Ant Design vs Bootstrap

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Ant Design vs Bootstrap: What are the differences?

Both Ant Design and Bootstrap are popular frontend frameworks that provide a set of components and tools to build user interfaces. Let's discuss the key differences between Ant Design and Bootstrap.

  1. Design Philosophy: Ant Design is a design system and a set of React components that follows the principles of minimalism, simplicity, and consistency. It emphasizes a clean and modern design with a focus on usability and user experience. On the other hand, Bootstrap is a mobile-first frontend framework that aims to provide a comprehensive and easily customizable set of components for rapid development. It focuses on responsiveness, flexibility, and a modern design.

  2. Component Library: Ant Design offers a rich library of components that are specifically designed for enterprise applications. It includes components like tables, forms, modals, and charts, which are often required in such applications. Bootstrap, on the other hand, provides a wider range of components that cater to different types of projects, including websites, blogs, and e-commerce platforms. It includes components like navbars, cards, buttons, and images, which are commonly used in various web applications.

  3. Frameworks: Ant Design is primarily built for React and integrates well with other modern frontend tools and libraries like Redux and TypeScript. It provides comprehensive React components and utilities that can be easily customized and integrated into React applications. Bootstrap, on the other hand, is a more versatile framework that can be used with different JavaScript frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue.js. It also provides a set of pre-built CSS styles that can be directly added to HTML files.

  4. Styling and Theming: Ant Design follows a specific design and styling guideline called "Ant Design Specification." It provides a well-defined set of design principles, color palettes, and typography styles that ensure a consistent and cohesive look and feel across different components. Bootstrap offers a more flexible and customizable approach to styling and theming. It provides a wide range of CSS classes and utility styles that can be easily applied to components to achieve the desired look and feel.

  5. Community and Ecosystem: Ant Design has a growing community of developers and designers, especially in the React ecosystem. It has an active GitHub repository and a dedicated team that regularly releases updates, bug fixes, and new features. Bootstrap, on the other hand, has a larger and more established community with support for multiple frameworks. It has a vast ecosystem of themes, templates, and third-party plugins that can be easily integrated into projects.

  6. Documentation and Learning Curve: Ant Design has comprehensive documentation with detailed examples, guidelines, and API references. It also provides official tutorials and practical demos to help developers understand and use its components effectively. Bootstrap also offers extensive documentation with detailed explanations and examples for each component. It has a well-documented grid system and detailed guides for responsive design. However, the learning curve for Ant Design can be steeper due to its specific design principles and React integration.

In summary, Ant Design and Bootstrap are two popular frontend frameworks with distinct design philosophies, component libraries, and target audiences. Ant Design focuses on simplicity, consistency, and enterprise applications, while Bootstrap emphasizes flexibility, responsiveness, and versatile usage. The choice between the two frameworks depends on the specific requirements and nature of the project.

Advice on Ant Design and Bootstrap
Needs advice
on
BootstrapBootstrap
and
Tailwind CSSTailwind CSS

I am planning to redesign my entire application, which is currently in Bootstrap. I heard about Tailwind CSS, and I think its really cool to work with. Is it okay if I use Bootstrap and Tailwind together? I can't remove Bootstrap altogether, as my application is using the js dependencies of Bootstrap, which I don't want to disturb.

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Replies (3)
Ivo Pereira

Factually talking about systems, we gotta make two bold headlines about each one: Bootstrap has been around for a while, has a vast community and much probably will not be gone in a while. Tailwind in the other hand, is the trendy framework starting from the past year. Referring to UI, I really prefer Tailwind, however I can't ignore the fact that a lot of libraries that emerged felt short in the end after a few years (a point where Bootstrap kept his status).

You are able to use both them together but I advise you — it will be a mess. And you gotta hope that you won't have any kind of conflicts between class naming and other general styling.

My recommendation would be to use one and only one. Perhaps rebuild the UI with a specific framework in mind, otherwise you will start to workaround things of both frameworks to contradict each other - and your team (if you work with one) will hate you.

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Arslan Ameer
Sr. Software Engineer at Forenax Technologies · | 5 upvotes · 585.7K views
Recommends
on
BootstrapBootstrap

You might have heard about bootstrap 5. Bootstrap is now totally jQuery free. i have tried foundation and bulma too. but eventually fall again for bootstrap, as it is most convenient and stable. i use bootstrap with less or sass.

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Barry Hylton
Recommends
on
BootstrapBootstrap

I use both of these regularly. If you're going to have to use Bootstrap due to your js dependencies, stick with Bootstrap. I actually prefer Tailwind, but trying to use both of them and make them "play nice" feels like making things more complex with no real benefit.

EDIT: Sorry for the late response, I just noticed how old this is. StackShare sent me this in an email for some reason so I assumed it was relatively fresh.

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Daniel Hernández Alcojor
Frontend Developer at atSistemas · | 8 upvotes · 986.4K views
Needs advice
on
BootstrapBootstrapBulmaBulma
and
UIkItUIkIt

I'm building, from scratch, a webapp. It's going to be a dashboard to check on our apps in New Relic and update the Apdex from the webapp. I have just chosen Next.js as our framework because we use React already, and after going through the tutorial, I just loved the latest changes they have implemented.

But we have to decide on a CSS framework for the UI. I'm partial to Bulma because I love that it's all about CSS (and you can use SCSS from the start), that it's rather lightweight and that it doesn't come with JavaScript clutter. One of the things I hate about Bootstrap is that you depend on jQuery to use the JavaScript part. My boss loves UIkIt, but when I've used it in the past, I didn't like it.

What do you think we should use? Maybe you have another suggestion?

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Replies (7)
Recommends
on
UIkItUIkIt

I have used bulma in several projects. We could not customize with the websites very well. Also when we need "quick solutions" Bulma is not suitable (I mean basic animations, to-top buttons, transparent navbar solutions etc. For these solutions, you need extra js codes).

Everybody knows about Bootstrap (heavy but popular).

Now we start a new project with UI kit, I like it. Pros: It is fast and lightweight and imho it has very good UI. Cons: Small community. Documentation.

Check this link for kick-off. https://github.com/zzseba78/Kick-Off

Maybe it is helpful.

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Damien Lucchese
Recommends
on
BulmaBulma

Been checking out Bulma, myself, and really dig it. I like that it's a great base level jumping off point. You can get a layout going with it, pretty quickly, and then customize as you want. It definitely sounds like it's the one you're leaning towards but a big factor would be who will be using it most? Your boss, yourself, others? Whichever you like best, you'll prob be most productive with but if in the end your boss says it has to be UIkit, then best to be open-minded and give it another shot. Sometimes you may not jive with new tools in your stack, at first, but then they can become tools you learn to love. Best to you in your decision! Take care & keep safe.

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Recommends
on
DiezDiez

I've moved away from the concept of UI kits. Not that many support CSS grid. A lot of the icons are easier to use in SVG. I've had success in the concept of design framework and design tokens. I build my brand identity in Figma, and extract in Diez. Then Diez integrates into React and SASS. Much easier because design is decoupled from software in a central authority, and software updates automatically from design changes.

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Recommends
on
BulmaBulma

Honestly - pick whatever you are the most comfortable with. You can achieve almost the same effects with different tools, so why not use something I like using?

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Recommends

I used UIKit and Bootstrap many times. I love Bootstrap for fast, easy layouts to web apps. Clean code, easiest and fastest way to write layouts for front end if you learned something before about Bootstrap. Now in React I use React-Boostrap too. About UIKit I can say its nice idea. It's easier than Bootstrap. This is good option for trainee developer to learn how u should create layout of your website, but for me UIKit have not enough functions. If you need to create something complicated, u have an error in your mind. You must create amazing code combinations for UIKit where in Bootstrap in the same ideas you have easy solutions.

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Tomer Fishaimer
Frontend Architect at Aqua Security · | 2 upvotes · 535K views
Recommends
on
Tailwind CSSTailwind CSS

Actually it really depends on your needs, there are 3 types of UI frameworks you can use:

  1. A complete set of UI components like: https://react-bulma.dev/en/getting-started.

    Pros:

    Having a lot of pre-built UI components saves a lot of time

    Cons:

    need to learn the react framework and the bulma styles, and it's harder to customize to your needs

  2. A pure css framework, like Bulma, where you write all the components yourself.

    Pros:

    A lot of flexibility to build the components you need

    Cons:

    You are bound to Bulma classes and markup.

    Takes more time since you need to build the components

  3. A utility class framework like: https://tailwindcss.com/.

Pros:

Most flexible, mix and match classes as you like and build your own markup

Very easy to customize to your needs

Cons:

Might take time to get used to and takes more time since you need to build the components

If you choose options one, then it's just a matter of deciding what style you like (material,ant, bulma) and go with the library that implements it If you go with pure css and build your own components, I can't recommend tailwind enough, I've been finding myself building entire pages without writing a single line of css.

And if later on, the designer wants to make a change to some color, or size, I just need to change one value in the config file, and the entire app is updated.

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Needs advice
on
BootstrapBootstrapTailwind CSSTailwind CSS
and
UIkItUIkIt

We are re-modifying the existing portal to the new one. Looking out for a CSS framework where over-rides are possible, the performance of page loading, extendable, etc Please suggest between tailwind, UIkit and bootstrap frameworks explaining in detail on different factors. I request your help on the same.

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Replies (2)
Collins Ogbuzuru
Front-end dev at Evolve credit · | 3 upvotes · 548.4K views
Recommends
on
Tailwind CSSTailwind CSS

Hey Sai, My thoughts on UIkit - It's beautiful, fast, and it has good animation too. Why would I choose it ? Nothing other than giving the internet a new look .

My thoughts on Bootstrap - it's beautiful, if used well. It's very fast and has clean class naming convention unlike Uikit. Why I would choose it ? It's been tested and trusted, I can find a whole lot of resources and a community around it. Also with the type of project you working on I bet Bootstrap would do the job .

Now, considering Tailwind, it's seen as a classic, simple-to-set-up tool with clean utilities. I wouldn't think of tailwind the way I would to Bootstrap or UIkit. What do I mean ? Tailwind is more like a tool set to create your own design flow. Tailwind allows you to build unique design elements, offering you a level of customization that may be unmatched by the other frameworks.

My final thoughts.

If you have the time , setup and use tailwind it will give you a great chance when it comes to customization and performance.

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Brett Stevenson
Recommends
on
BootstrapBootstrap

I'm a big proponent of Tailwind and I personally use it whenever I get the chance, mostly because it's not really a UI-kit, but it sounds like in this case a UI-kit like Bootstrap with pre-defined components is more what you are looking for. Bootstrap is (relatively) extendable and overridable and makes it really simple to make a decent looking UI using a handful of pre-defined classes, whereas with Tailwind you configure the classes and create your own components. My main reason for replacing Bootstrap in my workflow is that it feels like the component creation has become so abstracted from the developer that any meaningful customization becomes a chore, resulting in many websites having the generic "Bootstrap-look". Nonetheless, it is effective for creating a pleasant and responsive UI. Though, I don't have any experience with UIkit.

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Decisions about Ant Design and Bootstrap
Bridget Sarah
Full Stack Developer at Bridget Sarah · | 10 upvotes · 635.9K views

I do prefer to write things from scratch however when it came to wanting to jump-start the frontend, I found that it was taking me a lot longer hence why needing to use something very fast.

Bootstrap was the boom when it came out, I didn't like it, to be honest, set in its way and a pain to over-ride and in addition, you can tell from a distance if you're using boostrap and as everything looks the same.

I came across Tailwind CSS as I wanted more dynamic features, you could say, I've been now doing it for a few days and I love it a lot. I've been practising with the full stack part installed but I an't we wait until I do a new project, and I'll e able to select exactly what I want. Much faster.

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Fonts and typography are fun. Material Design is a framework (developed by Google) that basically geeks out on how to assemble your typographical elements together into a design language. If you're into fonts and typography, it's fantastic. It provides a theming engine, reusable components, and can pull different user interfaces together under a common design paradigm. I'd highly recommend looking into Borries Schwesinger's book "The Form Book" if you're going to be working with Material UI or are otherwise new to component design.

https://www.amazon.com/Form-Book-Creating-Printed-Online/dp/0500515085

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Pros of Ant Design
Pros of Bootstrap
  • 47
    Lots of components
  • 33
    Polished and enterprisey look and feel
  • 21
    TypeScript
  • 20
    Easy to integrate
  • 18
    Es6 support
  • 17
    Typescript support
  • 17
    Beautiful and solid
  • 16
    Beautifully Animated Components
  • 15
    Quick Release rhythm
  • 14
    Great documentation
  • 2
    Easy to customize Forms
  • 1
    Opensource and free of cost
  • 1.6K
    Responsiveness
  • 1.2K
    UI components
  • 943
    Consistent
  • 779
    Great docs
  • 677
    Flexible
  • 472
    HTML, CSS, and JS framework
  • 411
    Open source
  • 375
    Widely used
  • 368
    Customizable
  • 242
    HTML framework
  • 77
    Easy setup
  • 77
    Mobile first
  • 77
    Popular
  • 58
    Great grid system
  • 52
    Great community
  • 38
    Future compatibility
  • 34
    Integration
  • 28
    Very powerful foundational front-end framework
  • 24
    Standard
  • 23
    Javascript plugins
  • 19
    Build faster prototypes
  • 18
    Preprocessors
  • 14
    Grids
  • 9
    Good for a person who hates CSS
  • 8
    Clean
  • 4
    Rapid development
  • 4
    Easy to setup and learn
  • 4
    Love it
  • 3
    Great and easy to use
  • 2
    Powerful grid system, Rapid development, Customization
  • 2
    Boostrap
  • 2
    Devin schumacher rules
  • 2
    Community
  • 2
    Provide angular wrapper
  • 2
    Great and easy
  • 2
    Great customer support
  • 2
    Popularity
  • 2
    Clean and quick frontend development
  • 2
    Great and easy to make a responsive website
  • 2
    Sprzedam opla
  • 2
    Easy to use
  • 1
    Not tied to jQuery
  • 1
    Responsive design
  • 1
    Love the classes?
  • 1
    Painless front end development
  • 1
    Design Agnostic
  • 1
    So clean and simple
  • 1
    Numerous components
  • 1
    Recognizable
  • 1
    Intuitive
  • 1
    Material-ui
  • 1
    Felxible, comfortable, user-friendly
  • 1
    Poop
  • 1
    Pre-Defined components
  • 1
    It's fast
  • 1
    Geo
  • 1
    The fame
  • 1
    Easy setup2

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Cons of Ant Design
Cons of Bootstrap
  • 24
    Less
  • 10
    Large File Size
  • 4
    Poor accessibility support
  • 3
    Dangerous to use as a base in component libraries
  • 26
    Javascript is tied to jquery
  • 16
    Every site uses the defaults
  • 15
    Grid system break points aren't ideal
  • 14
    Too much heavy decoration in default look
  • 8
    Verbose styles
  • 1
    Super heavy

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What is Ant Design?

An enterprise-class UI design language and React-based implementation. Graceful UI components out of the box, base on React Component. A npm + webpack + babel + dora + dva development framework.

What is Bootstrap?

Bootstrap is the most popular HTML, CSS, and JS framework for developing responsive, mobile first projects on the web.

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What companies use Ant Design?
What companies use Bootstrap?
See which teams inside your own company are using Ant Design or Bootstrap.
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What are some alternatives to Ant Design and Bootstrap?
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Blueprint
Blueprint is a React UI toolkit for the web. It is optimized for building complex, data-dense web interfaces for desktop applications. If you rely heavily on mobile interactions and are looking for a mobile-first UI toolkit, this may not be for you.
NativeBase
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