Vue.js and Nuxt.js Optimization: Tips & Tricks

Vue.js is fast. But only when used correctly.

Visitors wait for your site to load, then leave within three seconds. This isn’t science fiction—it’s the reality for many modern sites built with Vue.js or Nuxt.js.

First, a quick scope:

Effective optimization isn’t a niche technical task. It’s an investment that shows up as higher conversions, better search rankings, and happier users.

Clients of PageSpeed.cz, such as Dr. Max and Airstop, achieve better results thanks to proper optimization.

#Why speed matters for the web

You might ask: “What if the site loads one second slower?” The reality is unforgiving. Speed directly impacts your business. Consider:

Speed isn’t a luxury—it’s essential. Every millisecond counts, especially for sites built with modern JS frameworks like React or Vue.js, which ship more JavaScript and undergo more complex initialization.

But with the right approach, a Vue.js site can outperform many static pages.

#Is Vue.js inherently slow? Debunking myths vs. reality

There’s a common belief that Vue.js and similar modern frameworks are slow by design. More JavaScript means more work to optimize, but Vue.js is engineered for performance, and Vue-powered sites can be very fast.

Performance problems usually stem from human error, not the framework:

Vue.js can be fast by itself. The key is using it correctly and knowing when to apply which technique.

#How to tell if your Vue.js site is underperforming

You might think your site is fine because it feels fast. Are you testing properly?

Tip: Measure your site’s speed at PageSpeed.cz.

#Core Web Vitals: The Three Pillars of Speed

Core Web Vitals are three key metrics that determine how fast your site feels to users:

#Seven steps to a faster Vue.js site

Now for the core ideas. Here are practical tips to speed up your Vue.js site.

#1. Right architecture: SSR and SSG instead of a pure SPA

The acronyms look daunting, but the idea is simple. Instead of the site waiting for JavaScript to run on the client, send the user a ready-made HTML.

Think of it as the difference between getting a ready-made meal vs. waiting for someone to cook it at your table.

Key takeaways:

Here’s a schematic SSR config for the server-side Vue solution Nuxt.js:

// nuxt.config.ts or nuxt.config.js for SSR

export default defineNuxtConfig({
	// Enable server-side rendering
	ssr: true,

	nitro: {
		prerender: {
			// Pre-render static pages
			routes: ['/about', '/contact', '/blog']
		}
	}
});

If speed matters, avoid a pure client-side SPA. Consider SSR/SSG combos.

#2. Progressive rendering: Lazy loading as a lifeline

Picture building a house. You don’t lay every brick at once; you proceed as needed. Your Vue.js site should do the same.

How to implement?

Example of lazy loading (inline):

Load only what’s visible. The rest can wait.

Tip: We have a full article dedicated to lazy loading in general.

#3. Bundle size: Less JavaScript, faster

Every kilobyte of JavaScript must be downloaded, parsed, and executed. On slow devices or networks, that can be lengthy. Keep your JS bundle as small as possible:

Bad vs Good imports (inline snippets):

Simple tip: bundlephobia.com shows the size of dependencies and suggests alternatives.

Every kilobyte counts. Keep the bundle lean.

#4. Optimizing for better INP: Fast responses to clicks

INP measures how quickly the site responds to user actions. If a user clicks a button and nothing happens—or things feel slow—the experience suffers.

The main culprits are long tasks on the main thread (measured by TBT). When your JS is heavy, the browser can’t keep up with input.

Hydration in Vue.js (bringing the app to life) can tax the browser and hinder interactivity. We addressed this in Airstop.cz.

What to do?

Debounce example for search:

Heavy operations like filtering large data or complex calculations should move to the server via API calls.

Keep the browser’s main thread free. Users deserve instant feedback.

#5. List virtualization: Thousands of items without slowdowns

If you have a list with thousands of products, articles, or comments, you can’t render them all at once. That would slow things down.

Virtualization renders only the visible items plus a small buffer, swapping elements as you scroll. It’s like reading a book—you don’t flip every page at once.

There are Vue-ready libraries that implement virtualization for you. The most popular are vue-virtual-scroller and vue-virtual-scroll-grid.

Virtualization can improve list performance by hundreds of percent, especially on mobile devices with limited power.

Render only what the user sees. Thousands of items can wait.

#6. Images: Modern formats and lazy loading

Images often make up the bulk of a page’s data. Proper image optimization is one of the most effective speed boosts.

Responsive images with lazy loading (example):

Optimize images carefully, especially if they’re your LCP element.

#7. Profiling: Measuring is the basis of improvement

Without measurement you optimize blind.

Beyond the basics (synthetic tests and CrUX monitoring), which tools should you use?

What you don’t measure, you can’t improve.

#Advanced tips: CDN, prefetching, and modern technologies

If you’ve got the basics down, try these optimizations:

#PageSpeed.cz successes: Real optimization results

Theory is nice, but does it translate to real gains? We’ve worked on several Vue.js projects where performance optimization made a big difference.

One example is the travel site Airstop.cz, where our DesignDev team helped during a redesign to improve user experience.

The project is ongoing, but we’ve already seen Core Web Vitals improvements by tens of percent:

[Case study: Airstop.cz image]

With Dr. Max, we already have green LCP and CLS scores, and we’re actively improving interactivity (INP). Examples of optimizations:

1. Optimizing user interactions with loaders using a nextTick-based approach across the site.
2. Speeding up interactions in product-wide search.
3. Optimizing GTM-triggered events.

Each project is unique, but the principles remain: post-development optimization is essential to maintain speed. Start with measurement and implement changes gradually.

#How PageSpeed.cz monitoring helps you

In our PageSpeed.cz speed monitoring, you can track Core Web Vitals in real time and pinpoint issues. We often see Vue.js sites struggle with large JavaScript bundles or slow hydration.

[Drmax.cz CWV evolution image]

Measurement is the baseline. Without data you optimize blind.

Our PageSpeed.cz Monitoring PLUS provides:

We strongly recommend automating monitoring so you can focus on optimizations.

#Conclusion: Speed as a competitive advantage

Optimizing Vue.js apps isn’t a one-off task; it’s an ongoing process. Vue.js itself isn’t slow—the issues come from misuse or under-optimization.

Start with Core Web Vitals, consider SSR, and follow the steps above. Remember: every millisecond matters, and speed can be your competitive edge.

Not sure what to do next? Reach out to us.

The result of Vue.js optimization is a faster site, happier users, better search rankings, and, ultimately, higher revenue.