Radix UI gives you accessible primitives. The application-specific composition is the work.
Radix UI's headless, accessible component primitives with custom styling — for applications that need the accessibility foundations of Radix without the opinionated look of shadcn/ui. We build Radix UI implementations with custom design systems.
Application that needs accessible UI components but wants full control over styling — not a pre-styled library
Building accessible UI components from scratch is harder than it looks. A dropdown menu needs: keyboard navigation (arrow keys to move between items, Enter to select, Escape to close), screen reader announcements (ARIA roles, labels, expanded/collapsed state), focus management (focus trapped in modal dialogs, focus returned on close), and pointer events handled correctly.
These aren't nice-to-have features. They're WCAG 2.1 compliance requirements that affect a significant portion of users.
The options:
Build from scratch. 2–5 days per complex component. High risk of accessibility bugs. Ongoing maintenance as browser behavior evolves.
MUI or Ant Design. Pre-styled, opinionated. Hard to customize significantly without fighting the library's design decisions.
Radix UI. Headless — provides the accessibility behavior and state management without any styling. You apply your own styles using any CSS approach. The components are accessible by default; the design is entirely up to you.
shadcn/ui (built on Radix). Radix primitives with Tailwind CSS styling provided as a starting point. The right choice when Tailwind-based styling aligns with the project. For custom design systems with different styling approaches, using Radix directly gives more flexibility.
Radix UI implementation with custom-styled components, consistent design system, and the accessible patterns that Radix provides
Custom-styled component library
Radix primitives (Dialog, Popover, DropdownMenu, Select, Tooltip, etc.) styled with Tailwind CSS or CSS Modules. Consistent design token application.
Composite components
Application-specific components built on Radix primitives. Command palette with `cmdk` + Radix Dialog. Data grid with custom header menus using Radix DropdownMenu.
Accessibility compliance
ARIA labels, keyboard navigation, and focus management — all provided by Radix. Verified with keyboard-only navigation and screen reader testing.
Animation integration
Radix components expose open/close state for animation. Framer Motion or CSS transitions applied to Radix portal components.
Theming
CSS custom properties for design tokens. Dark mode variant support.
One honest number to start.
Fixed-scope, fixed-price. The number below is the starting point — final scope is built from your brief.
Radix UI implementation with custom-styled components, consistent design system, and the accessible patterns that Radix provides
Three steps, every time.
The same repeatable engagement on every project. No surprises, no mystery, no billable ambiguity.
Brief & discovery.
We send you questions, then get on a call. Output: a written scope with every step, feature, and integration listed.
Build & ship.
Fixed schedule, weekly reviews. No scope creep unless you change the scope — and if you do, we reprice it transparently.
Warranty & retainer.
30-day warranty on every launch. Most clients stay on a monthly retainer for ongoing features and maintenance.
Why Fixed-Price Matters Here
Component library scope is defined by the component set required. Fixed price.
Questions, answered.
shadcn/ui if: you want Tailwind CSS styling as a starting point and don't have a significantly different design system. Raw Radix if: you have a custom design system with specific design tokens, styling approach, or visual requirements that diverge significantly from shadcn/ui's defaults.
Radix UI handles touch events for mobile browsers. Dropdown menus, dialogs, and popovers work on mobile with appropriate touch interactions. However, UI designed for desktop pointer interactions often needs adaptation for mobile.
Part of the application build. Full application from $25k. Fixed-price.
Tell Ryel about your project.
Describe what you’re building and what outcome you need. You’ll have a written, fixed-price scope within the week.