Why Tailwind doesn't suck

Surprisingly, it’s 2026 and there are still articles popping up about how bad Tailwind is. I guess people are starving for clickbait, so here I am.

Tailwind is a great tool! I see most complaints centered around how messy it makes your HTML look, as if you ever open the console and stare at someone’s HTML structure, silently judging them as a person for how bad they are their job.

The other argument is that it makes it look bad in code, as if there aren’t ways around this, that yes, when used just reinvent the wheel like having a dedicated colocated file that holds variables of strings that your Tailwind classes, sure… but, Tailwind as a utility is so much nicer than writing CSS.

As React developers atleast, we should be creating focused components that serve a clear purpose. They usually end up small and maintainable. People talk about the mess Tailwind makes as if it’s a string jungle and there is no machete thick enough to cut through it.

I’ve used Tailwind on every medium to large project and have never regretted my decision. It’s so nice not to have to come up with class names even though you can use patterns like BEM or something, whatever.

It’s infinitely nicer to be able to see how much component is being styled right there and not have to chase down CSS classes. There does exist times where I will use CSS and Tailwind, including Tailwind in CSS even though it compiles to the same thing. I like Tailwind as the design system so to speak.

I love Tailwind, I see no issue with using it and I don’t know why people try to come up with reasons not to. So, please share this bait article with your friends so I can get some clicks. Thank you.

Go with Claude.