Deploying React Apps with Vite: The Complete Guide

When it comes to building modern web applications, React has become a favorite library for developers around the world. It is flexible, powerful and has a large ecosystem. However, deploying React efficiently can be a challenge, especially with increasing demands for faster builds and smooth deployment processes.

In this guide, we'll show you how to deploy a React app using Vite - an ultra-fast bundler and development server. Vite simplifies the process and dramatically speeds up build and on-the-fly loading. Let's walk through the process!

Why Vite for React?

Before diving into the technical details, let's briefly understand why Vite is the perfect choice for React apps:

1. Fast Build Times: Vite is known for its extremely fast build process. It uses ES modules and provides extremely fast on-the-fly loading, increasing development speed.
2. Open Support: Vite comes with built-in support for React, allowing you to get started quickly without complicated configuration.
3. Optimized Production Builds: Vite automatically optimizes your app during the build process and delivers a production-ready React app.

Now let's go ahead and see how to deploy a React app with Vite!

Step 1: Set up your React app with Vite

First, you need to create a new React app with Vite. Follow these steps:

1. Create a new project:

Open your terminal and run the following command to create a new project with the Vite React template.

npm create vite@latest my-react-app --template react

This command will scaffold a new React project using an optimized Vite template.

1. Install dependencies:

Go to the project directory and install the dependencies.

bash
cd my-react-app
install npm

1. Start the development server:

To ensure everything is working properly, start the development server.

bash
npm run dev

You should see the Vite development server running and your app available at http://localhost:5173.

Step 2: Configure Vite for production

Now that you have your React app set up and running locally, let's configure Vite for production deployment.

1. Set up the build configuration:

Vite's default settings are usually fine, but you may want to adjust the output for production. To do this, open vite.config.js and edit or add settings as needed. For example:

javascript
  export default {
    build: {
      outDir: 'build', // Specify the output directory
      sourcemap: true, // Generate source maps for debugging
      minify: 'esbuild', // Use esbuild for minification
    },
  };

1. Create the application for production:

After configuration, run the following command to build the application for production.

bash
npm run build

This command will generate a dist folder containing the optimized production files.

Step 3: Deploy your React application

Now you can deploy your built React app to different hosting platforms. Below we look at how to deploy to Netlify, one of the most popular hosting services for static websites.

1. Create a Netlify Account:

Go to Netlify and create an account if you don't already have one.

1. Connect your GitHub repository:

If your project is stored in a GitHub repository, connect your GitHub account to Netlify and import your project.

1. Configure build settings:

In build settings, set Build Command to npm run build and Publish Directory to dist. These are the default settings for Vite projects.

1. Deployment:

Once everything is set up, click Deploy Site and Netlify will automatically build and deploy your application. After a few moments, you will get a live link to your deployed React application.

Step 4: Verify deployment

Once the deployment is complete, visit the provided URL and you should see your React app running. If you've set up your deployment correctly, the application should load immediately and run smoothly.

Final Thoughts

With Vite, you can easily deploy React apps and benefit from fast builds and optimized production setup. Whether you're deploying to Netlify, Vercel, or any other hosting platform, Vite simplifies and streamlines the process.

FAB Builder offers a unified platform that connects products and tools and makes it easy for teams to build apps without the need for complex code. By using Vite with React, developers can ensure their applications are quickly built, optimized for performance, and ready to deploy in no time.

For teams looking to develop applications, especially in the areas of AI Simplified Analytics or Omnichannel Marketing, this approach ensures a smooth, scalable and seamless operation.