React Performance (Web)

Problem Statement

React performance issues often stem from unnecessary re-renders, unoptimized lists, and expensive computations on the main thread. Understanding React's rendering behavior is key to building performant applications.

Pattern: Memoization

useMemo - Expensive Computations

// ✅ CORRECT: Memoize expensive calculation
const sortedAndFilteredItems = useMemo(() => {
  return items
    .filter(item => item.active)
    .sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score)
    .slice(0, 100);
}, [items]);

// ❌ WRONG: Recalculates every render
const sortedAndFilteredItems = items
  .filter(item => item.active)
  .sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score);

// ❌ WRONG: Memoizing simple access (overhead > benefit)
const userName = useMemo(() => user.name, [user.name]);

When to use useMemo:

• Array transformations (filter, sort, map chains)
• Object creation passed to memoized children
• Computations with O(n) or higher complexity

useCallback - Stable Function References

// ✅ CORRECT: Stable callback for child props
const handleClick = useCallback((id: string) => {
  setSelectedId(id);
}, []);

// Pass to memoized child
<MemoizedItem onClick={handleClick} />

// ❌ WRONG: useCallback with unstable deps
const handleClick = useCallback((id: string) => {
  doSomething(unstableObject); // unstableObject changes every render
}, [unstableObject]); // Defeats the purpose

When to use useCallback:

• Callbacks passed to memoized children
• Callbacks in dependency arrays
• Event handlers that would cause child re-renders

Pattern: React.memo

// Wrap components that receive stable props
const ItemCard = memo(function ItemCard({
  item,
  onSelect
}: Props) {
  return (
    <div onClick={() => onSelect(item.id)}>
      <h3>{item.name}</h3>
      <p>{item.price}</p>
    </div>
  );
});

// Custom comparison for complex props
const ItemCard = memo(
  function ItemCard({ item, onSelect }: Props) {
    // ...
  },
  (prevProps, nextProps) => {
    // Return true if props are equal (skip re-render)
    return (
      prevProps.item.id === nextProps.item.id &&
      prevProps.item.price === nextProps.item.price
    );
  }
);

When to use React.memo:

• List item components
• Components receiving stable primitive props
• Components that render frequently but rarely change

When NOT to use:

• Components that always receive new props
• Simple components (overhead > benefit)
• Root-level pages

Pattern: List Virtualization

For long lists, render only visible items using react-window or react-virtualized.

import { FixedSizeList } from 'react-window';

function VirtualizedList({ items }: { items: Item[] }) {
  const Row = ({ index, style }: { index: number; style: React.CSSProperties }) => (
    <div style={style}>
      <ItemCard item={items[index]} />
    </div>
  );

  return (
    <FixedSizeList
      height={600}
      width="100%"
      itemCount={items.length}
      itemSize={80}
    >
      {Row}
    </FixedSizeList>
  );
}

// Variable height items
import { VariableSizeList } from 'react-window';

function VariableList({ items }: { items: Item[] }) {
  const getItemSize = (index: number) => {
    return items[index].expanded ? 200 : 80;
  };

  return (
    <VariableSizeList
      height={600}
      width="100%"
      itemCount={items.length}
      itemSize={getItemSize}
    >
      {Row}
    </VariableSizeList>
  );
}

When to virtualize:

• Lists with 100+ items
• Complex item components
• Scrollable containers with many children

Pattern: Zustand Selector Optimization

Problem: Selecting entire store causes re-render on any state change.

// ❌ WRONG: Re-renders on ANY store change
const store = useAppStore();
// or
const { items, loading, filters, ... } = useAppStore();

// ✅ CORRECT: Only re-renders when selected values change
const items = useAppStore((s) => s.items);
const loading = useAppStore((s) => s.loading);

// ✅ CORRECT: Multiple values with shallow comparison
import { useShallow } from 'zustand/react/shallow';

const { items, loading } = useAppStore(
  useShallow((s) => ({
    items: s.items,
    loading: s.loading
  }))
);

Pattern: Avoiding Re-Renders

Object/Array Stability

// ❌ WRONG: New object every render
<ChildComponent style={{ padding: 10 }} />
<ChildComponent config={{ enabled: true }} />

// ✅ CORRECT: Stable reference
const style = useMemo(() => ({ padding: 10 }), []);
const config = useMemo(() => ({ enabled: true }), []);

<ChildComponent style={style} />
<ChildComponent config={config} />

// ✅ CORRECT: Or define outside component
const style = { padding: 10 };

function Parent() {
  return <ChildComponent style={style} />;
}

Children Stability

// ❌ WRONG: Inline function creates new element each render
<Parent>
  {() => <Child />}
</Parent>

// ✅ CORRECT: Stable element
const child = useMemo(() => <Child />, [deps]);
<Parent>{child}</Parent>

Pattern: Code Splitting

import { lazy, Suspense } from 'react';

// Lazy load components
const Dashboard = lazy(() => import('./pages/Dashboard'));
const Settings = lazy(() => import('./pages/Settings'));

function App() {
  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<Loading />}>
      <Routes>
        <Route path="/dashboard" element={<Dashboard />} />
        <Route path="/settings" element={<Settings />} />
      </Routes>
    </Suspense>
  );
}

// Named exports
const Dashboard = lazy(() =>
  import('./pages/Dashboard').then(module => ({
    default: module.Dashboard
  }))
);

Pattern: Debouncing and Throttling

import { useMemo } from 'react';
import { debounce, throttle } from 'lodash-es';

// Debounce - wait until user stops typing
function SearchInput({ onSearch }: { onSearch: (query: string) => void }) {
  const debouncedSearch = useMemo(
    () => debounce(onSearch, 300),
    [onSearch]
  );

  return (
    <input
      type="text"
      onChange={(e) => debouncedSearch(e.target.value)}
    />
  );
}

// Throttle - limit how often function runs
function InfiniteScroll({ onLoadMore }: { onLoadMore: () => void }) {
  const throttledLoad = useMemo(
    () => throttle(onLoadMore, 1000),
    [onLoadMore]
  );

  useEffect(() => {
    const handleScroll = () => {
      if (nearBottom()) {
        throttledLoad();
      }
    };

    window.addEventListener('scroll', handleScroll);
    return () => window.removeEventListener('scroll', handleScroll);
  }, [throttledLoad]);

  return <div>...</div>;
}

Pattern: Image Optimization

// Lazy load images
<img
  src={imageUrl}
  loading="lazy"
  alt="Description"
/>

// With intersection observer for more control
function LazyImage({ src, alt }: { src: string; alt: string }) {
  const [isVisible, setIsVisible] = useState(false);
  const imgRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    const observer = new IntersectionObserver(
      ([entry]) => {
        if (entry.isIntersecting) {
          setIsVisible(true);
          observer.disconnect();
        }
      },
      { rootMargin: '100px' }
    );

    if (imgRef.current) {
      observer.observe(imgRef.current);
    }

    return () => observer.disconnect();
  }, []);

  return (
    <div ref={imgRef}>
      {isVisible ? (
        <img src={src} alt={alt} />
      ) : (
        <div className="placeholder" />
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

// Next.js Image component (if using Next.js)
import Image from 'next/image';

<Image
  src={imageUrl}
  alt="Description"
  width={400}
  height={300}
  placeholder="blur"
  blurDataURL={blurHash}
/>

Pattern: Web Workers for Heavy Computation

// worker.ts
self.onmessage = (e: MessageEvent<{ data: number[] }>) => {
  const result = heavyComputation(e.data.data);
  self.postMessage(result);
};

// Component
function DataProcessor({ data }: { data: number[] }) {
  const [result, setResult] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    const worker = new Worker(new URL('./worker.ts', import.meta.url));

    worker.onmessage = (e) => {
      setResult(e.data);
    };

    worker.postMessage({ data });

    return () => worker.terminate();
  }, [data]);

  return result ? <Results data={result} /> : <Loading />;
}

Pattern: Detecting Re-Renders

React DevTools Profiler

1. Open React DevTools
2. Go to Profiler tab
3. Click record, interact, stop
4. Review "Flamegraph" for render times
5. Look for components rendering unnecessarily

why-did-you-render

// Setup in development
import React from 'react';

if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development') {
  const whyDidYouRender = require('@welldone-software/why-did-you-render');
  whyDidYouRender(React, {
    trackAllPureComponents: true,
  });
}

// Mark specific component for tracking
ItemCard.whyDidYouRender = true;

Console Logging

// Quick check for re-renders
function ItemCard({ item }: Props) {
  console.log('ItemCard render:', item.id);
  // ...
}

Performance Checklist

Before shipping:

• Large lists are virtualized
• List items are memoized with React.memo
• Callbacks passed to items use useCallback
• Zustand selectors are specific (not whole store)
• Images use lazy loading
• Heavy routes are code-split
• No inline object/function props to memoized children
• Profiler shows no unnecessary re-renders

Common Issues

Relationship to Other Skills

• react-zustand-patterns: Selector optimization patterns
• react-async-patterns: Proper async handling prevents re-render loops