⚠️ Personal Opinion: The views expressed in this blog post are solely my own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or entity I may be affiliated with. And remember, you can always disagree with me!

Many of you might have heard about Shadcn UI, a popular component library for React applications. While it has gained significant traction in the developer community, I want to share my personal opinion on why I believe you shouldn't use Shadcn UI for your projects.

Act 1: The Hype

Shadcn UI has been praised for its ease of use, beautiful design, and extensive component library. Many developers (including me!) used it in every projects i had. It attracted me at the first time, and i was thinking of, “wow, what a great component!”, and i was using it in my every projects.

Shadcn UI was great! Like a magic, vap, vap, vap, and it was done! So easy, so fast, so beautiful. Amazed on how simple it was, from building it, customizing it, and deploying it.

Act 2: The Reality

However, as I continued to use Shadcn UI in more complex projects, I started to notice several design issues, “why, this site looks soo blend and not original?” I thought.

The components, while beautiful, felt generic and lacked uniqueness. Many websites started to look the same, leading to a lack of brand identity. I realized that relying heavily on a component library like Shadcn UI can lead to a homogenized web experience. Websites built with Shadcn UI often share similar layouts, color schemes, and overall aesthetics,

And yes, that's how Shadcn UI and another UI components works, the more simpler and open you want it to be, the more generic it will be. which can make it challenging for businesses to stand out in a crowded digital landscape.

It was great for making some minor projects, but for long-term projects especially for large companies, i think it's not a good idea to use it.

Act 3: The Despair

After some time, i decided to still use Shadcn UI, but ended up customizing it heavily to make it more unique. I started to explore other options, such as building custom components, using CSS frameworks like Tailwind CSS, or even exploring other component libraries that offer more flexibility and uniqueness.

And good thing, they released a new feature! It's called Registry, which allows you to use another community-made components that are not strictly following shadcn's design system. And it was, great! I can finally use more unique components that are not strictly following shadcn's design system.

Act 4: The Conclusion

In conclusion, while Shadcn UI offers a quick and easy way to build beautiful React applications, I believe it's essential to consider the long-term implications of using such a component library. The lack of uniqueness and brand identity can be a significant drawback for businesses looking to establish a strong online presence. I encourage developers to explore other options and consider building custom components that truly reflect their brand's identity and values.

But hey, after i found 21st.dev, and any other Shadcn-compatible component, it was a game changer for me.

Using Shadcn UI and/or other UI Components is not a bad idea, and i'm still using it at the time i wrote this blog! but using it without any customization is a bad idea. So, use it wisely!