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Styled components VS CSS modules

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Ruihua Niu
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I have done projects with normal CSS, SASS, and also a project with styled components, but haven't done any project with CSS modules.

As I'm going to do a new project, and considering the issues I met in styled components, I'm considering the possibility using CSS modules. So here comes this post.

Things below need to be cleared?

  • What is styled components and why is it?
  • What is CSS modules and why is it?

What is styled components?

In short, it's a library for css in javascript, which makes css more dynamic, more powerful with the use of javascript. It's currently used by Airbnb, github, Google, etc.

Why is there styled components?

Well, in my opinion, styled components has the following benefits:

  • Local scope, even with the same name, one style component won't affect the other.
  • Dynamic. with props, the styles can be changed dynamically rather than using different class names.
  • The power of javascript.

it doesn't mean there is no drawback for styled component, like the little steep learning curve.

What is CSS modules?

According to the official definition, a CSS Module is a CSS file in which all class names and animation names are scoped locally by default.

It's clear that CSS Module is used to fix the CSS global scope issues.

What are the similarities and differences between styled components and CSS modules?

The similarities are listed below:

  • Both are local scope
  • Both could be used with SASS (Even it's easier for CSS Modules)

The differences are as follows:

  • Styled components is CSS in js, while CSS modules is still CSS, so it's much easier to jump into CSS Modules from the general CSS background.
  • Styled components can be quite powerful with the help of js. CSS Modules can achieve the same features but with more work.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, both libraries are pretty good. If you like javascript, styled components is the thing you should give a try. If you come from a designer background who like to handle the general CSS, CSS Module is a good solution for local scope.