Best Vue Component Libraries

Vue has been a universal choice among businesses when it comes to developing progressive web app/s and high-performing desktop applications. Vue has always been a point of consideration when it comes to using JavaScript as your programming language. Vue.js is a popular front-end progressive JavaScript framework for breaking down a website page into several pieces. This technique is made easier by the use of UI component libraries (UI libraries). There are numerous Vue UI component libraries available to help you in your development process. With the multitude of options available, you can use Vue to build simpler Vue apps as well as to create amazing web applications with rich features.

The architecture structure provides multiple advantages in comparison to React and Angular. Vue ensures a high level of performance, light-weighted apps, high quality UI toolkit and unique UI framework designs and features. Vue demands better and clean coding as well as reliable Vue best practices to make the best use of the Vue framework. Meanwhile for us, It’s the right time to dive down into the list of Vue UI component libraries.

1. List of Best Vue Component Libraries

1.1 Vue Material

Vue Material Kit is used to speed up your design/development process. This is used especially when building new sites or web apps. Having a basic knowledge of JavaScript, Vuejs, and Vue Router is pretty much compulsory. Vue Material kit is also supportable on almost all modern web browsers. It also has an easy-to-use composition API which makes these different components development-friendly as well. Vue Material is also considered more special because it is created precisely according to Google material design specs.

1.2 Vux

Another interesting UI component library that offers Mobile UI Components based on Vue & WeUI (the folks behind WeChat). The library also supports a WebPack + Vue-Loader + Vux workflow.

VUX originated from China and has significant documentation in Chinese with minimal English translation. VUX is one of the leading Vue UI component libraries that focuses well on the quick development of mobile components for your Vue application. Now in case, if you are considering building mobile apps then this one acts as a great help!

1.3 iView UI

Another interesting Vue UI component library is iView. This Vue UI library is a high-quality user interface tool kit that is mainly built on Vue.js 2.0. With dozens of Vue UI components, Iview has been praised by companies like Alibaba, TalkingData, Lenovo, etc. Some of the astonishing features of this Vue UI library include a high-quality user interface with minimal code, a designated CLI visual tool for scaffolding. In addition to this, the iView Admin template can assist well in working with the Vue framework.

1.4 Vue Material Kit

Another widely used name among the best Vue UI Component libraries includes Vue Material. Now, what’s so interesting about this lightweight library? Vue Material library is not as opinionated as other frameworks. This probably means, to create desktop apps fewer design choices must be considered 

Also, you can begin with your Vue project right on by using its fully-featured advanced SPA boilerplate template based on Webpack. If you are looking for something solid but lightweight UI components which are also easy to use, just go for this one. Vue Material Kit also has 50+ handmade components, 2 customized plugins and much more.

1.5 Mint UI

Are you looking for a library featuring mobile UI elements that are absolutely based on Vue? Well Mint UI is the name to take into account here! These kinds of Vue component libraries enable programmers to build mobile applications using familiar front-end framework codes. Also, it is possible to develop aesthetically magnificent mobile apps.

Mint UI is specifically developed according to Material Design specifications, each component is built with a mobile-first approach that has to be both responsive and modular. It provides a CSS framework and the size of the package is around 30Kbs which makes it easy to use for mobile applications. Such Vue UI component libraries include Toast, Indicator, Infinite scroll, Message box, Action sheet, pop-up, and a lot more. The CSS components include Header, Tabber, Navbar, Buttons, Cell, Cell swipe, spinner, and so on. One more fact to know about Mint UI is that it is based on the Babel JavaScript compiler.

1.6 Keen UI

Another lightweight Vue.js element UI library to consider is Keen UI. Keen UI is not a CSS framework. This means it doesn’t include styles for a grid system, typography, etc. Here you will find 30 reusable components and all these components are customizable.

1.7 VueTailwind

VueTailWind is a front-end library based on the popular Tailwind CSS framework. Although it is still under development. It is a popular javascript library that features a UI kit with pre-designed components. You can create an infinite number of variants for each use case by using this library and your design skills. 

1.8 Prime Vue

The next one in this component queue of exceptional components libraries of vue is a popular name called PrimeVue comp. Vue has been used by many giants like Airbus, Intel, and others to rely on the Prime Vue component library. This type of component sets out as an excellent example of a framework that allows you to create unique, complex, modern, and extremely dynamic Vue applications. They include a variety of components which would help you to develop from tables to well-designed graph-based organization charts. Prime Vue can also be used to develop interactive Vue applications.

This js framework can also be used to create user interfaces for enterprise software because its components are designed for creating complicated software applications. Prime Vue is also popular among all types of businesses.

1.9 Quasar

This list will never be complete without Quasar. Yes, Quasar is one of the most popular, lightweight and active community-backed frameworks which is also popular among developers. This means Quasar has a huge community that supports developers in developing new-edge and technically sound applications. Quasar is popular for material design guidelines and it can be used in development of both desktop and mobile browsers. What makes Quasar special from others in the same league is its cross-platform support, it can also be used in making some out of the box or nifty based applications.

Developers choose Quasar because they get an option of accessing multiple platforms from one single code base and hence it saves a lot of time and effort. It has a large community on GitHub and there are many contributors too. One quality of Quasar that makes it unique is its “write once and deploy concurrently”, which makes users more inclined to use this as you get real-time outcomes.

1.10 Vue Sax

Vue Sax contains visually appealing and well-designed components that you may incorporate into your own projects. When you use Vue Sax, this framework will ensure exemplary development experience in which you are able to style the components depending on your branding as well as needs and thus keep up the pace of your vue development project and its quality.

Within this, you may find many of the top front-end development tools such as Sass, Typescript, and others too are supported and integrated. Despite the fact that Vue sax is not as frequently used as other Vue UI component libraries, it is independent of any prescriptive design language and it will set your Vue app apart from the crowd. You can use it for its one-of-a-kind design to offer your responsive web sites a distinguished appearance.

1.11 Buefy

Choosing Buefy will only be worth it if you want to combine Bulma with Vue. The results will be outstanding and allow you to create visually appealing applications with minimal code. Despite the fact that the default version has a distinct appearance and feel, also this framework is very adaptable. 

When you use Buefy, you can use Sass to customize all the global variables that will be used throughout the application. Buefy also provides you the power to add dynamic components to show interactivity. Like you can add status bars, tables or even infographics, charts or anything else. Buefy makes it an excellent choice for highly user-friendly online applications. When you use Buefy, you are free to do anything with your own brands, colors, sizing constraints, and more. Buefy is definitely making adjustments simple and easy.

1.12 Element

The last one in this list is Element which is a well-known Vue UI component library. To elaborate more about Element, then it is a web-based UI component framework that also has React and Angular versions other than Vue. Because of lack of responsiveness, these component libraries are mostly aimed to work well for desktop applications.

As it is designed for desktop user interfaces, you can freely enable responsive features that help you easily develop grids, tables, components based on window size and also hiding components. One more thing that needs to be noted is that Element allows you to customize your theme and preview it in real time with the help of a Chrome extension. Since elements are developed in China, the documents and all are written in Chinese language. So, it’s highly recommended  to use the right translated versions (Spanish and English translations are available) of instructions before starting a project. Otherwise Element is extremely helpful and a fantastic tool for teams of engineers, designers, and product managers to use when creating sophisticated desktop user interfaces.

2. What is a Vue Component Library?

When a single element or a group of elements is successful in creating an entity it is called a component library. It can be built with anything whether its HTML elements or any other components. Now does that mean, a component is dependent on any framework? Of course, not. All you must be having is some sort of logic that has the ability to change its style or behave indifferently. By having UI component libraries that are highly based on React or Vue, interactions and conducting collaborations become way easier. Utilizing Vue components is only possible when you are working in a Vue application. As an output, you will always receive HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in the end.

When speaking about component libraries, it is quite evitable for you to think of a large project featuring a wide range of developers and designers. The main objective of Vue CLI here is to set design standards and principles. But, do you think that the component library is based on the size of the application?  A Vue CLI (component library) is a set of reusable js components. Here you have elements, through which you can easily customize the theme as well as preview it in real-time. 

Whether it’s a folder featuring common components used throughout the application. Now there are two choices either to use as a distributed package on npm or to make a crucial aspect of the bigger design system. However a component library can be small as well as large. The actual definition of a component library is that it keeps on fluctuating depending on your project needs. You can create a component all by yourself or fortunately you will come across a plethora of public component libraries for your vue apps.

2.1 When to use a Component Library?

Let’s assume a situation where you have to use similar components at two or more different places. Most Vue developers tend to create a general component and place it inside a library folder. Then use that component in both places instead.

Another reason to use a component library is that you can simply see whether the component looks good or what it sounds like, irrespective of the material design purpose. Also, different public libraries can be used featuring ready-made designs and tested components.

3. Benefits of using UI Components

There has been a lot of buzz going for reasons to choose Vue framework for your development project or creating a component library. Well, one of the obvious advantages is to reduce complexity and make web app development way easier for your team. Without much ado, let’s just take a look at certain advantages offered by a Vue component library.

3.1 Collaborate Efficiently

Developers working with Vue UI component libraries often have realized the fact that it provides a great aid when they collaborate with the design team. Apart from enhancing collaboration, the UI component library also improves frontend development to a great extent. For instance, if a designer requires to design a new bunch of components what he or she will do is, begin with simply checking the library and gathering all the necessary elements for creating a new Vue UI component.

In case, there is an element missing since they are new, all a designer or a developer requires to do is design new UI elements. After all this, you will find a new component. Now in such a scenario, what happens when frontend developers are able to integrate the library into their workflow. Simple, the process of implementation of user interfaces will automatically start as soon as the designer adds the component to the library.

3.2 Adaptability

Now most of the time when you take on a new project to build web applications, developers and designers often look for a custom look and feel in advance. So being a developer, what you need to take care of, is creating components and how it feels.

Most UI libraries provide high-end support for theme-ability. Changing the color palette there are also changes to how buttons, inputs, and checkboxes look. In your custom component library; if you want to create dynamic applications, it isn’t really a problem. Since you’re building right from the scratch there is no point in having an accurate account for any existing styling.

3.3  Consistency 

Whether you are designing software or web pages of products with multiple designers, consistency is extremely important. Imagine you are writing a blog and suddenly some other writer starts editing it, of course, the consistency will get hindered. 

3.4 Build Components in Isolation, to Make Them Reusable by Default

When building one of the components needed, adding CSS is pretty much mandatory. This must be in context with the design created for that page. After a while, a new design is created for a different page using the same components but slightly modified. And once all this is done the assignment will be passed on to your colleague who is bound to solve the task right in a similar manner. 

However, the aforementioned example might seem far-fetched but nonetheless, do you think it’s entirely unrealistic? Well, imagine what if people don’t talk or don’t do regular Vue code reviews – what would be the scenario? Probably, it will become hard to know regarding all features and several other parts of the application.

This is when a Vue component library or Vue development tools come to the rescue. This enables developers to create a component in the Vue UI component library, you may find yourself being isolated initially. When this happens just make sure that it is reusable right from the beginning since web developers are forced to work outside of a certain page context.

Also, ensure the overall visibility so that things don’t get repeated unnecessarily. But that doesn’t mean you ignore the reusability point of the component. This saves time and money. Having one place for all components can definitely act as bliss as the process becomes way simpler, better, and makes it easier.

3.5 Maintenance

Last but not the least comes maintenance, since you have all components in one place it makes it way easier to maintain. Pushing updates, especially the ones with new features can be implemented at a lightning speed. Everyone working on the development of any web application gets a quick overview of the ongoing projects if it is at one place.

4. And that’s a Wrap!

Towards the end of this blog, we can conclude that Vue and its component libraries, tools and editors are capable of covering almost everything that you need for your business application. Our tried and tested approach with Vue components will help your business build customized and user-friendly applications easily. However, with this article, you’ll be able to pick a proper UI library for your next Vue.js project. If you are unable to locate a good Vue UI library, then you must partner with third-party companies that are only dedicated to your task and will provide you all the assistance by their expert team of Vue.js developers.