Which front end framework to use

rufusbear · 20 Jun 2016 at 16:20

Hi All,

I am in the process of learning HTML and CSS and feel like a have a good grasp of it now. My main issue is im about to try and build my first website but im struggling on a framework to use. I have looked into Bootstrap and Foundation and a few other standalone responsive grid frameworks but i cant decide. I feel like with responsive design in mind it would be good practice to use a framework but I have tried bootstrap but i find it a little over whelming, learning all the pre defined classes etc seems quite a task in itself just to get the html written correctly.

Just looking for some advice really on the best route to go, in the long run i would like to just be able to build responsive websites and then maybe look to get into doing it for small businesses if there is any work out there for it. I have maybe thought about looking into wordpress themes as well but there seems to be so many out there already. I am looking to learn jquery and java at some point as well as i understand this is used for responsive designs when collapsing nav bars for mobile scaling etc along with many other different things.

Hope someone might be able to lend me some advice

Thanks everyone

radderfire · 20 Jun 2016 at 17:25

I have recently learned Bootstrap and I like it. I haven't looked at Foundation, but I would say Bootstrap is good and will build you a responsive site, so stick with it.

Re learning Bootstrap, then YouTube is good, and there is a good series by Brad Hussey which will build you a whole Bootstrap site. Take a look at the Bootstrap links here for more details.

If I were you, I would focus on learning how to build a responsive site with Bootstrap, and then build yourself some practice site templates. Bootstrap uses jQuery, so you will get to use that along the way. Don't worry about Java yet. Just stick to learning how to build good websites at the moment. That alone is a sought after skill at the moment.

rufusbear · 21 Jun 2016 at 16:16

Thanks for that mate, i have seen so many different frameworks and i think i just need to go for one and stick with it. It seems Bootstrap and Foundation are the most popular ones used, i just get put off by bootstraps mass of classes but again watching videos i guess will help with this.

Many thanks for the links, i have just finished Brad Husseys course on HTML and CSS building a website from scratch so i feel i have an ok grasp of both HTML and CSS. I see he has a course on udemy as well regarding bootstrap as well as one on youtube which i think might be an older one when bootstrap 3 first came out.

I guess with Bootstrap you dont have to use all the elements of it do you as you could use your own stylesheet to have things looking the way you want. I think one of the biggest problems i have is that i am not much of a designer so deciding on what to make a website about and how to lay it out is something i need to think about a little more.

Thanks again for your kind help

Ginger-Menace · 21 Jun 2016 at 16:27

+1 for bootstrap, very good framework, just use youtube and google to help you along

radderfire · 21 Jun 2016 at 22:47

rufusbear said:
I guess with Bootstrap you dont have to use all the elements of it do you as you could use your own stylesheet to have things looking the way you want. I think one of the biggest problems i have is that i am not much of a designer so deciding on what to make a website about and how to lay it out is something i need to think about a little more.

No problem. Re starting, just try and build something simple, like something that on desktop has a header (full width), two columns (say 70/30 split), and a footer (full width), that then collapses down to stacked columns on mobile.

Re styling, just apply the relevant Bootstrap default styles where applicable, then customise by adding a custom stylesheet at the following location:

css/custom.css

If you get a bit stuck then post here and I'll see if I can help.

gummi32 · 22 Jun 2016 at 10:32

I've used Foundation/Bootstrap for big sites, for simple sites a boilerplate framework such as Skeleton is a good place to start if just learning the basics of responsive design

http://getskeleton.com/