Unlocking Insights from My First Major Web Development Experience: Key Lessons and Vue Tips
Embarking on a new web development project can be both exciting and instructive. Recently, I completed my inaugural substantial web application—a Notion extension designed to extract data from Notion databases and dispatch it via email reports. If you’re curious, you can explore the live version here: https://ocean-digest.com.
My tech stack included Nuxt.js, Supabase, Stripe, Notion API, Google Cloud (mainly for serverless functions), and Cloudflare. Through this experience, I’ve gathered some valuable insights that I believe could help fellow developers optimize their workflows and avoid common pitfalls.
Here are five key takeaways from my journey:
- Prioritize Data Validation Rules Before TypeScript Class Definitions
Initially, I crafted all my TypeScript interfaces and classes for the backend components before implementing data validation. Later, I realized integrating a dedicated validation library like Zod early on would have been more efficient. Not only does this streamline validation, but it also allows you to generate TypeScript types directly from your Zod schemas. This approach reduces discrepancies between your validation logic and type definitions, saving you time and reducing bugs.
- Maintain a Lean Pinia Store for State Management
At first, I stored miscellaneous UI states—such as modal visibility and notification arrays—in my Pinia store, which was cluttered and less maintainable. I found that decoupling UI logic into dedicated composables (using Nuxt’s useState) and keeping Pinia focused solely on core data led to a more organized codebase. Keep your store minimal: store only essential data and delegate UI-specific states elsewhere.
- Leverage provide/inject for Passing Data in Vue
While props are the standard method for parent-to-child data flow, they can become cumbersome with deep component trees—what’s known as prop drilling. Using Vue’s provide and inject offers a clean alternative for passing data across multiple layers. It’s especially useful for data that doesn’t change frequently and needs to be accessible by many nested components. Additionally, Vue 3’s defineExpose can facilitate communication from child to parent, reducing unnecessary prop passing and improving component encapsulation.
- Validate the Practicality of Features Before Investing Development Time
It’s tempting to add shiny new features, but it’s essential to evaluate their real-world utility first. Before diving into building something complex, ask
