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Adnan Babakan (he/him)
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Posted on • Edited on

What are some alternatives for Bootstrap?

Hey there DEV.to community!

Edit: I had to write this edit since I'm getting lots of negative comments. This article wasn't supposed to be hateful or condemning Bootstrap. This is only about the things I think Bootstrap lacks in. Please accept my apology in advance if you feel insulted or this article gives you bad feelings.

Edit 2: Since lots of comments warned about my bad title picking ability. (XD) I changed the title from 'Please avoid Bootstrap!' to 'What are some alternatives for Bootstrap?'. I hope this post doesn't get the most hated DEV.to post in the past 7 days. XD

Well, actually I was thinking about writing this article a while ago but I was afraid of the reactions that I might get. Anyway, I decided to do it and I hope you enjoy this article.

DISCLAIMER: This article is based on my own perspective and I DO NOT force it on anyone. I neither created Bootstrap nor sponsored by any others to write this article. (Well I'm not that famous to be sponsored anyway LOL)

Please

Why do I not like Bootstrap?

Well, the best thing to start with would be why I don't like Bootstrap.

The same look over and over

First things first are that almost 90% of Bootstrap using websites look exactly the same. Although this can be changed, usually designers don't bother with such options so they use the default look and theme.

You can search Google and see all discussions about this thing with lots of samples.

Not that much modern-looking

Second thing is that Bootstraps look isn't that polished. It was for a time but I believe now the design pattern is changed and bootstrap is kind of behind.

Not supporting RTL

Well, this can be situational and not all designers would use this but still, it is a problem that might irritate some middle-eastern based countries' designers.

Something extra: When I was choosing to learn a CSS framework Bootstrap wasn't supporting flex containers so this was another reason I started avoiding Bootstrap at that time. Which now it does support Flex since version 4 I believe.

Have I ever tried Bootstrap?

For those who might say: "Adnan if you tried Bootstrap for once, you would love it." I have to say: "I designed lots of websites using Bootstrap due to the clients' demand"

So basically YES I tried Bootstrap.

What do I use then?

Since I'm not using Bootstrap it doesn't mean that I code the whole CSS by myself (It is ridiculous).

I have some tools in order to get my projects done.

Zurb Foundation

Zurb Foundation

Foundation is my go-to framework. I love using it since I'm pretty much fluent in it and it provides very good SASS/SCSS compatibility and a very rich customization system.

Zurb Foundation is the most advanced CSS framework I believe.

The only down point that Foundation can have is its incompatibility with Webpack which you cannot import Foundation's JavaScript library to a bundle.

Semantic UI

Semantic UI

Semantic UI is the most polished-looking and modern-feeling framework ever I believe.

It is so beautiful and elegant that you would fall in love with it.

Semantic UI has full compatibility with React which I enjoyed using and also almost complete compatibility with Vue. If you don't want to use it as a component and only as a normal CSS framework in Vue or React it has no boundaries and by compatibility, I only mean component-based library for this framework.

Tailwind CSS

Tailwind CSS

Tailwind is one of the newest CSS frameworks out in the development world and it's gaining lots of attention recently.

I started using Tailwind recently and I can say it can be my next go-to framework since it aims at rapid development and, to be honest, it has reached this goal I believe.

Tailwind is a little bit different than other frameworks since it is a utility-first framework as they say and it provides you to design your own look rather than a default look.

Tell me if you are using other CSS frameworks or why you love Bootstrap in the comments section below.

Buy me a coffee

Latest comments (80)

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andrewtrecha profile image
Andrew Trecha

UIKit - getuikit.com/

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Hi
Thanks for your comment
UIKit is a pretty one.
Thanks for sharing it.

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goussarova profile image
goussarova

Hi Adnan.
Could you please use word 'anyway' instead of 'anyways' , and also use it sparingly.
Thank you for your efforts in writing up this article.

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Hi
Thanks for telling me my mistakes.
I will fix it.
Don't know why Grammarly didn't tell me that. LOL

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alexqhj profile image
Alexander H

This description of tailwind won't make anyone understand what tailwind is. It's not a framework like any of the other frameworks you've described here

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Hi
Thanks for your comment
Yes Tailwind is a little bit different than other frameworks.
I will edit the description.
Thanks again

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fanmixco profile image
Federico Navarrete • Edited

My only comment is: "If you haven't tested or used Bootstrap 4, it's pointless to criticize something that you don't know" Since your article could be invalidated with Bootstrap 5 that is already on going or any future version.

I'm not saying that Bootstrap is perfect, but you have sections like: "Which now it does support Flex since version 4 I believe." If you add the expression: "I believe", it means you didn't do your homework and research, and you are only going to get bad publicity from the most experienced members because you could have started to code very young, but you haven't learned some very important lessons in life like: "Ask for feedback and research before publishing any article."

Hopefully, your next article would be based on facts, checking sources (Google your thoughts doesn't take too much) and not coming with sections that contain: "I believe" since that reduce your credibility significantly, looking forward to your next article.

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Hi Federico
Thanks for your comment and your advice.
The expression "I believe" didn't mean to be reflecting that I didn't research. Actually, I even used Bootstrap 4 in lots of my projects. That section was an extra note I added to the post.
Anyways thanks for your advice and I will try to avoid such things in my next article.

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fanmixco profile image
Federico Navarrete • Edited

Good, still, the most important lesson: "Ask for feedback." Any time you're going to bring a controversial topic, you need to be smart and I'd recommend you to read:

"How to Win Friends and Influence People."

There is one edition for the Digital Age.

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Oh nice
Thank you so much
I will read it for sure

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rleddy profile image
Richard Leddy

I did a Bootstrap site for a guy, based off someone's CMS, and the guy complained about the looks and told me that I should have used Bootstrap. It took a lot of explaining to him that Bootstrap was in use. And, I think he never quite got it.

And, that was for grinding through the giant CSS base that never quite decomposes into independent parts.

Later I did some work on drawn SVG with modest amounts of addendum CSS. It really is much less work, much less code to send on a page and with much greater control over fine details.

You can probably guess I spend considerable energy avoiding becoming an artist. So, short and simple is what I look for.

Thanks for the pointers to the other frameworks.

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Hi Richard
Thanks for your comment
Some clients can be really stupid sometimes and it can get really annoying.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

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genocideaon profile image
Pranat • Edited

When you use any CSS framework you should know CSS well. it can save your time and you will know that all CSS framework is the same.

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Hi
Thanks for your comment
Yes absolutely.

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danielrsantana profile image
Daniel Santana

Thank you for your article and the suggested frameworks to avoid Bootstrap. I will take a look at them.

In the past, not sure if it changed,I've started avoiding it because it is too heavy (my opinion) and not modular (at the time).

This is the reason why I've chose Bulma at the time. I will take a look at your suggestions as well.

Thank you again. Your article added info to my knowledge.

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Hi
Thanks for your comment and reading my article

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sharminalvandi profile image
Sharmin

As a software developer I'm proud of you. Please don't be sorry! You're at the beginning of your journey where mistakes are inevitable. Keep up your good work and never give up!

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Hi
Thanks for your heartwarming comment.
I really needed this.

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iggsgrey profile image
IggsGrey

Hello
A cool alternative (in my biased opinion since I'm a part of it) will be youniversely CSS. It's new and it's still in the build, trying to recruit some support and contributions at the moment, but it's worth visiting the page to check ot out. youniverselycss.com

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Hi
Thanks for your comment and for sharing this with us.
I would be happy to test your framework and write a review for it if you let me to.

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iggsgrey profile image
IggsGrey

Yes please. Go on and head over to youniverselycss.com
To check it out

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adnanbabakan profile image
Adnan Babakan (he/him)

Hi
Politics are very complicated.
No nationality is against any nationality.
Stay safe.

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