How to Optimize Your React App for Better Performance

React is one of the most sought-after front-end technologies in the web development ecosystem. A majority of web applications on the internet use React.

Knowing how to optimize your React application is essential for a good user experience. In this article, I'll share simple but important tips to help you optimize your React application for better performance.

Memoization With Memo: React.memo checks if a prop has changed. If there is no change, the component does not re-render. On the initial render, it renders the component as usual. On subsequent renders, it only re-renders the component if there is a change in the props. By using React.memo, you ensure that your components only update when necessary, making your app more efficient.

import React from 'react';
const MomoizeComponent = React.memo((props) => { // code code });

Avoid Anonymous Functions in JSX: When using an anonymous function, on every render the function is recreated and thus, setting a new reference (i.e new memory location). the snippet below show the wrong and the right way to declare functions.

// Wrong () => Myfunction()}>Click me
// Right const handleClick = () => Myfunction(); <button onClick={handleClick}>Click me</button>

Component Splitting: Its recommended to split large components into smaller, reusable components. This can help React optimize rendering by reducing the scope of what needs to be updated.

Lazy Loading Components: Use React.lazy and Suspense to lazily load components. This can improve the initial load time by splitting the code into smaller chunks by serving only components requested from the client at a giving time. Read more about Lazy Loading here https://react.dev/reference/react/lazy

import React, { Suspense } from 'react';
const LazyComponent = React.lazy(() => import('./LazyComponent'));
const App = () =>
( <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
<LazyComponent />
</Suspense> );

Optimizing your React app is crucial for maintaining performance and a smooth user experience. Always remember to follow best practices, keep your code simple, and leverage hooks like React.memo etc to ensure your app runs efficiently. By doing so, you'll create applications that are both fast and reliable. Happy building..