Web Development Gamechanger: The Capabilities of UI Frameworks
05 Oct 2023
First Impressions
When first exposed to web development I was quick to confidently say that it was not for me. I found the tedious time and effort I put into drafting HTML and CSS was not worth the unimpressive results. As such, using a UI Framework was quite the gamechanger. I found that with UI Frameworks like Bootstrap I was able to do so much more when developing web pages. This is not to say that UI frameworks are not tedious and time consuming, I soon found out that they are. Though, now after putting in all that work I would with pure HTML and CSS, I am actually pleased with my results. Now with UI Frameworks, in the same amount of time I am able to do so much more. The capabilities of UI frameworks are diverse and impressive. There are many layers and details to them which also means there are many layers and details to learn.
Are UI Frameworks worth it?
While the results of using UI Frameworks are exciting and impressive, sometimes the work and time behind those web pages is not so exciting and certainly not impressive. There are countless capabilities and small details to navigate from the ever complicated task of properly spacing objects, to understanding the priority of elements such that you can get the desired colors and margins using the CSS stylesheet. Not to mention the countless back and forth between editing and viewing the webpage in an attempt to find that one class or setting in Bootstrap that will make it all work. Learning to use UI Frameworks, like Bootstrap, can be like learning a whole nother programming language. So, this raises the question, is it even worth it to learn a UI Framework? Simply put, the answer is yes, whether that be so that you never have to just use pure HTML and CSS or such that you can so much more efficiently craft a quality web page. Yes, there is a learning curve, but once that initial climb is mastered there is no going back to making a detailed and appealing navigation bar in pure HTML and CSS. Learning a UI Framework takes work, but the work is worth it in being able to more efficiently manage dynamic and pleasing web pages.