Data layer and sever side good practices for a current project

I am currently working on a project, and currently in the stage of building the backend and setting connection between server and clients. However, it seems to me the new Meteor Apollo project will be something significantly different from some of the current approaches(even I’m currently using Kadira graphQL and Lokka). My question is that is there any recommendation/practices that we can use now, so it can help to smooth the transition in future?
Thanks