Web components have been around for over a decade, yet for years, they remained an underutilized technology in mainstream development. However, 2025 is shaping up to be the year of their resurgence. With modern browsers fully supporting the Web Components standard, and the growing need for framework-agnostic, reusable UI elements, developers are finally embracing them. But what’s driving this shift, and why are Web Components making a strong comeback?

1. The Framework Fatigue is Real

The web development landscape has been dominated by React, Angular, and Vue for years. While these frameworks provide powerful features, they also come with frequent breaking changes, steep learning curves, and heavy dependencies. Web developers are increasingly looking for a sustainable, lightweight solution that doesn’t lock them into a specific ecosystem. Web Components, being native to the browser, offer an alternative that isn’t tied to any framework while still being compatible with them.

2. Native Browser Support is Solid

Initially, Web Components suffered from inconsistent browser support, leading to their slow adoption. However, as of 2025, all major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge) now fully support the Web Components standard without requiring polyfills. This means developers can confidently build and deploy components without worrying about cross-browser compatibility issues.

3. Performance and Lightweight Nature

Unlike JavaScript-heavy frameworks that rely on virtual DOM diffing and reconciliation, Web Components utilize the real DOM efficiently. Since they are built using standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript APIs, they lead to faster rendering and better performance. Additionally, they eliminate the need for bundling large dependencies, making them ideal for performance-critical applications.

Example: Basic Web Component

Here’s how you can create a simple Web Component:

class HelloWorld extends HTMLElement {
  constructor() {
    super();
    this.attachShadow({ mode: 'open' });
    this.shadowRoot.innerHTML = `<p>Hello, Web Components!</p>`;
  }
}
customElements.define('hello-world', HelloWorld);

You can now use <hello-world></hello-world> in your HTML.

4. Interoperability Across Frameworks

One of the biggest advantages of Web Components is their ability to work across different frameworks. Developers can build a component once and use it in React, Vue, Angular, or even plain JavaScript projects. This is particularly beneficial for large enterprises managing multiple tech stacks, as they can create a single design system using Web Components instead of maintaining separate UI libraries for each framework.

Example: Using Web Component in React

import React from 'react';

function App() {
  return <hello-world></hello-world>;
}

export default App;

Web Components can be seamlessly integrated with React, Vue, and Angular, making them a versatile option for UI development.

5. Standardization for Design Systems

Companies like Google (with Material Web Components) and Salesforce (with Lightning Web Components) are leading the way in using Web Components to standardize design systems. Instead of recreating the same UI components for each framework, businesses can now develop framework-independent UI libraries that maintain consistency across products.

6. The Rise of Edge Computing & Micro Frontends

With the growing adoption of edge computing and micro frontends, the need for modular, independent UI components has increased. Web Components fit perfectly into this architecture by allowing teams to build self-contained, independently deployable UI pieces that integrate seamlessly across different applications.

7. Improved Developer Experience

The tooling and ecosystem around Web Components have improved significantly. Libraries like Lit (by Google) make it easier to write lightweight, performant Web Components. Additionally, modern development environments provide better support for native components, reducing friction in adopting them.

Example: Creating a Web Component with Lit

import { LitElement, html } from 'lit';

class MyComponent extends LitElement {
  render() {
    return html`<p>This is a Lit-based Web Component!</p>`;
  }
}
customElements.define('my-component', MyComponent);

Using Lit simplifies the syntax and improves performance while keeping Web Components lightweight.

Should You Switch to Web Components?

While Web Components won’t replace frameworks like React or Vue overnight, they are certainly becoming an attractive choice for reusable UI components. If you’re building design systems, micro frontends, or lightweight UI libraries, now is the perfect time to explore Web Components.

The web is evolving, and Web Components are proving that sometimes, the best solutions are the ones built into the platform itself.