How ShadCN is better than AndD

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In the world of web development, selecting the right UI framework is crucial for building efficient, maintainable, and visually appealing applications. For a long time, Ant Design (AntD) has been a go-to choice for developers due to its robust component library, ease of use, and extensive documentation. However, ShadCN, is gaining attention for its innovative approach to design and development in this field. This blog post explores how ShadCN stands out compared to Ant Design, with examples. For information about blockchain and cryptocurrency, visit our blockchain development services. 

What is Ant Design?

Ant Design, developed by Alibaba, is a React UI library that offers a wide range of pre-designed components. It's well-known for its comprehensive documentation, large community, and extensive ecosystem. AntD provides a ready-to-use solution for large applications, making it popular among developers looking for a mature, stable framework. 

What is ShadCN?

ShadCN is a relatively new UI library designed with a focus on modern web standards, modularity, and customization. Unlike Ant Design, ShadCN is not just a collection of UI components but a framework that emphasizes building highly customizable and lightweight UI components using modern CSS like Tailwind CSS.

Customization and Theming

Ant Design 

AntD offers theming options, but the framework's preset design language limits them. To customize themes in AntD, you often need to override CSS variables or write your own styles. This can sometimes result in design inconsistencies. 

ShadCN 

ShadCN, on the other hand, is designed to be customized. It uses Tailwind CSS, a CSS framework that lets developers add styles right in their JSX. This means you can style things more and flexibly making it simpler to create custom themes without fighting against existing styles.

Example

// Ant Design: Custom Button with Theme

 Custom AntD Button


// ShadCN: Custom Button with Tailwind

Custom ShadCN Button

In this example, ShadCN's use of Tailwind classes makes it easy to apply custom styles directly within the component, This approach helps avoid clashes with existing styles.

Performance

Ant Design

AntD is known for its extensive component library, but this can also be a shortcoming in implementation. Adding AntD to your implementation means importing a number of styles and components, some of which you may not use. This increases the size of the bundle and can lengthen the load time.

ShadCN

ShadCN promotes a more modular approach, where only the necessary components and processes are part of the project. This makes bundle size smaller and more efficient, especially for larger applications. Using the Tailwind utility classes further reduces the need for additional CSS, allowing for faster rendering times.

Flexibility in Design

Ant Design

AntD provides a consistent design language that is great for maintaining equality across applications. However, sometimes these conventions can be limiting, especially for developers looking to implement unique or non-standard designs.

ShadCN

ShadCN provides great design flexibility by allowing developers to easily create custom components. Using this first approach means it's not limited to pre-defined methods or objects, and gives you the freedom to create a truly unique user interface.

Example

// Ant Design: Standard Card Component

 
Card content


// ShadCN: Custom Card Component

 ShadCN Card
 
Card content