Why Use CSS Frameworks?

Before we begin, it’s essential to know why CSS frameworks are an integral part of web development. Following are the main benefits of using CSS frameworks.

Using a CSS framework, we can enhance our development process by using the predefined classes and ids for forms, navbar, buttons, etc. CSS frameworks help to build cross-browser compatible websites that render seamlessly across every browser and its versions. By incorporating a good CSS framework, you can boost your productivity and optimize your development workflow. You can even create clean symmetrical layouts.

Best CSS frameworks For 2021 With several CSS frameworks available, it can be hard to find good CSS frameworks.

1. Tailwind CSS

With Tailwind CSS a utility-first CSS framework that is different from other best CSS frameworks like Bulma, Bootstrap where you get pre-designed components, which you can use as a base for further development. It does not come with a predefined template but allows you to incorporate your unique style quickly.

Advantages Of Tailwind CSS Frameworks

It operates on a lower level by providing a developer with a set of CSS helper classes. It is not firmly opinionated and gives the flexibility to create unique designs. Tailwind CSS precise documentation for separate classes helps users to understand them quickly as per their requirements. The utility first design paradigm gives a lot of freedom, and one can create complex designs by using essential building utilities. Tailwind has less cognitive load as it is designed to be component friendly and encourages breaking down into smaller reusable components. You can use libraries like Purge CSS to reduce the CSS build size drastically with Tailwind CSS. Tailwind’s syntax is Fundamental and thus gives more incredible development speed to the developer. You don’t need to switch continuously between the CSS and HTML code, reducing the context switches and improving the development speed a lot. For example, for using ‘display: flex’ in your design, you just need to add ‘flex’ in your class in the HTML element. Disadvantages of Tailwind CSS Framework

There are some drawbacks too for the Tailwind CSS framework.

Readability can be an issue for some developers as so many classes can be there for styling. Complex animations are hard to achieve with Tailwind alone. Tailwind CSS has a steep learning curve and is not intended for novice developers.

1. Bootstrap

Bootstrap is considered to be one of the best CSS frameworks due to its responsive design. It was developed by Twitter and released in the year 2011. HTML, SASS, and Javascript are all configured into the Bootstrap framework. For mobile devices, there is no need for a separate layout for mobile devices, there is no need for a separate layout for mobile view — add the required classes, and the website will adjust to the viewport size depending on the device.

Most web developers choose them for frontend frameworks. In general, Bootstrap is primarily responsible for CSS’s popularity as a framework alternative for web development.

Advantages of Bootstrap CSS Framework

It is a 100% responsive framework, and responsiveness is a crucial factor due to which people choose Bootstrap over its competitor. Bootstrap’s code utilizes the two most popular preprocessors LESS and SASS. It uses media queries to make the code work on any device, be it mobile or web. Bootstrap is one of the best-documented frameworks out there and has a large developer community. It has a prevalent grid system based on flexbox and provides reusable components like tables, navbars, dropdowns, etc. It saves a lot of time and is a good framework in terms of usage and popularity. It has a shallow learning curve. Developers using Bootstrap will rarely land into browser compatibility issues due to its well-maintained and well-tested codebase. It is full of features and has several JavaScript and JQuery plugins. Disadvantages of Bootstrap CSS Framework

The build size of CSS projects is largely due to so many modules being loaded in Bootstrap. You can’t select the specific components you want; you need to customize the codebase at your peril to reduce the same. The sites of frontends built with Bootstrap look pretty similar, and extensibility is not that great in Bootstrap.

1. Bulma CSS

Bulma is another best CSS Framework based on flexbox. It is a 100% responsive open-source CSS library and includes a variety of predefined components. Bulma utilizes a system known as tiles to build grids, which makes the page sleek and smooth. It has a lightweight structure that allows a structure that allows you to import only the elements you want to use in your modern web design.

Advantages of Bulma CSS Framework

It follows a modular design approach and is highly customizable. It has predefined responsive templates, which helps the developer focus more on content than the presentation layer. It comes with many components like dropdown menus, nav bars, panels, tables, etc. The syntax of Bulma is quite simple and easy to use. Bulma is CSS only, i.e. the only output is one CSS file (bulma.css) and is very well documented. It is an environment agnostic framework and sits on top of the logic layer. Disadvantages of Bootstrap CSS Framework

There are also some disadvantages to the Bulma framework.

It runs a bit slow on the IE web browser. It does not have a huge development community.

1. Foundation CSS

Foundation is yet another one of the best CSS frameworks. It is a sophisticated frontend CSS framework that includes HTML, CSS, SASS, and Javascript. Foundation is developed with a mobile-first approach and is highly responsive, best suited for large web applications that need a design host.

Advantages of Foundation CSS Framework

It consists of dynamic tools to tackle almost all types of frontend issues. Easy to understand and readable code. Foundation CSS will help you develop responsive email designs for the users, including earlier versions of Microsoft Outlook. Foundation intergates seamlessly with ZURB’s Motion UI library, allowing users to build transitions and animations with predefined effects. Foundation has lightweight and scalable components that have minimial styling and can be easily customized. Disadvantages of Foundation CSS Framework

There are also some disadvanatges of the Foundation framework.

It has several features and is inherently more complicated than other frameworks. Though it offers enough flexibility when creating frontend templates, you must first thoroughly understand how it works. There isn’t a lot of support for QA websites and fixing bugs. Foundation features depend on Javascript, therefore, making it on suitable for React and Angular Projects.

1. Materialize CSS

Materialize CSS also comes under the category of best CSS frameworks. It is a CSS UI component library developed by Google with CSS, Javascript and HTML. It is also known as Material Design. It has several interactive components that help accelerate development and provide a good user experience. Animations offer visual input for users and make the development team work more manageable.

Advantages of Materialize CSS Framework

It is responsive out of the box and has a minimial footprint. It is free to use and requires jQuery Javascript library to function correctly. It is easily extensible; it is easier to write new rules than to overwrite the existing ones. It is flat and minimal by design. Great ease of use, as due to the brilliant documentation, anyone with basic knowledge of HTML and CSS can get started with this framework in no time. It is cross browser compatible and can be used to create reusable components. Material is the only design language (on which materialize is based) that adds motion and depth to elements. In material design, everything should have a certain z-depth to elements. In material design, everything should have a certain z-depth that determines how far raised or close to the page the element is. Disadvantages of Materialize CSS Framework

The only drawback of Materialize CSS is that you need to have an average knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to use the true potential of Materialize CSS.

1. Semantic UI

Semantic UI is another one of the good CSS frameworks released in 2013 by Jack Lukic. It contains pre-built semantic components that are super helpful in creating a beautiful and responsive layout using human-friendly HTML syntax.

Advantages of Semantic UI Framework

It is a modern front-end development framework powered by LESS and jQuery. It has a sleek, subtle, and flat design look that provides a lightweight user experience. Its main objective is to create a language to share UI, and they do this by using the intuitive and semantic language for naming conventions and classes. It is easy to start with due to its semantic nature; beginners can quickly grasp the classes and conventions names. File or build size can be reduced by choosing only the required components from the final project framework. It has incredible prebuilt designs and modern templates, which suffice mostly all the general requirements a developer might have for the frontend design. Disadvantages of Semantic UI Framework

Many of its features are JS dependant, so the developer needs to have a good familiarity with JS to solve issues. If a user tries to use many components from The Semantic UI, the Project size might increase, and compatibility issues might creep in.

Conclusion Although all the modern CSS frameworks provide strong cross browser compatibility support, a developer always need to test the Frontend’s functioning and run various tests to ensure that there are no cross browser compatibility issues. You can also perform responsive testing of your projects after CSS implemenation to optimize your development process.