The Svelte Advantage: How We Achieved Faster Load Times and Improved Performance

We’re always looking for ways to boost the performance and efficiency of our clients’ funnels. Back in 2018, we made the switch from React to Svelte, and it’s been a total game-changer. In this post, we’ll dive into the benefits of Svelte and how it’s helped us achieve faster load times and overall better performance.

How Svelte Loads Components

One of the standout features of Svelte is how quickly and efficiently it loads components. To see how Svelte outperforms other methods, let’s compare it to traditional websites and React.

In simple terms…

• Traditional Website: Loads the usual HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, then runs the JS code in the browser.
• React: Loads everything, creates a virtual DOM, and then updates the actual DOM.
• Svelte: Skips the virtual DOM entirely, loads a pre-compiled JavaScript file, and directly updates the DOM.

Because Svelte skips the virtual DOM step, it’s able to load components faster than React. Plus, the compiled JavaScript is super optimised, making it faster than your average traditional site.

Benefits of Svelte

So, what makes Svelte so good? Here are some key benefits we’ve noticed:

• Faster Load Times: Svelte compiles everything into efficient JavaScript at build time, which means the browser has less work to do when loading the page.
• Better Performance: By getting rid of the virtual DOM, Svelte updates the DOM faster and more reliably.
• Less Boilerplate Code: Svelte requires less code, so you can focus more on building solutions and less on the technicalities.
• Reactive Variables: Svelte makes it simple to work with reactive variables—just add a $ sign when declaring them, and you’re good to go.
• Scoped Styling: Svelte allows you to include styles right within the component, so they only apply to specific elements, which helps keep things clean and organised.

Challenges of Adopting Svelte

Of course, like with any new technology, there are some challenges to adopting Svelte, especially if you’re used to working with React. Here are a few things we had to tackle:

• Finding Experienced Developers: Svelte is still relatively new, so finding developers with solid Svelte experience can be tricky.
• Converting Existing Code: If you’re moving from React to Svelte, it can take time and effort to convert your existing codebase.
• Learning Curve: Svelte introduces some new concepts, so developers need to spend time learning the ropes to fully take advantage of what it offers.

Luckily for us, we’ve got an experienced team that took these challenges in stride and made the switch smoothly.

Real-World Results

From our experience, Svelte has delivered noticeable performance gains over React. By compiling code ahead of time and skipping the virtual DOM, Svelte has helped us achieve faster load times and better overall performance for our clients.

Want to Learn More?

If you’re curious about Svelte and how it could benefit your business, here are some great resources to check out:

• Svelte vs. React: Which to Choose for Your Project?
• Svelte vs React: Choose the Right Framework in 2024
• What is Svelte and Why You Should Consider it?

We hope this post has given you a good look at why we’re so excited about Svelte. If you’ve got any questions or want to chat about how Convincely can help with your next Svelte project, get in touch!