Frontend and Edge Delivery

Frontend systems need the same production discipline as backend services: ownership, release safety, observability, security, and rollback.

Delivery model

Define how the frontend is built, hosted, and invalidated.

• Static export, server rendering, or hybrid rendering.
• CDN, edge, or application runtime hosting.
• Asset versioning and cache invalidation.
• Environment-specific configuration.
• Preview deployments and production promotion.
• Rollback path for code and content.

Runtime patterns

• Static sites for documentation, marketing, and low-dynamic pages.
• Server-side rendering for personalized or frequently changing pages.
• Edge rendering for latency-sensitive lightweight logic.
• Backend-for-frontend APIs when clients need tailored aggregation.
• Feature flags for controlled rollout and fast disablement.

Observability

Frontend observability should include:

• Core web vitals and page load metrics.
• JavaScript errors and failed network requests.
• Release version, route, browser, and device context.
• Synthetic checks for critical flows.
• User-impacting incidents tied to backend traces where possible.

Security

• Enforce TLS and secure headers.
• Use content security policy where feasible.
• Keep secrets out of client bundles.
• Treat environment variables exposed to the browser as public.
• Protect admin and internal routes with real authorization.
• Scan dependencies and monitor vulnerable packages.

Watchouts

• CDN caching can hide broken rollouts and stale configuration.
• Client-side feature flags are not authorization controls.
• Preview deployments must not expose production data accidentally.
• Frontend errors often look like backend incidents to users.