•3 min read

The 2025 Frontend Stack: What to Pick and Why

A practical guide to choosing rendering strategies, state management, and tooling for 2025.

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Every December, developers ask the same question: "What stack should I use for my next project?"

After a year of watching projects succeed and fail, here's what actually matters heading into 2025.

SSR vs. CSR: The Debate Is (Mostly) Over

The answer isn't one or the other. It's both, depending on what you're building.

Use SSR (Next.js, Nuxt) when:

  • SEO matters (marketing sites, blogs, e-commerce)
  • First load performance is critical
  • You have dynamic, personalized content

Use CSR (Vite, Create React App) when:

  • It's an internal tool or dashboard
  • Users are behind authentication anyway
  • You want simpler infrastructure (just static files)

The 2025 twist: Partial Prerendering is bridging this gap. Next.js 16 lets you statically generate parts of a page while streaming dynamic content. Best of both worlds, but it's still experimental. Keep an eye on it.

Reality check: Most apps don't need to be that optimized. Pick what your team knows and ship something.

State Management: The Great Simplification

Remember when every React app needed Redux? Those days are gone.

Here's the 2025 mental model:

  • Server State (what comes from your API): Use React Query, SWR, or Server Actions. Let the library handle caching, revalidation, and loading states.

  • URL State (filters, pagination, tabs): Put it in the URL with useSearchParams. It's shareable, bookmarkable, and survives refresh.

  • Local UI State (modals, form inputs): Regular useState is fine.

  • Complex Client State (think: a drawing canvas, a game): Now you can reach for Zustand or Jotai.

// 2023: Redux for everything
const user = useSelector((state) => state.user);
const posts = useSelector((state) => state.posts);
const isModalOpen = useSelector((state) => state.ui.isModalOpen);

// 2025: Right tool for the job
const { data: user } = useQuery(["user"], fetchUser);
const [tab] = useSearchParams().get("tab");
const [isModalOpen, setModalOpen] = useState(false);

Less boilerplate, fewer bugs, easier to reason about.

The Tooling Question: Batteries Included or Build Your Own?

Two camps:

Next.js / Nuxt (Batteries Included)

  • Everything works together out of the box
  • Less decision fatigue
  • Risk: You're locked into their way of doing things. If you disagree with a Vercel opinion, tough luck.

Vite + Your Choices (Assemble Your Own)

  • Maximum flexibility
  • You pick your router, your data layer, your deployment
  • Risk: You become the glue maintainer. Every library update is your problem.

There's no wrong answer, but be honest about your team's appetite for maintenance.

My Take for 2025

If I'm starting a new project today:

  1. Next.js 16 for anything public-facing
  2. Vite + React Router for internal tools
  3. TypeScript always (no exceptions)
  4. React Query for server state
  5. shadcn/ui with Base UI for components (accessible, composable, unstyled where it matters)
  6. Supabase for Postgres database and authentication
  7. Resend with React Email for transactional email with component-based templates
  8. Umami for privacy-friendly analytics and traffic monitoring

The meta-lesson: the best stack is the one you can ship with. Perfect is the enemy of done.

Now go build something.