How Standalone Components Changed My Angular Development Forever

The journey from Angular novice to senior developer spans approximately six years, marked by continuous learning and mastering transformative features like standalone components, which have revolutionized development workflows by eliminating NgModule boilerplate, enabling clearer dependency management, improving performance through better tree-shaking, simplifying project structure, and enhancing modularity, reusability, and testability while maintaining Angular’s structured approach that makes it valuable for enterprise applications.

Understanding Standalone Components

Standalone components represent one of Angular’s most significant evolutions since I began my developer journey. In essence, they’re components that don’t require declaration in an NgModule, allowing them to function independently with a simple property in the decorator.

Before standalone components arrived, my workflow involved creating a component and then immediately declaring it in a module:

@Component({
  selector: "hello",
  template: `Hello {{ name }}`,
})
class HelloComponent { }

@NgModule({
  declarations: [AppComponent, HelloComponent],
  imports: [BrowserModule, FormsModule],
  bootstrap: [AppComponent],
})
export class AppModule { }

This created unnecessary boilerplate and made component dependencies less transparent. With standalone components, I simply import what I need directly:

@Component({
  selector: "hello",
  template: `Hello {{ name }}`,
  imports: [CommonModule]
})
class Hello { }

To use this component elsewhere, I just import it directly in the parent component:

@Component({
  selector: "parent",
  template: ``,
  imports: [Hello],
})
class Parent { }

This approach has transformed my development experience by offering several key benefits:

• Simplified architecture: I no longer need to maintain complex module hierarchies

• Clear dependencies: Each component explicitly states what it needs

• Improved maintainability: Components are self-contained and easier to test

• Better tree-shaking: The bundler can more efficiently eliminate unused code

According to the latest Angular documentation, while standalone components coexist with NgModules in the framework, they are now the recommended path for all new applications and libraries. Angular’s official tutorials and examples have been updated to use standalone components by default, reflecting the framework’s strategic direction toward simplifying the developer experience.

The transition wasn’t immediate — many third-party libraries still relied on NgModules when standalone components were first introduced. However, as the ecosystem has evolved, I’ve found that standalone components have significantly reduced boilerplate code while making my applications more modular and easier to maintain.

Simplifying Development and Project Structure

Standalone components have fundamentally changed how I structure Angular projects, offering a cleaner architecture that better reflects modern frontend development practices. This shift represents more than just a technical improvement — it’s a philosophical one that aligns with component-driven development.

The most immediate benefit I’ve experienced is the dramatic reduction in boilerplate code. Before standalone components, my projects were filled with numerous module files that often contained just a few declarations and imports. Now, I can focus on building features rather than maintaining module hierarchies.

My typical project structure has evolved from module-based organization:

src/
  app/
    features/
      feature-a/
        feature-a.module.ts
        components/
        services/
      feature-b/
        feature-b.module.ts
        components/
        services/

To a more component-focused approach:

src/
  app/
    features/
      feature-a/
        components/
        services/
      feature-b/
        components/
        services/

This flatter structure has improved my development workflow considerably. Each component now clearly declares its dependencies through its imports array, making it immediately obvious what other components or directives it relies on. When I look at a component file, I can see exactly what it needs without having to check a separate module file.

Lazy loading has also become more intuitive. Instead of creating dedicated modules just for routing, I can now use the load function directly in my route configurations:

const routes: Routes = [
  {
    path: 'feature',
    loadComponent: () => import('./features/feature/feature').then(m => m.Feature)
  }
];

This component-based lazy loading creates smaller, more efficient bundles and improves application startup time — a benefit I’ve observed firsthand in larger applications.

The migration process to standalone components has been surprisingly smooth. Angular provides a dedicated schematic that handles most of the conversion automatically:

ng generate @angular/core:standalone

This three-step process — converting components to standalone, removing unnecessary NgModules, and bootstrapping with standalone APIs — has allowed me to incrementally adopt standalone components without rewriting entire applications.

Perhaps the most significant advantage is that standalone components better support tree-shaking. Since dependencies are explicitly declared at the component level, bundlers can more effectively eliminate unused code, resulting in smaller production bundles. In one project, I observed a 15% reduction in initial bundle size after migrating to standalone components.

While NgModules aren’t completely gone from my workflow — especially when working with older libraries — standalone components have become my default approach for new development. They’ve simplified my codebase, improved performance, and made my applications more maintainable.

Enhancing Modularity, Reusability, and Testability

Angular’s standalone components have revolutionized frontend development by enhancing modularity, reusability, and testability. By decoupling components from modules, developers can now import and use components across different parts of an application without module dependencies. This self-contained approach promotes code consistency while reducing duplication. For example:

// Before: Module-based approach
@NgModule({
  declarations: [UserProfileComponent],
  imports: [CommonModule],
  exports: [UserProfileComponent]
})
export class UserModule { }

// After: Standalone component
@Component({
  selector: 'app-user-profile',
  imports: [CommonModule],
  templateUrl: './user-profile.html'
})
export class UserProfile { }

Testing and maintenance have become significantly more straightforward with standalone components. Dependencies imported directly into components allow tests to focus on isolated behavior without complex module setup, simplifying the mocking process and reducing testing time. Each component explicitly declares its dependencies, making codebases more transparent and aligning with component-driven development principles. For instance:

// Testing a standalone component
describe('UserProfile', () => {
  beforeEach(async () => {
    await TestBed.configureTestingModule({
      imports: [UserProfile]
    }).compileComponents();

    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(UserProfile);
    component = fixture.componentInstance;
  });

  it('should create the component', () => {
    expect(component).toBeTruthy();
  });
});

Performance Gains and Lazy Loading

Standalone components deliver significant performance improvements that have transformed my Angular applications, particularly in two critical areas: bundle size optimization and lazy loading capabilities.

Reduced Bundle Size

One of the most immediate performance benefits I’ve experienced is the reduction in overall bundle size. By eliminating NgModule boilerplate code, standalone components naturally produce leaner applications. In my larger projects, this optimization has been substantial — with initial bundle sizes decreasing by up to 50% after migration.

This improvement stems from standalone components’ superior tree-shaking capabilities. Since dependencies are explicitly declared at the component level rather than bundled within modules, Angular’s compiler can more precisely identify and eliminate unused code. The result is smaller, more efficient bundles that load faster and consume fewer resources.

Enhanced Lazy Loading

Standalone components have revolutionized how I implement lazy loading in my applications. Previously, lazy loading required creating dedicated feature modules with their own routing configurations — a process that involved significant boilerplate and complexity:

// Old approach with NgModules
const routes: Routes = [
  {
    path: "feature",
    loadChildren: () => import("./feature/feature.module").then(m => m.FeatureModule)
  }
];

With standalone components, lazy loading has become remarkably straightforward:

// New approach with standalone components
const routes: Routes = [
  {
    path: "feature",
    loadComponent: () => import("./feature/feature").then(m => m.Feature)
  }
];

This simplified approach has enabled me to implement more granular lazy loading strategies. Instead of lazy-loading entire feature modules, I can now lazy-load individual components. This fine-grained control allows me to defer loading non-critical UI elements until they’re needed, significantly improving initial load times.

Real-World Performance Gains

The performance improvements aren’t just theoretical. In one enterprise application I worked on, migrating to standalone components allowed us to transform a semi-monolithic application into a fully lazy-loaded one in less than a day. The main application bundle was reduced to less than half its original size, with each screen offloaded to separate bundles that load only when needed.

This approach has been particularly valuable for applications with complex dashboards or multiple feature sets. By lazy-loading individual components rather than entire modules, I’ve been able to prioritize the loading of critical UI elements while deferring secondary features until they’re requested.

The performance benefits extend to development workflow as well. With standalone components, compilation times are faster because the Angular compiler has fewer dependencies to resolve for templates. This leads to quicker feedback cycles during development and a more responsive development experience overall.

Perhaps most importantly, these performance improvements required minimal refactoring effort. Using Angular’s migration tools, I was able to convert existing components to standalone ones while preserving their functionality, then gradually optimize lazy loading paths to maximize performance gains. This incremental approach meant I could realize significant performance benefits without a complete rewrite of the application.

Adoption and Migration Strategies

Standalone components have gained significant traction since their introduction, though adoption patterns vary across the Angular ecosystem. In real-world business applications, companies are taking measured approaches to migration rather than rushing to refactor entire codebases. This pragmatic stance makes sense — while standalone components offer clear benefits, the transition requires careful planning.

Current Adoption Landscape

The adoption of standalone components has been incremental rather than revolutionary. Many organizations are implementing hybrid approaches, gradually introducing standalone components alongside existing module-based architecture. This strategy allows teams to realize benefits without disrupting ongoing development or taking on unnecessary risk.

For new projects, standalone components have become the recommended default approach. Angular’s official documentation now prominently features standalone components as the preferred way to build applications, signaling a clear direction for the framework’s future.

Effective Migration Strategies

When migrating existing applications to standalone components, several approaches have proven successful:

Incremental Component Migration: Converting leaf components (those with no child components) first, then working upward through the component hierarchy. This bottom-up approach minimizes disruption and allows for gradual testing at each stage.

// Before migration
@Component({
  selector: 'app-user-card',
  templateUrl: './user-card.component.html'
})
export class UserCardComponent { }

// After migration
@Component({
  selector: 'app-user-card',
  templateUrl: './user-card.html',
  imports: [CommonModule]
})
export class UserCard { }

Feature-by-Feature Conversion: Migrating entire features or modules at once, which maintains clear boundaries between converted and unconverted code. This approach works well for applications with distinct feature modules.

Using Angular’s Migration Schematic: Angular provides a dedicated schematic that automates much of the conversion process:

ng generate @angular/core:standalone

This tool analyzes your application and offers three migration options: preparing the application, converting components to standalone, and removing unnecessary NgModules.

Practical Considerations

When planning a migration, several factors should influence your strategy:

Application Size and Complexity: Larger applications benefit from more gradual approaches, while smaller projects might be converted all at once.

Team Familiarity: Teams new to Angular may find it easier to start with standalone components, while experienced teams might need time to adjust their mental models.

Third-Party Dependencies: Some libraries may still rely on NgModules, requiring hybrid approaches until the ecosystem fully catches up.

Testing Strategy: Standalone components simplify testing, but existing test suites may need updates to accommodate the new pattern.

Case Studies and Success Stories

Organizations that have embraced standalone components report several benefits:

• Improved Modularity: Applications become more organized with clearer dependency relationships.

• Enhanced Performance: Bundle sizes decrease through better tree-shaking and more granular lazy loading.

• Simplified Onboarding: New developers can understand component relationships more easily without having to learn NgModule intricacies.

• Faster Development Cycles: Reduced boilerplate and clearer component boundaries lead to more efficient development.

One particularly effective approach has been to use standalone components for new features while gradually migrating existing code. This allows teams to immediately benefit from the improved development experience while spreading the migration effort over time.

Migration Challenges

The transition isn’t without challenges. Common issues include:

• Mental Model Shift: Developers accustomed to NgModule-based architecture need time to adjust their thinking.

• Dependency Management: Moving from module-level to component-level dependency injection requires careful refactoring.

• Library Compatibility: Not all third-party libraries have fully embraced standalone components yet.

Despite these challenges, the possibility to incrementally adopt standalone components in existing applications has made the migration process manageable for most teams. The gradual approach allows organizations to realize benefits incrementally while minimizing disruption to ongoing development.

Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Standalone components represent a fundamental shift in Angular’s architecture that addresses long-standing pain points in the framework. The primary advantage isn’t simply removing NgModules but rather making fully lazy-loaded applications trivially easy to implement. This capability allows developers to transform semi-monolithic applications into optimized, bundle-efficient applications with minimal refactoring effort.

The benefits extend beyond just performance improvements:

• Simplified developer experience: By removing the conceptual overhead of NgModules, Angular becomes more approachable for beginners while streamlining workflows for experienced developers.

• Improved maintainability: Isolating functionality within standalone components simplifies maintenance and updates. Changes or bug fixes in one component don’t affect others, reducing the risk of unintended consequences.

• Clear separation of concerns: Standalone components naturally adhere to the Single Responsibility Principle, making code more organized and easier to understand.

• Faster onboarding: New developers can quickly grasp Angular’s core concepts without being overwhelmed by module complexity.

While manual imports initially seemed like a drawback, modern IDEs with Angular Language Service integration have made this concern virtually disappear. The automatic import functionality creates a seamless development experience that feels natural and efficient.

For existing applications, the migration path is remarkably straightforward. Angular’s dedicated schematic (ng generate @angular/core:standalone) handles most of the conversion automatically. This three-step process — converting components to standalone, removing unnecessary NgModules, and bootstrapping with standalone APIs — allows for incremental adoption without disrupting ongoing development.

The decision to adopt standalone components isn’t binary. Many teams are implementing hybrid approaches, gradually introducing standalone components alongside existing module-based architecture. This pragmatic stance allows organizations to realize benefits incrementally while minimizing risk.

For new projects, standalone components have become the recommended default approach, signaling a clear direction for Angular’s future. The framework is evolving toward a more functional API compared to its previously heavier class-based approach.

However, it’s worth noting that module-based components still offer advantages for certain scenarios, particularly in large-scale applications where clear structure and centralized dependency management remain valuable. The module system provides established patterns for organizing complex codebases and remains fully supported.

Ultimately, standalone components represent Angular’s commitment to evolving with modern development practices while maintaining the structured approach that makes it valuable for enterprise applications. By simplifying the component model, improving performance through better lazy loading, and enhancing developer experience, standalone components have fundamentally changed how Angular applications are built — making development more efficient and enjoyable while producing higher-quality code.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this article or want to connect further, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.com, Medium.com and Dev.to. Let’s build a stronger Angular community together!