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There are numerous tools and frameworks available for web designers and developers to build a website. With a range of CSS Responsive Framework options available, you might be struggling to choose between Bootstrap vs Foundation 5.
Bootstrap and Foundation are two of the most widely popular front-end CSS frameworks for developers. They’re both ideal if you want to create a website from scratch, but when we compare Bootstrap vs Foundation, which is a better CSS framework?
In this article, we’re analysing Bootstrap vs Foundation 5 to help you choose the best framework for your next web development project.
What Is Bootstrap?
Launched in 2011 by Twitter, Bootstrap is an open-source front-end framework that was designed to create responsive and mobile-first websites. It aims to provide web developers with a toolkit to improve the quality, versatility, and user experience of their web projects.
Bootstrap offers a comprehensive selection of pre-styled components, JavaScript plugins, and a grid system that allows developers to prototype and build user interfaces efficiently. Much of Bootstrap’s popularity is owed to its ease of use, extensive documentation, and large user community.
Key Features of Bootstrap
Some of the key features of Bootstrap are:
1) Grid System Built-in Flexbox
Bootstrap uses a rewritten grid system built in Flexbox, with changes to the grid classes and customisation sections.
2) Forms
You can use this tool to create simplified forms and make improvements to layouts, sizing, and alignment.
3) Upgraded Navbar
The latest version of Bootstrap allows for more customisation of navigation components.
What Is Foundation?
Created by ZURB and launched in 2011, Foundation is a prominent responsive front-end framework with a flexible, semantic approach to web design and development. It caters to professional developers who prefer more control over their code and design elements.
Foundation 5, one of the latest versions of the Foundation framework, prioritises modularity and allows you to use its components selectively. That means developers can customise the framework to their own specific needs.
Key Features of Foundation
The key features of Foundation include:
1) Includes XY Grids
Foundation’s grid system allows you to control layouts based on horizontal and vertical positions.
2) Smooth Scrolling Note
This feature has built-in JavaScript code, which adds the “smooth scroll” property to specific or any links present inside the webpage.
3) Easier Prototyping
Foundation facilitates a built-in functionality that speeds up the prototyping process.
Bootstrap vs Foundation 5: A Detailed Comparison
When we look at Bootstrap vs Foundation 5, both frameworks have their own benefits and drawbacks. Some of the key differences between Bootstrap and Foundation are:
1) Styles
Starting with styling differences, Bootstrap provides its own style-centric class names, which can result in a distinct “Bootstrap look”, unless heavily customised.
In comparison, Foundation 5 takes a more minimalistic approach to styling, which can be advantageous for web developers looking for a base structure to style on.
2) CSS Preprocessors
Originally, Bootstrap was built with Less, but has moved into Sass from version 4 onwards, embracing the more commonly used preprocessor in the developer space.
Foundation 5 is primarily built with Sass and offers a rich set of functions and mixins that encourage a more pragmatic styling approach.
3) Units of Measure
Another difference between Bootstrap vs Foundation 5 is their units of measure. Bootstrap uses rems, ems, and pixels for its spacing, typography, and component sizing. This allows for better responsiveness and scalability.
Foundation 5 utilises rems for its spacing, grid system, and typography to provide high consistency across different browsers and devices with relative units.
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4) Browser Compatibility
Moving on to browser compatibility, Bootstrap was designed to support all major browsers and includes specific fixes to manage cross-browser inconsistencies.
Meanwhile, Foundation 5 targets modern browsers and is often quicker to phase out support for older versions, focusing on cutting-edge technologies and emphasising standards compliance.
5) Community and Support
Finally, community and support are another key difference between bootstrap and foundation 5. Bootstrap has a large community following, with numerous contributors, forums, and third-party resources that provide added support and extensions.
Foundation 5’s community is smaller and consists of professional developers, with a focus on more advanced web development topics. Despite its size, Foundation’s community actively contributes to its development and provides a lot of support via documentation and forums.
Bootstrap vs Foundation 5: Which Is More Popular?
So, now that we’ve compared Bootstrap vs Foundation 5, which choice is best?
Foundation 5 broadly focuses on two aspects: providing responsive frameworks for sites and emails. In comparison, Bootstrap has only been in framework designing and only recently expanded by providing themes. Yet again, this is an extension in the same direction. This further demonstrates Foundation’s divergent approach compared to Bootstrap, giving it an edge in the Bootstrap vs Foundation 5 debate.
Since it was to work exclusively for Twitter (now X), Bootstrap received publicity endorsement through the platform. On the other hand, Foundation remains more of a trade secret. For novice developers, Bootstrap appears to be easy to use when compared to Foundation. These are some of the reasons why Bootstrap is considered more popular.
Streamline Web Development with QualityHive
Bootstrap and Foundation 5 both provide exceptional features for front-end development. But your final choice will depend on your specific needs, skills, and goals.
Bootstrap’s user-friendly approach, range of components, and large community make it an attractive option for numerous projects. But Foundation’s customisation capabilities, flexibility, and professional focus target a more specialised audience who want more control over the design and development process.
Whether you choose Bootstrap or Foundation, the next step to ensure the success of your web project is choosing the right support tools.
QualityHive is a website feedback and task management tool that allows your team of web developers to build dynamic websites.
With QualityHive, you can improve communication and collaborate effectively with your team, as well as minimising development time spent on a project.
