This guide walks through the principles, patterns and decisions that lead to stable, maintainable tables that scale with your product. Whether your focus is code, design or both, these best practices will help you avoid the usual pitfalls.

Why tables are difficult

Tables carry unique challenges because they combine layout, semantics, interaction and large volumes of data.

• They must remain readable at all sizes.

• They often support custom interactions.

• They require strong alignment rules.

• They need predictable column behaviour.

• They must stay responsive without breaking structure.

• They must be accessible to keyboard and screen reader users.

shadcn/ui gives you the primitives, but it is your job to apply structure, UX thinking and production ready logic.

Start with the right table structure

Tables should begin with semantic markup that reflects their purpose.

<Table>
  <TableHeader>
    <TableRow>
      <TableHead>Name</TableHead>
      <TableHead>Status</TableHead>
      <TableHead>Actions</TableHead>
    </TableRow>
  </TableHeader>
  <TableBody>
    <TableRow>
      <TableCell>Jane Doe</TableCell>
      <TableCell>Active</TableCell>
      <TableCell>Edit</TableCell>
    </TableRow>
  </TableBody>
</Table>

This structure is the anchor for responsiveness, accessibility and consistent styling.

Keep column meaning clear

Each column should represent a single type of information. Do not mix data types or place unrelated content inside a single cell.

Avoid over nesting

Complex wrappers inside cells make alignment harder and increase cognitive load. Place only what you need inside each cell and use utility classes for spacing.

Handling alignment and density

Column alignment

Follow these patterns:

• Left align text based content.

• Right align numbers, prices and metrics.

• Centre align status badges only when it improves scanning.

Mixing alignment across rows creates visual noise and reduces readability.

Vertical density

Tables should feel compact without becoming cramped. Define clear spacing tokens and apply them consistently across rows. Avoid ad hoc padding for edge cases.

Your Shadcraft Figma kit includes table row variants with correct spacing baked in so designers and developers stay aligned.

Sorting & pagination

Most production tables need interaction. Keep these principles in mind.

Sorting

Sorting indicators should follow a consistent pattern.

• Neutral state when unsorted.

• Clear up and down icons when active.

• Icons only visible on hover for dense tables if space is limited.

Sort icons must be announced correctly to screen readers.

Pagination

For large datasets, server side pagination is more performant. Avoid infinite scroll as it disrupts context and makes navigation difficult for keyboard users.

Action cells and patterns

Tables often contain row level actions such as:

• edit

• delete

• view

• open menu

Keep actions in a consistent column. Use icons only when the meaning is unambiguous, otherwise pair icons with text.

For complex action sets, use a dropdown menu to declutter the table and reduce accidental taps on mobile.

Accessibility considerations

Accessible tables require semantic structure plus keyboard and screen reader support.

Correct roles

The default shadcn/ui table components map to correct HTML semantics, so do not override roles unless absolutely necessary.

Table headers and scope

Use <TableHead> for headers and ensure each header has the correct scope so screen readers can map headers to cells.

Keyboard navigation

Users should be able to:

• Tab through interactive elements in cells.

• Operate sort and filter controls by keyboard.

• Navigate pagination components.

Avoid placing non interactive elements in the tab order.

Responsiveness

Tables do not naturally scale down to mobile, so you need a clear strategy.

Option 1. Hide non essential columns

Keep primary identifiers visible and hide secondary data at small breakpoints.

Option 2. Convert each row into a stacked card

This removes the grid but improves readability on narrow screens.

Option 3. Horizontal scroll

Use sparingly. Ensure the scroll area has clear affordances.

Your design team should choose one responsive pattern and stick to it across the entire product.

Theming your table

shadcn/ui supports theming through Tailwind tokens and CSS variables. This gives you control over:

• header background

• row hover colour

• border style and density

• zebra striping

• status colour tokens

• typography and spacing

With structure defined and tokens managed correctly, theme updates apply across the entire table with no component rewrites.

Shadcraft’s kits include proper variable support so designers can preview light, dark and brand themes instantly. This is a major time saver for data heavy products.

Performance considerations

Tables often load thousands of rows. Keep the following in mind.

• Use virtualisation for very large datasets.

• Memoize row components to avoid unnecessary re renders.

• Keep cell logic simple and avoid expensive operations inside render loops.

• Offload heavy sorting and filtering to the server when possible.

Performance should be tested with production scale data, not small demo sets.

Production checklist

A reliable shadcn/ui table should pass this checklist.

• Semantic table structure

• Clear column alignment rules

• Strong visual hierarchy for headers and rows

• Accessible sort controls and labels

• Responsive behaviour that matches product needs

• Consistent density and spacing

• Stable theming across light and dark modes

• Predictable keyboard interactions

• Optimised for performance

• Maintained through tokens rather than ad hoc overrides

How Shadcraft helps teams design better tables

The Shadcraft Figma kits include fully structured table components that match the markup used in shadcn/ui. This gives designers:

• accurate columns, cells and row variants

• consistent density across all table types

• prebuilt patterns for sortable and interactive tables

• instant theming support through variables

• pixel perfect spacing that aligns to the codebase

This removes the guesswork and speeds up design to development workflows, especially in enterprise or data heavy products.

Final thoughts

Tables are challenging, but shadcn/ui provides a solid foundation that becomes powerful when paired with clear UX rules, accessible patterns and theme driven styling. With the right structure in place, your tables become predictable, scalable and easy to maintain, even as your product grows.

If you want a Figma kit that matches the shadcn/ui code exactly and includes production ready table patterns, the Shadcraft Base and Pro kits offer a fast, reliable starting point.