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Design system teams love to add things.
New components.
New variants.
New tokens.
But the best systems prune more than they add.
Every component has a cost. They must be:
Tested
Maintained
Documented
If you’re not careful, your system bloats. Before long, you have 400 icons nobody uses, 7 types of cards for the same content, and that one “beta” modal from 2018 still lurking in the repo.
Dead weight makes adoption harder, not easier.
The three signs it’s time to sunset a component
How do you know when to retire a piece of your system?
Look for:
Zero usage. If no one’s used a component in 6–12 months, it’s fair game for the chopping block.
Frequent support tickets. If it’s constantly the subject of complaints, bugs, or workarounds, it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
It solves yesterday’s problem. Maybe that “video hero banner” made sense five years ago, but your product no longer uses that pattern. Channel Frozen’s Elsa and let it go.
How to sunset a component gracefully
Sunsetting doesn’t mean chaos. Do it with care.
Announce deprecation with a clear timeline.
Offer a migration path or a replacement pattern.
Help teams transition.
Archive the old version for reference, but keep it out of production.
Evolving is not the same as adding
Sometimes you don’t need to sunset components as much as you need to evolve them.
Split one rigid component into a more composable set.
Version a major change and let both live for a while.
Consolidate three similar patterns into one robust solution.
The goal is always the same: less clutter, more clarity.
Healthy systems trim the dead branches
Every system needs regular spring cleaning.
Don’t hoard. Prune.
Your system will be leaner, faster, and easier to love, and you’ll automatically increase adoption.
