Styled Components vs TailwindCss (UIs Showdown)
Tags: react, css
Published: 2024-06-28 16:09:58

As a front-end developer, when it comes to styling user interfaces, two popular options always come to mind: Styled Components and Tailwind CSS. Both offer distinct approaches, and the "better" choice depends on your project's specific needs, although I have my preferred option of the two, but lets take on a journey to understand what both styling frameworks have to offer and leave the picking to you!

## STYLED COMPONENTS

Talking about the reuse-ability of components style of thinking and approach, Styled Components embraces a component-centric approach. Styles are encapsulated within JavaScript components, promoting code   maintainability. With styled components, css code is specific to the component it is being used for, as this allows for component-specific styling and helps to reduce the problem of unused styling when a component isn't rendered or in use 


![An Example of styled component usage](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/v2nkq62sg2nnn7szggg3.png)


## TAILWINDCSS 

Tailwind tends to lean to the ideology of utility first. Utility first just boils down to styling that does a specific thing, ranging from padding, colour, e.t.c. Tailwind provides a vast amount of predefined utility classes that users could apply directly to their components and dumb the hassle of write css code from scratch.

![Tailwind, react ui](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/j3bv6rs8zq8ljrwskq5h.png)

Here are some key points that seek to delve into the strengths and difference of these frameworks

## Theming 

- **Styled Components:** 
Offers built-in theming capabilities. You can define themes with variables and easily apply them to styled components for consistent UI styles

- **Tailwindcss** :
Requires customisation of its default theme through configuration files. While effective, it might not be as intuitive as Styled Components' theming approach.


## PERFORMANCE

- **Styled Components:** 
Might have a slight overhead due to the runtime manipulation of styles. However, this is generally negligible for most modern web applications.

- **Tailwind CSS:** 
Generally considered performant due to its reliance on pre-defined utility classes. However, excessive class usage can lead to larger CSS payloads.

This is great to know, but when really is the best time to choose either of the framework seeing they both offer different approach to solving major styling issues.

1. You're working on a large-scale React project with a focus on reusability and maintainability.( Styled Component preferably)

2. You prefer a utility-first approach with fine-grained control over styles. (Tailwind all the way)

3. You value clear separation of concerns and keeping styles encapsulated within components. (Styled Component)

4. You prioritize a component-based approach to UI development.
  (Styled Component)

5. You need a rapid prototyping tool for quick UI development.
   (Tailwind)

## Conclusion

Both Styled Components and Tailwind CSS are excellent tools. The best choice depends on your project's specific requirements and team preferences.

Consider Styled Components if you prioritize component-based development, maintainability, and theming in React projects.

Opt for Tailwind CSS if you value rapid prototyping, utility-first styling, and a gentler learning curve, especially for teams with traditional CSS experience.

If you are asking about my preferred option, then it will be Tailwindcss, due to its simplicity and straightforwardness. During my time interning at HNG, i am looking towards using it to build worthwhile projects. Kindly find out more about this using https://hng.tech/internship or https://hng.tech/premium. 

This should be fun at its best. Thanks for taking out time to read