How to Build SPAs With Vuex and Vue Router

Building Single Page Applications (SPAs) with Vue.js can greatly enhance the user experience by allowing seamless navigation without the need for page reloads. To efficiently manage your application's state and routing, integrating Vuex and Vue Router is essential. This guide will walk you through the steps to create SPAs using these powerful tools.

Understanding Vuex and Vue Router

Vuex is a state management pattern + library for Vue.js applications. It serves as a centralized store for all components in an application, ensuring consistent data flow and easy state management. On the other hand, Vue Router is the official router for Vue.js, enabling navigation between components while maintaining a smooth user experience.

Setting Up Vue Project

To begin, you will need to set up a new Vue project using Vue CLI. You can do this by running the following command in your terminal:

vue create my-vue-app

During the setup process, you will have the option to select features like Vue Router and Vuex. Make sure to enable them for an optimal SPA architecture.

Installing Vue Router and Vuex

If you didn't install Vue Router and Vuex during the initial setup, you can add them afterward using the following commands:

npm install vue-router vuex

Configuring Vue Router

Once installed, you can configure Vue Router. Create a new file named router/index.js and define your routes:


import { createRouter, createWebHistory } from 'vue-router';
import Home from '../views/Home.vue';
import About from '../views/About.vue';
const routes = [
  { path: '/', component: Home },
  { path: '/about', component: About }
];
const router = createRouter({
  history: createWebHistory(),
  routes,
});
export default router;

After defining the routes, import the router into your main main.js file and add it to the Vue instance:


import { createApp } from 'vue';
import App from './App.vue';
import router from './router';
createApp(App).use(router).mount('#app');

Setting Up Vuex Store

Next, you'll want to set up Vuex to manage your application state. Create a store/index.js file and set up the store structure:


import { createStore } from 'vuex';
const store = createStore({
  state() {
    return {
      count: 0
    };
  },
  mutations: {
    increment(state) {
      state.count++;
    },
  },
  actions: {
    increment({ commit }) {
      commit('increment');
    },
  },
});
export default store;

As with Vue Router, don't forget to import the store into your main.js file and include it in the Vue instance:


import store from './store';
createApp(App).use(router).use(store).mount('#app');

Creating Vue Components

Now that Vuex and Vue Router are set up, you can create components that utilize both. For instance, in your Home.vue component, you can interact with the Vuex store:

Testing Your Application

After setting up your components, navigate your application using Vue Router links and see your state changes with Vuex. Use the router-link component to navigate between pages:


Home
About

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can successfully build a Single Page Application using Vue.js, Vuex, and Vue Router. These tools work together to streamline your app's architecture, enhance performance, and provide a better user

How to Build SPAs With Vuex and Vue Router