Implementing MicroFrontend in Angular

MicroFrontend is a way of building web apps by dividing them into small, separate, and flexible parts called modules. Each module, known as a MicroFrontend, is created and updated independently, having its unique set of tools, technologies, and teams. This approach allows for agile development, as changes to one MicroFrontend don't impact others. It enhances flexibility, making it easier to adopt different technologies for specific functionalities, and accelerates development by enabling teams to work on their components without relying on others. This modular architecture simplifies the deployment and maintenance of a more efficient and scalable web application.

Why opt for Micro Frontend

• Technology Flexibility - Micro frontend architecture allows individual teams to select and update a tech stack for their specific part. This freedom improves development speed and facilitates feature enhancements.
• Scalability - Break down the application into small, independent pieces based on business logic or domains. Teams work independently, allowing seamless scaling with new frontend elements without affecting others.
• Isolation for Development and Deployment - Teams operate independently, developing, testing, and deploying their frontend components without relying on others. This streamlined process enhances efficiency and speed.
• Maintainability - Divide the application into small parts, with each team responsible for maintaining their section. Issues in one part don't disrupt the entire app, addressing challenges in maintaining large-scale applications.

Approaches to implementing micro-frontends in Angular, there are a couple of common strategies.

Angular Elements

Angular Elements is a feature of Angular that allows you to package Angular components as custom elements (web components). Each micro-frontend can be developed as a separate Angular application and compiled into a custom element. These custom elements can then be embedded in the main Angular application or other frameworks.

• Create Angular Projects- Create individual Angular projects for each MicroFrontend.
• Build Angular Elements - In each MicroFrontend project, create Angular Elements using the Angular CLI.

Build and Package:

• Build each MicroFrontend project and package it as a custom element.

Integrate in the Main Application:

• In your main Angular application, import the custom elements and use them.

Module Federation

Module Federation is a feature provided by Webpack, a popular module bundler for JavaScript applications. It enables the creation of scalable and flexible architectures, especially in micro-frontends. With Module Federation, different applications (or micro-frontends) can dynamically share and use each other's code as needed, allowing for the development of loosely coupled and independently deployable modules.

• Create Angular Projects - Develop separate Angular projects for each micro-frontend. Each project represents a standalone part of the application.
• Configure Webpack - Modify the web pack configuration in each Angular project to expose specific modules that need to be shared with other micro-frontends.
• Configure Main Application - Adjust the web pack configuration in the main Angular application to consume the shared modules from the micro-frontends.
• Dynamic Loading - Use dynamic import statements in your main Angular application to load micro-frontends dynamically based on the user's interactions or application state.

I am sharing an example below.

Micro-Frontend 1

Micro-Frontend 2

In the main application, we have added both micro-frontend.