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Bulma vs Foundation: What are the differences?
Introduction
In this markdown code, the key differences between Bulma and Foundation will be presented. Both Bulma and Foundation are popular front-end frameworks used for website development. The following paragraphs will outline the specific differences between the two frameworks.
Flexibility: Bulma is highly flexible and allows for easy customization. It provides a wide range of utilities and components that can be easily modified to suit specific design requirements. On the other hand, Foundation offers a more structured and comprehensive framework with pre-designed templates and components that may be more suitable for projects requiring less customization.
Grid System: Bulma utilizes a simple and intuitive Flexbox-based grid system, which makes it easier to create responsive layouts. It allows for easy reordering of grid columns and provides a straightforward syntax for creating complex grid structures. In contrast, Foundation uses a responsive floating grid system that offers more control over the grid structure but may require a steeper learning curve for beginners.
Design Philosophy: Bulma follows a modern and minimalistic design philosophy, focusing on providing a clean and elegant aesthetic. It offers a limited number of predefined styles and encourages developers to customize the design according to their needs. On the other hand, Foundation aims to provide a comprehensive design library with a wide variety of predefined styles and components, allowing developers to quickly create visually appealing websites without extensive customization.
Documentation and Community: Bulma has a well-documented and user-friendly website, providing extensive guides, examples, and documentation for developers to easily understand and utilize the framework. It has a growing community that actively contributes to its development and provides support to fellow users. In comparison, Foundation also has comprehensive documentation and a supportive community, but its resources may be slightly less extensive than those of Bulma.
JavaScript Integration: Bulma is a pure CSS framework and does not rely on any JavaScript for its functionality. While it provides some optional JavaScript components, they are not required for basic usage. In contrast, Foundation incorporates JavaScript heavily into its framework, providing a range of interactive components and features out of the box. This makes Foundation a suitable choice for projects that require extensive JavaScript functionality.
Size and Performance: Bulma is known for its lightweight nature and minimal file size. It prioritizes performance by delivering only the necessary styles, resulting in faster load times. On the other hand, Foundation may have a larger file size due to its comprehensive feature set, which may impact performance to some extent. However, with proper customization and optimization, both frameworks can be used to create high-performing websites.
In summary, Bulma offers high flexibility, a simple Flexbox-based grid system, a minimalistic design philosophy, extensive documentation, limited JavaScript integration, and lightweight performance. In contrast, Foundation provides a structured framework, a responsive floating grid system, a comprehensive design library, slightly less extensive documentation, extensive JavaScript integration, and a slightly larger file size.
I'm building, from scratch, a webapp. It's going to be a dashboard to check on our apps in New Relic and update the Apdex from the webapp. I have just chosen Next.js as our framework because we use React already, and after going through the tutorial, I just loved the latest changes they have implemented.
But we have to decide on a CSS framework for the UI. I'm partial to Bulma because I love that it's all about CSS (and you can use SCSS from the start), that it's rather lightweight and that it doesn't come with JavaScript clutter. One of the things I hate about Bootstrap is that you depend on jQuery to use the JavaScript part. My boss loves UIkIt, but when I've used it in the past, I didn't like it.
What do you think we should use? Maybe you have another suggestion?
I have used bulma in several projects. We could not customize with the websites very well. Also when we need "quick solutions" Bulma is not suitable (I mean basic animations, to-top buttons, transparent navbar solutions etc. For these solutions, you need extra js codes).
Everybody knows about Bootstrap (heavy but popular).
Now we start a new project with UI kit, I like it. Pros: It is fast and lightweight and imho it has very good UI. Cons: Small community. Documentation.
Check this link for kick-off. https://github.com/zzseba78/Kick-Off
Maybe it is helpful.
Been checking out Bulma, myself, and really dig it. I like that it's a great base level jumping off point. You can get a layout going with it, pretty quickly, and then customize as you want. It definitely sounds like it's the one you're leaning towards but a big factor would be who will be using it most? Your boss, yourself, others? Whichever you like best, you'll prob be most productive with but if in the end your boss says it has to be UIkit, then best to be open-minded and give it another shot. Sometimes you may not jive with new tools in your stack, at first, but then they can become tools you learn to love. Best to you in your decision! Take care & keep safe.
I've moved away from the concept of UI kits. Not that many support CSS grid. A lot of the icons are easier to use in SVG. I've had success in the concept of design framework and design tokens. I build my brand identity in Figma, and extract in Diez. Then Diez integrates into React and SASS. Much easier because design is decoupled from software in a central authority, and software updates automatically from design changes.
Honestly - pick whatever you are the most comfortable with. You can achieve almost the same effects with different tools, so why not use something I like using?
I used UIKit and Bootstrap many times. I love Bootstrap for fast, easy layouts to web apps. Clean code, easiest and fastest way to write layouts for front end if you learned something before about Bootstrap. Now in React I use React-Boostrap too. About UIKit I can say its nice idea. It's easier than Bootstrap. This is good option for trainee developer to learn how u should create layout of your website, but for me UIKit have not enough functions. If you need to create something complicated, u have an error in your mind. You must create amazing code combinations for UIKit where in Bootstrap in the same ideas you have easy solutions.
Actually it really depends on your needs, there are 3 types of UI frameworks you can use:
-
A complete set of UI components like: https://react-bulma.dev/en/getting-started.
Pros:
Having a lot of pre-built UI components saves a lot of time
Cons:
need to learn the react framework and the bulma styles, and it's harder to customize to your needs
-
A pure css framework, like Bulma, where you write all the components yourself.
Pros:
A lot of flexibility to build the components you need
Cons:
You are bound to Bulma classes and markup.
Takes more time since you need to build the components
A utility class framework like: https://tailwindcss.com/.
Pros:
Most flexible, mix and match classes as you like and build your own markup
Very easy to customize to your needs
Cons:
Might take time to get used to and takes more time since you need to build the components
If you choose options one, then it's just a matter of deciding what style you like (material,ant, bulma) and go with the library that implements it If you go with pure css and build your own components, I can't recommend tailwind enough, I've been finding myself building entire pages without writing a single line of css.
And if later on, the designer wants to make a change to some color, or size, I just need to change one value in the config file, and the entire app is updated.
Pros of Bulma
- Easy setup12
- Easy-to-customize the sass build6
- Community-created themes6
- Responsive5
- Great docs5
- Easy to learn and use4
Pros of Foundation
- Responsive grid160
- Mobile first93
- Open source80
- Semantic75
- Customizable72
- Quick to prototype52
- Simple ui50
- Fast45
- Best practices44
- Easy setup39
- Neutral style6
- HTML, SCSS and JS6
- Accessibility support5
- Professional5
- Xy grid3
- Sass2
- Every new version is smaller, smarter & more efficient2
- Robust1
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Cons of Bulma
- Not yet supporting Vue 32
Cons of Foundation
- Requires jQuery5
- Awful site4