Web Awesome Components in BetterForms

Use Web Awesome components inside BetterForms with self-contained bfcomponents that lazy-load the library and styles.

Web Awesome has launched a modern set of web components that you can use directly in BetterForms. This guide shows a minimal, self-contained component you can share so developers can drag-and-drop onto a page without extra setup.

References: Web Awesome Docs · Usage & bundling

Approach

Self-contained bfcomponent that:
- Loads Web Awesome once (loader + default theme CSS) using BF.libraryLoadOnce()
- Renders a Web Awesome button (<wa-button>) with configurable label/variant
- Exposes a component-scoped onClick named action that forms can override
Default theme (no special theme class required)

This avoids global setup and works even if a page hasn’t preloaded Web Awesome.

Component Definition: `wa_button`

Copy this JSON into your components library (site-level is recommended), name it wa_button.

{
  "name": "wa_button",
  "schema": {
    "label": "Button",
    "variant": "brand",
    "size": "medium"
  },
  "html": "<wa-button :variant=\"schema.variant || 'brand'\" :size=\"schema.size || 'medium'\" @click=\"namedAction('onClick')\">{{ schema.label || 'Button' }}</wa-button>",
  "namedActions": {
    "onBeforeMount": [{
      "action": "function",
      "function": "try {\n  // Load Web Awesome loader (dist-cdn) and default theme CSS once per app session\n  await BF.libraryLoadOnce('https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@awesome.me/webawesome@3/dist-cdn/webawesome.loader.js');\n  await BF.libraryLoadOnce('https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@awesome.me/webawesome@3/dist/styles/themes/default.css', { type: 'stylesheet' });\n} catch (error) {\n  console.error('Web Awesome load failed:', error);\n  BF.errorThrow(10500, 'Web Awesome load failed', (error && error.message) || String(error));\n}"
    }],
    "onClick": [{
      "action": "showAlert",
      "options": { "text": "wa_button clicked", "type": "information" }
    }]
  }
}

Notes:

Uses BetterForms lifecycle onBeforeMount so the component waits for the library/style before rendering.
BF.libraryLoadOnce() deduplicates loads, so multiple instances/pages remain fast.
Forms can override onClick at form scope with their own named action.

Usage on a Page

Add a bfcomponent element that references wa_button.

{
  "type": "bfcomponent",
  "name": "wa_button",
  "attributes": {
    "label": "Save",
    "variant": "brand",
    "size": "medium"
  }
}

Optionally, override the click behavior at form scope by defining an onClick named action on the page:

{
  "form": {
    "namedActions": {
      "onClick": [
        { "action": "showAlert", "options": { "text": "Saving...", "type": "information" } },
        { "action": "runUtilityHook", "options": { "type": "save" } }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Alternative: Global Project Script (CDN Kit)

Web Awesome “Projects” are like Font Awesome kits: a single script you place in the site’s <head> that brings in the library, styles, and assets automatically and updates centrally.

Place the Project script in BetterForms: Site Settings → DOM Header Insertions
Then your components can skip the onBeforeMount loader step

Docs: Getting Started – Using a Project

Troubleshooting

Button renders unstyled: Ensure default theme CSS is loaded. This component loads default.css automatically via onBeforeMount.
Component flashes before styles arrive: We use onBeforeMount (blocking) to avoid FOUC.
Conflicts with custom theme: Switch the CSS URL in the loader step to your theme, or load webawesome.css if you want the full styles bundle.

Next Steps

Wrap additional elements (e.g., wa-input) using the same pattern: load once in onBeforeMount, then render the element.
Provide a small component pack for your team (buttons, inputs, badges, cards).
If you later choose a different theme, swap the CSS URL in one place inside the component.

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Last updated 19 days ago