What Does a Frontend Architect Do? Beyond Writing Code

Have you ever wondered what separates a senior frontend developer from a Frontend Architect? The answer might seem obvious at first — more experience, more responsibilities — but the reality is far more interesting.

The Building Architect and the Code Architect

Think about a traditional architect. They don't spend their days laying bricks or mixing cement. Their job is to design, plan, and oversee construction. They create blueprints, define standards, and ensure everything goes according to plan.

A Frontend Architect does exactly the same thing — except the end product is a website.

"Frontend architecture is a collection of tools and processes that aims to improve the quality of frontend code while creating a more efficient and sustainable workflow."

The Three Core Responsibilities

1. Design (of the System, Not Visual)

Don't confuse this with visual design — that's still in the hands of designers. The Frontend Architect designs the code system. They define:

• Which CSS methodology will be used (BEM, CSS Modules, Tailwind?)
• How components will be structured
• Which coding standards will be followed
• How the design system will be organized

Without this clear vision, every developer builds their own way. One uses stone, another uses brick, another decides walls are outdated. The result? Chaos.

2. Planning

With the vision defined, the next step is mapping out the development workflow:

• How does a developer go from code to deploy?
• Which tools will be used?
• How will code be tested?
• How will documentation be maintained?

The goal is to create a well-oiled machine that offers quick setup, useful feedback (linting, tests, documentation), and reduces human error in repetitive tasks.

3. Oversight

Frontend Architecture is never "set it and forget it". Needs change, projects evolve, and what worked yesterday might need adjustments tomorrow.

A key talent of a Frontend Architect is the ability to continuously make those adjustments. Modern build tools make it very easy to distribute changes to the entire team.

"But Then I'll Never Write Code Again?"

This is a common question — and the answer is surprising.

As a Frontend Architect, you'll probably write more code, not less. The difference is that your audience changes:

You'll write in more languages, for more tools, solving problems that affect the entire team.

The Chicken-and-Egg Dilemma

Here's the challenge: to convince stakeholders to invest in frontend architecture, you need to show success stories. But to have success stories, you need someone to bet on you first.

The solution? Start small:

1. Document your decisions — even in small projects
2. Create standards — even if only you follow them initially
3. Measure results — onboarding time, CSS-related bugs, development speed
4. Share learnings — blog posts, internal talks, documentation

Over time, you build the portfolio of evidence needed to defend larger investments in architecture.

The 4 Pillars of Frontend Architecture

A solid frontend architecture rests on four pillars:

Each pillar reinforces the others. Without one, the structure weakens.

Why Does This Matter?

Without proper frontend architecture, large projects suffer from:

• CSS that nobody understands (or dares to touch)
• Duplicated components with different behaviors
• Onboarding new devs that takes weeks
• Bugs appearing in unexpected places
• Refactors that never end

With good architecture:

• New devs are productive in days, not weeks
• Changes in one place don't break others
• Code documents itself (partially)
• The team works with confidence

Getting Started

If you're interested in the Frontend Architect role, start by:

1. Studying Design Systems — how companies like Shopify, IBM, and Google organize their systems
2. Learning about CSS methodologies — BEM, ITCSS, Atomic Design
3. Mastering build tools — Vite, esbuild, npm scripts
4. Practicing documentation — Storybook, MDX, style guides

The path is long, but every project is an opportunity to practice. And remember: you don't need the title to do the work. Many Frontend Architects started by simply organizing the chaos around them.