

Ask HN: What are alternatives to Bootstrap? - cblock811

A lot of my web dev friends complain that the websites are all starting to look the same because of Bootstrap.  I was curious if there are other tools people use for styling?  I know you could do custom CSS but I&#x27;m looking for other plugins or stylesheets that are commonly used.
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UnoriginalGuy
That's because "everyone" uses the same basic Bootstrap themes. If you use
Bootstrap for layout and responsive UI you'll be fine, it is just when you are
the nth site to use the default theme with the same damn default navigation
that it gets a little cringe.

So in my opinion you're asking the wrong question, the right question is: "How
do I make my Bootstrap site not FEEL like every single other Bootstrap site on
the internet?"

If you're willing to pay for high quality third party themes it is definitely
possible to get something that nobody would call a Bootstrap powered site
unless they happened to look at the raw code.

Just don't throw the baby out with the bathwater when all you really want is
to look fresh, original, and on-point. It can be done with Bootstrap.

~~~
rspeer
Where do you find these high-quality themes? Every Bootstrap theme I've seen
that doesn't look like Bootstrap has been gaudy.

~~~
alexgaribay
I've gotten some from here.
[https://wrapbootstrap.com](https://wrapbootstrap.com)

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dylanhassinger
PureCSS is a minimal framework by Yahoo, i think it looks neat:

[http://purecss.io](http://purecss.io)

~~~
xpto123
Pure CSS is a great choice, it's just a minimum 4k of CSS, no Javascript is
needed. It's a 'Bring Your Own Javascript' solution. It provides a css reset
for uniform look and feel across browsers, a responsive CSS-only grid, styling
for forms, buttons, tables, and it's themable via an online GUI, where a whole
theme can be derived from a primary color.

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rcarmo
Well, I use [http://ink.sapo.pt](http://ink.sapo.pt) (full disclosure: I work
there.)

It's pretty complete and is constantly updated -- and besides including a
battle-tested JS library of its own, it is evolving toward eschewing some of
the "usual" dependencies.

One of the key reasons I use it outside work is that it targets _generic_
sites and can be customized and/or pulled in piecemeal if you take the time to
build your own version.

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franciscop
PureCSS. I'm also doing a basic system based on this, but it's still few hours
away to be ready. I'll ask for feedback around HN soon though.

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cotsog
Semantic UI: UI is the vocabulary of the web.

[http://semantic-ui.com/](http://semantic-ui.com/)

~~~
illyism
One of the best in my opinion. I use it for literally everything. It's really
versatile in the way that it doesn't force you to use templates.

The new beta ([http://beta.semantic-ui.com/](http://beta.semantic-ui.com/))
version looks really promising as well, it's made to work with themes but it's
a different way of working than the previous version. You get more control in
building from less.

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sjs382
If all bootstrap sites look the same, that's the fault of the
developers/designers (or likely the lack of a designer), not bootstrap.
Bootstrap should be used as a base, not as a theme.

That said, if you're going to use base bootstrap with no customizations for
your project documentation or something like that, more power to you...

~~~
cblock811
Exactly. I'm just curious to find the distribution of styling tools. I want to
show how much of the web IS bootstrap so I can tell some designers I know to
pound sand when they complain about it all.

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MalcolmDiggs
Foundation by Zurb is probably the biggest head-on competitor.

On the lighter side (codebase wise) getskeleton.com is useful. It handles the
responsive stuff without adding much other styling.

Google recently put out Web Starter kit as well:
developers.google.com/web/starter-kit/

~~~
Terpaholic
Foundation is extremely useful, and feels professional. It does less of the
styling for you (think less default css themes), but overall stands toe to toe
with Bootstrap. If you've ever found yourself fighting with Bootstrap (like
the resizing height responsive menus), Foundation is a great alternative.

Would definitely recommend Foundation in a heartbeat.

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swanson
I played around with the Bourbon + Neat + Bitters + Refills "stack" recently
and I enjoyed it. Definitely not as "drop-in ready" as Bootstrap, but seemed
like a good foundation to build on.

[http://bourbon.io/](http://bourbon.io/)
[http://neat.bourbon.io/](http://neat.bourbon.io/)
[http://bitters.bourbon.io/](http://bitters.bourbon.io/)
[http://refills.bourbon.io/](http://refills.bourbon.io/)

~~~
jparishy
I second this! I've been doing some FE work lately and they're my goto now.

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pairing
Zurb Foundation is a common alternative to Bootstrap:
[http://foundation.zurb.com/](http://foundation.zurb.com/)

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brickcap
I like simple grid.

[http://thisisdallas.github.io/Simple-
Grid/](http://thisisdallas.github.io/Simple-Grid/)

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zuck9
It's strange no one mentioned [http://bootswatch.com](http://bootswatch.com)

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garysvpa
Foundation

Zimit

InK

HTML KickStart

Kickstrap

Pure

