CSS frameworks for designers

• Writing by Rajveer
• On August 12th, 2008 at 12:50 am

A CSS framework is a pre-built library which can be used for delivering faster results with more standards-compliant structure of the WebPages using Cascading Style Sheets language. It usually works like other language libraries, packaged as external CSS file/s inserted into the header for designing a webpage. The framework can supply you ready-made options to work with general rule sets, typographic rules, grid-based layouts, general layouts, form styling and more.

These days, CSS frameworks are quite a buzz word in web world. I am not sure how many people use it but surely there are plenty of cost-free options available for everyone. Weather it a big team or an independent designer who work on different projects on a regular basis. Everyone can at least (I am assuming the least possibility to use a CSS framework) find pieces that are most appropriate for their requirements and use it as general-purpose CSS framework.

If you’ve been creating sites with CSS for a while you should have your own CSS framework based on your nature of work because it’s better than writing the same CSS code your have written a million times before.

Caution - read before you use CSS frameworks

I am personally not too crazy about open CSS frameworks reason being I have to carry all the list of things whether I need it or not. Otherwise I have to waste time deleting the things not needed, but then a question raises that why were I using a framework in the first place? I use it sometimes to create a basic layout structure with no extra useless toppings, and from there on start with my own set of CSS and HTML to make it all work.

The point of this article is not to say that frameworks are not worth using, but to tell people that open frameworks can be very useful if used in a proper way. If not, they can be highly bloated, ineffective, can cause maintenance headaches, and can also be an unnecessary meaning in the end. So go ahead if you want to use a CSS framework but it should suit you and fit in your overall workflow.

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One Response

1. kaly August 14th, 2008 at 8:46 am

   Frameworks are best in the situation when you need something faster and something that you do not have to bother about spending time to do that.

   But there are always pros and cons with everything what we do or use to accomplish something. One of the cons using frameworks is that you have to adapt it whenever you want to out of the framework box. And then in the end you have to decide that adoptions are worth or not.

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