What is Frontend System Design?

Learn more about the frontend system design

Introduction

Traditional system design interviews may involve the distributed system, which includes server, load balancer, databases, etc. However, for frontend system design interviews, the focus is more on the client and API design, rather than what goes on in the backend.

Due to the open-ended types of problems inherit in system design, there’s not necessary a right answer, however there are better answers than others. Examples of types of problems for frontend system design interviews, may include: autocomplete, image carousel, news feed, emoji reaction to a chat message.

System design interviews mainly focuses on the presentation of ideas, but it shouldn’t involve implementation of code. The interviewer is there to give you support, but it’s expected for the interviewee to drive the system design presentation. Sometimes you may find the interviewer is bias towards a particular part of the system, focus your attention there, and make sure to focus on what you do know.

The fundamental traits that make up a frontend system design doesn’t look that much different from any other system design. The next section will give an idea of what the frontend system design into its major parts.

Frontend system design vs System Design

Frontend system design refers to the design and implementation of the user interface and user experience of a system, including the layout, navigation, and functionality that users interact with directly. This aspect of system design is focused on making the system easy to use and intuitive for users.

System design, on the other hand, refers to the overall design and architecture of a system, including the technology stack, infrastructure, and data flow. It involves making decisions about how the different components of the system will interact and work together to achieve the desired functionality and performance. This aspect of system design is focused on making the system scalable, reliable, and efficient.

In summary, frontend system design is a subset of system design that specifically deals with the user interface, while system design is a broader term that encompasses all aspects of designing a system.