Why We Use Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui for Templates at goodvibes.website

Tailwind + shadcn: The Design Stack That Just Works

If you've poked around in your website's codebase and found a tangled mess of stylesheets, mystery class names, and "where is that color even coming from?" moments - good news: there's a better way.

At goodvibes.website, most of our site templates are built using Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui - a combo that's fast, modern, and surprisingly easy to maintain (even if you don't write code for a living).

This article will walk you through:

What Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui are
Why we picked them for goodvibes templates
What makes them popular (and powerful)
Some common criticisms - and how those have been addressed
A peek into more advanced use cases (for the devs in the room)

What Is Tailwind CSS?

Tailwind is a utility-first CSS framework. That means instead of writing custom class names like .hero-title and then going into another file to define what font and color that should be, you style directly in your HTML or component file using atomic classes like:

<h1 class="text-4xl font-bold text-blue-700">Welcome to My Site</h1>

So everything is styled right where you're working. No switching files. No digging through CSS overrides.

Why It's Popular

✅ Fast to build with – you don't need to reinvent buttons and layouts.
✅ Easy to understand – once you learn a few class names, it clicks.
✅ Great documentation – seriously, check it out.
✅ Massive ecosystem – plugins, themes, integrations everywhere.

💬 Personal note from Johanna: “One thing I love about Tailwind: I can open a single file and immediately see what's being styled. I don't have to go hunting through a separate CSS folder or decipher someone's naming convention from five years ago.”

But Wait… Isn't Tailwind Ugly and Messy?

That used to be a common critique: “Tailwind clutters your HTML!” or “Utility classes aren't real CSS!”

But here's the thing - developers kept using it anyway, because it works. And over time, the tooling improved:

✨ Tailwind's Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler only includes the styles you use - no bloat.
🧹 It “tree shakes” unused styles to keep things lean.
🧱 It plays well with component libraries (like shadcn/ui).
🧪 And yes - you can still extract reusable styles if your team prefers.

What Is shadcn/ui?

Think of shadcn/ui as a collection of pre-built React components (like buttons, dropdowns, tabs, modals) that follow design best practices out of the box - but are totally customizable with Tailwind.

You can copy and paste what you need, tweak the styles, and you're off to the races.

Why We Use It at goodvibes.website

🧩 Solid foundation – all the boring but important stuff (accessibility, keyboard support, screen reader labels) is handled.
🚀 Zero unnecessary JS – it avoids big libraries that slow things down.
💡 Modern & minimal – a clean design that doesn't fight your brand.
📈 Built for Next.js – and backed by Vercel, the team behind Next.js.

💡 Did you know? Vercel is heavily investing in shadcn/ui as part of its AI-driven design tools for the future of frontend development. It's quickly becoming the new standard.

Advanced Topics: For the Developers Out There

🔧 Click to expand technical notes

Tailwind's Superpowers (2024+ Edition)

JIT Engine: Ultra-fast builds, minimal CSS file sizes.
Simpler builds: Tailwind now works without PostCSS by default - fewer dependencies.
Better customization: Theme extensions, plugins, and design tokens.
Responsive & state-aware: Easily manage hover/focus/responsive states right in your markup.

Why shadcn/ui Over Other Libraries?

No bloated JS frameworks like framer-motion unless you want them.
You control exactly what components are included - no “all or nothing” installs.
Smart use of Radix Primitives under the hood, with accessibility built-in.
Styles match Tailwind, so there's no mismatch between your utilities and components.

But What If I Want Something Flashier?

We get it. Some users want a site that dazzles - with micro-animations, fun transitions, or playful layouts. We're working on advanced template options that include:

🎨 Eye-catching scroll animations
🎞️ Subtle hover effects and parallax movement
🌈 Templates geared toward creatives and portfolio sites

These templates will lean into animation libraries and visual flair - perfect for standing out, if you don't mind a slightly longer load time.

For Most Sites: Speed, Clarity, Accessibility Win

Most visitors don't come to your site for the cinematic transitions - they want:

📱 A clean design that works well on mobile
⚡ Fast loading (especially on slower networks)
👁️ Accessible controls that work for everyone
🧭 Easy navigation without confusion

Tailwind + shadcn/ui helps us check all those boxes.

Want to Go Custom? No Problem

You can always download the source code for your site, tweak it yourself, or hand it off to a dev team for advanced customization. Some templates use Material UI or other libraries if you prefer that vibe.

Read more in our guide: 👉 How to Host Your GoodVibes Site Elsewhere