All CSS Frameworks You Can Use for Client-Side Development

In this article, we will be discussing all CSS frameworks we can use in developing our client-side interface. For those of us that don't know what the term client-side interface means, I will just glance at this because this article is just focused on detailing our CSS frameworks.

Client-Side Interface

Client-side interface can be explained as the visible part of an application that users interact with. For example, we have buttons, a search bar, a navigation bar, footer — all these features can be found in the client-side interface.

NOTE: I hope this has given you a brief detail about the client-side interface. I will dive into this topic in my next article.

Now let's go back to our focus point for this article.

These are all frameworks used in the client-side interface, below.

Bootstrap

Bootstrap is one of the popular free CSS frameworks written by some Twitter employees in CSS, and also it accepts JavaScript-written code. Bootstrap comes with pre-designed CSS styles, which makes developing web and mobile applications easy and faster. This CSS framework is making big waves in the tech industry and it is an open source development framework, where developers around the world commit to it on a daily basis on GitHub.

Bootstrap CSS framework supports cascading stylesheets for their responsive app design which can be also known as CSS. It is a mobile-first app, and it also supports HTML and also JavaScript as stated earlier in this article, which means developers have an upper hand in determining how their application can look like.

Here's what a code in Bootstrap looks like:

<button type="button" class="btn btn-primary">Click Me!</button>

This code is a button element that has the class "btn btn-primary", which applies the Bootstrap styling for a primary button.

Based on my experience using Bootstrap as a front-end developer, I can boldly say Bootstrap is a very nice framework for the front end and also has a very large community. You can try it as well.

Official Bootstrap Documentation

Official documentation: https://getbootstrap.com/docs/

GitHub repository: https://github.com/twbs/bootstrap

Foundation

Foundation is also a popular CSS framework used in the front end client-side interface and also has a standard growing community. This framework integrates the classic web design languages HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and controls the responsive design in creating a web application. It is an open source framework just like Bootstrap and other CSS frameworks we will be looking at in this article, so all front-end developers are free to commit to this open source on GitHub.

The foundation is fully responsive and is a mobile-first application. With Foundation, you can write clean and better code for your mobile and web application.

Here's what a code written in Foundation looks like:

<button class="button primary" style="background-color: #ffa500;">Click me!</button>

In this code, we're using the "primary" class to style the button as a primary button in Foundation, and we're also adding an inline style to set the background color to a custom shade of orange (#ffa500). You can adjust the color code to use any other color you prefer.

Although I don't work with Foundation, for this article I had to do very deep research and come up with this and I'm impressed with this CSS framework.

Official Foundation Documentation

Official documentation: https://foundation.zurb.com/sites/docs/

GitHub repository: https://github.com/foundation/foundation-sites

Bulma

Bulma is a modern CSS framework that provides pre-designed CSS styles and components to help build responsive web and mobile applications just like other frameworks. The key factor of this framework is that it offers its system of containers and frames that are used to organize the structure of your responsive web application.

Bulma is a CSS framework which means it is written with cascading stylesheet (CSS) and accepts the latest syntax in CSS and all CSS features, such as flexbox and CSS grid. This framework also accepts JavaScript, which can be used for drop-down menus and other JavaScript features you want to use it for.

//Here is a simple code written with Bulma:

<button class="button is-primary">Click me!</button>

This code creates a button with the Bulma class "button", which applies the default button styles, and the class "is-primary", which sets the button color to blue.

Official Bulma Documentation

Official documentation: https://bulma.io/documentation/

GitHub repository: https://github.com/jgthms/bulma

Tailwind CSS

Tailwind is a very popular CSS framework that is taking over the tech industries. Most developers prefer using this framework because it gives developers the upper hand on designs. This framework is fully responsive and it is easy to maintain.

The framework has a very big community that is friendly to its users, so while using this framework and you get stuck, the communities are always there to assist you with the problem you will be encountering.

Just like other frameworks explained above, Tailwind CSS is written in cascading stylesheet and also accepts the latest syntax in CSS and all CSS features. You can also write your code in JavaScript for your drop-down menus and codes that require JavaScript.

//Here's an example of Tailwind CSS code:

<button class="bg-blue-500 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white font-bold py-2 px-4 rounded">Click me!</button>

This code creates a button with a blue background color using the bg-blue-500 class, and changes the background color to a darker shade of blue when the button is hovered over using the hover:bg-blue-700 class. It also sets the font to bold using font-bold and adds padding and rounded corners to the button using py-2 px-4 and rounded classes respectively. Finally, it sets the text color to white using the text-white class.

NOTE: Most developers use this framework including myself and it is highly recommendable.

Official Tailwind CSS Documentation

Official documentation: https://tailwindcss.com/docs

GitHub repository: https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss

Materialize

Materialize is a CSS framework written in CSS and it is a framework based on Google Material Design guidelines. This framework is very responsive in its designs and it focuses on simplicity and usability.

Materialize has gained more popularity due to its pre-designed styles, components and JavaScript plugins to help developers build responsive web pages and applications. It has an easy customization option and compatibility which make it popular among developers.

Here's a code example of Materialize:

<a class="waves-effect waves-light btn blue">Click me!</a>

This code creates a button with a blue background color using the blue class, and adds some visual effects to it using the waves-effect and waves-light classes. The btn class sets the default button styles for Materialize CSS.

Official Materialize Documentation

Official documentation: https://materializecss.com/

GitHub repository: https://github.com/Dogfalo/materialize

Conclusion

All CSS frameworks have their strengths and capabilities, and you should choose one that fits your needs and helps you build what you want. While there are many CSS frameworks available, the top five frameworks mentioned earlier are popular and widely used by developers. It's important to note that there are many other CSS frameworks available and you may find others that better fit your specific needs and preferences.