Building UI Components Correctly in the Age of AI

Key Takeaways:
Let AI write the JSX, but you still need to understand the fundamentals: semantic HTML, defaults like type="submit", ARIA, and keyboard behavior if you want your components to be correct and reliable.

To make this concrete, I’ve also built a small learning project called `no-frills-ui`, and this post walks through the real problems it solves:

• CSS-variable theming
• promise-based confirm dialogs
• centralized layer management

Today, a few lines of prompt are enough to generate a working React component, a form, or even an entire page. Tools can scaffold JSX, props, hooks, and even ARIA attributes faster than any human can type. That makes it very tempting to treat UI development as a copy–paste and glue exercise. Yet the basics still matter, because the hardest bugs are the ones where the code looks fine. Consider the humble <button>. In HTML, a <button> without an explicit type defaults to type="submit" when it’s inside a form. Click it, and the browser will happily submit the form, even if your intent was "just close the dialog", "open a drawer", or "go to the next step." This isn’t a React quirk or a library bug; it’s the platform’s default behavior.

AI tool can spit out:

<button onClick={handleClick}>Next</button>

It works in isolation. Months later, someone wraps that area in a <form> for validation, and "Next" suddenly starts submitting the form. Without knowing the default behavior of <button>, debugging this turns into superstition rather than understanding.

In this post, I want to go through a few of those fundamentals, the things AI can help you type, but not truly reason about for you. Creating a component seems simple: render some JSX, add some CSS, ship it. But in practice, even a "simple" button or input carries surprising complexity.

Let's take an example

Consider a seemingly trivial task: "Add delete functionality for list items that are rendered in a drawer". For this, the most basic component would be a button. This button needs to:

• Be reusable: the same button component must work in different contexts: a table, a card, a modal, a sidebar.
• Render correctly: visually consistent, right size, proper color.
• Behave correctly: trigger a confirmation dialog when clicked.
• Stack properly: the confirmation dialog must appear on top of the drawer, with correct z-index handling.
• Work with forms: the button should behave correctly inside a form, respecting form submission.
• Support theming: colors should change when the app switches to dark mode.
• Support SSR: if you render your app on the server, the button must hydrate correctly on the client.
• Forward refs and props: consumers might need imperative access or want to pass custom ARIA attributes.
• Handle accessibility: keyboard users should be able to use it, screen reader users should understand what it does.
• Support internationalization: text should adapt to different languages without modifying the component.

A single component touches concerns across styling, state management, SEO, accessibility, infrastructure, and composability. This post walks through those considerations using concrete examples: a button, an input, and a dropdown.

The examples use React, but the principles are universal and apply to component libraries built in Vue, Svelte, Angular, or any other framework. The fundamentals of semantic HTML, keyboard navigation, accessibility, and thoughtful API design transcend whatever happens to generate your JSX.

Why these details matter

When building components, you are not just building visual elements. You are building the foundation that other developers will depend on. A component that works perfectly in isolation might break in unexpected ways when combined with others, when rendered on the server, or when used by keyboard-only users.

Semantic HTML gives you a lot for free:

• Keyboard navigation (Tab, Enter, Space) for buttons, inputs, links.
• Screen reader semantics (a <button> is announced as a button, a <select> as a combo box).
• Native form integration (labels, required fields, validation, and submit behavior).
• Predictable behavior across browsers and SSR.

When you throw that away and replace everything with <div> plus onClick, you are re-implementing the browser. That means more code, more bugs, and more edge cases. Exactly the kind of work that AI is bad at validating for you.

Button – small component, big consequences

A button should:

• Respond to Enter and Space keys.
• Be announced as a "button" to screen readers.
• Show clear focus styles.
• Respect disabled state both visually and semantically.

Implementation:

interface ButtonProps extends React.ButtonHTMLAttributes<HTMLButtonElement> {
  variant?: 'primary' | 'secondary' | 'danger';
}

const Button = React.forwardRef<HTMLButtonElement, ButtonProps>(
  ({ className, variant = 'primary', type = 'button', ...props }, ref) => (
    <button
      className={`btn btn-${variant} ${className || ''}`}
      type={type}
      ref={ref}
      {...props}
    />
  )
);

Button.displayName = 'Button';
export default Button;

Key decisions:

1. Use real <button>: This gives you correct keyboard behavior, semantics, and form integration out of the box.
2. Default type="button": In HTML, the missing-value default for <button> is submit, which will submit the form when clicked if it’s inside a <form>. Defaulting to type="button" in your component prevents accidental form submissions and forces submit buttons to opt in.
3. Prop spreading: Extending ButtonHTMLAttributes and spreading ...props lets consumers use any native attribute: disabled, aria-*, form, name, etc.
4. Ref forwarding: Consumers can focus the button programmatically or integrate it with other imperative APIs.

That type="button" decision is a good example of basics that AI won’t catch for you: it will happily generate a component that works in a Storybook story, but will fail in subtle ways once someone uses it inside a real form.

Input – getting forms right

Inputs are where "div soup" really breaks things. An input should:

• Be associated with a <label> so assistive tech can announce it.
• Support browser validation (required, pattern, minLength, etc.).
• Integrate with form libraries and password managers.
• Communicate errors clearly to both sighted users and screen readers.

Implementation:

import React, { useId } from 'react';

interface InputProps extends React.InputHTMLAttributes<HTMLInputElement> {
  label?: string;
  error?: string;
}

const Input = React.forwardRef<HTMLInputElement, InputProps>(
  ({ className, error, id, label, ...props }, ref) => {
    const reactId = useId();

    const inputId = id || `input-${reactId}`;

    return (
      <div className="input-wrapper">
        {label && <label htmlFor={inputId}>{label}</label>}
        <input
          id={inputId}
          className={`input ${error ? 'input--error' : ''} ${className || ''}`}
          ref={ref}
          aria-invalid={!!error}
          aria-describedby={error ? `${inputId}-error` : undefined}
          {...props}
        />
        {error && (
          <span id={`${inputId}-error`} role="alert">
            {error}
          </span>
        )}
      </div>
    );
  }
);

Input.displayName = 'Input';
export default Input;

Why this works well:

• Label is automatically associated with the input when provided.
• Uses a real <input>, so you get native events, validation, autofill, and password manager integration.
• Uses id plus aria-describedby to connect the error message to the input. Screen readers read them together.
• Uses role="alert" so new error messages are announced as soon as they appear.

With form libraries like React Hook Form, this component plugs in with almost no extra work.

Dropdown – Native First, Custom When Needed

Dropdowns are where component complexity spikes. There are really three levels:

1. Native <select> (best default)
2. Custom dropdown / combobox (when design requires it)
3. Virtualized dropdown (when data size requires it)

Native `` – start here

If you can get away with a native <select>, you should. It has excellent built-in accessibility, keyboard support, and form integration.

interface SelectOption {
  label: string;
  value: string;
}

interface SelectProps extends React.SelectHTMLAttributes<HTMLSelectElement> {
  label?: string;
  options: SelectOption[];
  error?: string;
}

const Select = React.forwardRef<HTMLSelectElement, SelectProps>(
  ({ label, id, options, error, className, ...props }, ref) => {
    const reactId = React.useId();
    const selectId = id || `select-${reactId}`;

    return (
      <div className="select-wrapper">
        {label && <label htmlFor={selectId}>{label}</label>}
        <select
          id={selectId}
          ref={ref}
          className={`select ${error ? 'select--error' : ''} ${className || ''}`}
          aria-invalid={!!error}
          aria-describedby={error ? `${selectId}-error` : undefined}
          {...props}
        >
          {options.map(opt => (
            <option key={opt.value} value={opt.value}>
              {opt.label}
            </option>
          ))}
        </select>
        {error && (
          <span id={`${selectId}-error`} role="alert">
            {error}
          </span>
        )}
      </div>
    );
  }
);

Select.displayName = 'Select';
export default Select;

Why this is often enough:

• Keyboard support (Tab, Arrow keys, Home/End, typeahead) is built-in.
• Screen readers know exactly how to announce it.
• Works seamlessly with forms, validation, and autofill.

If your design system allows using the browser’s native select (possibly with minimal styling), this should be your default.

Custom dropdown / combobox – when design demands it

When you truly need a fully custom dropdown (multi-column options, icons, complex layout), you are essentially implementing the WAI-ARIA combobox pattern.

At a minimum, you need:

• A button or input that acts as the combobox:
  • role="combobox"
  • aria-expanded (true/false)
  • aria-controls pointing at the popup listbox
• A popup with:
  • role="listbox"
  • Each option having role="option"
  • aria-selected to track the active option
• Keyboard support:
  • Down/Up to move between options
  • Enter/Space to select
  • Escape to close
  • Tab to move focus out

A simple custom dropdown (select-only combobox):

interface DropdownOption {
  value: string;
  label: string;
}

interface DropdownProps {
  label?: string;
  value?: string;
  onChange?: (value: string) => void;
  options: DropdownOption[];
  placeholder?: string;
}

const Dropdown = React.forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, DropdownProps>(
  ({ label, value, onChange, options }, ref) => {
    // States
    const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = React.useState(false);
    const [highlightedIndex, setHighlightedIndex] = React.useState(0);

    // Ref to the trigger button
    const buttonRef = React.useRef<HTMLButtonElement | null>(null);

    // Dropdown ID
    const listboxId = React.useId();

    // Currently selected option
    const selectedOption = options.find(opt => opt.value === value);

    /** Opens / closes the dropdown */
    const toggleOpen = () => setIsOpen(prev => !prev);

    /** Closes the dropdown */
    const close = () => setIsOpen(false);

    /**
     * Handler function called when an item is selected.
     */
    const handleSelect = (option: DropdownOption) => {
      onChange?.(option.value);
      close();
      buttonRef.current?.focus();
    };

    /**
     * This function is responsible for keyboard accessibility.
     */
    const handleKeyDown = (e: React.KeyboardEvent<HTMLButtonElement>) => {
      if (!isOpen) {
        if (
          e.key === 'ArrowDown' ||
          e.key === 'ArrowUp' ||
          e.key === ' ' ||
          e.key === 'Enter'
        ) {
          e.preventDefault();
          setIsOpen(true);
          setHighlightedIndex(0);
        }
        return;
      }

      switch (e.key) {
        case 'ArrowDown':
          // Highlight next item
          e.preventDefault();
          setHighlightedIndex(prev => Math.min(prev + 1, options.length - 1));
          break;
        case 'ArrowUp':
          // Highlight previous item
          e.preventDefault();
          setHighlightedIndex(prev => Math.max(prev - 1, 0));
          break;
        case 'Enter':
        case ' ':
          // Select item
          e.preventDefault();
          handleSelect(options[highlightedIndex]);
          break;
        case 'Escape':
          // Close dropdown
          e.preventDefault();
          close();
          buttonRef.current?.focus();
          break;
        default:
          break;
      }
    };

    return (
      <div className="dropdown" ref={ref}>
        {label && <div className="dropdown__label">{label}</div>}

        <button
          type="button"
          ref={buttonRef}
          className="dropdown__button"
          aria-haspopup="listbox"
          aria-expanded={isOpen}
          aria-controls={listboxId}
          role="combobox"
          onClick={toggleOpen}
          onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
        >
          {selectedOption ? selectedOption.label : placeholder}
        </button>

        {isOpen && (
          <ul id={listboxId} role="listbox" className="dropdown__listbox">
            {options.map((option, index) => (
              <li
                key={option.value}
                role="option"
                aria-selected={value === option.value}
                className={
                  'dropdown__option' +
                  (index === highlightedIndex
                    ? ' dropdown__option--highlighted'
                    : '')
                }
                onMouseDown={e => {
                  // prevent button blur before click
                  e.preventDefault();
                  handleSelect(option);
                }}
              >
                {option.label}
              </li>
            ))}
          </ul>
        )}
      </div>
    );
  }
);

Dropdown.displayName = 'Dropdown';
export default Dropdown;

This is a select-only combobox, which matches a lot of "styled select" requirements while staying close to the ARIA Authoring Practices.

As you can see, the moment we move away from native components, we need a significant amount of code to mimic the browser.

Large lists – performance concerns creep in

"A large list would be required on an e-commerce site with 500+ brands in a filter dropdown or an analytics dashboard with 10,000+ customer options and for other such use cases. Rendering all of them at once makes page janky, keyboard navigation stutter, and the whole experience feel broken on lower-end devices."

All the patterns above assume a reasonable number of options. Once you cross a few hundred items, a naive implementation starts to hurt:

Rendering hundreds or thousands of <li> elements on every open/close or filter causes noticeable jank, especially on lower-end devices.​ Keyboard navigation becomes sluggish because every Arrow key press can trigger a large re-render. If each option is a complex React tree (avatars, icons, metadata), your dropdown can quietly become one of the heaviest parts of the page. ​ At that point you want virtualization: only render the items that are visible (plus a small buffer), and recycle DOM nodes as the user scrolls. Libraries like react-window are designed exactly for this.

It would be too complex to have this implementation in this blog post, but if you are interested you can check this codesandbox example where I have integrated `react-window` with a Dropdown component that I created.

Component checklist

Here’s a quick checklist you can use the next time you create or review a component.

Design:

• Pick the correct semantic base element.
• Decide how keyboard navigation should work.
• List all meaningful states (loading, error, disabled, empty, etc.).
• Identify which text should be overridable for i18n.

Implementation:

• Use semantic elements (button, input, label, select, ul/li).
• Implement keyboard behavior explicitly where the platform doesn’t provide it.
• Wire ARIA attributes (roles, aria-expanded, aria-describedby, aria-invalid).
• Extend native attribute types and spread ...props.
• Forward refs for components that might need focus control.

Accessibility & UX:

• Tab reaches all interactive elements in a sensible order.
• Focus styles are visible and not removed.
• Error messages are linked and read with inputs.
• Test with at least one real screen reader.

Testing & Docs:

• Use React Testing Library to test behavior, not implementation details.
• Run a basic axe-core or similar accessibility audit in CI.
• Document keyboard and ARIA behavior.

Putting it all together: `no-frills-ui`

No Frills UI is a small React component library that I built as a learning project to apply these principles in a real codebase, and to treat even a "toy" library with production discipline (tests, docs, CI, releases).

Following are few UI development challenges that I solved while building this library.

CSS variables instead of ThemeProvider

NFUI uses CSS variables for theming:

:root {
  --nfui-primary: #2563eb;
  --nfui-background: #ffffff;
}

[data-theme='dark'] {
  --nfui-primary: #60a5fa;
  --nfui-background: #1f2937;
}

Components consume var(--nfui-primary) etc., so switching theme is as simple as toggling a data attribute on <html>, no React re-render, no theme context.

i18n-ready by design

Components that render text (Dialogs, toasts, etc.) expose those strings as props. This keeps the library locale-agnostic and lets consumers plug in whichever i18n system they already use.

Dialogs with a promise-based API

A common issue I have seen across projects is when we need to confirm a delete action. Often a modal is shown for this confirmation and then the delete API is called. For this, an open state is maintained for the modal. Inside the modal click handlers for confirm and cancel buttons are wired. Finally a onConfirm and onClose callbacks are exposed as prop. When this pattern is repeated in multiple places, it leads to major code bloat.

Some of this can be moved to a reusable ConfirmDialog component. However, you still need to maintain open, onConfirm and onClose callbacks. Not to mention, the delete code flow get fragmented into multiple callbacks.

This is the issue with a purely declarative approach. And so to solve this I took an imperative approach.

Instead of wiring isOpen, onConfirm, onClose state everywhere, NFUI exposes an imperative API:

import { useRef } from 'react';
import { ConfirmDialog } from 'no-frills-ui';

const confirmDialog = useRef<ConfirmDialog>();


const deleteHandler = async () => {
  try {
    await confirmDialog.current.show();
    // Call delete API
  } catch (e) {
    // User cancelled the operation
  }
}

// render
<button type="button" onClick={deleteHandler}>Delete</button>
<ConfirmDialog
  ref={confirmDialog}
  header='Delete item'
  body={`Are you sure you want to delete this item?`}
/>

Here, an imperative ref is used for the dialog. Dialog maintains all the state and click handlers. The show function in ConfirmDialog returns a promise. The promise is resolved when the user confirms else it is rejected.

This reduces the code by a significant amount and also the entire delete logic is in one function called deleteHandler.

Similar approach is taken for AlertDialog, PromptDialog, Notification and Toast components. This reduces effort required to pass feedback to user whenever an async action completes.

LayerManager: inspired by `react-layers-manager`

Managing z-index for modals, dialogs, drawers, notifications, and toasts quickly becomes chaotic. NFUI uses a LayerManager service that:

• Registers each new "layered" component (dialogs, drawers, etc.).
• Assigns z-index based on open order.
• Ensures only the topmost layer is interactable.
• Cleans up when components close.

This idea was inspired by `react-layers-manager`, which centralizes layer and portal management to avoid ad-hoc z-index wars. NFUI’s version is smaller and customized, but the core concept, centralizing stacking and focus, comes from that prior work.

What this means is that developer using no-frills-ui component will never have to worry about the z-index. All no-frills-ui stackable components uses this layer manager to get their layer.

What did we achieve?

Remember that "delete button inside a drawer" from the start? By this point, you have all the pieces: a Button that won’t accidentally submit forms, a Dialog that can confirm via a simple await confirmDialog.current.show(), and a LayerManager that guarantees the dialog stacks correctly over the drawer. The point isn’t just how each component works in isolation, but how they combine into boring, predictable behavior in real UI flows.

This is what a well-engineered set of components enables: each piece does one thing well, and they compose cleanly to solve a real UI problem with very little glue code. AI can absolutely generate the JSX for a button, a dialog, or even a drawer faster than any human. But only a human can see the bigger picture, choose the right semantics and patterns, and design an API that solves the problem with fewer lines of code, fewer bugs, and better long-term maintainability.

Where to explore further

If you are interested then you can check out no-frills-ui repository or skim through the storybook doc.

If anything in this post feels off, unclear, or incomplete, or if you have another pattern you think belongs here, please leave a comment. Component design is nuanced, and catching mistakes or blind spots is much easier when more eyes (and more contexts) are involved.

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Pushkar Anand

Passionate Developer