Buttons are small UI elements with outsized impact: they must look good, communicate state, handle async actions, and remain accessible. react-awesome-button is a lightweight React component library that gives you animated, styled buttons out of the box so you can focus on UX and logic rather than painstaking CSS.
It wraps common interaction patterns — ripple, progress, and social styles — and exposes simple props and components for typical needs: primary/secondary appearance, disabled states, and progress callbacks. That reduces boilerplate and keeps your UI consistent.
Below you’ll find a concise setup, clear examples (including progress/loading behavior), customization approaches, accessibility guidance, and integration tips for CRA and SSR frameworks like Next.js. If you prefer a working example walkthrough, start with this short tutorial: react-awesome-button tutorial.
Install via npm or yarn. The package ships with prebuilt CSS, so the install step is followed by a CSS import to get the animations and styles working immediately.
Commands are straightforward. In your project root run one of the following:
npm install react-awesome-button
# or
yarn add react-awesome-buttonThen import the components and CSS in the entry file or component where you’ll use the buttons. For Create React App, import the stylesheet once (e.g., in index.js or App.js):
import React from 'react';
import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
import { AwesomeButton, AwesomeButtonProgress } from 'react-awesome-button';
import 'react-awesome-button/dist/styles.css';If you use Next.js or another SSR framework, ensure CSS is imported at the app root (e.g., pages/_app.js) or configured via a global stylesheet so the styles render server-side as well.
Once installed, rendering a button is as simple as using the component. The library provides a standard button and a progress-aware variant useful for async actions.
Example: a simple primary button and a progress button that displays an internal loading animation while a promise resolves.
import { AwesomeButton, AwesomeButtonProgress } from 'react-awesome-button';
function Demo() {
return (
<div>
<AwesomeButton type="primary">Click me</AwesomeButton>
<AwesomeButtonProgress
type="secondary"
action={(element, next) => {
// simulate async work
setTimeout(() => {
// call next() to stop progress state
next();
}, 1500);
}}
>
Submit
</AwesomeButtonProgress>
</div>
);
}Aware of semantics: treat AwesomeButton as a real button element. Provide distinct text labels, and for icon-only buttons add accessible labels via aria-label to remain screen-reader friendly.
react-awesome-button includes built-in animations (ripples, subtle transforms, progress transitions). You can change look-and-feel through CSS overrides, className, or by wrapping the component in a styled-component. The component’s styles are CSS-based, which makes them straightforward to tweak.
Common customization approaches:
Example override (safe and scoped):
/* app.css */
.my-awesome .aws-btn {
--aws-btn-bg: #ff7a59; /* if the library uses CSS variables */
border-radius: 12px;
box-shadow: 0 6px 18px rgba(3,16,44,0.12);
}Attach the class on the wrapper: <div className=”my-awesome”><AwesomeButton … /></div>. If CSS variables are not available in your version, target the appropriate class names and properties with specificity to override defaults.
Buttons need to reflect interaction state clearly. For synchronous UI, the disabled prop is the simplest approach: prevent clicks and indicate inactivity. For asynchronous flows, the progress variant is ideal because it presents an integrated loading animation until your callback completes.
Example of disabling during an async action (pattern):
function SaveButton() {
const [saving, setSaving] = React.useState(false);
async function handleSave() {
setSaving(true);
await api.saveData();
setSaving(false);
}
return <AwesomeButton disabled={saving} onPress={handleSave}>
{saving ? 'Saving...' : 'Save'}
</AwesomeButton>;
}If you prefer the built-in progress support, use AwesomeButtonProgress’s action callback and call the provided next() function once the async work finishes. This keeps the component consistent and avoids manual state management.
Accessibility should be part of your button strategy. Ensure text alternatives, keyboard focus outlines, and semantic roles are present. The component renders as a button element so basic keyboard behavior is preserved, but you still need to provide clear labels and test with a screen reader.
Key items to check:
On performance: importing the single stylesheet once avoids duplicate CSS, and the library is small enough for most UIs. If you use many different animations, verify they don’t cause layout thrashing; prefer transform and opacity-based animations which are GPU-friendly.
Integrate buttons into forms, modals, and async flows by following a few patterns: wire the button to form state rather than DOM queries, centralize button styles in theme tokens, and encapsulate repetitive logic in wrapper components to avoid duplication.
For server-rendered apps (Next.js), import the CSS in pages/_app.js to ensure consistent SSR styling. If your bundler supports CSS tree-shaking or CSS modules, confirm the library’s global classes are preserved or adapt via a global stylesheet import.
Common wrapper pattern — create a reusable component that standardizes size, type, and loading behavior. This reduces prop-sprawl and ensures a consistent developer experience across the app.
Official package and docs are concise and helpful. For installation and package details visit the npm page: react-awesome-button.
For a practical tutorial and example walkthrough see this step-by-step guide: react-awesome-button tutorial. Both links provide code snippets and variants you can adapt.
If you maintain a design system, consider wrapping the library inside your own Button component so you can swap implementations later without refactoring every usage site.
Use AwesomeButtonProgress which accepts an action callback. Inside action, run your async task and call next() when complete. This triggers the built-in progress animation without manual state juggling.
Override the library CSS by scoping selectors or using the className prop on a wrapper. If the version you use exposes CSS variables, override those in your stylesheet. For animation speed, target the relevant transition/animation properties in the library classes and set durations that match your brand motion guidelines.
Yes — it renders button elements and preserves keyboard behavior. Still, provide aria-labels for icon-only buttons, verify focus states remain visible, and test with screen readers to ensure label clarity and proper announcement of state changes.
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