Agbo, Daniel Onuoha

Posted on Sep 11

Fixing the fallback Prop Problem in React Suspense

#tutorial #react #webdev #javascript

When React introduced Suspense, it gave developers a declarative way to handle asynchronous UI states. But its most visible feature — the fallback prop — has also become its most problematic.

The good news? There are patterns to tame it. Let’s break down the challenges and then examine strategies to address them.

🛑 The Problem with fallback

All-or-nothing UI → Entire sections vanish when a single component suspends.
Context loss → Headers, sidebars, or persistent layouts disappear along with the main content.
Over-engineering → Developers wrap everything in nested Suspense to avoid "blank screen" moments.
SSR streaming weirdness → Fallback flashes, inconsistencies, and unpredictable behavior across server/client rendering.

Fixing the `fallback` Prop Problem

React Suspense is often introduced with a magical promise:

<Suspense fallback={<Spinner />}>
  <MyComponent />
</Suspense>

That’s it — just drop a fallback and React will handle loading states for you.

But in practice, the fallback prop is one of the trickiest parts of Suspense. Used carelessly, it leads to:

Blank screens 🔲
Layouts disappearing 😬
Confusing UX ⚠️

This tutorial shows you why fallback is problematic and how to fix it with practical patterns.

1. Setup: A Simple Suspense App

Let’s create a fake async component to demonstrate:

// Simulate a fetch that takes 2 seconds
function fetchData() {
  return new Promise((resolve) => {
    setTimeout(() => resolve("Hello from Suspense!"), 2000);
  });
}

// Wrap fetch in a resource (Suspense expects thrown promises)
const resource = {
  read() {
    const result = fetchData();
    throw result; // suspends until resolved
  },
};

function AsyncMessage() {
  const data = resource.read();
  return <p>{data}</p>;
}

Now render it inside Suspense:

import { Suspense } from "react";

export default function App() {
  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
      <AsyncMessage />
    </Suspense>
  );
}

👉 Problem: Everything inside <Suspense> disappears while loading.

2. Fix #1: Layout Persistence

Bad (layout disappears):

<Suspense fallback={<div>Loading whole app...</div>}>
  <Header />
  <MainContent />
</Suspense>

Good (keep header/sidebars visible):

<Header />
<Suspense fallback={<div>Loading main content...</div>}>
  <MainContent />
</Suspense>

✅ Users always see the header while the main section loads.

3. Fix #2: Nested Boundaries

Instead of one giant Suspense, add smaller boundaries for independence:

<Layout>
  <Suspense fallback={<ProfileSkeleton />}>
    <Profile />
  </Suspense>

  <Suspense fallback={<FeedSkeleton />}>
    <Feed />
  </Suspense>
</Layout>

If Profile suspends, the feed still renders.
If Feed suspends, the profile still renders.

✅ Users see partial content faster.

4. Fix #3: Skeletons Instead of Spinners

Spinners cause UI “jumps.” Skeletons keep the structure visible.

function ArticleSkeleton() {
  return (
    <div>
      <div className="skeleton h-6 w-1/3 mb-2"></div>
      <div className="skeleton h-4 w-2/3"></div>
    </div>
  );
}

<Suspense fallback={<ArticleSkeleton />}>
  <Article />
</Suspense>

(with Tailwind, you can style .skeleton as bg-gray-200 animate-pulse)

✅ Users know what’s coming, reducing frustration.

5. Fix #4: Parallel vs Sequential Boundaries

Parallel (faster, independent loading):

<Suspense fallback={<SidebarSkeleton />}>
  <Sidebar />
</Suspense>
<Suspense fallback={<ContentSkeleton />}>
  <Content />
</Suspense>

Sequential (load sidebar first, then content):

<Suspense fallback={<PageLoader />}>
  <Sidebar />
  <Suspense fallback={<ContentSkeleton />}>
    <Content />
  </Suspense>
</Suspense>

✅ Choose parallel when independent, sequential when dependent.

6. Fix #5: Use Data Libraries

Raw Suspense is low-level. Libraries like React Query (TanStack Query) handle caching and retries, making Suspense boundaries behave better.

import { useSuspenseQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";

function Profile() {
  const { data } = useSuspenseQuery({
    queryKey: ["profile"],
    queryFn: () => fetch("/api/profile").then((res) => res.json()),
  });

  return <div>{data.name}</div>;
}

<Suspense fallback={<ProfileSkeleton />}>
  <Profile />
</Suspense>

✅ Smarter control with less boilerplate.

7. Fix #6: Streaming with React 18 SSR

On the server, Suspense can progressively stream parts of the UI:

<Suspense fallback={<HeaderSkeleton />}>
  <Header />
</Suspense>

<Suspense fallback={<MainSkeleton />}>
  <MainContent />
</Suspense>

✅ Users see partial content as soon as it’s ready, instead of waiting for the whole page.

🏁 Final Thoughts

The fallback prop is powerful but blunt. Out of the box, it causes layout flickers and bad UX.
But with the right patterns, you can make Suspense shine:

Keep layouts persistent
Nest boundaries for granularity
Prefer skeletons over spinners
Control parallel vs sequential loading
Use React Query or Relay for smarter data fetching
Stream progressively on the server

Suspense isn’t magic yet — but with these patterns, it can be production-ready.

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