Proven Strategies for Optimizing Angular Applications for Performance

Each user expects their application to start quickly and smoothly, resulting in a seamless experience. As web applications get increasingly complicated, developers are prioritizing optimal performance. However, it is most likely to occur when the application is optimized. And Angular is the ideal option because it is a high-performance front-end framework.

Angular is a prominent front-end framework for creating dynamic, engaging, and scalable web-based applications. As more organizations rely on web applications, optimizing Angular applications for performance has become critical to ensure smooth user experiences.

In this post, we'll look at the best Angular performance optimization approaches to improve Angular app speed and responsiveness. 

Strategies for Angular Performance Optimization

By following best practices and Angular optimization techniques, you can reduce common bottlenecks and improve application performance.

Utilizing AOT (Ahead of Time) Compiler

Angular development provides two kinds of compilers: just-in-time and ahead of time. Until Angular 8, the default compilation approach was Just In Time (JIT). However, since the introduction of Angular 9, the default compilation strategy has been Ahead of Time (AOT).

It requires compilation during development and minimizes the requirement for a deployment bundle. It also helps to lower the size of the application, give it more time to render individual components, and improve Angular app speed.

Also, during the application, template binding issues are recognized and rectified swiftly, allowing the development process to go more quickly. 

Tree Shaking to Lower Bundle Size

In Angular, Tree Shaking is applied to reduce the size of the JavaScript bundle. Tree shaking removes redundant code from the application, resulting in a smaller and more efficient bundle.

During the building process, the underlying build mechanism behaves similarly to the Angular CLI. In addition, the build system examines the code to identify unused code, functions, or classes that are not used by the application.

Thus, by reducing unneeded code, JavaScript's compact size allows it to load faster and improves Angular performance optimization. 

Lazy Loading Modules

To improve performance, Angular includes a default feature called lazy loading. Lazy loading loads only essential modules when a user navigates to a particular application section.

It allows for the simultaneous loading of only a few applications, thus reducing load time. Furthermore, the modules generate routes and divide apps into smaller parts, each holding a specific feature or section.

By comprising lazy loading, you can enhance Angular app speed and responsiveness while minimizing network traffic and server load.

Change Detection Optimization

Change detection can specify changes or updates to the user's data. It is vital for the consistency of an Angular application. Change detection refers to making changes to the application's data model so that the view may be updated correspondingly. To overcome change detection, three strategies are used: the OnPush detection strategy, an immutable data structure, and pure pips. 

Employing the OnPush Change Detection Method

OnPush change detection strategy is also known as the "checkAlways" strategy. Angular leverages the default change detection approach to verify that the component's data model changes after each event, such as time, HTTP request, and user input.

One advantage of a change detection technique is that it reduces the number of change detection cycles, which improves speed and saves memory. Additionally, this approach allows Angular to only look into modifications when a component's input attributes change.

It is beneficial to learn about the application and ensure that best practices, such as slow loading, are followed for optimal performance. 

Immutable Data and Pure Pipes

An immutable data structure helps boost change detection in Angular applications. It refers to data that cannot be modified once created. Using immutability data allows developers to ensure that the application's data model is updated as needed, which improves performance.

Pipes are classified into two types: impure and pure pipes. Use Pure Pipes to change data before it appears to users. Not all pipes are created equally in terms of change detection performance. Using pure pipes allows you to reduce the number of unwanted change cycles. 

Preventing Excessive Operations in Templates

Reducing expensive operations is critical since they affect the application's performance.  You should also maintain templates as minimally as possible to maximize speed and avoid operations in them.

It also implies that you're transferring complicated logic and calculations out of templates and into component services. Developers can utilize this technique to improve the performance of templates.

Effective Use of ngZone

The ngZone service is a strong Angular tool for handling the change detection process. Utilizing ngZone outside of the Angular zone would help to increase its performance.  It is possible to use zone-agnostic APIs offered by third-party libraries such as RxJS. It also enables developers to avoid change detection cycles and eliminate unnecessary operations.

This capability also aids in the automatic and timely correction of changes detected. It prevents third-party APIs from negatively impacting the application's performance. 

Reducing the Number of HTTP Requests

Every HTTP request served by Angular includes TCP connection establishment, DNS resolution, and TLS negotiation. This will significantly increase Angular's performance. Additionally, using caching is one of the best practices for minimizing HTTP requests.

Caching responses from previous requests allows us to avoid identical requests and lower the HTTP requests. Also, bundling HTTP requests into a single request can help Angular optimize its performance. 

Server Side Rendering (SSR)

Server-Side Rendering with Angular Universal enhances application performance, SEO, and user interaction. SSR minimizes the time needed for the initial meaningful paint by rendering pages on the server before sending them to the client, letting users see information more quickly.

It also improves SEO by allowing search engines to crawl rendered pages rather than waiting for JavaScript execution. Furthermore, this is especially useful for low-power devices and boosts Angular performance optimization. 

Angular Hydration

Angular Hydration facilitates a smooth transition from Server-Side Rendering (SSR) to Client-Side Rendering (CSR) with no additional reloading.  Instead of re-rendering components that were previously produced on the server, hydration ensures that the existing DOM is reused, reducing computational complexity and optimizing page load times. Furthermore, correct event binding in Angular hydration ensures that interactive elements work immediately without any delays caused by reinitialization. 

Tips for Optimizing Angular Performance

Understanding strategies is sufficient for improvement.  Still, the cherry on top would be to use the following tips to increase the performance of your Angular application: 

Reducing Image and Other Asset Sizes

The number of images and other assets can be large, resulting in longer loading times and poor Angular performance. Lowering the size of images and assets improves application performance and efficiency. You can minimize it by compressing images and using minimal CSS and JavaScript files with tools like Compressor.io or TinyPNG. 

Using Caching for Better Load Times

Another compelling Angular performance optimization strategy is to use caching to enhance loading speeds. By caching data, you can lower the number of HTTP requests made to the server and speed up application loading time. Utilize tools like Angular HTTPClient and Service Workers to implement several levels of caching, including server, browser, and client-side caching.

Eliminating the Number of Third-party Libraries

There are too many libraries that affect performance tweaking in Angular applications. Each library adds value to the application, but it can also have a detrimental impact on its performance. Also, each library increases the file size and slows down the loading time. Hence, avoid utilizing numerous libraries that perform similar or identical functions. Also, explore some of the popular Angular libraries that streamline operations and improve app speed and user experience.

Code Profiling and Analysis

Code profiling and analysis are critical for identifying performance bottlenecks in Angular apps. You can improve specific tasks by examining the code and discovering areas of inefficiency.

User experience is central to the success of any digital solution. This is a key reason why Angular PWA is the better choice for modern web applications. To ensure these Angular applications deliver on that promise, Angular Augury and Chrome Dev Tools are essential for profiling and analysis. These tools optimize code and improve the efficiency and user experience of Angular applications.

Employ Web Workers

Web Workers execute JavaScript code in the background, removing CPU-intensive operations from the main thread and enhancing Angular performance. It contributes to the seamless operation of the user interface without interfering with UI interactions.

To perform expensive computations without compromising UI performance in Angular applications, leverage the built-in Web Worker functionality. Web Workers are ideal for apps that perform real-time data processing or sophisticated calculations. 

Conclusion

To stay ahead, developers must focus on optimizing Angular applications for performance using proven strategies. You may improve application performance by using tactics and ideas to deliver a better user experience. Remember that Angular performance optimization is a continuous effort, and you must constantly monitor and test your application to verify that it is functioning smoothly.

If you want to improve Angular app speed and deliver seamless user experiences, contact us now to hire an Angular developer with the expertise you need.