These days you cannot design a website without a responsive framework. Built to make things easier for designers and to make websites more active, more dynamic, and more satisfying to users, responsive web design frameworks are web structures used for CSS, HTML, and JavaScript that can be downloaded and customized by users. Their job is, well, to make websites responsive through automatic adjustment based on the device or screen size they are appearing in. Image size, scrolls, and other functions are some of the factors involved.
Currently, there are a lot of responsive web design frameworks you can choose from and there are innovations that are expected to take things by storm, so it can be confusing on what is the best for your strategy.
Easy!
Here is a rundown of some of the best responsive web design frameworks there are so you will know what’s available for you and what you can use for your web design venture here in the Philippines!
Bootstrap
Perhaps the most famous of the batch, Bootstrap is an open-source and free software for your web design endeavors. It is a breeze to use, offering templates and presets to make your responsive web design formulation process easier and quicker.
It also offers a remarkable grid system that lets you make a fixed or a fluid layout. You can also maximize a feature that lets you hide content depending on the screen size or device. Compatibility issues are not a thing with Bootstrap as it can be used at almost every browser and can work with different plugins.
Bootstrap is established by Mark Otto and Jacob Thornton and is initially used for Twitter but is now open for everyone to use.
Semantic UI
Semantic UI highlights semantics with its responsive framework through the use of natural language. It is one of the easiest responsive web design framework to incorporate with other apps and third-party elements. Aside from the pre-designed templates it has, Semantic UI is also rich in other features such as breadcrumbs, pop-ups, drop-downs, and more.
It also has a remarkable documentation feature with a specially made website that offers comprehensive guide about using the app itself. Currently, Semantic UI is one of the most powerful frameworks on this page as it’s tailor-made for a unique principle and has a rich set of elements to be used.
Pure
Made for mobile, Pure is an exceptional framework that capitalizes on a small set of CSS modules, making it fit for a minimalist approach that you usually see on handy devices.
It was released by Yahoo in 2013 and since then has been providing web designers a lightweight collection of features that are completely ideal for small-scale projects or fast website establishments. It also provides users a wide repertoire of CSS styles and enables customization.
Pure is currently compatible with most browsers.
Foundation
Build great website strongholds with Foundation, a widely popular responsive front-end framework that rivals Bootstrap. Since its launch, Foundation has been offering frameworks that allow you to customize templates for websites, web applications, and emails. It also focuses on semantic elements, has outstanding build for mobile design and is packed with distinctive components such as typography grid, icon bars, pricing tables and a lot more.
It was released by ZURB in 2011, has six versions, and remains as one of the prime choices of most website designers.
Siimple
Evident from the name, Siimple is a responsive framework that is utilized to create websites that are clear-cut and straightforward which is a great strategy to actually get more. It uses minimal coding and modular style sheets, meaning it is perfect for beginners and but has enough challenge in the form of a flexible grid system. Just like the other frameworks, Siimple also caters a wide range of layouts, components, elements, form, typography, and more.
If you want a taste of what you can have with this framework, you can check out their website that is evidently created with the framework itself due to the flat and clean approach!
Skeleton
Skeleton is a light responsive framework that is composed of only two CSS files such as the normalize.css and the skeleton.css and is favored by many designers because of its simple system.
Just like most framework, Skeleton prioritizes responsive mobile design but unlike the other frameworks available in the market, Skeleton only has the vital factors to assist you. But this does not mean Skeleton is less reliable—actually, it is powered by a 960 grid system, a grid-based pattern that provides a dimension with a width of 960 pixels. This is a customary but strong mobile grid system and Skeleton delivers it from the get go for a better workflow of web design and quick move to rapid prototyping.
Montage
Montage is an open-source platform that focuses on HTML5 as its main framework. With it, you can develop websites that easily adapt to smartphones or desktops. To support these are a strong event delegation, reusable components, two-way data binding between elements, and a cloud-based visual authoring tool.
Ul Kit
From YOOtheme is UI Kit, a modular responsive framework that helps you create dynamic interfaces through LESS (Leaner Style Sheets) and SASS (Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets), two preprocessing languages that help CSS by supplying features not found in the main style sheet. UI Kit also has an HTML editor where you can customize without breaking a sweat, as well as an affluent collection of different components. It’s also open source and are compatible with most browsers.
Responsive web design frameworks are your companions to ensure that you are formulating what’s best for your site and what’s best for your users. Each of the frameworks that we have listed above have their strengths and weaknesses and you’ll have to gauge for yourself which is the ideal one to use.
For example, there are frameworks that are fitting for a much simpler website design while there are ones created solely for more complex tasks. The level of expertise and experience are also some factors that you need to think about when finally settling on a framework for your website.
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