Lullabot Explains the Pros and Cons of Using Web Components

A recent blog post by Lullabot explains the effects of using web components in a Drupal project. Web components are custom HTML tags that encapsulate functionality and can be used across different platforms. According to the author Matt Robison, they offer several benefits, including

• platform agnosticism,
• backward compatibility,
• encapsulation of functionality,
• unified design system implementation, and
• independence from additional libraries.

They also allow for piecemeal migration out of Drupal 7 and offer potential benefits for smaller projects.

However, there are downsides to consider.

• Web components can slow down development time and
• may require a different skill set than traditional Drupal development.
• They can also present potential performance problems if not structured properly,
• and they require JavaScript to load, which may not be ideal for all audiences.
• Additionally, integrating web components into a JavaScript build system and maintaining governance for consistency can be challenging.

To decide whether to use web components, project teams should assess the benefits and downsides specific to their project and consider factors such as the need for consistency across frameworks, the availability of a capable team, and the audience's internet connectivity. Replicating existing HTML tags with web components is not recommended, as it introduces unnecessary JavaScript rendering for basic elements that are already natively supported. Click here to read the article.