Inertia.js + Vue 3 in Laravel 2026: The Complete Modern SPA Guide

Single Page Applications (SPAs) have become the default expectation for modern SaaS, dashboards, and internal tools. But building them with a separate API layer often leads to duplicated logic, complex state management, and slower iteration.

In 2026, the Laravel + Inertia.js + Vue 3 stack solves this pain elegantly: you get SPA performance with monolith simplicity. This guide explores the full setup, real-world examples, and design patterns to help you ship faster and smarter.

🚀 Why This Stack?

Laravel: battle-tested backend with routing, auth, and data handling.
Inertia.js: a glue layer that lets you use Laravel routes/controllers directly in Vue.
Vue 3: reactive frontend with Composition API, Pinia state management, and Vite builds.

Together, they eliminate the need for a separate API, while still delivering a modern SPA experience.

🛠️ Setup Walkthrough

laravel new inertia-spa
cd inertia-spa
composer require inertiajs/inertia-laravel
npm install vue @inertiajs/vue3

resources/js/app.js:

import { createApp, h } from 'vue'
import { createInertiaApp } from '@inertiajs/vue3'

createInertiaApp({
  resolve: name => require(`./Pages/${name}.vue`),
  setup({ el, App, props, plugin }) {
    createApp({ render: () => h(App, props) })
      .use(plugin)
      .mount(el)
  },
})

🧭 Real-World Example: SaaS Dashboard

Laravel route:

Route::get('/dashboard', function () {
    return Inertia::render('Dashboard', [
        'user' => Auth::user(),
        'stats' => getUserStats(),
        'notifications' => Notification::latest()->take(5)->get(),
    ]);
});

Vue page:

<template>
  <div>
    <h1>Welcome, {{ user.name }}</h1>
    <StatsCard :stats="stats" />
    <Notifications :items="notifications" />
  </div>
</template>

<script setup>
defineProps(['user', 'stats', 'notifications'])
</script>

This pattern keeps business logic in Laravel while Vue handles presentation and interactivity.

⚡ Design Pattern 1: Smart Forms

Instead of juggling Axios and CSRF tokens, Inertia simplifies form handling:

<script setup>
import { useForm } from '@inertiajs/vue3'

const form = useForm({
  title: '',
  body: '',
})

function submit() {
  form.post('/posts')
}
</script>

Laravel handles validation and redirects seamlessly.
Pattern takeaway: keep validation in Laravel, keep UX in Vue.

⚡ Design Pattern 2: Shared Layouts

Use Vue components as layouts:

<template>
  <div>
    <Navbar />
    <main><slot /></main>
  </div>
</template>

Then wrap pages with <Layout> to ensure consistent navigation and styling.
Pattern takeaway: centralize layouts for maintainability.

⚡ Design Pattern 3: State Management with Pinia

For complex SaaS apps, Pinia integrates smoothly:

import { defineStore } from 'pinia'

export const useUserStore = defineStore('user', {
  state: () => ({ name: '', stats: {} }),
  actions: {
    setUser(data) {
      this.name = data.name
      this.stats = data.stats
    }
  }
})

Pattern takeaway: use Pinia for global state, Inertia props for page-specific data.

⚡ Design Pattern 4: SEO & Meta Tags

Inertia’s head manager lets you set meta tags dynamically:

<script setup>
import { Head } from '@inertiajs/vue3'
</script>

<template>
  <Head title="Dashboard - My SaaS" />
  <h1>Dashboard</h1>
</template>

Pattern takeaway: treat SEO as a first-class citizen, even in SPAs.

📦 Deployment Best Practices

Vite builds: fast, modern bundling.
Lazy loading: split Vue components for performance.
Caching: use Laravel response cache for Inertia payloads.
Monitoring: log Inertia responses for debugging.

🔑 Final Thoughts

Inertia.js + Vue 3 in Laravel 2026 is more than a stack — it’s a philosophy. It rejects unnecessary complexity and embraces simplicity without sacrificing modern UX.

By following these design patterns — smart forms, shared layouts, Pinia state, and SEO integration — you can build SaaS dashboards and SPAs that are fast, maintainable, and delightful to use.