Why Every Web App Needs a Style Guide Page: Lessons from Provalit

During the development of Provalit, my property assessment application, I made a decision that significantly improved development efficiency and UI consistency: creating a dedicated style guide page. This simple addition has proven to be invaluable, and I wanted to share why you might consider adding one to your own projects.

What Is a Style Guide Page?

For those unfamiliar, a style guide page is essentially a visual inventory of all your UI components, design patterns, and styling rules in one place. In Provalit, I created a /style-guide route that's accessible in development environments, displaying every component with different states and variations.

Why It's Worth the Effort

1. Rapid Component Prototyping

Before the style guide page, testing a component meant navigating to a specific part of the app where that component was used. Now, I can:

  • See all variations of a component in one view
  • Make changes and immediately see how they affect different states
  • Test edge cases without having to recreate specific app scenarios

This has cut down development time dramatically when working on UI adjustments.

2. Design Consistency Enforcement

It's easy for inconsistencies to creep in when components are scattered across dozens of files. The style guide provides:

  • A single source of truth for how components should look
  • Immediate visual feedback when styles drift
  • A reference point for new team members to understand design standards

In Provalit, this has helped maintain the cohesive, polished look that users appreciate.

3. Improved Collaboration with Designers

Having a style guide page has transformed our designer-developer workflow:

  • Designers can reference specific components by navigating to the style guide
  • We discuss changes while looking at the complete component set
  • Design iterations are faster since we're working from a shared visual reference

4. Documentation That's Always Current

Unlike static documentation that quickly becomes outdated:

  • The style guide shows the actual rendered components
  • It updates automatically as the components evolve
  • New developers can see working examples rather than just reading about them

How I Implemented It in Provalit

The implementation was surprisingly straightforward:

Created a /style-guide route in the Next.js app router

Organized sections for different component types (buttons, cards, forms, etc.)

Added examples of each component with different props and states

Included simple code snippets showing how to use each component

Here's a simplified example of how the button section looks:

<section>
<h2>Buttons</h2>

<div className="space-y-4">
<div>
<h3>Variants</h3>
<div className="flex flex-wrap gap-4">
<Button>Default</Button>
<Button variant="secondary">Secondary</Button>
<Button variant="destructive">Destructive</Button>
<Button variant="outline">Outline</Button>
<Button variant="ghost">Ghost</Button>
<Button variant="link">Link</Button>
</div>
</div>

<div>
<h3>Sizes</h3>
<div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-4">
<Button size="sm">Small</Button>
<Button>Default</Button>
<Button size="lg">Large</Button>
</div>
</div>

<div>
<h3>States</h3>
<div className="flex flex-wrap gap-4">
<Button>Default</Button>
<Button disabled>Disabled</Button>
<Button isLoading>Loading</Button>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>

Start Simple and Grow

You don't need to build a comprehensive style guide all at once. In Provalit, I started with just basic buttons, cards, and form elements. Over time, it grew to include:

  • Color palette and typography
  • Form components and validation states
  • Complex interactive components
  • Layout examples
  • Dark/light theme previews

Beyond Development: A Sales Tool

An unexpected benefit: the style guide has become useful in client presentations. It showcases the attention to detail and design quality in the application, which has been a nice bonus.

Give It a Try

If you're working on a web application, I strongly recommend setting aside a day to create even a basic style guide page. The time investment pays off quickly in development efficiency and design quality.

Have you implemented a style guide in your projects? I'd love to hear about your experiences or any tips you might have!

Check out the full Provalit project at github.com/sphereboy/provalit-app-2