Angular is one of the major technologies in a MEAN stack application (MongoDB, Express.js, Angular, and Node.js). It is a robust frontend framework that is built on TypeScript. 1.02% of the top 1 million websites use Angular.
For developers that get everything right, it will ensure the development of highly scalable, maintainable and secure applications. However, do not take high performance for granted.
It requires one to follow good Angular coding practices. Angular plays a pivotal role in delivering intuitive user experiences and maintaining long-term project viability.
With power comes complexity. Poor structure, unclear component design, or improper state management can cripple performance. It can also lead to scalability and team productivity issues. This is something startups and scaling teams can’t afford.
This article outlines 10 practical Angular best practices tailored specifically for MEAN stack developers.
Top Angular Best Practices
1. Ensure Consistent Code Style:
It is not uncommon for Angular developers to pay more attention to what is being developed rather than how to develop it. Hence, although following a consistent code style might be trivial, it is the source of a high percentage of code inconsistencies.
This is important because bad code is hard to maintain and interpret. Inconsistent code may be as a result of varying indentation, naming conventions or bracket placements.
Here are the best practices to follow:
Implement a linter and integrate it into your build process. Implement automatic code formatter on commit with a formatter like Prettier.
Avoid disjoined naming conventions since it creates chaos. Instead opt for a logical naming system. Doing so will make it easy to locate files and understand their purpose. This is essential for maintaining large projects. It will work in your favor to follow Angular’s recommended naming conventions. For example: feature-name.component.ts, feature-name.service.ts, feature-name.module.ts. Class names: FeatureNameComponent, FeatureNameService. The folder structure “reflecting module/feature hierarchy”.
Design self-contained components which have the ability to communicate effectively without creating tight coupling. Use @Input() for passing data down and @Output() (with EventEmitter) for emitting events up. This will ensure clean, predictable interactions. Avoid direct DOM manipulation or direct access to parent or child components.
Angular is built on TypeScript hence ignoring types defeats one of TypeScript’s primary benefits. Define interfaces and types for all your data structures, API responses, and complex objects. Make the most of the fact that TypeScript is built on JavaScript, but use these types rigorously throughout your components, services, and pipes.
2. Optimize Angular for Performance:
Implement best coding practices, which include using advanced strategies to improve the performance of your MEAN stack application.
Set changeDetection: ChangeDetectionStrategy.OnPush in your component decorators. This tells Angular to only check the component and its children if its input properties (@Input()) have changed (immutable data), or if an event originated from the component itself. This prevents Angular from checking every component and significantly optimizes the code.
Instead of loading all features at once, load modules only when needed. This helps reduce time-to-interactive and improve mobile performance. This ensures users only download the code they need, significantly improving initial load performance, especially critical in mobile-first markets.
Create dedicated services that encapsulate all HTTP requests to your backend APIs. Inject these services into components or other services as needed. Scattering HTTP calls throughout components creates redundancy, makes error handling inconsistent, and complicates API changes.
Perform code reviews regularly to catch mistakes and ensure the developers are following good coding practices. Automate this process as far as possible. Provide feedback when necessary to ensure code quality and provide more secure applications.
3. Secure Angular Apps Proactively
Don’t let a lack of security hinder your application. Implement secure coding practices like:
Sanitize inputs when binding HTML using Angular’s built-in DomSanitizer.
Use route guards (CanActivate, CanLoad) to protect routes.
Use Angular’s HttpInterceptor to manage auth headers securely.
Prevent cross-site scripting and server-side XSS attacks.
Implement route guards on the navigation.
Update the Angular libraries regularly.
4. Test Thoroughly and Implement Error Handling:
Testing may feel optional during early development, but bugs in production are far costlier. Set up CI pipelines to run tests automatically on commits. Prioritize testing critical logic, API integrations, and reusable components.
That said, even most robust applications encounter errors. However, the key to success is to handle the errors gracefully. This impacts user experience and provides valuable debugging information.
Implement following with Angular:
Unit testing with Jasmine/Karma
End-to-end testing with Protractor (or Cypress)
TestBed for component isolation
Implement global HTTP error interceptors to catch and handle API errors consistently.
