What are web components?

Web components are a set of standardized technologies that enable developers to create reusable custom elements with encapsulated functionality, which can be used across various web applications. This encapsulation allows for independent development, testing, and deployment of these components while maintaining a consistent interface.

By leveraging features such as Shadow DOM, developers can encapsulate styles and behavior, preventing styles from leaking into or out of the component and allowing more predictable behavior when used in different contexts. This approach leads to more modular applications, where individual parts can be developed and updated without affecting the entire application.

The other options, while relevant to different aspects of web development, do not accurately define web components. For instance, libraries for styling web applications focus exclusively on design rather than encapsulated functionality. Scripts that enhance website speed pertain to performance optimization rather than component reusability. Tools for managing user sessions are related to user authentication and state management, which is a different area of web application development.