How To Boost Your Angular Application Performance

Performance can make or break an Angular app. If your app takes more than a few seconds to load, users notice — and trust me, it’s not always the framework’s fault. Even small delays can frustrate people and hurt engagement.

In this post, I’ll show you how to identify bottlenecks, make smarter decisions, and apply practical techniques to make your Angular app faster, smoother, and more enjoyable to use.

1. Stop Coding. Start Measuring.

Most developers start “optimizing” blindly — minifying images, tweaking components, or refactoring code — without actually knowing what’s slowing things down.
Instead, measure first. Find out where your performance issues truly come from before touching any code.

Tools That Can Help

• Angular Bundle Analyzer – Identify large modules and heavy vendor bundles.
• Chrome Performance Tab & Lighthouse – See what happens during page load and get insights on performance and accessibility.
• Network Throttling (in Chrome) – Simulate real-world conditions to understand how your app behaves on slower connections.

What You Should Measure

• Initial Load Time – How long before your app becomes interactive?
• Bundle Size – Are you shipping too much JavaScript?
• Change Detection Cycles – Is Angular doing unnecessary work?
• API Response Time – Is the backend slowing you down?

Key Tip

Don’t optimize what you think is slow — optimize what’s actually slow. A short profiling session can reveal unexpected bottlenecks — like oversized images, inefficient loops, or unnecessary third-party dependencies.

2. Use Standalone Components for a Leaner, Faster App

Starting from Angular 14, you can build standalone components — no more dependency on bulky NgModules.
This isn’t just cleaner — it’s faster. Standalone components help Angular skip unnecessary module resolution at runtime and simplify tree-shaking, making your bundle smaller and bootstrapping quicker.

Before: NgModule-based Component

// users-list.component.ts
@Component({
  selector: 'app-users-list',
  templateUrl: './users-list.component.html',
})
export class UsersListComponent {}

// users.module.ts
@NgModule({
  declarations: [UsersListComponent],
  imports: [CommonModule],
  exports: [UsersListComponent],
})
export class UsersModule {}

In the traditional setup, Angular had to process NgModules to discover which components belong where — adding overhead during build and bootstrap.

After: Standalone Component

// users-list.component.ts
@Component({
  standalone: true,
  selector: 'app-users-list',
  templateUrl: './users-list.component.html',
  imports: [CommonModule],
})
export class UsersListComponent {}

With standalone components, Angular directly knows what’s needed.
No extra module lookups, less indirection, and a cleaner dependency graph — all of which improve build time, lazy loading, and initial render performance.

Standalone vs. NgModule

Standalone Components in Angular 17+

Standalone components paved the way for Angular’s module-less architecture in Angular 17 and beyond.
You can now bootstrap your entire app without AppModule, using only bootstrapApplication() and provideRouter():

// main.ts (Angular 17+)
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent, {
  providers: [provideRouter(routes)],
});

Standalone components not only improve performance, but also make your app lighter, enable faster startup, and simplify code maintenance.

3. Start Lazy Loading Your Components

Stop loading all your modules together. Instead, start using dynamic imports.

const routes: Routes = [
  {
    path: "users",
    loadComponent: () =>
      import("./users/users.component").then((e) => e.UsersComponent),
  },
];

With this approach, the UsersListComponent only loads when someone navigates to /users. That alone can make a huge difference in initial load time.

A little caution:
Lazy loading is awesome, but don’t go overboard. If you lazy load every single component, your app could end up making too many network requests, and users might notice a small delay the first time a page loads. Preloading strategies can help, but the key is balance.

Keep it practical:
Focus on lazy loading large or rarely-used features, like dashboards, settings pages, or admin panels. Let your core, frequently-used components load immediately so navigation feels snappy. With this approach, you get faster initial load times without frustrating your users.

Key Tip

Combine standalone components with lazy loading for maximum performance benefits.Smaller, self-contained components that load on demand keep your app fast and maintainable.

4. Use OnPush Change Detection

By default, Angular’s change detection runs through the entire component tree every time something changes — even if only one small part of the data updates. That can quickly become expensive in large applications.

Using ChangeDetectionStrategy.OnPush tells Angular to skip unnecessary checks and only update the component when its inputs change or an event originates from within it.

@Component({
  selector: "app-users-list",
  templateUrl: "./users-list.component.html",
  changeDetection: ChangeDetectionStrategy.OnPush,
})
export class UsersListComponent {
  users = input<User[]>([]);
}

Now Angular will Re-render this component only when users (the input) changes.

When to Use OnPush

• Components that depend mostly on Input data.
• Pure display components (like tables, cards, or lists).
• Parts of the UI that don’t rely on global services or mutable shared state.

5. Stop Relying on NPM Packages

Think twice before adding a new dependency. Ask yourself:

• Can this be implemented in a few lines of code?
• Is it actively maintained and tree-shakable?

Less dependency = smaller bundle = faster app = happier users.

Third-party libraries can be a huge performance drain if not carefully managed. Every extra dependency increases your bundle size, adds unused code, and can slow down your Angular app — sometimes more than your own code does.

Check your bundle

Use Angular Bundle Analyzer or source-map-explorer to see which packages take up the most space:

npx source-map-explorer dist/your-app/*.js

Remove unused packages

Look for libraries you imported but barely use, or functionality you can implement yourself in a few lines.

Replace heavy libraries with lightweight alternatives

• Use Angular’s built-in features before reaching for a library.
• Use date-fns instead of Moment.js.
• Instead of Lodash you can do it your self using Javascript.

Avoid “kitchen-sink” libraries

Big libraries that include every feature imaginable are convenient but costly. Only use what you need.

Keep Your Dependencies Healthy

While we’re on the topic of libraries, don’t forget about greenkeeping — keeping your dependencies clean, up-to-date, and relevant.

Old or abandoned packages can slow you down, break builds, or even add security risks — so give your package.json some love once in a while.

6. Stop Importing Entire Libraries

Importing an entire library when you only need a small part of it can unnecessarily bloat your bundle.

Even popular libraries like Lodash, RxJS, or Moment.js can add hundreds of kilobytes if imported completely.

// Instead of this
import * as _ from "lodash";
import * as moment from "moment";

// Import only what you need
import debounce from "lodash/debounce";
import cloneDeep from "lodash/cloneDeep";

// Lighter alternative
import { format, parseISO } from "date-fns";

• Only import the specific functions, classes, or modules you actually use.
• Smaller imports = smaller bundle = faster app.

Bonus

For frequently used utility functions, consider writing small helper functions yourself instead of adding a new dependency. This keeps your app lean and avoids unnecessary bundle growth.

7. Server and Hybrid Rendering

Using Server-Side Rendering or a Hybrid Approach can dramatically improve your app performance. With Angular Universal, you can render pages on the server while still enabling client-side interactivity.

Server-Side Rendering

Angular pre-renders the HTML on the server for the initial page load. Users see content immediately, even before Angular bootstraps.

Hybrid Rendering

Combine SSR for critical pages with client-side rendering for interactive features. This allows you to pre-render content while keeping dynamic behavior intact.

import { RenderMode, ServerRoute } from "@angular/ssr";
export const serverRoutes: ServerRoute[] = [
  {
    path: "", // This renders the "/" route on the client (CSR)
    renderMode: RenderMode.Client,
  },
  {
    path: "about", // This page is static, so we prerender it (SSG)
    renderMode: RenderMode.Prerender,
  },
  {
    path: "profile", // This page requires user-specific data, so we use SSR
    renderMode: RenderMode.Server,
  },
  {
    path: "**", // All other routes will be rendered on the server (SSR)
    renderMode: RenderMode.Server,
  },
];

Why SSR/Hybrid Helps and When to Watch Out

SSR and hybrid rendering can make your app feel really fast. Users see actual content right away, which is great for SEO and just makes the app feel snappier.

But it’s not all magic — debugging can be trickier since some stuff happens on the server, and your server is doing more work. Plus, setting it up adds a bit of extra complexity.

A simple rule of thumb: SSR or pre-render the pages that matter most — like your home page, about page, or any content-heavy pages. Leave the really interactive parts (like dashboards or profile editors) to the client.

8. Beware of Custom Pipes

Pipes are useful for transforming data in templates, but heavy or complex pipes can become a performance bottleneck if they run on every change detection cycle.

But What Makes a Pipe “Heavy”?

• Performing expensive calculations (sorting large arrays, complex filtering, or aggregations).
• Fetching or manipulating large datasets directly in the template.
• Using impure pipes that run on every change detection, even if inputs haven’t changed.

import { Pipe, PipeTransform } from "@angular/core";

@Pipe({
  name: "sortUsers",
  pure: false, // Impure pipe will run on every change detection
})
export class SortUsersPipe implements PipeTransform {
  transform(users: any[]): any[] {
    return users.sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name));
  }
}

How I can fix it?

• Use Pure Pipes Whenever Possible

Pure pipes run only when input changes, reducing unnecessary recalculations.

• Move Heavy Computation to the Component

Instead of performing expensive operations in the template, calculate the result in the component using signals or computed values.

sortedUsers = computed(() =>
  this.users().sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name))
);

@for (user of sortedUsers(); track user) {
  <li>{{ user.name }}</li>
}

9. Optimize Images

Images can be one of the biggest performance bottlenecks in Angular apps. Here's how you can make them load faster and smoother

• Convert to modern formats Replace PNG or JPG files with WebP or AVIF to reduce file sizes by up to 60% without losing quality.
• Lazy load below-the-fold images Load images only when they enter the viewport using:

<img src="example.webp" alt="Example Image" loading="lazy" />

10. Final Thoughts

Performance isn’t just about speed — it’s about making your app feel good to use. Start by measuring first. Find the real bottlenecks instead of guessing what’s slow.

Keep your bundles small. Lazy load components, import only what you actually need, and avoid heavy libraries that you barely use. Take advantage of modern Angular features like standalone components, signals, and OnPush change detection — they make your app faster and easier to maintain.

Don’t forget your assets. Compress images, lazy load them, and use SSR or hybrid rendering for pages that matter most.

The best part? Even small tweaks add up. Keep iterating, and your Angular app will feel lighter, snappier, and more enjoyable for your users — one improvement at a time.

If you have a problem and no one else can help. Maybe you can hire the Kalvad-Team.