In software design, microservices and monolithic architectures are two different ways to build applications.

Monolithic Architecture: Think of it like a big block. All the parts of the application (like user interface, business logic, and data access) are combined into a single unit. It’s simple to develop and test initially. But, as the application grows, it becomes hard to manage, scale, and update. If one part fails, the whole application might go down.

Microservices Architecture: Imagine breaking that big block into many small blocks. Each block (or microservice) is responsible for one specific function, like user management or payment processing. These microservices work independently and communicate with each other using APIs. This makes it easier to update, scale, and manage the application. If one microservice fails, the others can still run. However, it can be more complex to develop and maintain because you need to manage multiple services and their communication.

So, monolithic is like a single big building, and microservices are like a group of smaller buildings working together.