How to Import SVGs Into Your Project — A Step-by-Step Guide

SVG Import in Popular Frameworks: React, Vue, and AngularSVGs (Scalable Vector Graphics) are essential for modern web interfaces: they scale without loss of quality, often have smaller file sizes for icons and illustrations, and can be styled or animated via CSS and JavaScript. Importing SVGs into component-based frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular can be done in several ways, each with trade-offs in performance, accessibility, styling flexibility, and developer ergonomics. This article covers methods for importing SVGs in React, Vue, and Angular, explains pros and cons, shows practical examples, and offers recommendations for when to use each approach.

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Why SVG import strategy matters

Choosing how to import SVGs affects:

• Rendering performance (HTTP requests vs inlining)
• Ability to style and animate elements (CSS/JS access to inner SVG nodes)
• Caching and bundle size
• Accessibility (title/role/aria attributes)
• Development workflow (build tools, loaders, and type safety)

Common SVG import strategies:

• Using or CSS background-image
• Inlining raw SVG markup directly in components
• Importing SVGs as React/Vue/Angular components (via loaders or plugins)
• Fetching SVGs dynamically and injecting into the DOM
• Using sprite sheets or symbol-sprite techniques

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React

React projects typically use bundlers (Webpack, Vite) that support multiple ways of handling SVGs.

1) Using or CSS background

Simplest: reference the file path or import URL. Example:

import logoUrl from './logo.svg'; function App() {   return <img src={logoUrl} alt="Logo" />; } 

Pros: easy, preserved caching, minimal bundle impact.
Cons: cannot style internal SVG elements, limited animation control.

2) Inline SVG in JSX

Copy SVG markup into a component. Allows full styling/animation. Example:

function Logo() {   return (     <svg viewBox="0 0 100 100" role="img" aria-label="Logo">       <circle cx="50" cy="50" r="40" fill="currentColor" />     </svg>   ); } 

Pros: full access to elements, CSS and JS animations.
Cons: duplicates across components unless centralized; increases bundle size.

3) Import SVG as a React component

Using svgr (built-in in Create React App and supported by Vite/webpack plugins), an SVG file becomes a React component. Example:

import { ReactComponent as Logo } from './logo.svg'; function App() {   return <Logo className="logo" aria-label="Logo" />; } 

Pros: combines convenience with element access; reusable.
Cons: increases JS bundle size (SVG becomes part of JS), requires build tooling.

4) SVG sprites or symbol sheets

Combine icons into one file and reference via . Example:

// sprite.svg contains <symbol id="icon-search">...</symbol> function Icon() {   return <svg><use href="/sprite.svg#icon-search" /></svg>; } 

Pros: single request, good caching.
Cons: cross-origin and injection complexity, older browsers require workarounds.

5) Dynamic fetching & injection

Fetch SVG via fetch() then inject innerHTML into an element (or use DOMParser). Pros: allows runtime manipulation and caching.
Cons: XSS risk if not sanitized; extra complexity.

Accessibility notes for React:

• Use role=“img” and aria-label or