Exploring the Creation of Common, Reusable Components in React Server-Side Applications

Introduction

Creating common, reusable components is essential to scaling React applications—especially when you're working with Server Components in frameworks like Next.js 13+. Not only do reusable components reduce redundancy, but they also simplify testing, styling, and improve long-term maintainability.

In this post, we’ll explore best practices, patterns, and real-world examples for building reusable components in React, and how to optimize them for server-side rendering (SSR) and performance.

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Why Reusable Components Matter

Reusable components help:

• Promote DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) principles
• Improve code readability
• Simplify testing and debugging
• Support scalable architectures in large teams

In server-side environments, reusable components also ensure consistent rendering between client and server, which improves SEO, accessibility, and user experience.

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Component Design Principles

Here are the key principles to follow when designing reusable components:

1 . Component Isolation

Each component should handle one responsibility (Single Responsibility Principle).

// components/Button.tsx
export default function Button({ children, onClick }) {
  return (
    <button className="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-600 text-white rounded" onClick={onClick}>
      {children}
    </button>
  );
}

2 . Avoid Business Logic in UI Components

Separate logic-heavy operations into hooks or utilities.

// hooks/useAuth.ts
export const useAuth = () => {
  // logic for checking authentication
};

// components/Navbar.tsx (just calls useAuth)

3 . Make Components Configurable

Use props to allow customizations.

export default function Alert({ type = "info", message }) {
  const color = type === "error" ? "bg-red-500" : "bg-blue-500";
  return <div className={`${color} text-white p-2 rounded`}>{message}</div>;
}

4 . Use Slots or children Prop for Flexibility

export function Card({ title, children }) {
  return (
    <div className="border rounded p-4">
      <h3>{title}</h3>
      <div>{children}</div>
    </div>
  );
}

5 . Follow Folder Structure for Scalability

Use a consistent component structure like:

/components
  /Button
    index.tsx
    Button.test.tsx
    Button.module.css

Server Component Best Practices (Next.js)

1 . Export Components as Async Functions

When working with data-fetching or server-only logic:

// components/UserList.tsx
export default async function UserList() {
  const users = await fetchUsersFromDB();
  return (
    <ul>{users.map(user => <li key={user.id}>{user.name}</li>)}</ul>
  );
}

2 . Group UI Logic and Render Separately

You can split your UI and logic layers for better reuse.

// lib/getUser.ts
export const getUser = async (id) => { ... };

// components/UserCard.tsx
import { getUser } from "@/lib/getUser";

export default async function UserCard({ userId }) {
  const user = await getUser(userId);
  return <div>{user.name}</div>;
}

Real-World Reusable Component Ideas

• FormInput: A dynamic component to render different input types
• Modal: A common component to wrap modals or confirmation dialogs
• Pagination: Can be used across lists, tables, etc.
• Skeleton Loader: SSR-compatible loading placeholder

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Over-abstracting early—start simple, refactor as reuse emerges
• Using client-only features in server components (like useEffect)
• Ignoring accessibility (label associations, aria tags, tab navigation)

Final Thoughts

Reusable components aren't just a best practice—they're a necessity in modern React development. When built with server-side rendering in mind, these components become even more powerful: they enable fast, SEO-optimized, and consistent UIs at scale.

By adopting these patterns in your Next.js or other React SSR environments, you’ll create better foundations for both developer experience and user experience.