5 Hidden Gems of React.js That Make Your UI Premium and Easy

React.js is a powerhouse in the world of frontend development, offering a vast ecosystem of tools and libraries to craft modern, responsive, and high-performance user interfaces. While many developers rely on standard libraries like React Router or Redux, there exists a treasure trove of lesser-known gems that can dramatically improve your UI/UX with minimal code.

In this guide, we'll explore five hidden gems in React that can give your project a premium feel and make development easier and more efficient.

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📌 Table of Contents

1. react-fast-marquee

2. react-hot-toast

3. react-confetti

4. react-scroll-parallax

5. react-tilt

6. Final Thoughts

7. FAQs

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1. react-fast-marquee: Seamless, Performant Marquee Effects

✅ Why It Stands Out:

Traditional marquee effects are clunky and outdated. react-fast-marquee delivers smooth, performant, and highly customizable scrolling text and image carousels that align with modern UI standards.

✨ Key Features:

• Highly performant (uses requestAnimationFrame internally)

• Supports gradients, pauses on hover, and direction control

• Works flawlessly with images, icons, and text

💡 Use Case Example:

Perfect for news tickers, partnership logo sliders, or featured offers on eCommerce websites.

📦 How to Use:

npm install react-fast-marquee

import Marquee from "react-fast-marquee";

<Marquee gradient={false} speed={60} pauseOnHover>
  <img src="/logo1.png" alt="Brand1" />
  <img src="/logo2.png" alt="Brand2" />
  <p>Latest Product Launches | Limited Time Offers</p>
</Marquee>

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2. react-hot-toast: Toast Notifications Done Right

✅ Why It Stands Out:

react-hot-toast is a lightweight notification system with zero dependencies. It focuses on beautiful, responsive, and highly customizable toast messages.

✨ Key Features:

• Animations powered by Framer Motion

• Fully customizable with JSX support

• Dark/light theme support

💡 Use Case Example:

Use it for form success messages, error alerts, or real-time notifications.

📦 How to Use:

npm install react-hot-toast

import { Toaster, toast } from 'react-hot-toast';

function App() {
  return (
    <>
      <button onClick={() => toast.success('Profile Updated!')}>Update</button>
      <Toaster position="top-right" />
    </>
  );
}

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3. react-confetti: Add Celebration with One Line

✅ Why It Stands Out:

Celebration effects are often overlooked but can greatly enhance the user experience, especially during milestones like signup completion or payment success.

✨ Key Features:

• Minimal setup

• Automatically detects screen width and height

• Supports controlled bursts

💡 Use Case Example:

Great for showing appreciation or adding delight after user achievements like onboarding or payment success.

📦 How to Use:

npm install react-confetti

import Confetti from 'react-confetti';
import { useWindowSize } from 'react-use';

const Celebration = () => {
  const { width, height } = useWindowSize();
  return <Confetti width={width} height={height} />;
};

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4. react-scroll-parallax: Layered Parallax with Ease

✅ Why It Stands Out:

Parallax effects can make a site look sophisticated and dynamic. react-scroll-parallax offers a declarative way to create these effects with smooth scroll-based transitions.

✨ Key Features:

• Fully declarative

• Easily integrates with existing components

• Supports layered parallax

💡 Use Case Example:

Ideal for landing pages or portfolios where visual storytelling matters.

📦 How to Use:

npm install react-scroll-parallax

import { ParallaxProvider, Parallax } from 'react-scroll-parallax';

<ParallaxProvider>
  <Parallax y={[-20, 20]}>
    <img src="/hero-image.png" alt="Hero" />
  </Parallax>
</ParallaxProvider>

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5. react-tilt: Bring Elements to Life with Subtle Motion

✅ Why It Stands Out:

Adding subtle tilt or hover animations can increase user engagement. react-tilt allows you to implement 3D tilt hover effects with minimal effort.

✨ Key Features:

• Lightweight and easy to use

• Customizable tilt settings (reverse, scale, speed)

• Adds depth and interactivity to UI components

💡 Use Case Example:

Apply on cards, product images, or buttons to make them pop subtly.

📦 How to Use:

npm install react-tilt

import Tilt from 'react-tilt';

<Tilt className="Tilt" options={{ max: 25, speed: 400 }} style={{ height: 150, width: 150 }}>
  <div className="Tilt-inner">🎯</div>
</Tilt>

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🧠 Final Thoughts

These five hidden gems in the React.js ecosystem can significantly enhance your UI without bloating your project. Whether you're designing for user delight, functionality, or animation, integrating libraries like react-fast-marquee or react-hot-toast can boost your productivity while giving your app a polished, premium feel.

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❓ FAQs

1. Are these libraries production-ready?
Yes, all five libraries are actively maintained and widely used in production applications.

2. Do these libraries significantly affect performance?
Most are lightweight and optimized for performance. Proper integration ensures minimal impact.

3. Can these libraries be used with Next.js?
Absolutely. They are fully compatible with frameworks like Next.js.

4. Are these components responsive?
Yes, each library supports responsiveness either inherently or through CSS.

5. Do they require any external dependencies?
Most have zero or minimal external dependencies, making them easy to plug and play.