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Polymer

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262
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Polymer vs UIkIt: What are the differences?

What is Polymer? A new library built on top of Web Components, designed to leverage the evolving web platform on modern browsers. Polymer is a new type of library for the web, designed to leverage the existing browser infrastructure to provide the encapsulation and extendability currently only available in JS libraries. Polymer is based on a set of future technologies, including Shadow DOM, Custom Elements and Model Driven Views. Currently these technologies are implemented as polyfills or shims, but as browsers adopt these features natively, the platform code that drives Polymer evacipates, leaving only the value-adds.

What is UIkIt? A lightweight and modular front-end framework for developing fast and powerful web interfaces. UIkit gives you a comprehensive collection of HTML, CSS, and JS components which is simple to use, easy to customize and extendable.

Polymer and UIkIt can be categorized as "Front-End Frameworks" tools.

"Web components" is the primary reason why developers consider Polymer over the competitors, whereas "Complete GUI" was stated as the key factor in picking UIkIt.

Polymer and UIkIt are both open source tools. It seems that Polymer with 21.1K GitHub stars and 2K forks on GitHub has more adoption than UIkIt with 14.7K GitHub stars and 2.11K GitHub forks.

AX Semantics, USERcycle, and Telemetry are some of the popular companies that use Polymer, whereas UIkIt is used by Dyn, AskNicely, and Nedwave. Polymer has a broader approval, being mentioned in 42 company stacks & 32 developers stacks; compared to UIkIt, which is listed in 45 company stacks and 9 developer stacks.

Advice on Polymer and UIkIt
Daniel Hernández Alcojor
Frontend Developer at atSistemas · | 8 upvotes · 945.7K views
Needs advice
on
BootstrapBootstrapBulmaBulma
and
UIkItUIkIt

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?

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Replies (7)
Recommends
on
UIkItUIkIt

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.

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Damien Lucchese
Front End Web Developer · | 6 upvotes · 528K views
Recommends
on
BulmaBulma

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.

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Recommends
on
DiezDiez

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.

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Recommends
on
BulmaBulma

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?

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Recommends

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.

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Tomer Fishaimer
Frontend Architect at Aqua Security · | 2 upvotes · 518.3K views
Recommends
on
Tailwind CSSTailwind CSS

Actually it really depends on your needs, there are 3 types of UI frameworks you can use:

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. 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.

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Needs advice
on
BootstrapBootstrapTailwind CSSTailwind CSS
and
UIkItUIkIt

We are re-modifying the existing portal to the new one. Looking out for a CSS framework where over-rides are possible, the performance of page loading, extendable, etc Please suggest between tailwind, UIkit and bootstrap frameworks explaining in detail on different factors. I request your help on the same.

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Replies (2)
Brett Stevenson
Recommends
on
BootstrapBootstrap

I'm a big proponent of Tailwind and I personally use it whenever I get the chance, mostly because it's not really a UI-kit, but it sounds like in this case a UI-kit like Bootstrap with pre-defined components is more what you are looking for. Bootstrap is (relatively) extendable and overridable and makes it really simple to make a decent looking UI using a handful of pre-defined classes, whereas with Tailwind you configure the classes and create your own components. My main reason for replacing Bootstrap in my workflow is that it feels like the component creation has become so abstracted from the developer that any meaningful customization becomes a chore, resulting in many websites having the generic "Bootstrap-look". Nonetheless, it is effective for creating a pleasant and responsive UI. Though, I don't have any experience with UIkit.

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Collins Ogbuzuru
Front-end dev at Evolve credit · | 0 upvotes · 528.4K views
Recommends
on
Tailwind CSSTailwind CSS

Hey Sai, My thoughts on UIkit - It's beautiful, it's fast and it has good animation too. Why would I choose it ? Nothing other than giving the internet a new look .

My thoughts on Bootstrap - it's beautiful, if used well. It's very fast and has clean class naming convention unlike Uikit.

Why I would choose it ? It's been tested and trusted, I can find a whole lot of resources and a community around it. Also with the type of project you working on I bet Bootstrap would do the job .

My thoughts on tailwind - classic, difficult to set up and clean utilities. I wouldn't think of tailwind the way I would to Bootstrap or UIkit. What do I mean ? Tailwind is more like a tool set to create your own design flow rather than giving you a pre-designed button it gives you the ability to design yours.

My final thoughts.

If you have the time , setup and use tailwind it will give you a great chance when it comes to extending and performance.

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Pros of Polymer
Pros of UIkIt
  • 52
    Web components
  • 30
    Material design
  • 14
    HTML
  • 13
    Components
  • 5
    Open source
  • 4
    It uses the platform
  • 3
    Designer friendly. HTMLX concepts
  • 1
    Like the interesting naming convention for elements
  • 39
    Complete GUI
  • 29
    Easy modify
  • 27
    Practical
  • 24
    Easy to learn
  • 24
    Functional
  • 22
    Intuitive
  • 21
    Free
  • 16
    Simple
  • 15
    Lightweight
  • 15
    Easy to use
  • 5
    Modern look
  • 5
    Modular
  • 5
    Because I can create amazing things with little effort
  • 4
    Responsiveness
  • 3
    Small but Active Community
  • 2
    Convenient JS Components
  • 2
    Based on Flexbox
  • 2
    Responsive grid
  • 2
    No requires jquery

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Cons of Polymer
Cons of UIkIt
  • 1
    Last version is like 2 years ago? that's totally rad
    Be the first to leave a con

    Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

    What is Polymer?

    Polymer is a new type of library for the web, designed to leverage the existing browser infrastructure to provide the encapsulation and extendability currently only available in JS libraries. Polymer is based on a set of future technologies, including Shadow DOM, Custom Elements and Model Driven Views. Currently these technologies are implemented as polyfills or shims, but as browsers adopt these features natively, the platform code that drives Polymer evacipates, leaving only the value-adds.

    What is UIkIt?

    UIkit gives you a comprehensive collection of HTML, CSS, and JS components which is simple to use, easy to customize and extendable.

    Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

    What companies use Polymer?
    What companies use UIkIt?
    See which teams inside your own company are using Polymer or UIkIt.
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    What are some alternatives to Polymer and UIkIt?
    React
    Lots of people use React as the V in MVC. Since React makes no assumptions about the rest of your technology stack, it's easy to try it out on a small feature in an existing project.
    Angular
    It is a TypeScript-based open-source web application framework. It is a development platform for building mobile and desktop web applications.
    Bootstrap
    Bootstrap is the most popular HTML, CSS, and JS framework for developing responsive, mobile first projects on the web.
    Material Design for Angular
    Material Design is a specification for a unified system of visual, motion, and interaction design that adapts across different devices. Our goal is to deliver a lean, lightweight set of AngularJS-native UI elements that implement the material design system for use in Angular SPAs.
    Animate.css
    It is a bunch of cool, fun, and cross-browser animations for you to use in your projects. Great for emphasis, home pages, sliders, and general just-add-water-awesomeness.
    See all alternatives