Vaadin Create 2025
Agenda Day 2

Web browsers are known for their strong backward compatibility. Combined with Vaadin’s high-level UI components, it can sometimes feel like web development has stagnated. While browsers have removed support for native plugins and introduced some tough security restrictions, they’re actually more capable today than ever before.

Many of these new features offer simple UX enhancements, while others can enable you to replace native apps entirely. This session gives a fast-paced overview and live demos of a dozen things you might have thought were impossible with web apps.

We all know that Vaadin's architecture is secure by default (citation needed 😉). But what do you need to take care of beyond what Vaadin does for you? How can you avoid accidentally bypassing the security that is already there?

Responsive layouting is important not just for mobile support, but to ensure that the UI scales well for different window sizes. Let’s look at some techniques to achieve common responsive layouting patterns, including recently added components and features that make it easier than ever with Vaadin.

Vaadin is an open source project accepting contributions. Let’s look at how this process works. Where you can find documentation on how to set up Vaadin platform projects. What is the difference between contributing bug fix and feature. How to learn to write the tests. What to expect from the code review.

At last year’s Connected, we introduced the Vaadin Way—our opinionated approach to building full-stack web applications with Vaadin. This year, it’s your turn to get hands-on. In this lab, you’ll start with a Walking Skeleton and gradually evolve it into a complete business application using our curated guides and tutorials. Once it’s up and running, you’ll deploy it to the cloud with just a few clicks using Vaadin Control Center.

Vaadin has recently emphasized “the Vaadin way” — an opinionated default stack featured in our starters and docs to streamline onboarding. This has raised concerns: Does choosing Vaadin mean you're tied to Maven, Spring Boot, JPA, or Kubernetes? Absolutely not.

This talk is a tribute to Java’s versatile ecosystem, much of which works seamlessly with Vaadin. Through demos, we’ll explore alternatives like Kotlin and Quarkus — their pros, limitations, and how they fit into a custom stack alongside a Vaadin UI. We'll wrap up with open discussion and Q&A on compatibility and integration.

Every experienced developer has, at some point, found themselves rewriting the same UI components across projects. It’s time to break that cycle. In this session, you’ll learn how to build and share reusable Vaadin components that work with both Vaadin Flow and Hilla. We’ll cover the full lifecycle—from development to packaging and publishing—including how to integrate React, Lit, Web Components, and other JavaScript libraries, leverage Vaadin’s theming system, and maintain version compatibility. Whether you’re building for your own apps or contributing to the Vaadin ecosystem, you’ll be equipped to create polished component add-ons that are worth reusing.

AKDB will present their design system, sharing insights into how it was built from a technical perspective and how the project is structured. The session will cover the roles involved in its development and how Vaadin has supported AKDB and its team throughout the process.