You can use component libraries that provide pre-built, styled elements to simplify the development process for React apps. These libraries can save a lot of time and effort, but they can also limit your control over the styling of your app. If you need more control over your React apps' styling, consider using an unstyled component library.
What Are Unstyled Components Libraries?
Unstyled componentlibraries are used to develop accessible React applications. They are collections of reusable UI components without predefined styles. They provide you with the basic structure of UI elements without any styling. This gives you complete control over how your components look and feel.
Benefits of Unstyled Components Libraries
Here are some of the benefits of using unstyled component libraries:
1.Radix UI
Radix UI is an unstyled component library that focuses on accessibility. It provides a set of UI components designed to be accessible to all users. You canbuild beautiful React apps using Radix UI.
When working with Radix UI, you can install the individual components you need instead of the entire library. This ensures that you keep your application lightweight.
For example, if you only need an accordion component, you’re able to install it in your application by running the following command:
After installing the accordion component, you’re able to create accordions in your React app.
Here is an example of how to use the accordion component:
The code block above sets up a basic unstyled accordion component using the@radix-ui/react-accordionlibrary, allowing for collapsible items with customizable content.
The code will generate an accordion that looks like this:
2.React Aria
The React Aria library is a set of hooks for building user interfaces in React. The library makes it easier to create accessible web applications by providing a collection of components that follow best practices for accessibility.
Adobe developed and maintains the React Aria library. The library is a part of the more extensive Adobe Spectrum Design System, which provides a comprehensive set of design guidelines and resources for building accessible user interfaces. The elements provided by the React Aria library are unstyled, allowing you to customize the elements to fit your needs.
To use React Aria in your React application, install it by running the following command:
Here is an example of how to create a button component using theuseButtonhook:
Now you can import and render thebuttoncomponent in any other component you choose.
For example:
When you render the code block above, it will generate a simple button that looks like this:
If you are uncomfortable using React Aria because of the hooks, use theReact Aria Componentslibrary instead. This library provides pre-built components that are accessible by default. It’s a thin layer on top of the React Aria library. The components provided are unstyled, so the two libraries are very similar.
Base UI is an unstyled React UI library that provides UI components without styling. The Material UI team created Base UI with a set of foundational components you can use to build your own custom React apps. They based the Base UI library on the samerobust engineering as Material UI, but Base UI does not implement Material Design.
you’re able to install Base UI in your React application with this command:
Base UI provides components on the go, meaning you can directly import and use components from the library. It also provides hooks that you can use to create and configure your components.
Here is an example of using Base UI components:
This code generates a simple button using theButtoncomponent of the Base UI library. You can also use theuseButtonhook to perform the same task.
TheuseButtonhook and theButtoncomponent will generate an unstyled button, as shown in the image below.
4.Headless UI
Another library you can explore is Headless UI, which offers unstyled UI elements, giving you the freedom to customize the appearance and behavior of your UI components as you see fit.
You can install the library using the following command:
After installing the library, you can use the several components the library provides in your React application.
In this example, you create a popover using thePopovercomponent from the Headless UI library. The code block above will generate a popover that looks like this.
Get Complete Control With Unstyled Components
Unstyled component libraries give you complete control over the styling of your React application, allowing you to create unique user experiences. These libraries offer a range of options to suit your needs. You can create visually appealing and highly customizable React applications by leveraging the libraries mentioned above.
