Bootstrap becomes really chic with the right theme.

The Bootstrap frontend framework developed by Twitter is probably one of the best-known and most popular kits for web frontends. The toolkit, which has been under an open source license since 2011, contains extensive components for HTML, CSS and JavaScript as well as some exciting themes that can be used to significantly enhance the design. Bootstrap, which is now in version 4, has focused on responsive and mobile-first design for all components.

Semantic UI can be compared to Bootstrap in many respects. There is a wide selection of predefined components in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. However, an important component of the framework is its customizability. In addition to around 50 elements, there are also over 3,000 variables with which the predefined components can be easily customized. The customization options go far beyond simply changing button colors. The framework even makes it easy to create completely custom themes.

Foundation is another framework with a large number of predefined elements. In addition to the individual components, there are also completely assembled HTML templates, blocks or UI kits. In addition to the ability to customize elements with attributes, mobile-first and responsive design are also on board. However, customization has its limits here. So if you want to develop your own theme with lots of customizable options, you should take a look at Semantic UI. Foundation should be ideal for beginners with little programming experience or for starting a project with rapid progress.

Wem das von Google entwickelte Material Design gefällt, sollte sich das CSS-Framework Materialize genauer anschauen. Webentwicklern stehen hier neben den üblichen in CSS beschriebenen Komponenten einige spannende JavaScript-Elemente zur Verfügung. Darunter Bilder mit Parallax-Effekten oder die im Material Design klassische Wellen-Animation beim Drücken eines Buttons.

Bulma is a free open source CSS framework based on Flexbox that is currently used by more than 150,000 developers. It was released in 2016 and therefore has little legacy. With its very active community, it is a serious alternative to Bootstrap. Bulma does not require JavaScript, has an easy-to-learn syntax and offers support for the latest version of Font Awesome. In addition to a simple and lean grid system, it also comes with more than 100 small and helpful CSS tools

The name says it all: Milligram is a very minimalist CSS framework that is only two kilobytes in size when compressed. It is limited to the most important components in a simple design. If you want your website to focus on speed and the essentials, you should consider choosing Milligram over the bigger competition around Bootstrap and the like.

Not quite as small as Milligram, but still less than 300 kilobytes in size, is the next CSS framework. The Finnish company Imperavi has developed Kube UI, a minimalist framework that is quick to implement. Kube was developed in Sass and promises its users the ability to quickly create their own website with only basic knowledge of HTML, CSS and optionally JavaScript.