Performance

Performance optimization is an art, and in the world of React, small tweaks can yield massive speed boosts. In this post, I’ll walk you through how I transformed a sluggish React app into a high-performance machine. I’ll share real code examples, mistakes I made, and the lessons learned along the way. 1. Profiling and Identifying Bottlenecks Before optimizing, I needed to find out where the slowdowns were happening. React DevTools’ Profiler was my go-to. ...

Tip 1: Leverage Middleware for Authenticated SSR Routes Next.js 14 enhances middleware capabilities, allowing developers to handle authentication more efficiently at the server side. Instead of traditional methods of guarding routes, use middleware to intercept requests and validate authentication tokens before rendering. This reduces unnecessary client-side checks and streamlines the SSR process. Use Case: Secure an admin dashboard route to render server-side based on user roles. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 // middleware.js import { NextResponse } from 'next/server'; import { verifyToken } from './auth-utils'; export async function middleware(req) { const token = req.cookies.get('token'); const user = await verifyToken(token); if (!user || user.role !== 'admin') { return NextResponse.redirect('/unauthorized'); } return NextResponse.next(); } Tip 2: Optimize Image Loading with Priority Hints With the widespread adoption of image-heavy layouts, Next.js 14 introduces support for priority hints, allowing developers to specify which images are critical and should be loaded first. This can significantly improve perceived load times. ...