This guide covers the best practices for designing and building tabs in shadcn/ui, from UX principles to keyboard interactions and theming. If you are working across both Figma and React, these patterns will help you produce consistent, reliable interfaces.

Why tabs matter

Tabs help users organise information and move between views with minimal friction. They are often used for:

• switching between datasets

• toggling different content states

• navigating secondary page areas

• exposing advanced settings without cluttering the layout

Good tabs feel effortless. Poorly structured tabs confuse users and hide important content. shadcn/ui gives you a strong foundation, but you still need to apply clear design and UX thinking.

UX principles for tabs

Keep tab labels short and scannable

Users should understand each option at a glance. Aim for one or two words. Avoid long sentences and avoid wrapping labels onto multiple lines.

Good examples:

Overview, Activity, Settings, Billing

Poor examples:

Account configuration details, Things you might want to adjust

Use tabs only when content is related

Tabs should represent different views of a single concept. If switching tabs feels like switching sections of the product, you probably need a different pattern such as a sidebar or stepper.

Maintain stable layout

Content under each tab should feel structurally similar. Avoid huge jumps in height or layout shifts. Users should not feel like they are being taken to a completely different part of the interface.

Keep the active tab visually clear

Users should always know which tab is selected. Use clear visual cues such as:

• increased font weight

• a strong underline or indicator

• theme driven colour highlights

Accessibility best practices

Tabs in shadcn/ui inherit Radix accessibility features, but you are still responsible for correct content structure.

Use semantic markup

• The TabList wraps the triggers.

• Each TabTrigger controls one TabContent panel.

• TabContent panels should include role="tabpanel" and be programmatically linked to their triggers.

The shadcn/ui components handle this automatically if used as intended.

Ensure readable labels

Screen readers announce tab labels, so avoid icons alone or ambiguous names. If icons are required, pair them with text.

Preserve focus visibility

Users navigating by keyboard should see exactly where focus is. Do not override focus states with custom styles that remove the outline or indicator.

Keyboard behaviour in shadcn/u

Keyboard support is a core part of Radix and shadcn/ui. Make sure your implementation preserves these interactions.

• Arrow keys move focus between tabs horizontally.

• Home jumps to the first tab.

• End jumps to the last tab.

• Enter or Space activates a focused tab.

• Tab moves focus out of the tablist entirely.

If you override components or restructure markup, verify that keyboard behaviour still works as expected.

Handling variants

shadcn/ui supports a simple visual variant and gives you the freedom to introduce your own.

Segmented tabs

These mimic segmented controls and feel closer to a toggle group. Use them when switching between modes rather than pages of content.

When to create custom variants

Create a new variant only when it adds clarity, not when it adds novelty. Every additional variant increases cognitive load for users and designers.

Your Shadcraft Figma kit includes all standard variants with pixel perfect alignment to the codebase. This prevents drift and makes it easier for teams to work consistently across screens.

Theming your tabs

With shadcn/ui, theming is controlled through Tailwind tokens. That means your tabs can adapt instantly when you change your theme or brand layer.

Colour choices

Reserve your strongest colour token for the active indicator or pill background. Keep inactive tabs low contrast so the hierarchy stays clear.

Spacing and touch targets

Follow accessible touch target sizes. The indicator area does not count as part of the touch target, so make sure the trigger itself is large enough.

Dark mode alignment

Check:

• indicator contrast

• label clarity

• hover and focus states

• inactive tab visibility

Your Figma kit and tweakcn integration make it possible to test all variants in light and dark mode instantly, which speeds up this part of the workflow.

When tabs are not the right choice

Avoid tabs when:

• you have more than six options

• your content is unrelated

• users need to complete a step by step process

• navigation requires deep hierarchy

• the mobile layout becomes cramped

In these cases, consider accordions, side navigation or a multi step flow instead.

Best practice example

A strong tabbed interface in shadcn/ui should follow this checklist.

• Clear labels that describe the destination

• Consistent width, structure and spacing

• High contrast active state

• Smooth keyboard navigation

• Stable layout when switching content

• Responsiveness across breakpoints

• Themed colours that suit light and dark mode

• Accessible roles and ARIA links applied automatically by the component

How Shadcraft helps you design better tabs

Designing tabs from scratch in Figma can be time consuming and often leads to mismatches with the actual shadcn/ui code. The Shadcraft Base and Pro kits include:

• Figma components that mirror every code variant

• Proper states and indicators

• Auto layout structures that match production markup

• Theming support through variables for instant brand alignment

• Block level patterns so tabs feel native across full screens

This keeps designers aligned with developers and prevents the usual drift between Figma and React.

Final thoughts

Tabs are simple on the surface, yet they carry a surprising amount of UX, accessibility and structural complexity. shadcn/ui handles the heavy lifting for behaviour and accessibility, but it is up to you to apply thoughtful design, clear labelling and consistent theming.

When done well, tabs keep your interface organised, predictable and easy to navigate. With the right foundations in Figma and code, they become one of the most dependable patterns in your product.

If you want a ready to use set of tab components that match the shadcn/ui codebase out of the box, the Shadcraft Figma kits provide a fast and accurate starting point.