Everyone loves Tailwind. I open Reddit, I open daily.dev, I open Twitter, and I see people raving about Tailwind and how that's the way forward. Of course there are people below those posts that argue against using Tailwind, like always there's always someone who hates something that everyone else loves. But I think it's fair to say that Tailwind is pretty popular and has a lot of momentum behind it.
I was one of those people who hated Tailwind. I really thought it was something that was going to make it worse to manage my codebase, and oh-my-god the class names, the HTML that is going to be longer than ever before, ew just ew.
Welp, I got the chance to properly use TailWind in production setting and I have to admit, I was wrong. Tailwind is pretty great. Here are some of the reasons why I changed my mind.
Performance Benefits
One of the most compelling reasons to choose Tailwind is its performance characteristics:
Smaller CSS Bundle Sizes
Traditional CSS frameworks often come with a lot of unused styles that bloat your CSS bundle. Tailwind uses a utility-first approach and purges unused styles in production builds, resulting in significantly smaller CSS bundles.
/* Traditional CSS approach */
/* styles.css */
.button {
background-color: blue;
color: white;
padding: 10px;
border-radius: 5px;
}
.card {
box-shadow: 0 4px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
padding: 20px;
border-radius: 10px;
}
/* ... many more styles ... */
/* tailwind.css */
@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;
Just-in-Time (JIT) Compilation
Tailwind's JIT mode generates styles on-demand as you use them in your HTML, which means you only get the styles you actually use. This leads to even smaller CSS files and faster load times.
<button class="bg-blue-500 text-white p-2 rounded">Click Me</button>
<div class="shadow-lg p-5 rounded-lg">Card Content</div>
Developer Experience
Tailwind offers a great developer experience that can significantly speed up your development process:
Rapid Prototyping
With Tailwind, you can quickly prototype designs directly in your HTML without having to write custom CSS. This allows for faster iteration and experimentation.
Consistent Design System
Tailwind provides a consistent set of utility classes that help maintain a uniform design system across your application. This reduces the chances of design inconsistencies and makes it easier to collaborate with other developers.
Cons
It's not all sunshine and rainbows though and there obviously are some downsides to using Tailwind:
- Learning Curve: If you're used to traditional CSS, there might be a learning curve to get accustomed to the utility-first approach.
- Class Name Bloat: Your HTML can get cluttered with many classes, which can be hard to read and maintain.
- Customization: While Tailwind is highly customizable, it might require additional configuration to fit your specific design needs.
- Animations: Tailwind's built-in animation utilities are somewhat limited, and for complex animations, you might still need to write custom CSS or use additional libraries.
- Dependency: Relying on a third-party framework means you're dependent on its updates and changes, which could potentially introduce breaking changes in the future.
Conclusion
In my experience building production applications with Tailwind CSS, I've consistently seen:
- 40-60% smaller CSS bundle sizes compared to traditional CSS frameworks
- Faster initial page loads
- Improved developer productivity
- Better consistency in design
If you're starting a new project, I highly recommend giving Tailwind CSS a try. It has certainly changed my perspective on utility-first CSS frameworks and has proven to be a valuable tool in modern web development.