  • Normalize your data to avoid redundancy
  • Use foreign key constraints to maintain referential integrity
  • Add composite indexes for common query patterns
  • Think about scalability from day one

2. API Design Matters#

RESTful API design is both an art and a science. When building 25+ APIs for Kiddit, I learned:

  • Use consistent naming conventions
  • Version your APIs from the start
  • Implement proper error handling with meaningful error codes
  • Document everything - your future self will thank you

3. Frontend Architecture#

Moving from Angular/Ionic to React and Next.js taught me the importance of component-based architecture:

  • Keep components small and focused
  • Separate business logic from presentation
  • Use TypeScript for better type safety
  • Implement proper state management

For our clinical research platform, I built 20+ reusable React components with TypeScript and TailwindCSS, which improved our feature delivery speed by 50%.

4. Security First#

Working with healthcare data (HIPAA compliance) taught me to take security seriously:

  • Implement proper authentication (JWT with Redis for session management)
  • Use role-based access control (RBAC)
  • Sanitize all inputs to prevent injection attacks
  • Encrypt sensitive data both in transit and at rest

5. DevOps and CI/CD#

Containerization with Docker and CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions have been game-changers:

  • Automate testing at every stage
  • Use Docker for consistent environments
  • Implement proper logging and monitoring
  • Plan for rollback strategies

6. Performance Optimization#

Cache everything you can safely cache. Redis has been invaluable:

  • Cache database queries that don't change often
  • Implement application-level caching
  • Use CDNs for static assets
  • Optimize database queries with proper indexing

Conclusion#

Building scalable web applications is a continuous learning process. Every project teaches you something new. The key is to learn from your mistakes, follow best practices, and always keep the end user in mind.

What are your go-to practices for building scalable web apps? I'd love to hear your thoughts!