Ever since its invention in 1993 by Tim Berners-Lee, HTML has served as the foundational cornerstone of nearly all websites across the World Wide Web. It comes as no surprise that 95.8% of websites online utilize HTML, with 92.8% of them adopting the latest HTML5 version. Despite being a non-programming Markup Language, HTML boasts a wide range of applications in Internet Navigation, Web Development, and Web Documentation. Even two decades after its creation, HTML remains relevant by being the language that web browsers utilize to present audio, text, images, and videos online. Given that HTML serves as the backbone of nearly every website on the internet, it is imperative to master HTML as a front-end developer or possess comprehensive knowledge about it as a Hiring Manager or Business Owner in the Industry.
This blog post will list the top HTML frameworks that developers should learn, and IT industry veterans should know about. Read further to upgrade your knowledge and transcend your learning and earning potential with ResourceQueue.
Bootstrap
Also known as Twitter Bootstrap, Bootstrap boasts of being the most popular HTML framework for developing mobile-first and responsive websites. Crafted by Twitter, Bootstrap equips developers with tools to construct contemporary and feature-rich web pages effortlessly. Say goodbye to manual components and grid-style building - it's all conveniently pre-packaged within the framework itself.
It is an open-source front-end framework that uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to help developers quickly create fully functional websites. Bootstrap comes with a vast collection of customizable components and reusable classes that make it easy to develop visually appealing websites without starting from scratch. Bootstrap's popularity arises from its user-friendly nature, broad browser compatibility, and comprehensive documentation. By utilizing Bootstrap, developers can streamline their workflow and craft visually appealing, responsive websites efficiently.
Among the top 100,000 websites globally, over 30% rely on Bootstrap as their core. This statistic underscores the framework's user-friendly, flexible, and feature-rich nature. Bootstrap offers a Bootstrap customizer, a 12-grid responsive layout, and 13 custom jQuery plugins for popular UI components like carousels and modal windows.
Bootstrap recently unveiled Bootstrap V5 with modernization and optimization at the helm. Explore free online courses to delve deeper into Bootstrap at your own pace. The ease of starting with Bootstrap has attracted numerous developers and designers to choose it as their go-to HTML5 development framework.
Skeleton
Skeleton (iSkeleton) is not just your average HTML web framework – it's a vibrant project brought to life by Dave Gamache. Breaking through barriers, it champions device accessibility on the Web, waving goodbye to the outdated 960 grid system. With features like a flexible layout grid, responsive image elements, a web design mockup PSD template, media queries for all your styling needs, and an HTML5 shiv for those older browsers, Skeleton is your go-to for modern web development.
The Skeleton framework serves as a fundamental structure of basic components and building blocks. It is designed for ease of learning and implementation, especially for beginners. With minimal CSS, Skeleton offers all the essential features for beginners and presents an easier learning curve compared to other complex UI frameworks. And from the perspective of an experienced developer, it is a framework worth exploring.
With Skeleton, creating a responsive web page becomes easier with minimal input. It optimizes web images, especially when utilizing image sprites. An image sprite combines multiple images into one to boost page loading speed. Although not new, these techniques facilitate rapid development due to their architecture.
The framework's design is geared towards saving time and optimizing resource usage. Regrettably, only a handful of developers utilize this framework. Nonetheless, front-end developers highly endorse it for those embarking on projects from the ground up.
HTML5 Boilerplate
Launched in 2010, HTML5 Boilerplate remains a leading open-source front-end web HTML framework. It stands out for its efficient compatibility with modern web browsers.
In 2010, HTML5 Boilerplate became one of the first and most widely used open-source tools for front-end web development. It helps set up HTML5 websites and web apps quickly, ensuring compatibility with modern browsers. This includes a mobile-friendly HTML template, placeholder icons, CSS resets, media queries for different screens, and an HTML5 shiv for older browsers.
HTML5 Boilerplate is an excellent choice for handling various devices and browsers by providing adaptive styling for standard HTML elements, responsive modules, and widgets. When building a website, HTML5 Boilerplate keeps methods consistent, streamlining development with templates that include all the necessary HTML structures. This saves your team from starting from scratch.
While HTML5 Boilerplate offers ample documentation, it doesn't match the support level of Bootstrap and Foundation.
Foundation
Foundation is an HTML website framework developed by Zurb, a company of product designers dedicated to delivering web-based solutions. This framework actively competes with Bootstrap, striving to enhance performance through its presentation-oriented approach. With its modern HTML5 framework, you have the flexibility to design for mobile-first or adapt from large displays to mobile sizes. It boasts rapid prototyping capabilities, a responsive grid system, and more features to explore.
Foundation has rapidly transformed from a contender for a spot in the most popular framework lists to emerging as one of the most cutting-edge and dependable web development frameworks. It excels in delivering top-notch performance for modern devices and meeting custom application needs. At its core, the Foundation framework encompasses a variety of web development frameworks. These frameworks enable the creation of websites, email templates, and a distinct framework for crafting sophisticated, dynamic, and responsive apps that offer an authentic user experience through seamless integration with Angular's foundation.
Foundation's primary approach is to empower developers to focus on constructing mobile-first sites that can be easily customized and transformed into apps for larger devices like desktops. This process ensures that design decisions are always driven by user-friendly functionality. The framework has recently been upgraded to V6, incorporating unique functions not commonly found in other HTML5 frameworks.
SproutCore
SproutCore stands out as one of the oldest web frameworks on our list, maintaining its momentum despite the passage of time. It presents itself as a front-end framework designed for the swift development of HTML5 applications. By embracing the MVC architecture, SproutCore assures users of the capability to create web experiences akin to native applications. This enables users to benefit from enhanced functionalities in contrast to desktop applications.
While the development pace may have slowed recently, the framework continues to excel amidst growing competition. It aims to offer developers an accessible framework, placing responsibility on how code functions based on project requirements. Additionally, it supports platforms like AppCache and Cordova to make things easier for developers.
SproutCore's designs enhance web app features in HTML5, allowing developers to create high-quality native-class applications. Its precise state machine utilizes the fastest segment of the web tech stack to ensure well-organized and maintainable code, leading to a responsive and optimized view layer. While it may present challenges due to different development environments used by frameworks like Grunt and Gulp, SproutCore introduces its Build Tools (BT) development environment to streamline processes for top-tier web experiences. With strong community support, CoreSprout's team offers primary assistance and updates.
Zebra
Zebra is a robust UI open-source framework that uses HTML5 canvas for rendering. It simplifies the process, allowing you to get started in just 5 minutes. With Zebra Tutorials, developers can dive into this UI framework that follows object-oriented programming principles. By leveraging HTML5 canvas, developers have full control over UI components and can quickly grasp the basics. Zebra focuses on the HTML5 canvas element to create responsive websites with flexible UI design rendering. Its programming design is based on the simple Zebra Object Oriented Programming (OOP) concept, encouraging well-organized, maintainable, and extensible code.
Develop sophisticated HTML templates with responsive, customizable designs through Zebra. This tool adheres to exceptional coding practices for organizing large projects efficiently and excels in streamlining deployment processes. The only drawback of Zebra is that there may be limited support and documentation for future issues.
Onsen UI
Onsen UI has significantly impacted numerous Cordova and PhoneGap developers. This open-source HTML5-based hybrid mobile app development framework offers a wide range of Material Design and Flat UI components, enhancing the aesthetic appeal of your mobile applications. With its element-based UI components, Onsen UI makes it easy to bring your apps to life. And guess what? By using Web Components, developers can smoothly transition from HTML syntax to kick-off app development in no time!
Onsen developers get why agnostic development is critical to an app's success. That's why you can smoothly blend Onsen with any front-end web framework. Angular developers can even find a dedicated library to leverage various custom tags from Onsen!
The Onsen UI team has also launched Vue.js support for Onsen UI! Now, developers can create stunning single-page responsive apps based on Web Components without delving into Angular syntax. If you're a Vue.js developer, you'll find it easy to integrate Onsen's powerful library of components with your codebase immediately!
HTML5 Kickstart
HTML5 KickStart is a modern addition to the scene, bundling HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to simplify UI developers' tasks. With features like chic buttons, navigation bars, Font Awesome icons, a flexible grid layout, and a swipe-friendly slideshow, it packs a punch at just 300KB.
This tool streamlines collaboration between designers and developers with user-friendly templates, an adaptable grid, flexible images, and media queries for responsive design. By offering a variety of elements in one package, it accelerates frontend development; though it has a smaller support community compared to others, it's a top choice for frontend developers.
