A CSS framework is a library allowing for easier, more standards-compliant web design using the Cascading Style Sheets language. Most of these frameworks contain at least a grid. More functional frameworks also come with more features and additional JavaScript based functions, but are mostly design oriented and focused around interactive UI patterns. This detail differentiates CSS frameworks from other JavaScript frameworks.
Two notable and widely used examples are Bootstrap and Foundation.
CSS frameworks offer different modules and tools:
- reset style sheet
- grid especially for responsive web design
- web typography
- set of icons in sprites or icon fonts
- styling for tooltips, buttons, elements of forms
- parts of graphical user interfaces like accordion, tabs, slideshow or modal windows (Lightbox)
- equalizer to create equal height content
- often used CSS helper classes (left, hide)
Bigger frameworks use a CSS interpreter like Less or Sass.
List of notable CSS frameworks
| Name | Latest release | License | Grid | Units | Features | No. of columns | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| version | date | ||||||
| Blueprint | 1.0.1 | May 14, 20111 | MIT License | Typography, forms, print, plugins for buttons, tabs, and sprites. | |||
| Bootstrap | 5.3.3 | February 20, 2024234 | MIT License(Apache License prior to 3.1.0) | fixed, fluid, responsive | px, % | Layout, typography, forms, buttons, navigation, media queries, .sass files, JavaScript libraries, RTL layout. | Any,default 125 |
| Foundation | 6.7.5 | July 13, 20226 | MIT License | fluid | px, % | Responsive layout, source ordering, typography, forms, buttons, navigation, media queries, and JavaScript libraries. | Any,default 127 |
| YAML | 4.1.2 | July 28, 20138 | CC-BY 2.0 | fixed, elastic, fluid | px, em, % | Layout, grids, columns, forms, buttons, progressive linearization for responsive layouts, float handling, navigation, typography, accessibility, and add-ons. (accessible tabs, RTL-support, and microformats) | Any |
| YUI CSS grids | 3.18.1 | October 22, 20149 | BSD-3 | fixed and fluid | |||
| Tailwind | 3.4.3 | March 27, 20241011 | MIT License | fixed, fluid, responsive | Any | ||
See also
- Comparison of layout engines (Cascading Style Sheets)
References
"Releases · joshuaclayton/blueprint-css · GitHub". GitHub. Retrieved 23 April 2020. This repository has been archived by the owner. It is now read-only. https://github.com/joshuaclayton/blueprint-css/releases ↩
"Releases · twbs/bootstrap · GitHub". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2014-06-01. Retrieved November 15, 2021. https://github.com/twbs/bootstrap/releases ↩
Déramond, Julien (2024-02-20). "Bootstrap 5.3.3". blog.getbootstrap.com. Retrieved 2024-04-11. https://blog.getbootstrap.com/2024/02/20/bootstrap-5-3-3/ ↩
"bootstrap". npm. 2024-02-20. Retrieved 2024-04-11. https://www.npmjs.com/package/bootstrap ↩
Bootstrap documentation - Customizing the grid https://getbootstrap.com/docs/4.0/layout/grid/#customizing-the-grid ↩
"Releases · foundation/foundation-sites · GitHub". GitHub. Retrieved 24 April 2020. https://github.com/foundation/foundation-sites/releases ↩
Foundation documentation - The Grid https://foundation.zurb.com/sites/docs/grid.html ↩
"Releases · yamlcss/yaml · GitHub". GitHub. Retrieved 24 April 2020. https://github.com/yamlcss/yaml/releases ↩
"Releases · yui/yui3 · GitHub". GitHub. Retrieved 24 April 2020. https://github.com/yui/yui3/releases ↩
"Releases · tailwindlabs/tailwindcss". GitHub. Retrieved 2024-04-11. https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/releases ↩
"tailwindcss". npm. 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-04-11. https://www.npmjs.com/package/tailwindcss ↩