1. Styles Not Applying to Components

Understanding the Issue

Material-UI components do not reflect custom styles or appear unstyled.

Root Causes

• Incorrect use of the sx prop or styled API.
• Conflicts with global styles or third-party CSS frameworks.
• Failure to wrap the application with ThemeProvider.

Fix

Ensure styles are applied correctly using the sx prop:

<Button sx={{ backgroundColor: "#1976d2", color: "white" }}>Click Me</Button>

Ensure the ThemeProvider is wrapped around your application:

import { ThemeProvider, createTheme } from "@mui/material/styles";
const theme = createTheme();
<ThemeProvider theme={theme}>
    <App />
</ThemeProvider>

Avoid conflicting global styles by using CSS reset libraries like:

import CssBaseline from "@mui/material/CssBaseline";

2. Performance Issues with Material-UI Components

Understanding the Issue

Rendering Material-UI components causes lag, especially in large applications.

Root Causes

• Excessive re-renders due to state updates.
• Overuse of inline styles causing JSS performance degradation.
• Large component trees slowing down rendering.

Fix

Use React.memo to prevent unnecessary re-renders:

const MemoizedComponent = React.memo(MyComponent);

Optimize styles by avoiding inline styles inside components:

const useStyles = makeStyles((theme) => ({
    button: { backgroundColor: theme.palette.primary.main }
}));

Use virtualization techniques for large lists:

import { FixedSizeList } from "react-window";

3. Theme Overrides Not Working

Understanding the Issue

Custom themes do not override Material-UI default styles as expected.

Root Causes

• Incorrect theme structure or missing ThemeProvider.
• Conflicts between global styles and Material-UI components.
• Component-specific styles overriding theme settings.

Fix

Ensure theme overrides are properly set in createTheme:

const theme = createTheme({
  components: {
    MuiButton: {
      styleOverrides: {
        root: { backgroundColor: "#1976d2", color: "white" }
      }
    }
  }
});

Ensure that the theme is wrapped at the root level:

<ThemeProvider theme={theme}>
    <CssBaseline />
    <App />
</ThemeProvider>

4. Material-UI Components Not Rendering Properly

Understanding the Issue

Some Material-UI components do not appear or render incorrectly.

Root Causes

• Incorrect component import (default vs named imports).
• Using outdated or incompatible Material-UI versions.
• Missing required props for specific components.

Fix

Ensure correct component imports:

import Button from "@mui/material/Button";

Check for version compatibility issues:

npm list @mui/material

Ensure required props are provided, especially for complex components like Autocomplete:

<Autocomplete options={options} getOptionLabel={(option) => option.label} renderInput={(params) => <TextField {...params} label="Select" />} />

5. Integrating Material-UI with Other UI Frameworks

Understanding the Issue

Material-UI does not integrate well with frameworks like Next.js or Tailwind CSS.

Root Causes

• Server-side rendering (SSR) issues in Next.js.
• CSS conflicts when combining Tailwind CSS with Material-UI.
• Improper handling of emotion cache for SSR.

Fix

For Next.js, use emotion’s SSR setup:

import createCache from "@emotion/cache";
import { CacheProvider } from "@emotion/react";
const cache = createCache({ key: "css", prepend: true });
<CacheProvider value={cache}>
    <App />
</CacheProvider>

For Tailwind CSS, avoid global style conflicts by scoping Tailwind classes:

<div className="tw-text-blue-500">Material-UI Button</div>

Conclusion

Material-UI simplifies UI development but requires careful handling to avoid styling conflicts, performance issues, rendering problems, and integration challenges. By structuring themes correctly, optimizing performance, and ensuring proper component usage, developers can fully leverage Material-UI’s capabilities.

FAQs

1. Why are my styles not applying in Material-UI?

Ensure you are using the sx prop or styled API correctly and wrapping the app with ThemeProvider.

2. How do I improve Material-UI performance?

Use React.memo, optimize styles, and apply virtualization for large lists.

3. Why are my custom themes not working?

Ensure themes are defined using createTheme and properly wrapped in ThemeProvider.

4. How do I fix Material-UI components not rendering?

Check imports, ensure version compatibility, and provide necessary props.

5. How can I use Material-UI with Next.js?

Use emotion’s SSR cache and properly configure CacheProvider.