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Discussion on: Do we really need a CSS Framework?

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gsto profile image
Glenn Stovall

The main benefit I see to CSS frameworks is development speed. I agree that with advancements in CSS (flex, grid) and tools to find UI components like Codepen, devs definitely have more options. However, having a solid UI kit out of the box means you can start workshopping ideas fast.

It's highly dependent on the project. I speak from working in consulting where I hammered out MVPs was the name of the game. In that scenario, putting performance ahead of development speed is premature optimization.

However now, I'm working on a more mature product, one that grew from an MVP. It's using Bootstrap (for now). However, now that we have the customer base to justify investing more in design and performance, we're working on adding more of our own styles while removing Bootstrap defaults. Ideally, I'd like to start removing Bootstrap components as they become obsolete, and eventually "unframework" our CSS.

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Sarthak Sharma

Perfect case scenario of approximately every project that starts off with bootstrap. Everything is good until you try to grow.

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Kevin McKenna

On the other hand, if you can't initially get the project out the door on a tight deadline and without hiring extra people, you run the risk of there not being a project to grow.

It's a nice problem to have compared to the alternative I think