Chapter 6. Component Libraries
If you are building an application of any size, you are likely to need a component library. The data types that native HTML supports are somewhat limited, and the implementations can vary from browser to browser. For example, a date input field looks very different on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge browsers.
Component libraries allow you to create a consistent feel for your application. They will often adapt well when switching between desktop and mobile clients. Most importantly, component libraries often give your application a usability boost. They have been either generated from design standards that have been thoroughly tested (such as Material Design) or developed over several years. Any rough corners have generally been smoothed out.
Be aware: there is no such thing as the perfect component library. They all have strengths and weaknesses, and you need to choose a library that best meets your needs. If you have a large UX team and a robust set of preexisting design standards, you will likely want a library that allows for a lot of tweaking to adapt the library to match your corporate themes. An example would be Material-UI, which allows you to modify its components quite significantly. If you have a small UX team or no UX team at all, you would probably want to consider something like Semantic UI, which is clean and functional and gets you up and running quickly.
Whichever library you choose, always remember that the essential thing in UX is not ...
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