Database Design Best Practices

Database Design Principles

Good database design is crucial for application performance and maintainability. These best practices will help you structure your data effectively.

Normalization

Database normalization helps eliminate data redundancy and improve data integrity:

• 1NF: Eliminate repeating groups
• 2NF: Remove partial dependencies
• 3NF: Remove transitive dependencies

Indexing Strategies

Proper indexing can dramatically improve query performance:

-- Create indexes on frequently queried columns
CREATE INDEX idx_users_email ON users(email);
CREATE INDEX idx_posts_created_at ON posts(created_at);

Relationships

Design proper relationships between tables:

• One-to-One: User → Profile
• One-to-Many: User → Posts
• Many-to-Many: Posts → Tags (through junction table)