How do I design a React app layout?
Identify the persistent UI like the header and sidebar, build a Layout component with an Outlet for page content, use nested routes for children, plan responsive behavior early, keep the shell simple, and handle layout-level concerns like auth.
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A component that renders the persistent UI like header and sidebar, plus an Outlet where page content goes. Every page uses this shell, so the shared UI lives in one place instead of being repeated on every page.
So the layout is the parent and pages are children. The matched child renders in the Outlet, and the parent stays mounted across navigations, preserving its state and avoiding re-mounting the layout on every page change.
Plan responsive behavior early. Decide if a sidebar becomes a bottom nav or a drawer on mobile. Plan these in the layout from the start, not as an afterthought, so the layout works on all screen sizes.
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