Why Vite + React is the best fit for React developers

The React ecosystem has evolved dramatically. Create React App is officially deprecated, and Vite has firmly established itself as the go-to build tool for modern React applications. Here's why React + Vite (and React Router) isn't just a good choice: it's the only choice for serious developers.

Start simple, scale infinitely

Grab Vite, grab React Router, and start with a simple SPA. The combination offers three key advantages:

• Lightning-fast startup: Vite starts in milliseconds, even for large projects
• Intelligent code splitting by default: Vite leverages esbuild or SWC to compile JSX and TypeScript files almost instantly
• Efficient data loading with nested route clientLoaders: React Router 7's new data layer makes client-side data fetching elegant
• Data updates without automatic revalidation with clientActions: Perfect for optimistic UI patterns
• Pending states and optimistic UI with fetchers: Built-in loading states that feel native

The magic? Unlike older tools, Vite avoids heavy upfront bundling by serving code as native ES modules, ensuring your dev environment remains responsive no matter how large your project grows.

When you need SSG: "We need a little static generation"

React Router 7 goes beyond being a simple routing library. It now introduces "framework mode," empowering developers to build full-stack React applications with advanced features like server-side rendering (SSR), code splitting, and file-based routing.

Adding SSG is now trivial:

• Add your prerender paths to the config. Routes can also use client data loading with clientLoader to avoid server rendering/fetching for their portion of the UI
• Add some loaders to the prerendered pages, and you've got SSG
• SSG pages are easy to deploy as they can be served using a CDN

// react-router.config.ts
export default {
  async prerender() {
    return ["/", "/about", "/contact"];
  },
} satisfies Config;

When SSG isn't enough: "we need real SSR!"

Your search page needs dynamic content? No problem:

• Add ssr: true to the config
• Deploy a server (Vercel, Netlify, or any Node.js host)
• When server rendering, the loader is used for both initial page loads and client navigations
• Your loaders for pre-rendering now work for SSR too
• Add a loader for the search page and a fetcher form for super easy data fetching

React Router v7 lets developers build an application that combines these two rendering techniques in one app, the best of both worlds.

export default {
  async prerender() {
    return ["/", "/about", "/contact"];
  },
  ssr: true,
} satisfies Config;

Where's my RSC?

React Server Components (RSC) refer generally to an architecture and set of APIs provided by React since version 19. React Router provides a set of APIs for integrating with RSC-compatible bundlers (for now only Parcel and Vite are supported), allowing you to leverage Server Components and Server Functions in your React Router applications. And yes, we know you can use RSC in your Next.js application since 2023.

Vite: the universal foundation

Here's what makes Vite a truly safe bet: it's not just React's build tool. It's become the backbone of the entire modern frontend ecosystem.

Vite powers Astro, Vue, Preact, EmberJS, Lit, Svelte, Nuxt, Analog, Tanstack Start, and many other frameworks across different paradigms. SolidStart demonstrates this perfectly: it's built with Vite at its core for bundling and optimization. SvelteKit relies on Vite for its build process. Even Analog, the Angular meta-framework, chose Vite over traditional Angular tooling.

This cross-framework adoption means your Vite expertise transfers between ecosystems. Learn it once, use it everywhere. The ecosystem consensus is clear: Vite has become the universal build tool for modern web development. Meanwhile, Vercel is pouring engineering years into reinventing the wheel with Turbopack, but only for Next.js.

Why this matters

OK, why does this matter if you can start a new project using Next.js and avoid this boilerplate and manual setup?

Performance

Developers around the world love Vite because it is fast, simple, and makes the whole process of building websites much easier. Vite 7.0 introduces updates and improvements designed to simplify development workflows, enhance performance, and address modern web development challenges.

Developer experience

With automatic support for TypeScript, React features, and optimizations like hot module replacement, Vite ensures a smooth, responsive development experience.

Bundle efficiency

In the future, Vite will be powered by Rolldown, a Rust-based next-generation bundler, and it appears that it will be released before GTA 6 and Turbopack.

Simplicity

One toolchain that grows with your needs.

Conclusion

The web platform has evolved. Your stack deserves better than single-framework lock-in. By choosing Vite + React, you're not just selecting tools for today: you're investing in a foundation that will grow with your projects and transfer your knowledge across the entire modern web ecosystem.

Whether you're building a simple SPA, need static generation, or require full SSR capabilities, this combination provides a clear, scalable path forward without vendor lock-in.

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