Let’s Say “Hello World” With SvelteKit

Are you ready to start building fast and efficient web applications? If so, you’ll definitely want to check out SvelteKit – a powerful application framework that makes it easy to create production-ready web apps with ease.

But before we dive into building our first SvelteKit application, let’s take a closer look at what Svelte and SvelteKit are and some of the standout features of SvelteKit. We’ll cover topics like file-based routing, pre-rendering, API routes, and data fetching, all of which are essential tools for building high-performance web applications.

Once we’ve covered the basics, we’ll walk you through the process of installing SvelteKit on your system, and show you how to build your first “Hello World” application using this powerful framework. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just getting started in the world of web development, this article is the perfect resource for anyone looking to build fast and efficient web applications with ease.

So, grab your coffee and your favorite code editor, and let’s dive into the world of SvelteKit and build our first “Hello World” application!

What is Svelte?

Are you a software developer looking for a fast and efficient way to create web apps? If so, you might be interested in learning about Svelte – a new front-end framework that’s been making waves in the world of web development. But what exactly is Svelte, and how does it differ from other popular frameworks like React and Vue?

At its core, Svelte is a front-end framework that allows you to build web apps with ease. One of its biggest selling points is its build-time conversion of your application into Javascript, which enables faster loading times and a smoother user experience. Unlike other frameworks that require a runtime library, Svelte converts your code into highly optimized vanilla JavaScript during the build process.

But that’s not all – Svelte also offers a powerful set of pre-built components that you can use to create stunning and interactive UIs. And because Svelte’s components are highly reusable and customizable, you can save time and effort while still creating beautiful, high-performing web apps.

So, whether you’re a seasoned developer or just getting started in the world of web development, Svelte is definitely worth checking out. With its fast performance and intuitive UI components, it’s no wonder that Svelte is quickly gaining popularity among developers.

What is SvelteKit?

To begin with, SvelteKit is a framework that is built on top of Svelte, which is a popular front-end framework that allows developers to build high-performance web applications with ease. While Svelte focuses on creating UI components that can be easily reused across applications, SvelteKit goes a step further by offering a full-featured application framework that provides everything needed to create a production-ready web app.

One of the key benefits of using SvelteKit is that it takes care of all the heavy lifting associated with creating a web application. This includes handling routing, server-side rendering, and authentication, all of which can be complex and time-consuming to implement manually. With SvelteKit, developers can focus on building their application logic and leave the infrastructure to the framework.

Another major advantage of SvelteKit is its seamless integration with Svelte. Since SvelteKit is built on top of Svelte, developers can take advantage of all the features that make Svelte a popular choice for building high-performance web applications. This includes features like reactive data binding, component-based architecture, and a lightweight runtime.

In addition, SvelteKit provides a number of additional features that are specifically designed to make it easy to build deployable, production-ready applications. We will talk about these features in the next section.

SvelteKit is an exciting new framework that is quickly gaining popularity among web developers. With its powerful features, seamless integration with Svelte, and ease of use, SvelteKit is a great choice for anyone looking to build high-performance web applications with ease.

Features of SvelteKit

SvelteKit is a feature-packed application framework that allows developers to build high-performance web apps with ease. Here are some of the standout features of SvelteKit:

File-Based Routing

With SvelteKit, you can organize your routes using a file-based system that makes it easy to manage and update your routes as your application evolves. This approach is intuitive and flexible and allows you to structure your application in a way that makes sense to you and your team.

Pre-Rendering

SvelteKit makes it easy to pre-render your pages at build time, which can significantly improve the performance of your web application. By pre-rendering your pages, you can reduce the time it takes to load your pages and provide a smoother and more seamless user experience.

API Routes

With SvelteKit, you can easily create API endpoints for your application that can be accessed by other services or applications. This makes it easy to integrate your application with other tools and services and can help you build more powerful and versatile applications.

Data Fetching

SvelteKit allows you to fetch data from a variety of sources, including APIs, databases, and static files. This makes it easy to build dynamic and interactive applications that can respond to user input and other external events. You can use SvelteKit’s built-in data fetching features or create your own custom data fetching logic.

Let’s Install SvelteKit!

First and foremost, you’ll need a text editor – a software application that allows you to create and edit code. Some popular options include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom. Once you have a text editor installed on your system, you’ll be able to write and edit code with ease. In addition to a text editor, you’ll also need to install Node.js – a powerful and versatile JavaScript runtime that is used to build a wide range of web applications. Installing Node.js is a simple process that can be completed in just a few minutes, and it’s essential for anyone who wants to build high-performance web apps.

Now go to your terminal and type the following command:

npm create svelte@latest hello-world
Code language: Bash (bash)

hello-world is the name of the project that we have created, you can rename this project to anything you like!

This will open an interactive CLI. Let’s take you through all the options available 🧁

We will be choosing the Skeleton project for this demonstration. Use your arrow keys to move to other options and press Enter to select it.

You can choose to enter type checking, for now, we will set this option to No.

ESLint and Prettier are good tools to have in your bucket to highlight errors and warnings and properly format your code, hence, we will select them here. This completes our installation and now you will be provided with the next steps.

Saying “Hello World” with SvelteKit!

Move into the directory hello-world or whatever your project has been named. Then run npm install to install all the dependencies of the project. If you are working with git (which is optional but recommended), run git init && git add -A && git commit -m "Initial commit". Finally, to see your application running, enter the command npm run dev -- --open in your terminal.

Your application will run on port 5173 in your browser. This is a boilerplate that is provided when you install SvelteKit. To edit the contents of this page we will be looking at +page.svelte file which is inside the ./src/routes folder.

For now, we’ll make a simple change in the <h1></h1> tag and replace it with “Hello World” and remove the <p></p> tag.

This is how our page looks in the browser now.

Congratulations! You have built a basic application with SvelteKit now.

Conclusion

And there you have it – a comprehensive guide to building your first web application with SvelteKit! By now, you should have a solid understanding of what Svelte and SvelteKit are and some of the standout features that make SvelteKit such a powerful tool for building fast and efficient web applications.

We’ve covered everything from the process of installing SvelteKit to building your first “Hello World” application. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just getting started in the world of web development, we hope that this article has provided you with the insights and tips you need to succeed.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start building some awesome web applications with SvelteKit! And be sure to keep exploring and learning, as the world of web development is constantly evolving and there’s always something new to discover.

Happy Learning!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is SvelteKit used for?

One really neat thing about SvelteKit is that it lets you create a website that’s both dynamic (meaning it can change based on what people do) and feature-rich (meaning it has lots of cool stuff on it). You can use it to create all sorts of things, like making sure that your website shows up really quickly, or creating an API (which is like a special way to talk to other programs). And the best part is that SvelteKit makes it really easy to change things as you go along. When you’re working on your website, you can quickly see how it’s going to look and work without having to spend a lot of time waiting for it to load. This makes it easy for you to make changes and see how they look, so you can make your website look and work exactly the way you want it to.

Is SvelteKit a fullstack?

SvelteKit is like a toolbox that has everything you need to build a full-stack web application. It’s similar to other tools like Next or Nuxt, but it has its own special features and conventions. With SvelteKit, you don’t have to worry about how to connect the front-end and back-end of your application. It’s a framework that seamlessly integrates with Svelte, which is a UI framework that helps you create user interfaces. SvelteKit takes care of all the heavy lifting to unite the front-end and back-end of your application, making it easy for you to build fast and efficient web applications.

What language is SvelteKit?

SvelteKit is like a special tool built on top of Svelte that lets you build parts of your website really easily. It’s like having a magic wand that helps you make the website look the way you want it to. And the best part is, you don’t need to learn a bunch of new things to use it! You can use the same things you already know, like HTML, CSS and, JavaScript and, make things look pretty.

Is SvelteKit free?

Yes! SvelteKit is a free and open-source application framework, which means you can download it and start using it right away without incurring any costs.