Today I learned

Have you used Web Components?

I have never used Web Components before. I’ve heard of them, for sure. I’ve seen several blog posts and coding examples about how to build web applications with them. But I never actually used code that included Web Components.

I never considered choosing them for a new website instead of React or any other JavaScript Framework. I always thought: they seemed to be a general approach for building web applications so we, as developers, wouldn’t need to rely on independent frameworks anymore. But the point where they would overtake never came.

Ever wondered why they haven’t succeeded yet? Dave Rupert has a lot to say about this. He wrote a blog post, “If Web Components are so great, why am I not using them?” ↗ Opens in new tab where he shares his opinion on why web components haven’t taken over yet, and what he’d done differently if he could turn back time.

I’ll summarize his key takeaways here, but make sure you’ll check out his whole blog post and the included links because reading his take on the topic is super interesting.

In general, Dave says Web Components have a marketing problem. That’s the biggest problem. This can be broken down into the following points:

• Web Components were designed for framework authors, not the average WordPress user. But Framework authors declined to use them because their problems were already solved otherwise.
• They were marketed as a Google thing and a bit too heavy on bashing other frameworks and selling Web Components as the only true thing.
• It was hard to convince others to use Web Components without the ability to refer to popular products built with them.
• They have been around for a few years but only became indeed supported recently.
• Their development is slow. If you’re waiting for a new feature for them available in every browser, you have to wait a couple of years.

Dave made many interesting points, which made me understand better why Web Components are not there yet where they were supposed to be. I’m curious how they will evolve in the future!

I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me via Email ↗ Opens in new tab.

If you want to support me, you can buy me a coffee. I would be very happy about it!

I wish you a wonderful day! Marco