Component library build for startup teams using React

Build production-ready components with accessibility, documentation, and governance. Tailored for startup teams shipping with React.

Use this playbook to scope work, align design and engineering, and avoid the failure modes we see most often on React teams.

Who this is for: startup teams shipping component library build on React.

Typical constraints: 1–2 designers, small eng team, need shippable UI in weeks not quarters.

Success looks like: Consistent MVP UI in 2–4 weeks without a rewrite at Series A.

React focus areas: Prefer composition over prop explosion; use compound components for complex UI.; Colocate styles with CSS Modules or tokens; avoid inline one-offs..

Watch for: Copy-pasting MUI/Chakra patterns without aligning to your token layer

• Every squad ships slightly different buttons, forms, and modals
• Storybook exists but stories do not match production usage
• Props APIs grow organically and become hard to learn
• Visual regressions slip through because testing is manual
• Copy-pasting MUI/Chakra patterns without aligning to your token layer
• Uncontrolled vs controlled input bugs in shared form components
• Context providers nested so deeply that tree-shaking and testing suffer

1. Prioritize components by traffic, rework cost, and a11y risk.
2. Define composition patterns before building one-off variants.
3. Document states, edge cases, and keyboard behavior in Storybook.
4. Pilot with one product squad, then expand with measured adoption metrics.

React specifics:

• Prefer composition over prop explosion; use compound components for complex UI.
• Colocate styles with CSS Modules or tokens; avoid inline one-offs.
• Test keyboard and screen-reader behavior—not just visual snapshots.

• Core component set with typed props and a11y baselines
• Storybook docs with usage dos/don'ts
• Visual regression or interaction test hooks
• Contribution guide and review checklist