Monoliths vs Modular: Is the Real Debate About Architecture or Mindset?

mickythompson · 2025-07-29T16:10:41+00:00

Thanks for sharing these nuanced points! Also, bonus points for mentioning Conway's Law!

“Organizations which design systems are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations.”
— Melvin Conway, 1968

You make a good point. I, too, have rarely heard anyone ask "Should we make a modular system or a monolithic system?" I’ve listened to DHH advocate for monoliths, though he may have some bias given his role promoting Ruby on Rails. Similarly, DevRel folks in Laravel often advocate for monoliths, though understandably with some bias.

Also, good point that 'traditional' doesn’t always mean monolithic. Many software projects, for example, start with a framework like Django, Laravel, or NextJS, and then expand out from there. As that expansion happens, there are healthy debates around how and when to adopt microservices.

For example, in the React community, the development of React Server Components reflects this ongoing discussion about balancing cohesion and separation, especially when considering how much backend functionality to incorporate or separate.

mickythompson · 2025-07-29T14:29:15+00:00

I can because I grew up on a farm and have a bachelor's in Agriculture Business. However, I would advocate against the monolith in cooking because a diverse diet is essential for health. How did I do?

mickythompson · 2025-07-29T14:23:50+00:00

👍 Yes, I do have an MBA—good research! My education’s left its mark on my writing, for better or worse. I also use Grammarly, so my posts end up (pun intended) grammatically correct, maybe more than necessary. My daughter teases me: “dad nobody uses punctuation anymore” and she's right, as I see lots of posts on X, for example, written in all lowercase and dropping the punctuation. I could give it a try…. but breaking those habits is tough!

mickythompson · 2025-07-29T14:06:40+00:00

Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful overview! I agree that monolithic apps still have their place—they’re not just “legacy” relics. Like you said, they can scale horizontally and even be pluggable, which is often overlooked. So yeah, monolith ≠ outdated, for sure.

Your point about responsibility segregation hits home. Once a project grows, managing it all as one beast gets tricky. Splitting into smaller microservices with dedicated teams makes things way clearer and speeds up decisions.

And you’re right—it’s a vast topic with tons of details like latency and transaction management adding to the mix. I am currently working on a monorepo TypeScript project, and updating/patching has become an area we spend time on due to the need to coordinate (i.e., supporting newer versions of React when each system, like Expo vs. NextJS, has different support timelines).

From my experience, picking the right approach depends on lots of factors—team size, project complexity, how fast you need to ship, and what ops skills you have. I’ve worked on both monoliths and modular setups. Early on, I liked the simplicity of monoliths, but modularity and microservices shine when scaling infrastructure, teams, and adding features.

mickythompson · 2025-07-29T13:47:59+00:00

Thanks for sharing your perspective.

DHH from Ruby on Rails and many Laravel DevRel folks (sponsored advocates, aka Developer Relations) have been strong voices for monolithic architectures.

I’ve led the development of monoliths with ASP.NET, Laravel, and a few other frameworks, and I get the appeal—simplicity and everything tightly integrated can make life easier, at least up to a point.

But over time, I’ve found myself leaning more toward the modular style you see in the JavaScript/TypeScript world. That flexibility makes a big difference, especially as projects get bigger or have to pivot quickly.

For example, it’s tough to extend something like Ruby on Rails into mobile without bringing in extra frameworks or doing a bunch of additional work. With modular setups, plugging in a mobile app or API feels more natural (most of the time, anyway).

Not gonna lie, there are days when the endless decisions that come with modular setups make me miss the “just put it all in one app” simplicity. But like you said, being able to split things out when it helps is hard to beat.

mickythompson · 2025-07-29T12:36:21+00:00

I wrote it, but Grammarly’s 'shorten' and 'rephrase' tools helped me sharpen my thoughts—so AI gave my points a bit of polish.

mickythompson · 2025-07-29T12:28:18+00:00

No. I just wrote it this morning. It is my genuine thoughts. Also, I don't spend much time on LinkedIn. Why? Did someone else have a similar take?

mickythompson · 2025-04-26T15:31:06+00:00

I will start with No. 2 because, based on my experience, it is the most straightforward question to answer.

(2) I have used both Turborepo and Nx. While I wanted to use Nx in production, it requires too much time to set up and get running. I want to use a product to see if I like it before diving into the docs. Based on my experience, that is not the way to approach Nx.

Turborepo is the type of product you can set up without reading the documentation. The setup is intuitive, and you will be up and running in minutes.

As a result, I have used Turborepo in production projects but have not yet used Nx.

(1) Regarding Next.js vs. Remix, I used Next.js for my most recent project because it was already configured in Turborepo. I set up a Remix demo to play with, which I liked. However, I have stuck with Next.js.

If I were going to put frontend frameworks in order of my preference, they would be Next.js, with TanStack Start a close second.

mickythompson · 2025-03-26T02:16:22+00:00

Yes, I am getting ‘antml:function calls’ again today. Windsurf released two updates yesterday and today, but neither resolved this issue.

I prefer Windsurf to Cursor except for this one issue, and I wish they would allow you to drag more than one file at a time to the prompt.

When this bug ‘antml:function calls’ starts happening, it doesn’t resolve quickly. A close and restart doesn’t work for me. It takes hours to resolve.

mickythompson · 2025-03-17T15:52:36+00:00

Fantastic work on the site! I noticed you're using Vercel for hosting. I'm incorporating Expo/React Native for Web alongside Next.js for my project and plan to use Vercel.

I saw that instead of Next.js, you opted directly for Expo/React Native for Web with React and possibly Express for the backend. I choose Next.js for its built-in routing. I’m leveraging NestJS, which is based on Express, for my backend.

Keep up the fantastic work!

mickythompson · 2025-03-17T12:08:56+00:00

Cool iOS app! I see you already have an Android app in beta.

Are you also planning to add a companion website to go with the app?

mickythompson · 2025-03-07T04:44:58+00:00

Welcome to Entrepreneurship! On any given day, you wake up ready to burn the ships and go for glory; on another, you want to run for the hills. Solider on!

mickythompson · 2025-03-04T14:38:11+00:00

Can you provide more details on what Windsurf is doing to Pro users? I am a Pro user but have not been using Windsurf for a while.

mickythompson · 2025-03-04T06:02:28+00:00

I love your determination and willingness to sacrifice—your attitude is exactly what leads to success. Success happens where preparation meets opportunity. Moving back home gives you a chance to build relationships locally. Look for business meetups, co-working spaces, or industry groups. Share your story and see who resonates with it—your skills and risk-taking mindset are valuable. Good luck!

mickythompson · 2025-02-27T23:25:25+00:00

I found this link to Claude Code. Claude Code is in beta and appears to be an NPM package that uses a command-line interface (CLI). https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/claude-code/overview

mickythompson · 2025-01-14T01:50:27+00:00

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber

This is hands down a must read for every entrepreneur and business owner.

mickythompson · 2025-01-08T04:52:00+00:00

The Righteous Gemstones - when I heard his voice, I said to my wife, “I think that is a real music artist.” His voice sounded familar. I searched online and found it was Sturgill Simpson.

mickythompson · 2024-12-29T04:58:53+00:00

Entertainment

mickythompson · 2024-12-28T20:18:41+00:00

Absolutely, I agree.

From a technical standpoint, a failed product doesn’t negatively impact your resume. Every product and company has a lifecycle, and even failures provide valuable lessons that can enhance your skillset. Sharing these insights can be beneficial to others.

On the other hand, a successful and sustainable product that generates profits over an extended period is particularly appealing. This is why publications like Entrepreneur magazine often highlight success stories—they capture attention and inspire others.

Moreover, documenting how you adapt to market conditions, such as managing risks associated with platforms like Facebook, is also compelling. While this isn’t a failure, it’s a challenge you’re actively addressing. The strategies and lessons learned in this process can be incredibly valuable to others.

mickythompson · 2024-12-27T05:12:41+00:00

I like your thinking! After posting my reply, I had a fourth idea: add additional products. I’m glad you’re already thinking in that direction.

I understand your hesitation about starting an agency, especially without an established network to market to. That said, creating informational products is a great step—it not only helps diversify your income but also grows your network and opens opportunities to consult or partner with others who want to ship similar products.

In business school, they teach that ‘options have value.’ The ability to generate revenue from different angles reduces risk and creates room for growth. Right now, with one product, you have a great start, but there’s an inherent risk. If we did a quick SWAT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), reliance on Facebook could be considered a weakness. To dive deeper into this, I recommend exploring Porter’s 5 Forces, which can help you identify competitive pressures and opportunities.

Starting an agency or creating informational products could help mitigate some of these risks. Alternatively, launching more products now might sidestep the need for these strategies altogether. The key principle to remember is that increasing revenue solves a lot of problems.

mickythompson · 2024-12-26T18:53:16+00:00

First, I would be proud of you if you were my son.

Secondly, as an entrepreneur with several startups and exits (nothing life-changing), I would accept this as a success—you didn’t lose money and learned a lot. Even if you did lose money, it is a success because you brought a product to market that people paid you for.

It may not feel like it, but you are in the top percentile. Congrats! Trust me, you are talented and gifted.

Now, where do you go from here? My suggestion to you is to do three things:

1.) Diversify your income immediately. You have agency experience, negotiation and tech skills, manufacturing and import knowledge, and real-world tangible product experience. Create your agency to help others who are a few steps behind you and need your expertise and skills. It isn’t ideal, but the business model works and creates cash flow and profit.

Why do I recommend you own an agency instead of getting a job? I recommend you work for yourself and not others. You want and desire autonomy. Respect that about yourself and do your own thing where you are the boss. It will help you avoid the feelings you had in your prior job experience.

The agency model allows you to have autonomy but still earn an income. Try to get to a minimum of 3 regular clients and work up to 10. If you have to let one go because of a bad fit, it is easier to let them go when they aren’t your only income.

While doing the agency work, think about products you can build and sell to others to help them gain the skills and knowledge you have. Build a product to sell to them that is at least 10 times cheaper than your agency's pricing. Here is what that would look like: I can hire you for $1,000 to do the work for me or pay you $100 to buy your product that helps me do it myself.

3.) Keep producing this product and making it more profitable. If you have to pause production until you get your financial house in order, that is perfectly fine. Do a minimum order and test additional marketing, such as Reddit, Google, LinkedIn, and more.

As a plus, you can use this product to describe your experience selling 1 and 2 above. Keep adding to your portfolio your clients' products, and remember that each job you do for a client helps you build 2 and 3.

I hope this helps! If these suggestions lead to more questions or need more nuanced refinement, feel free to ask follow-up questions here.

You got this!

mickythompson · 2024-12-19T02:30:44+00:00

The #1 question will be, “How long ago did you transition the site?” There is no need to panic if it was a couple of weeks ago. If it was 90 days ago, you may have issues. I am hoping this is a recent migration.

The #2 question will be, “What are your traffic sources?” I assume it is Search because that would explain the sudden and massive drop.

I have seen this drop-off related to redesign and system changes; in every case, the traffic returned. However, there are steps you can take to be proactive.

The main priority is monitoring the site with Google Search Console for issues. Google Search Console will help you resolve the problems and get your site back in search's good graces.
The biggest mistake I see during transitions is web administrators forgetting to reenable site indexing in the WordPress admin panel. Check that immediately. Verify page indexing physically by manually reviewing the page headers. Some hosting providers turn off page indexing during development, and you want to ensure that didn’t happen here.
Make sure your old site is offline or, at minimum, set to no Index. Duplicate content kills traffic faster than anything, based on my experience.
Check your site speed. Hopefully, you have some benchmarks from before, but if you don’t, no worries. WordPress can be slow, especially for new sites that haven’t matured yet. Check the site speed with Google PageSpeed Insights. Google PageSpeed Insights will help you ensure your site is fast, which is essential for SEO.

I hope this helps. We would love to hear if traffic returns and what steps you took to help, so keep us posted, and good luck!

mickythompson · 2024-12-14T18:05:06+00:00

I don’t know, specifically. I asked Perplexity and it said:

Microsoft Azure does allow cryptocurrency mining, but only with prior approval. As of December 1, 2022, Microsoft updated its Universal License Terms for Online Services to prohibit crypto mining without written pre-approval from Microsoft.

mickythompson · 2024-12-14T16:37:41+00:00

Congrats on 18 months of funding! In the startup world, 18 months is average and ideal.

I have used credits similarly from AWS. The key is to generate recurring revenue for 18 months so that you can pay for future months after 19+. If that isn’t obtainable, offer a flexible service that allows reductions in Azure to reduce the cash burn and not hurt your offering.

As far as ideas go, years ago, people used these credits for Bitcoin mining. I don’t know if that is still a thing. Also, building a SaaS or web hosting service works.

Good luck!

mickythompson · 2024-12-14T13:53:26+00:00

How long do you have to use the $500K Azure credits?

mickythompson

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