Angular Material: Creating Beautiful UI Components Effortlessly

Introduction

Angular Material is a UI component library designed to help developers build visually appealing and user-friendly applications effortlessly. Built on Google's Material Design principles, Angular Material provides a comprehensive set of reusable components that enhance the user experience while maintaining consistency across applications.

This guide explores Angular Material, its benefits, and best practices for creating elegant UI components in Angular applications.

Why Use Angular Material?

Angular Material simplifies UI development by offering pre-designed, highly customizable components. Some key advantages include:

• Consistent UI: Ensures a cohesive design language across applications.
• Responsive Design: Components adapt seamlessly to different screen sizes.
• Theming Support: Customizable themes enable branding and aesthetic consistency.
• Accessibility: Built-in accessibility features improve usability.
• Performance Optimization: Components are optimized for smooth rendering and responsiveness.

Getting Started with Angular Material

1. Installing Angular Material

To use Angular Material in an Angular project, install the package using Angular CLI:

ng add @angular/material

This command installs Angular Material, animations, and theme configurations.

2. Configuring Angular Material

After installation, import the desired Material modules into your app.module.ts file:

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import { BrowserAnimationsModule } from '@angular/platform-browser/animations';
import { MatButtonModule } from '@angular/material/button';
import { MatToolbarModule } from '@angular/material/toolbar';

@NgModule({
  declarations: [AppComponent],
  imports: [
    BrowserModule,
    BrowserAnimationsModule,
    MatButtonModule,
    MatToolbarModule
  ],
  providers: [],
  bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule {}

Core Angular Material Components

1. Buttons

Angular Material provides various button styles:

<button mat-button>Basic</button>
<button mat-raised-button color="primary">Raised</button>
<button mat-stroked-button color="accent">Stroked</button>
<button mat-fab color="warn">+</button>

2. Toolbar

A toolbar creates headers and navigation bars:

<mat-toolbar color="primary">
  <span>My App</span>
</mat-toolbar>

3. Cards

Material cards help structure content effectively:

<mat-card>
  <mat-card-header>
    <mat-card-title>Title</mat-card-title>
    <mat-card-subtitle>Subtitle</mat-card-subtitle>
  </mat-card-header>
  <mat-card-content>
    Content goes here.
  </mat-card-content>
</mat-card>

4. Forms and Inputs

Forms are essential for user interaction. Angular Material offers input fields with validation:

<mat-form-field>
  <mat-label>Username</mat-label>
  <input matInput required>
</mat-form-field>

5. Dialogs

Material dialogs help display modal popups:

import { MatDialog } from '@angular/material/dialog';

constructor(private dialog: MatDialog) {}

openDialog() {
  this.dialog.open(DialogComponent);
}

<button mat-button (click)="openDialog()">Open Dialog</button>

Theming in Angular Material

Angular Material supports light and dark themes. You can define custom themes in styles.scss:

@import '~@angular/material/prebuilt-themes/indigo-pink.css';

To create a custom theme:

@import '~@angular/material/theming';
@include mat-core();

$custom-theme: mat-light-theme(
  mat-palette($mat-indigo),
  mat-palette($mat-pink)
);

@include angular-material-theme($custom-theme);

Responsive Design with Angular Material

Angular Material provides a grid system and layout utilities for responsive design. Use mat-grid-list for flexible layouts:

<mat-grid-list cols="2" rowHeight="2:1">
  <mat-grid-tile>Tile 1</mat-grid-tile>
  <mat-grid-tile>Tile 2</mat-grid-tile>
</mat-grid-list>

Performance Optimization

To improve performance when using Angular Material:

1. Lazy Load Modules: Load Material modules only when required.
2. Use Change Detection Strategy: Optimize components using ChangeDetectionStrategy.OnPush.
3. Minimize Repaints and Reflows: Use efficient DOM updates and avoid unnecessary bindings.

Conclusion

Angular Material simplifies UI development by providing ready-to-use, customizable components that adhere to Material Design guidelines. By leveraging its capabilities, developers can create visually appealing and performant applications effortlessly.

Whether you are building small projects or enterprise-grade applications, Angular Material ensures that your UI remains professional, consistent, and user-friendly.