Angular elements is a powerful feature that allows you to encapsulate Angular components as custom elements that are usable on any HTML page regardless of the framework used in the host application. With them, developers are able to build framework-agnostic, encapsulated, and reusable UI components that look great on any tech stack. This makes it a perfect solution for apps like:
- Integrating Angular Components into Non-Angular Applications
- Creating micro frontends
- Embedding widgets in CMS like Wordpress or Drupal
- Building design systems or UI libraries for multi-project teams
These Angular elements will work by wrapping Angular components inside a CustomElement class, and then Angular will transform it into a native CustomElement with the assistance of the browser's Custom elements API.
Top Angular Elements Best Practices
When you are developing with Angular components, you should make sure that you are making components efficient, modular, and clean. This will guarantee that cross-environment compatibility and maintainability in the long run will be attained. If you hire Angular developer with expertise in best practices, they can help you implement components that are lightweight, scalable, and easy to integrate. The below are the some of the most important best practices that you should follow:
1. Design Components to be Framework Agnostic
Each Angular component must be self-contained so that it does not depend on shared services, shared variables, or application-level configuration. All business logic must be self-contained within the component itself rather than relying on external services, unless imported with well-defined boundaries.
2. Keep Components Self-Contained
Each Angular element should function independently, without depending on shared services, global variables, or application-wide configurations. All the business logic should be encapsulated within the component itself rather than relying on external services, unless explicitly injected with clear boundaries.
3. Minimize External Dependencies
Try to keep your Angular elements lightweight by avoiding unnecessary third-party libraries. If external libraries are needed, prefer tree-shakable and modular imports to reduce bundle size.
4. Optimize for Lazy Loading
Angular elements can be large, especially with core Angular modules included in it. For this, you should use code splitting, lazy loading, and custom webpack configurations to load only what is needed for improving performance and load time.
5. Use Custom Events for Communication
Instead of tightly coupling elements to their host, emit data using @Output() and native CustomEvent. This ensures flexibility and allows easy integration with non-Angular applications.
6. Avoid Shared Services Unless Intentional
Inject services locally rather than sharing globally to prevent memory leaks and unexpected behaviors. This ensures multiple element instances work independently on the same page.
7. Namespace Custom Events and Selectors
Prefix custom elements and events to prevent naming collisions (e.g., ). This is especially useful in large applications or when integrating multiple Angular elements.
8. Test Across Frameworks and Environments
Since Angular elements are framework-agnostic, test them in plain JS, React, Vue, etc. This ensures consistent behaviour and reveals integration issues before deployment.
9. Handle Versioning Carefully
Use semantic versioning (SemVer) for the Angular elements shared across teams or applications. Additionally, you can maintain clear changelogs to avoid breaking changes and ensure smooth updates.
10. Bundle Smartly Using Custom Webpack Config
Leverage custom webpack configurations or ng-packagr to produce lean, optimized bundles, which ensures that shared Angular modules that are already available globally are globally excluded. This will help in preventing duplication, reducing bundle size, and keeping elements efficient.
11. Ensure Accessibility (A11y)
Design your components for accessibility by including ARIA attributes that enable navigating components using a keyboard, and rightly controlling focus. These are the steps that enable your components to be accessible and usable for everyone, including people with disabilities.
12. Document Inputs, Outputs, and Usage Clearly
Clearly document inputs, outputs, default values, and events, along with detailed usage instructions. Well-structured documentation simplifies integration, reduces errors, and helps both internal teams and external developers work efficiently.
13. Use Polyfills Wisely
Utilize polyfills only when needed to support older browsers, and avoid bundling them, by default. If your target environment already provides global polyfills then excluding them will reduce bundle size and improve performance.
Conclusion
Angular elements release huge potential for building genuinely reusable, framework-agnostic components that execute flawlessly in all environments. By adhering to best practices such as components being self-contained, not having dependencies, lazy loading optimisation, and accessibility, you can make UI components easy to maintain, integrate, and scale. If you want to use Angular elements or require expert guidance on building high-quality, enterprise-level Angular solutions, working with a veteran Angular development company can guarantee maximum efficiency, maintainability, and long-term success. With the right expertise, your components will not only integrate seamlessly but also deliver improved user experience on all platforms.
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