diff --git a/frontend/app/__mocks__/localstorage.ts b/frontend/app/__mocks__/localstorage.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..107cbe0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/app/__mocks__/localstorage.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+import 'jest-localstorage-mock';
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  localStorage.clear();
+});
diff --git a/frontend/app/components/auth/__email-login-form/auth__email-login-form.tsx b/frontend/app/components/auth/__email-login-form/auth__email-login-form.tsx
index d8c0c7f2..bfc652b7 100644
--- a/frontend/app/components/auth/__email-login-form/auth__email-login-form.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/components/auth/__email-login-form/auth__email-login-form.tsx
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { sendEmailVerificationRequest } from 'common/api';
 import { extractErrorMessageFromResponse } from 'utils/errorUtils';
 import { getHandleClickProps } from 'common/accessibility';
 import { sleep } from 'utils/sleep';
-import TextareaAutosize from 'components/comment-form/textarea-autosize';
+import TextareaAutosize from 'components/textarea-autosize';
 import { Input } from 'components/input';
 import { Button } from 'components/button';
 import { isJwtExpired } from 'utils/jwt';
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ export class EmailLoginForm extends Component<Props, State> {
   static emailRegex = /[^@]+@[^.]+\..+/;
 
   usernameInputRef = createRef<HTMLInputElement>();
-  tokenRef = createRef<TextareaAutosize>();
+  tokenRef = createRef<HTMLTextAreaElement>();
 
   state = {
     usernameValue: '',
@@ -82,13 +82,13 @@ export class EmailLoginForm extends Component<Props, State> {
 
   focus = async () => {
     await sleep(100);
+
     if (this.usernameInputRef.current) {
       this.usernameInputRef.current.focus();
       return;
     }
-    if (this.tokenRef.current?.textareaRef?.current) {
-      this.tokenRef.current.textareaRef.current.select();
-    }
+
+    this.tokenRef.current?.select();
   };
 
   onVerificationSubmit = async (e: Event) => {
@@ -97,9 +97,8 @@ export class EmailLoginForm extends Component<Props, State> {
     try {
       await this.props.sendEmailVerification(this.state.usernameValue, this.state.addressValue);
       this.setState({ verificationSent: true });
-      setTimeout(() => {
-        this.tokenRef.current && this.tokenRef.current.focus();
-      }, 100);
+      await sleep(100);
+      this.tokenRef.current?.focus();
     } catch (e) {
       this.setState({ error: extractErrorMessageFromResponse(e, this.props.intl) });
     } finally {
diff --git a/frontend/app/components/comment-form/__subscribe-by-email/comment-form__subscribe-by-email.tsx b/frontend/app/components/comment-form/__subscribe-by-email/comment-form__subscribe-by-email.tsx
index 8f2f16b2..ba9491e2 100644
--- a/frontend/app/components/comment-form/__subscribe-by-email/comment-form__subscribe-by-email.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/components/comment-form/__subscribe-by-email/comment-form__subscribe-by-email.tsx
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import { Input } from 'components/input';
 import { Button } from 'components/button';
 import { Dropdown } from 'components/dropdown';
 import Preloader from 'components/preloader';
-import TextareaAutosize from 'components/comment-form/textarea-autosize';
+import TextareaAutosize from 'components/textarea-autosize';
 import { isUserAnonymous } from 'utils/isUserAnonymous';
 import { isJwtExpired } from 'utils/jwt';
 
diff --git a/frontend/app/components/comment-form/comment-form.test.tsx b/frontend/app/components/comment-form/comment-form.test.tsx
index c72dc70a..5aef2df7 100644
--- a/frontend/app/components/comment-form/comment-form.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/components/comment-form/comment-form.test.tsx
@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ import { user, anonymousUser } from '__stubs__/user';
 import { StaticStore } from 'common/static-store';
 import { LS_SAVED_COMMENT_VALUE } from 'common/constants';
 import * as localStorageModule from 'common/local-storage';
+import TextareaAutosize from 'components/textarea-autosize';
 
 import { CommentForm, CommentFormProps, messages } from './comment-form';
 import { SubscribeByEmail } from './__subscribe-by-email';
-import TextareaAutosize from './textarea-autosize';
 import { IntlShape } from 'react-intl';
 
 function createEvent<E extends Event, T = unknown>(type: string, value: T): E {
diff --git a/frontend/app/components/comment-form/comment-form.tsx b/frontend/app/components/comment-form/comment-form.tsx
index 16b2e553..a8e396a9 100644
--- a/frontend/app/components/comment-form/comment-form.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/components/comment-form/comment-form.tsx
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { isUserAnonymous } from 'utils/isUserAnonymous';
 import { sleep } from 'utils/sleep';
 import { replaceSelection } from 'utils/replaceSelection';
 import { Button } from 'components/button';
+import TextareaAutosize from 'components/textarea-autosize';
 import Auth from 'components/auth';
 import { getJsonItem, updateJsonItem } from 'common/local-storage';
 import { LS_SAVED_COMMENT_VALUE } from 'common/constants';
@@ -18,7 +19,6 @@ import { SubscribeByEmail } from './__subscribe-by-email';
 import { SubscribeByRSS } from './__subscribe-by-rss';
 
 import MarkdownToolbar from './markdown-toolbar';
-import TextareaAutosize from './textarea-autosize';
 import { TextExpander } from './text-expander';
 
 let textareaId = 0;
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ export const messages = defineMessages({
 
 export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
   /** reference to textarea element */
-  textAreaRef = createRef<TextareaAutosize>();
+  textareaRef = createRef<HTMLTextAreaElement>();
   textareaId: string;
 
   constructor(props: CommentFormProps) {
@@ -138,7 +138,6 @@ export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
   componentWillReceiveProps(nextProps: CommentFormProps) {
     if (nextProps.value !== this.props.value) {
       this.setState({ text: nextProps.value || '' });
-      this.props.autofocus && this.textAreaRef.current && this.textAreaRef.current.focus();
     }
     if (nextProps.user && !this.props.value) {
       this.setState({
@@ -231,7 +230,7 @@ export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
   };
 
   getPreview() {
-    const text = this.textAreaRef.current ? this.textAreaRef.current.getValue() : this.state.text;
+    const text = this.textareaRef.current?.value ?? this.state.text;
 
     if (!text || !text.trim()) return;
 
@@ -264,7 +263,7 @@ export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
     if (!this.props.user) e.preventDefault();
     if (!this.props.uploadImage) return;
     if (StaticStore.config.max_image_size === 0) return;
-    if (!this.textAreaRef) return;
+    if (!this.textareaRef.current) return;
     if (!e.dataTransfer) return;
     const items = Array.from(e.dataTransfer.items);
     if (Array.from(items).filter((i) => i.kind === 'file' && ImageMimeRegex.test(i.type)).length === 0) return;
@@ -295,6 +294,30 @@ export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
     this.uploadImages(data);
   }
 
+  /** returns selection range of a textarea */
+  getSelection(): [number, number] {
+    const textarea = this.textareaRef.current;
+
+    if (textarea) {
+      return [textarea.selectionStart, textarea.selectionEnd];
+    }
+
+    throw new Error('No textarea element reference exists');
+  }
+
+  /** sets selection range of a textarea */
+  setSelection(selection: [number, number]) {
+    const textarea = this.textareaRef.current;
+
+    if (textarea) {
+      textarea.selectionStart = selection[0];
+      textarea.selectionEnd = selection[1];
+      return;
+    }
+
+    throw new Error('No textarea element reference exists');
+  }
+
   /** wrapper with error handling for props.uploadImage */
   uploadImage(file: File): Promise<Image | Error> {
     const intl = this.props.intl;
@@ -312,15 +335,13 @@ export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
   async uploadImages(files: File[]) {
     const intl = this.props.intl;
     if (!this.props.uploadImage) return;
-    if (!this.textAreaRef.current) return;
+    if (!this.textareaRef.current) return;
 
     /** Human readable image size limit, i.e 5MB */
     const maxImageSizeString = `${(StaticStore.config.max_image_size / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2)}MB`;
     /** upload delay to avoid server rate limiter */
     const uploadDelay = 5000;
 
-    const isSelectionSupported = this.textAreaRef.current.isSelectionSupported();
-
     this.setState({
       errorLock: true,
       errorMessage: null,
@@ -329,43 +350,6 @@ export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
       buttonText: intl.formatMessage(messages.uploading),
     });
 
-    // TODO: remove legacy code, now we don't support IE
-    // fallback for ie < 9
-    if (!isSelectionSupported) {
-      for (let i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
-        const file = files[i];
-        const isFirst = i === 0;
-        const placeholderStart = this.state.text.length === 0 ? '' : '\n';
-
-        if (file.size > StaticStore.config.max_image_size) {
-          this.appendError(
-            intl.formatMessage(messages.exceededSize, {
-              fileName: file.name,
-              maxImageSize: maxImageSizeString,
-            })
-          );
-          continue;
-        }
-
-        !isFirst && (await sleep(uploadDelay));
-
-        const result = await this.uploadImage(file);
-
-        if (result instanceof Error) {
-          this.appendError(result.message);
-          continue;
-        }
-
-        const markdownString = `${placeholderStart}![${result.name}](${result.url})`;
-        this.setState({
-          text: this.state.text + markdownString,
-        });
-      }
-
-      this.setState({ errorLock: false, isDisabled: false, buttonText: null });
-      return;
-    }
-
     for (let i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
       const file = files[i];
       const isFirst = i === 0;
@@ -375,7 +359,7 @@ export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
         fileName: file.name,
       })}]()`;
       const uploadPlaceholderLength = uploadPlaceholder.length;
-      const selection = this.textAreaRef.current.getSelection();
+      const selection = this.getSelection();
       /** saved selection in case of error */
       const originalText = this.state.text;
       const restoreSelection = async () => {
@@ -384,7 +368,7 @@ export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
         });
         /** sleeping awhile so textarea catch state change and its selection */
         await sleep(100);
-        this.textAreaRef.current!.setSelection(selection);
+        this.setSelection(selection);
       };
 
       if (file.size > StaticStore.config.max_image_size) {
@@ -418,7 +402,7 @@ export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
       /** sleeping awhile so textarea catch state change and its selection */
       await sleep(100);
       const selectionPointer = selection[0] + markdownString.length;
-      this.textAreaRef.current.setSelection([selectionPointer, selectionPointer]);
+      this.setSelection([selectionPointer, selectionPointer]);
     }
 
     this.setState({ errorLock: false, isDisabled: false, buttonText: null });
@@ -481,8 +465,8 @@ export class CommentForm extends Component<CommentFormProps, CommentFormState> {
           <TextExpander>
             <TextareaAutosize
               id={this.textareaId}
+              ref={this.textareaRef}
               onPaste={this.onPaste}
-              ref={this.textAreaRef}
               className="comment-form__field"
               placeholder={placeholderMessage}
               value={text}
diff --git a/frontend/app/components/comment-form/textarea-autosize.tsx b/frontend/app/components/comment-form/textarea-autosize.tsx
deleted file mode 100644
index ddcc0def..00000000
--- a/frontend/app/components/comment-form/textarea-autosize.tsx
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,88 +0,0 @@
-import { h, JSX, Component, createRef, RefObject } from 'preact';
-
-export type TextareaAutosizeProps = {
-  ref?: RefObject<TextareaAutosize>;
-} & Omit<JSX.HTMLAttributes<HTMLTextAreaElement>, 'ref'>;
-
-// TODO: rewrite it to functional component and add ref forwarding
-export default class TextareaAutosize extends Component<TextareaAutosizeProps> {
-  textareaRef = createRef<HTMLTextAreaElement>();
-
-  componentDidMount() {
-    this.autoResize();
-
-    if (this.props.autofocus) this.focus();
-  }
-
-  componentDidUpdate(prevProps: TextareaAutosizeProps) {
-    if (prevProps.value !== this.props.value) {
-      this.autoResize();
-    }
-  }
-
-  focus(): void {
-    setTimeout(() => {
-      const { current: textarea } = this.textareaRef;
-
-      if (textarea) {
-        textarea.focus();
-        textarea.selectionStart = textarea.value.length;
-        textarea.selectionEnd = textarea.value.length;
-      }
-    }, 100);
-  }
-
-  /** returns whether selectionStart api supported */
-  isSelectionSupported() {
-    const { current: textarea } = this.textareaRef;
-
-    if (textarea) {
-      return 'selectionStart' in textarea;
-    }
-
-    throw new Error('No textarea element reference exists');
-  }
-
-  /** returns selection range of a textarea */
-  getSelection(): [number, number] {
-    const { current: textarea } = this.textareaRef;
-
-    if (textarea) {
-      return [textarea.selectionStart, textarea.selectionEnd];
-    }
-
-    throw new Error('No textarea element reference exists');
-  }
-
-  /** sets selection range of a textarea */
-  setSelection(selection: [number, number]) {
-    const { current: textarea } = this.textareaRef;
-
-    if (textarea) {
-      textarea.selectionStart = selection[0];
-      textarea.selectionEnd = selection[1];
-      return;
-    }
-
-    throw new Error('No textarea element reference exists');
-  }
-
-  getValue() {
-    const { current: textarea } = this.textareaRef;
-
-    return textarea ? textarea.value : '';
-  }
-
-  autoResize() {
-    const { current: textarea } = this.textareaRef;
-
-    if (textarea) {
-      textarea.style.height = '';
-      textarea.style.height = `${textarea.scrollHeight}px`;
-    }
-  }
-
-  render() {
-    return <textarea {...this.props} ref={this.textareaRef} />;
-  }
-}
diff --git a/frontend/app/components/textarea-autosize.tsx b/frontend/app/components/textarea-autosize.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2b839fb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/app/components/textarea-autosize.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import { h, JSX } from 'preact';
+import { forwardRef } from 'preact/compat';
+import { useEffect, useRef } from 'preact/hooks';
+
+export type TextareaAutosizeProps = JSX.HTMLAttributes<HTMLTextAreaElement> & {};
+
+function autoResize(textarea: HTMLTextAreaElement) {
+  textarea.style.height = '';
+  textarea.style.height = `${textarea.scrollHeight}px`;
+}
+
+const TextareaAutosize = forwardRef<HTMLTextAreaElement, TextareaAutosizeProps>(
+  ({ onInput, value, ...props }, externalRef) => {
+    const localRef = useRef<HTMLTextAreaElement>();
+    const ref = externalRef || localRef;
+
+    const handleInput: JSX.GenericEventHandler<HTMLTextAreaElement> = (evt) => {
+      if (onInput) {
+        return onInput.call(ref.current, evt);
+      }
+
+      autoResize(ref.current);
+    };
+
+    useEffect(() => {
+      autoResize(ref.current);
+    }, [value, ref]);
+
+    return <textarea {...props} onInput={handleInput} value={value} ref={ref} />;
+  }
+);
+
+export default TextareaAutosize;
diff --git a/frontend/app/hooks/useAction.ts b/frontend/app/hooks/useAction.ts
index 0363773c..3f051588 100644
--- a/frontend/app/hooks/useAction.ts
+++ b/frontend/app/hooks/useAction.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /* eslint-disable @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any */
-import { useCallback, useMemo } from 'preact/compat';
+import { useMemo } from 'preact/compat';
 import { useDispatch } from 'react-redux';
 import { BoundActionCreator, BoundActionCreators } from 'utils/actionBinder';
 
@@ -19,10 +19,3 @@ export const useActions = <Actions extends { [key: string]: Function }>(
     [dispatch, ...Object.values(actions)]
   ) as any;
 };
-
-export const useAction = <Action extends Function>(action: Action): BoundActionCreator<Action> => {
-  const dispatch = useDispatch();
-
-  // @ts-ignore
-  return useCallback((...args) => dispatch(action(...args)), [dispatch, action]);
-};
diff --git a/frontend/app/typings/jest-localstorage-mock.d.ts b/frontend/app/typings/jest-localstorage-mock.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..10b3192c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/app/typings/jest-localstorage-mock.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+declare module 'jest-localstorage-mock' {
+  export const clear: () => void;
+}
diff --git a/frontend/jest.config.js b/frontend/jest.config.js
index 2b583129..7409aa81 100644
--- a/frontend/jest.config.js
+++ b/frontend/jest.config.js
@@ -17,12 +17,18 @@ module.exports = {
   },
   setupFiles: ['<rootDir>/jest.setup.ts'],
   setupFilesAfterEnv: [
-    'jest-localstorage-mock',
+    '<rootDir>/app/__mocks__/localstorage.ts',
     '<rootDir>/app/__mocks__/headers.ts',
     '<rootDir>/app/__stubs__/remark-config.ts',
     '<rootDir>/app/__stubs__/static-config.ts',
   ],
-  collectCoverageFrom: ['app/**/*.{ts,tsx}', '!**/__mocks__/**', '!**/__stubs__/**', '!app/locales/**'],
+  collectCoverageFrom: [
+    'app/**/*.{ts,tsx}',
+    '!**/__mocks__/**',
+    '!**/__stubs__/**',
+    '!app/locales/**',
+    '!app/utils/loadLocale.ts',
+  ],
   globals: {
     'ts-jest': {
       babelConfig: true,
diff --git a/frontend/package-lock.json b/frontend/package-lock.json
index 54cf4942..6512cfa6 100644
--- a/frontend/package-lock.json
+++ b/frontend/package-lock.json
@@ -1724,6 +1724,12 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-3NsZsJIA/22P3QUyrEDNA2D133H4j224twJrdipXN38dpnIOzAbUDtOwkcJ5pXmn75w7LSQDjA4tO9dm1XlqlA==",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "@prefresh/babel-plugin": {
+      "version": "0.4.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@prefresh/babel-plugin/-/babel-plugin-0.4.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-fFwyfIHm/B8BBY7HL4j9iJl7KFk/5yVIWE+aozRRPPxI8lRFkyXMAgUFtTSmP3/jiMA6jyOcBeYUhWsyEUynpQ==",
+      "dev": true
+    },
     "@prefresh/core": {
       "version": "1.3.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@prefresh/core/-/core-1.3.0.tgz",
diff --git a/frontend/package.json b/frontend/package.json
index 271a39ba..db6d555f 100644
--- a/frontend/package.json
+++ b/frontend/package.json
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
     "@babel/preset-react": "^7.12.13",
     "@formatjs/cli": "^3.1.3",
     "@mavrin/stylelint-declaration-use-css-custom-properties": "1.0.0-alpha.2",
+    "@prefresh/babel-plugin": "^0.4.0",
     "@prefresh/webpack": "^3.0.1",
     "@size-limit/file": "^4.9.2",
     "@types/classnames": "^2.2.11",
diff --git a/frontend/webpack.config.js b/frontend/webpack.config.js
index bcc48529..eff7b852 100644
--- a/frontend/webpack.config.js
+++ b/frontend/webpack.config.js
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ const { BundleAnalyzerPlugin } = require('webpack-bundle-analyzer');
 const babelConfig = require('./.babelrc.js');
 
 const NODE_ID = 'remark42';
-const PUBLIC_PATH = '/web';
+const PUBLIC_PATH = '/web/';
 const PORT = process.env.PORT || 9000;
 const REMARK_API_BASE_URL = process.env.REMARK_API_BASE_URL || 'http://127.0.0.1:8080';
 const DEVSERVER_BASE_PATH = process.env.DEVSERVER_BASE_PATH || 'http://127.0.0.1:9000';
@@ -78,15 +78,7 @@ module.exports = (_, { mode, analyze }) => {
     publicPath: PUBLIC_PATH,
   };
 
-  const optimization = {
-    chunkIds: 'named',
-    moduleIds: 'named',
-    splitChunks: {
-      minChunks: 3,
-    },
-  };
-
-  const getTsRule = (babelEnvConfig = {}) => {
+  const getTsRule = (babelConfig = {}) => {
     return {
       test: /\.tsx?$/,
       exclude: /node_modules/,
@@ -96,7 +88,7 @@ module.exports = (_, { mode, analyze }) => {
           options: {
             exclude,
             cacheDirectory: true,
-            ...babelEnvConfig,
+            ...babelConfig,
           },
         },
         {
@@ -178,13 +170,7 @@ module.exports = (_, { mode, analyze }) => {
     port: PORT,
     contentBase: PUBLIC_FOLDER_PATH,
     disableHostCheck: true,
-    historyApiFallback: true,
-    quiet: true,
-    inline: true,
     hot: true,
-    compress: true,
-    clientLogLevel: 'none',
-    overlay: false,
     stats: 'minimal',
     watchOptions: {
       ignored: [PUBLIC_FOLDER_PATH, path.resolve(__dirname, 'node_modules')],
@@ -196,7 +182,7 @@ module.exports = (_, { mode, analyze }) => {
   };
 
   const plugins = [
-    ...(isDev ? [new CleanWebpackPlugin(), new RefreshPlugin(), new webpack.HotModuleReplacementPlugin()] : []),
+    ...(isDev ? [new CleanWebpackPlugin(), new webpack.HotModuleReplacementPlugin(), new RefreshPlugin()] : []),
     new webpack.DefinePlugin({
       'process.env.NODE_ENV': JSON.stringify(mode),
       'process.env.REMARK_NODE': JSON.stringify(NODE_ID),
@@ -211,7 +197,6 @@ module.exports = (_, { mode, analyze }) => {
     entry,
     devtool: 'source-map',
     resolve,
-    optimization,
   };
 
   const legacyConfig = {
@@ -246,7 +231,13 @@ module.exports = (_, { mode, analyze }) => {
       chunkFilename: '[name].mjs',
     },
     module: {
-      rules: [getTsRule(babelConfig.env.modern), ...rules],
+      rules: [
+        getTsRule({
+          ...babelConfig.env.modern,
+          plugins: [...babelConfig.env.modern.plugins, ...(isDev ? ['@prefresh/babel-plugin'] : [])],
+        }),
+        ...rules,
+      ],
     },
     plugins: [
       ...plugins,
@@ -272,14 +263,6 @@ module.exports = (_, { mode, analyze }) => {
         REMARK_URL,
         minify: htmlMinifyOptions,
       }),
-      // new HtmlWebpackPlugin({
-      //   template: path.resolve(__dirname, 'templates/comments.ejs'),
-      //   filename: 'comments.html',
-      //   inject: false,
-      //   env: mode,
-      //   REMARK_URL,
-      //   minify: htmlMinifyOptions,
-      // }),
       new HtmlWebpackPlugin({
         template: path.resolve(__dirname, 'templates/last-comments.ejs'),
         filename: 'last-comments.html',
@@ -320,7 +303,12 @@ module.exports = (_, { mode, analyze }) => {
     devServer,
   };
 
+  if (isDev) {
+    return modernConfig;
+  }
+
   return [legacyConfig, modernConfig];
 };
+
 module.exports.CUSTOM_PROPERTIES_PATH = CUSTOM_PROPERTIES_PATH;
 module.exports.exclude = exclude;