The Pros and Cons of UI Frameworks
27 Feb 2025
Something I’ve learned overtime coding in HTML is that things are kept fairly simple. Coding a website using raw HTML and CSS can be somewhat time consuming but again simple and straight to the point with what HTML and CSS has to offer as a programming language. Why would I need anything like Bootstrap 5 to do things like set the background color or set icon types for my website? Who even cares if I use prebuilt components or if I just code it raw with either HTML or CSS?
These questions make me wonder if it even all matters or not. However, one important thing to consider with these prebuilt components is time. Coding is almost always a long process and having something as unified and absolute as Bootstrap 5 can be a powerful resource. The power of being able to copy and paste a segment of code from Bootstrap 5 into your own code is effortless while naturally reducing your chances of getting stuck on certain segments of code.
With that in mind, Bootstrap 5 basically sounds like your reliable friend but how can using such a powerful resource be negative in any way?
My first impression of Bootstrap 5
In my experience, when we were first introduced to Bootstrap 5 in our first assignment it took a second for me to understand and utilize but afterwards it seemed really useful. I found myself using it while completely understanding the code seeming as its fairly simple looking.
Once I tackled the second assigment that recquired us to utilize Bootstrap 5 something quickly became apparent to me as I stared at the messy monstrocity that was my code. The use of Bootstrap 5 is of course useful but can sometimes be a commitment. I found that the more Bootstrap 5 type classes I created the more messy and cluttered my code got. There just seemed to be classes everywhere and while I could still manage to trace what was happening in my own code it was still chaos.
While the overuse of Bootstrap classes could perhaps be solved with various solutions there was another issue that I started to notice upon doing the third assignment with Bootstrap. When we were asked to recreate a website of our chosing, one of the warnings was to not use the code embedded in the website we were gonna rewrite. This made me realize and see how many websites also utilize Bootstrap. Maybe this is more of a small issue but its worth noting that using Bootstrap 5 can lead to limited uniqueness.
The pros that can’t be overlooked
This doesn’t take away from the fact that Bootstrap is still a powerful resource, in general having prebuilt components to rely on and use to speed up creating a website is invaluable. In addition, Bootstrap commonly has a decently polished and professional look. While some of the material might be overused widely around the world its still a good material to not only start with but rely on as something you cant go wrong with. Theres nothing wrong with having limited uniqueness, its just something to take note of depending on ones context.
Another major benefit of using Bootstrap is the overall ease of access. The first time I got to use Bootstrap 5 it didnt take me too long to understand how to mostly utilize the resource. Not to mention most of the code and materials Bootstraap has to offer is very professionally documented ensuring everything that can be used has a ncie touch that shows how it works.
Overall, a powerful tool doesnt come with its drawbacks. Sure Bootstrap has some conflicts with the nature of the resource but its not something that should easily deter someone from the pros that cannot be overlooked.