Milligram vs Skeleton: What are the differences?

Introduction

Milligram and Skeleton are both popular CSS frameworks used for creating responsive websites. While they have similarities in terms of providing a responsive grid and a collection of pre-styled components, there are key differences between the two that set them apart. This article will explore and highlight the main differences between Milligram and Skeleton.

1. Design Philosophy: Milligram is known for its minimalistic design philosophy, focusing on providing a clean and lightweight base for building websites. It aims to be unopinionated and flexible, allowing developers to customize the design according to their unique needs. On the other hand, Skeleton follows a more opinionated design approach, providing a set of predefined styles and components that promote consistency and a specific aesthetic.

2. Customization Options: Milligram offers a higher degree of customization compared to Skeleton. It provides a wide range of configuration variables and mixins that allow developers to easily customize various aspects of the framework's design and functionality. This level of flexibility enables developers to create unique and tailored designs. In contrast, Skeleton has fewer customization options and follows a more rigid style, limiting the ability to customize certain elements.

3. File Size: Milligram has a significantly smaller file size compared to Skeleton. This makes it a favorable choice for projects where optimizing page load times is a priority. Milligram's minimalistic approach ensures that only essential styles are included, resulting in a lightweight framework. On the other hand, Skeleton includes more styles and components, making it slightly larger in file size.

4. Default Styling: Milligram provides minimal default styling, allowing developers to start with a clean slate and build upon it. It applies only subtle styles to elements like typography and forms, ensuring a less opinionated starting point. In contrast, Skeleton comes with a predefined set of styles that apply to various elements. This can be beneficial for projects requiring a consistent and predefined aesthetic, as developers will spend less time styling and more time building.

5. Responsive Grid System: Both Milligram and Skeleton include a responsive grid system that allows for easy creation of responsive layouts. However, there are differences in the way the grids are implemented. Milligram utilizes a flexbox-based grid system, which provides more flexibility and control over responsiveness. Skeleton, on the other hand, uses a float-based grid system, which may be simpler to understand for beginners but offers fewer customization options.

6. Component Library: Skeleton offers a more comprehensive and extensive collection of pre-styled components compared to Milligram. It includes components like navigation bars, tables, buttons, and more, which can save developers time and effort in building these common elements from scratch. Milligram, however, has a more minimalistic approach and provides fewer pre-styled components.

In summary, Milligram and Skeleton differ in their design philosophy, customization options, file size, default styling, grid system, and component library. Milligram focuses on minimalism, flexibility, and customization, with a smaller file size, while Skeleton offers a more opinionated design approach, a larger component library, and a simpler grid system. Ultimately, the choice between the two depends on the specific requirements and preferences of the project at hand.