The web is constantly evolving, and the CSS framework is also evolving. They make front-end development more efficient and interesting. Love them or hate them, and the CSS framework will remain.
Developers without any front-end experience can use some of these frameworks to easily implement user-friendly UI. Other frameworks are more complex and geared towards power users. Regardless of your experience level, these frameworks can help you create beautiful layouts faster.
In this blogs, we will introduce the best CSS frameworks on the market so that you can choose the right one according to your needs.
10 Best CSS Frameworks for Front-End Developers
1. Bootstrap
2. Tailwind CSS
3. Materialize
4. Bulma CSS
5. Foundation CSS
6. UI Kit
7. Semantic UI
8. Pure CSS
9. Skeleton
10. Milligram
1. Bootstrap
Bootstrap is the most popular and widely used CSS framework, and it has the highest number of stars on GitHub. In the past few years, Bootstrap has gained too much popularity amongst front-end developers, and apart from CSS it also uses HTML and JavaScript for a beautiful and interactive user interface.
Bootstrap is a free open-source CSS framework built responsively with mobile-first components.
Release date: August 19, 2011
Open Source
Github: 150k Stars, 73.2k
Forks.Browser Support: Latest Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Edge & IE 10+, Android v5.0+
Benefits
A. Rapid prototyping
B. Large ecosystem
C. Backed by Twitter
D. A large collection of components
E. LESS and SASS support
Drawback
i. Hard to override
ii. Overused
iii. Relies on jQuery
iv. Heavy to include
Who Is Using The Bootstrap CSS Framework?
Spotify, Twitter, Udemy, StackShare, Lyft, LinkedIn, Jelvix
2. Tailwind CSS
Tailwind is a utility-first framework you can use for the rapid building of UIs. It’s a CSS library that is utility-based that prefers practicality and speed over a semantic and lean markup. All you need to determine thoroughly is the scope of your project. Based on that, it’s easy to create an entire website without having to write your own CSS.
Tailwind CSS markets itself as an alternative to pr-designed components.
Release date: November 2, 2017
Open Source
Github: 41k Stars, 1.9k Forks.
Browser Support: All modern browser
Benefits
A. More productivity
B. Smaller bundle-size
C. Configurable and Customization
D. No naming or context-switching
E. Code reuse
Drawback
i. Steep learning curve
ii. Not to be used directly
Who Is Using The Tailwind CSS Framework?
Companies like BlaBlaCar, OnlineDoctor, Hubblr, Superchat use Tailwind CSS in their tech stack
3. Materialize
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.
Materialize CSS is mobile-friendly and helps to build progressive web applications.
Release date: September 2011
Open Source
Github: 38.5k Stars, 4.9k Forks.
Browser Support: Chrome 35+, Firefox 31+, Safari 9+, Opera, Edge, IE 11+
Benefits
A. Variety of Built-in Features
B. Reduces Coding Time
C. Great Plugin Selections
D. Ease Of Use
E. Compatible with Sass
Drawback
i. Strict design language
ii. Independent project
Who Is Using The Materialize CSS Framework?
WPArena, DigitalServices, GameRaven, DroneDeploy
4. Bulma CSS
Bulma is a relatively new entrant to the battleground of CSS frameworks and has made a name for itself in a short time. Its attractiveness lies in a strict, CSS-only approach (there are no JavaScript components), and elegant defaults, which is something many developers with a good eye for design have a problem with when working with Bootstrap.
Bulma is a great alternative to Bootstrap, as it features modern code and a unique aesthetic. It’s easy to use and import into your projects and comes with various pre-made components.
Release date: January 24, 2016
Open Source
Github: 43.4k Stars, 3.7k Forks.
Browser Support: Latest Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari, IE 10+ (Partially supported)
Benefits
A. Aesthetic design
B. Large Community
C. Developer-friendly
D. Easy to customize
E. Pure CSS, no JavaScript
Drawback
i. Distinct style
ii. Less complete
Who Is Using The Bulms CSS Framework?
Django, Rubrik, XICA Magellan, Tam Development, Awesome Stacks, WordPress Setup.
5. Foundation CSS
Developers say that if programming were a religion Foundation and Bootstrap guys would be on opposite sides of the barricades. Foundation is another superb most widely used CSS framework in the world. It is used by many companies such as Facebook, eBay, Mozilla, Adobe, and even Disney. The framework is built on Saas-like bootstrap. It is more sophisticated, flexible, and easily customizable
Foundation is the perfect choice for experienced developers who enjoy freedom but want the power of a fully-featured framework.
Release date: November 04, 2014
Open Source
Github: 29k Stars, 5.7k Forks.
Browser Support: Last Two Versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Mobile Safari, IE Mobile, Edge and IE 9+, Android Browser 4.4+
Benefits
A. Create responsive design
B. Powerful Email framework
C. Extreme flexibility
D. Online webinar training support
E. Easy to customize
Drawback
i. Hard to learn
ii. Too Many options
iii. Relies on Javascript
Who Is Using The Bulma CSS Framework?
LaunchDarkly, Nubank, Accenture, Docker, foodpanda / hellofood, Workday, CISCO WebEx, HotelTonight
6. UI Kit
UI Kit is a lightweight, modular front-end CSS, and web UI design framework, which offers almost all the major features of other frameworks. UI kits have lots of pre-built components such as Accordion, Alert, Drop, Iconnav, animations, Padding, etc. which show usage patterns, component options, and methods.
UI kit helps web developers to create clean and modern interfaces
Release date: July 19, 2013
Open Source
Github: 16.8k Stars, 2.3k Forks.
Browser Support: Latest Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge & Safari 9.1,+ IE 11+
Benefits
A. Minimalism
B. Huge collection of useful UI components
C. Compatible with Less and Sass
D. Includes JavaScript
E. Adaptability to any devices
Drawback
i. Complex for smaller projects
ii. Smaller community
Who Is Using The UIKit CSS Framework?
LiteTube, AskNicely, Crunchyroll, SolarWinds, Nedwave
7. Semantic UI
Semantic UI is an advanced CSS framework, which uses JavaScript along with jQuery. It is mostly used for designing modern and advance website themes. It is very compatible with popular front-end frameworks such as React, Angular, Ember, and Meteor which allow developers to build a dynamic and interactive user interface for multiple devices.
Semantic UI is built around the unique goal of creating a shared vocabulary
around UI.
Release date: September 16, 2013
Open Source
Github: 49.2k Stars, 5.1k Forks.
Browser Support: Last 2 Versions FF, Chrome, Safari Mac, IE 11+, Android 4.4+, Chrome for Android 44+, iOS Safari 7+, Microsoft Edge 12+
Benefits
A. Very easy to use
B. Less time to design a page.
C. Wide variety of themes available
D. Friendly class names
Drawback
i. Less browser compatibility
ii. Less responsive design
iii. Smaller community
Who Is The Semantic UI Framework?
Companies like Snapchat, Accenture, RapidAPI, Kmong, Ristoranti use the UI Framework.
8. Pure CSS
Yahoo was created purely in 2014. It is a highly responsive and light CSS framework built using Normalize.css and lets you create responsive grids and menus. It comprises a set of small, responsive CSS modules that you can use in every web project. Websites that are intuitive, faster, and visually appealing can be quickly built
Pure provides layout and styling for native HTML elements, plus the most common UI components
Release date: May 15, 2013
Open Source
Github: 21.7k Stars, 2.3k Forks.
Browser Support: IE 10+, Latest Stable: Firefox, Chrome, Safari, iOS 12+, Android 6+
Benefits
A. Tiny
B. Simple Customizations.
C. Lightweight and responsive
D. Mobile friendly
E. Ready-made components
Drawback
i. Number of Multiple Backgrounds per Element
ii. Lack of Variables
iii. Inconsistent Browser Support
iv. Collapsing Margins
Who Is Using The Pure CSS Framework?
Companies like Flickr.com, Synology.com, Wizters, Hacktoolkit, Choobs Ltd use the Pure CSS framework
9. Skeleton
As the name suggests Skeleton is the simplest and minimal responsive CSS framework to use. It contains only 400 lines of code but offers a huge variety of options to use in your project. Features such as grids, typography, buttons, forms, lists, media queries, tables, etc allow you to create a complex website effortlessly.
Skeleton is a small collection of CSS files that can help you rapidly develop sites that look beautiful at any size
Release date: May 15, 2020.
Open Source
Github: 18.2k Stars, 3.1k Forks.
Browser Support: Chrome latest, Firefox latest, Opera latest, Safari latest, IE lates
Benefits
A. A “dead simple” frameworks, hence the best beginners
B. It has Superior main types and layouts
C. Clean and beautiful codes
D. Suite devices with small resolutions
E. More like a boilerplate than a full-fledged framework
Drawback
i. Skeleton lacks the richness of CSS
ii. Development time is much higher in Comparison
iii. The templates also limited
Who Is Using The Skeleton CSS Framework?
Companies like Steelkiwi Inc., Spirit Pixels use Skeleton in their tech stack
10. Milligram
As the name suggests this another lightweight CSS framework designed for creating websites faster. The size of the framework is just 2Kb but it comes with a lot of features and web development tools to meet your requirement. It gives flexibility to the developer and allows them to use all the features offered by CSS3 specification. One can also extend this with a few lines of custom CSS.
Milligram is a minimalist CSS framework that has a tight community of developers around it.
Release date: December 29, 2015.
Open Source
Github: 9.3k Stars, 562 Forks.
Browser Support: Chrome latest, Firefox latest, Opera latest, Safari latest, Brave latest, Edge latest.
Benefits
A. Minimalist CSS framework
B. Not opinionated
C. Easy to learn
Drawback
i. No templates
ii. Small community
Who Is Using The Milligram CSS Framework?
Companies like Tam Development, Gooroo, Calligrapher use the Miligram framework in their tech stack
CONCLUSION
The above list gives a detailed overview of the best framework of 2021. Each framework has unique features and a variety of components which makes them preferable for your web applications. You will surely find this article useful and noteworthy, as we have covered all the major aspects of the CSS framework.
Looking for the trends and doing competitor analysis could be helpful, and still, if you are confused or having issues then hire programmers from us who are having all the technical expertise and offer high productivity at a minimal cost.
Originally published at http://www.greatinnovus.com.
