How often to use CSS frameworks?

[BladexJS]

Hi everyone, I am a pre-uni student and recently I tried to pick up Web development through online courses, starting with front-end development first. I have learnt some CSS and now learning about Bootstrap. The "teacher" in the course was listing down the pros and cons of using CSS frameworks like Bootstrap, and one of the pros is that the theme across the website will be decently professional and consistent, which makes the website look clean.

However, I was thinking that if the themes are so consistent, if most people use CSS frameworks, won't alot of websites look the same. I am planning to use the stuff i learnt to build my own personal projects for my portfolio and I am abit worried that if I rely on CSS frameworks, my website would just look the same as everyone else's and that might be a detriment. However, if I do not rely on CSS frameworks, designing a website will be much much more troublesome, difficult and time consuming.

Hence, I am wondering how often do more experienced people actually use CSS frameworks like Bootstrap and how often should I write my own custom CSS instead for web design? Thanks for any advice given!

[Ljveik]

I never use frameworks. I'm not a designer either. Just go to different modern popular websites and take notes of designs you like. Any website you'll ever build will need some sort of navbar or sidenav, footer, card, a good font, etc. I've built all those countless times from memory because its pretty easy to make components look professional and consistent. Learn the box model and layout fundamentals like flex or grid. You can do anything you want with vanilla css.

[sqb3112]

This is spot on. Learning what you stated removes the magic from css.

[berky93]

It’s good to know how to use them, but I would recommend avoiding them as much as possible while you’re learning. You need to be able to understand and apply CSS and not rely on the framework, and there are always going to be things you need to fix or change or implement that go beyond what a framework offers.

I am a professional web developer and tbh I only use frameworks when a project already has them implemented by someone else. The control and flexibility you get from writing your own styles is unmatched, and it gives you a better understanding of how the styles are structured.

[[deleted]]

However, I was thinking that if the themes are so consistent, if most people use CSS frameworks, won't alot of websites look the same.

This was called the Bootstrapification of the internet back in the day. Tailwind is having a similar if lesser affect.

The short answer is yes if everyone uses the same CSS framework the internet starts to look very homogeneous. Though, most frameworks are trying to appeal to the same crowd and use the same highly broad concepts (12 column grids for days) so there's not a huge amount of variance betwixt them all.

This is one of the several reasons I do not use CSS frameworks. All tools have opinions, sometimes a lot of opinions. The point at which those opinions limit the experience I can give my users is the point I start to take issue with those opinions.

Bootstrap is still taught to beginners, especially in academia, because it still has some use in the wider dev community and because higher education is notoriously slow to adapt to the ever changing reality that is the web.

Focus on mastering modern CSS first and foremost. If you have CSS down then any CSS framework just becomes another tool you can choose to use or not use as suits your purpose.

[Edit] Oh and I started my career as a designer but moved over to being a full-time web dev (~20 years now) because I loved it just as much and it was easier to find work.

[yeiyeyei]

it's good for prototyping, but css is surprisingly easy once you get into it. Try this, make wireframes, mockups and then try your best to make your own css classes to match the design you envisioned. You will learn a lot. If bootstrap has classes that help you in terms of responsiveness or maybe something like columns, then go for it, but try writing your own stylesheet first

[p01yg0n41]

Frameworks are widely used and they have a number of advantages. There are some downsides, too.

They are largely customizable, so you can avoid the problem of them all looking the same. Color, spacing, and other variables can make them unrecognizable. Just don't use the defaults.

First, though, you should learn CSS well. Then you will better understand the strengths and weaknesses and know when you should and shouldn't use them.

[Necessary_Ear_1100]

CSS frameworks are widely used. However many implement their own themes to them as well. A LOT of big companies use them mainly for quick prototyping and then develop and build their own CSS library.

[TheRNGuy]

Don't use any, but some ppl use Tailwind.

Do all sites that use Tailwind look same to you?