My Vue.js Journey: The Good, The Bad & The Blazing Fast 🚀

When I first started using Vue.js, I had mixed feelings. Coming from another framework (like React), Vue felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. The syntax made sense, but things like v-for instead of map() made me question why Vue needed to be different.

But as I kept building, something clicked. Vue’s component-based architecture, reactive system, and powerful ecosystem started making my development experience smoother. In this post, I’ll walk you through the challenges I faced, the solutions I implemented, and why Vue eventually won me over.

My Vue Setup 🛠️

My project is built using Vue 3, powered by:

✅ Vite – Fast development server 🚀
✅ Pinia – Simple yet powerful state management
✅ Vue Router – Routing made easier (but still a bit tricky)
✅ TypeScript – Because type safety is life

While Vue does a lot of things right, I ran into a few challenges along the way. Let’s dive into them.

🚧 Challenges & How I Overcame Them

1️⃣ The Learning Curve 📚

Coming from a different framework, I had to unlearn some habits. The hardest part? Understanding Vue’s reactivity system:

• ref() and reactive() for state
• watch() and watchEffect() for reactivity
• defineProps() and defineEmits() for component communication

At first, I compared Vue's watchEffect() to React's useEffect(), but once I got used to Vue’s reactivity model, I realized how intuitive it was.

🔥 Solution: Experimentation & Reading Docs

I kept experimenting, and Vue’s documentation is top-notch. If you’re new to Vue, play with its reactivity system in a small project—it will make a huge difference.

2️⃣ State Management: Pinia vs Vuex 🍍

Managing global state was something I dreaded, but Pinia made it much easier than Vuex. It supports TypeScript out of the box and has great DX (developer experience).

🛠️ Solution: Using Pinia

Here’s how I set up my cart store in Pinia:

import { defineStore } from "pinia";
import type { CartItem, Product } from "@/interfaces/product";
import { cartService } from "@/services/cart";

export const useCartStore = defineStore("cart", {
  state: () => ({
    items: [] as CartItem[],
    loading: false,
    error: null as string | null,
  }),

  getters: {
    itemCount: (state) => state.items.reduce((total, item) => total + item.quantity, 0),
    totalPrice: (state) => state.items.reduce((total, item) => total + item.price * item.quantity, 0),
  },

  actions: {
    async fetchCart() {
      try {
        this.loading = true;
        this.items = await cartService.getCart();
      } catch (err) {
        this.error = err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to fetch cart";
      } finally {
        this.loading = false;
      }
    },
  },
});

Why I love Pinia:
✅ Simpler than Vuex
✅ Supports TypeScript with auto-complete
✅ No boilerplate required

3️⃣ Routing Woes: Dynamic Routes & Nested Navigation 🛤️

Vue Router is great, but setting up dynamic routes and nested navigation was more complex than expected.

🤯 Challenge: Managing nested routes

Vue Router’s syntax felt less intuitive compared to Next.js. In Next.js, I could define routes using the file system, but in Vue, I had to explicitly define them.

✅ Solution: Vue Router Setup

Here’s how I set up dynamic routes:

import { createRouter, createWebHistory } from "vue-router";
import Home from "@/views/Home.vue";
import Product from "@/views/Product.vue";

const routes = [
  { path: "/", component: Home },
  { path: "/product/:id", component: Product, props: true },
];

const router = createRouter({
  history: createWebHistory(),
  routes,
});

export default router;

It works, but I still prefer the simplicity of Next.js’s file-based routing.

4️⃣ Performance Optimizations ⚡

With large datasets, I noticed unnecessary re-renders slowing things down.

🛠️ Solution: Fine-tuning performance

• Lazy loading components to reduce initial load time
• Optimizing reactivity by using computed properties instead of watch when possible
• Configuring Vue for better performance

import { createApp } from "vue";
import App from "@/App.vue";

const app = createApp(App);
app.config.performance = import.meta.env.DEV; // Enable performance tracking in dev

These small tweaks significantly improved render times in my app.

🚀 Vue: The Pros & Cons

✅ What I Love About Vue

✨ Component-based architecture – Easy to scale & reuse components
✨ Reactive data binding – Seamless UI updates when state changes
✨ Pinia for state management – Simple & TypeScript-friendly
✨ Great ecosystem – Vite, Vue Router, Pinia, and more

❌ What Could Be Better

⚠️ Initial setup complexity – Setting up a Vue project with TypeScript & routing can feel overwhelming
⚠️ State management overhead – Pinia is great, but sometimes overkill for small projects
⚠️ Performance considerations – Need to be mindful of reactivity & re-renders in large apps

Final Thoughts: Vue Grew on Me 💚

At first, I was skeptical. Vue’s syntax differences, routing complexities, and state management learning curve frustrated me. But after spending more time with it, I began to appreciate its simplicity and power.

Would I choose Vue for my next project? Absolutely—especially for small to medium-sized applications. Vue provides the right balance of flexibility, performance, and developer experience.

That said, Next.js still wins in terms of routing simplicity.