Hi everyone! I’m working on a platform that connects couples with wedding service providers. Here’s my current tech setup:
Frontend: SvelteKit
Backend: Express.js (managing database operations, third-party integrations)
Authentication: Supabase (sessions stored in localStorage, though I realize cookies would be better)
Right now I’m using onMount for loading user profiles and vendor dashboards, which creates a slow and clunky experience. I discovered that I could handle Supabase authentication through cookies and create server-side Supabase clients directly in SvelteKit. This would enable proper SSR for session management and eliminate the messy client-side session handling.
Since most of my server logic is written in Express.js, I’m curious about a few things:
For those who’ve fully embraced SvelteKit as their backend solution:
- Did you migrate your database operations and external API integrations to SvelteKit routes?
- Is this pattern aligned with current web development best practices?
- What has your experience been regarding performance, scaling, and overall developer satisfaction?
I’m excited about the learning opportunity, but I want to avoid creating an inferior architecture that won’t handle growth well or become problematic in a live environment.
I did a similar migration two years back - Express to SvelteKit for a CMS. The auth upgrade alone made it worth it. Switching from localStorage to secure cookies killed so many edge cases and security headaches. Database stuff works great with SvelteKit’s server routes, but I’d keep complex third-party integrations in dedicated API endpoints instead of page server functions. Cleaner separation and way easier to debug. The SSR benefits you’re talking about are huge for UX, especially dashboard loading. One thing to watch - Express gives you more hosting flexibility. SvelteKit adapters can lock you into specific platforms. Performance-wise, SvelteKit’s integrated approach cut our response times by about 30% compared to all those client-server roundtrips. Learning curve isn’t bad if you do it incrementally instead of trying to rewrite everything at once.
made a switch to svelteKit last year - total game changer. its load functions are great for dashboard stuff, way cleaner than using onMount all over. migrating db ops to +page.server.js was easy enough. performance has been solid, just keep heavy tasks separate.
What kind of traffic are you expecting for your wedding platform? Migration sounds exciting but I’m curious about your current Express setup - how complex are those third-party integrations? Are they mostly webhooks or do you have heavy processing going on?