What's UI Component Libraries for Web Development?
UI component libraries are collections of pre-designed and pre-coded components that help developers build user interfaces more efficiently. These libraries provide a set of reusable UI elements, such as buttons, forms, navigation bars, and modals, which can be easily integrated into web applications. By using these libraries, developers can ensure consistency in design, save time on styling, and focus on building functionality rather than UI elements from scratch. Each library has its own design philosophy and target audience, making it important to choose the right one based on project requirements and team expertise.
NPM Package Downloads Trend
Github Stars Ranking
Stat Detail
Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
react-bootstrap
1,120,294
22,407
1.48 MB
210
2 months ago
MIT
bootstrap-vue
269,431
14,519
49.3 MB
200
-
MIT
foundation-sites
82,406
29,661
24.7 MB
45
2 months ago
MIT
material-ui
53,007
93,930
-
1,914
6 years ago
MIT
Feature Comparison: react-bootstrap vs bootstrap-vue vs foundation-sites vs material-ui
Design Philosophy
react-bootstrap: React-Bootstrap integrates Bootstrap's design principles into React, allowing developers to use Bootstrap components as React components, maintaining the familiar Bootstrap styling while leveraging React's component-based architecture.
bootstrap-vue: Bootstrap-Vue follows the Bootstrap design philosophy, emphasizing a mobile-first approach and responsive design. It provides a set of components that adhere to Bootstrap's styling, ensuring a consistent look and feel across applications.
foundation-sites: Foundation Sites is built on a flexible grid system and focuses on accessibility and customization. It encourages developers to create unique designs while providing a robust set of tools to achieve that.
material-ui: Material-UI is based on Google's Material Design guidelines, promoting a clean and modern aesthetic with an emphasis on usability and interaction. It offers components that are visually appealing and easy to use, enhancing user experience.
Customization
react-bootstrap: React-Bootstrap allows for customization through Bootstrap's utility classes and custom CSS, enabling developers to adjust styles while keeping the component logic intact.
bootstrap-vue: Bootstrap-Vue allows for customization through scoped slots and CSS variables, enabling developers to tailor components to fit their application's design needs while still leveraging Bootstrap's core styles.
foundation-sites: Foundation Sites offers extensive customization options through Sass variables and mixins, allowing developers to easily modify the framework to suit their design requirements without overriding styles.
material-ui: Material-UI provides a powerful theming system, allowing developers to create custom themes and styles that can be applied globally or locally to components, ensuring a cohesive design throughout the application.
Component Variety
react-bootstrap: React-Bootstrap provides a full suite of Bootstrap components optimized for React, ensuring that developers have access to all the essential UI elements needed to build responsive applications.
bootstrap-vue: Bootstrap-Vue includes a wide range of components, from basic elements like buttons and forms to complex components like modals and carousels, all designed to work seamlessly with Vue.js.
foundation-sites: Foundation Sites offers a comprehensive set of components, including navigation, forms, and grid systems, with a focus on modularity, allowing developers to include only what they need for their projects.
material-ui: Material-UI boasts a rich library of components that cover most UI needs, including advanced components like date pickers and sliders, all designed with Material Design principles in mind.
Integration
react-bootstrap: React-Bootstrap is built for React, allowing developers to use Bootstrap components as React components, ensuring a smooth integration and a more idiomatic React experience.
bootstrap-vue: Bootstrap-Vue is designed specifically for Vue.js applications, making it easy to integrate with existing Vue projects and leverage Vue's reactive features alongside Bootstrap's components.
foundation-sites: Foundation Sites can be integrated into any web project, whether it’s a simple HTML page or a complex JavaScript application, providing flexibility in how it is used.
material-ui: Material-UI is tailored for React applications, offering a seamless integration experience with React's component lifecycle and state management, making it easy to build interactive UIs.
Learning Curve
react-bootstrap: React-Bootstrap is straightforward for developers who know Bootstrap, as it translates Bootstrap's classes into React components, making the transition to React seamless.
bootstrap-vue: Bootstrap-Vue has a moderate learning curve, especially for developers familiar with Bootstrap, as it extends Bootstrap's concepts into the Vue.js ecosystem, making it relatively easy to pick up.
foundation-sites: Foundation Sites may have a steeper learning curve due to its modular nature and extensive customization options, requiring developers to understand its grid system and Sass integration.
material-ui: Material-UI is designed to be intuitive for React developers, with a focus on component-based architecture, making it easy to learn and implement for those already familiar with React.
How to Choose: react-bootstrap vs bootstrap-vue vs foundation-sites vs material-ui
react-bootstrap: Use React-Bootstrap if you prefer a seamless integration of Bootstrap components in your React projects, offering a more React-friendly approach while maintaining Bootstrap's design principles.
bootstrap-vue: Choose Bootstrap-Vue if you are looking for a Vue.js implementation of the popular Bootstrap framework, which is great for building responsive and mobile-first applications with a familiar grid system and extensive pre-built components.
foundation-sites: Select Foundation Sites if you need a highly customizable and flexible framework that offers a modular approach, allowing you to include only the components you need, making it suitable for both small and large projects.
material-ui: Opt for Material-UI if you want to implement Google's Material Design in your React applications, providing a modern and visually appealing UI with a rich set of components and customization options.
Similar Npm Packages to react-bootstrap
react-bootstrap is a popular library that provides Bootstrap components as React components, allowing developers to build responsive and mobile-first web applications with ease. It leverages the power of Bootstrap's CSS framework while providing a seamless integration with React's component-based architecture. This makes it a go-to choice for many developers looking to implement Bootstrap styles and components in their React applications. However, there are several alternatives available that offer different design philosophies and features. Here are a few notable ones:
bulma is a modern CSS framework based on Flexbox. It is known for its simplicity and ease of use, providing a clean and minimalistic design. Bulma does not include JavaScript components, which allows developers to have complete control over the behavior of their components. If you prefer a lightweight framework that focuses solely on CSS and offers a straightforward approach to styling, Bulma is an excellent choice.
evergreen-ui is a React UI Framework developed by Segment. It is designed for building ambitious products and provides a set of polished React components that are easy to use and customize. Evergreen is particularly well-suited for applications that require a consistent design language and a modern look. If you are building a complex application and need a robust set of components, Evergreen UI is worth considering.
grommet is a React-based framework that provides a rich set of UI components and a responsive design system. It is designed with accessibility and mobile-first principles in mind, making it a great option for applications that prioritize user experience. Grommet offers a wide range of customization options and themes, allowing developers to create unique and visually appealing interfaces.
reactstrap is another library that provides Bootstrap components for React. It is built on top of Bootstrap 4 and offers a straightforward way to use Bootstrap's components in React applications. If you are already familiar with Bootstrap and want to leverage its components in your React projects without the need for additional configuration, Reactstrap is a solid choice.
semantic-ui-react is the official React integration for Semantic UI, a development framework that helps create beautiful, responsive layouts using human-friendly HTML. Semantic UI React provides a wide range of components that are easy to use and customize. If you are looking for a framework that emphasizes semantic HTML and a clean design, Semantic UI React is a great option.
bootstrap-vue is a popular UI component library that integrates Bootstrap with Vue.js. It provides a comprehensive set of components and directives that allow developers to create responsive and visually appealing web applications with ease. By leveraging the power of Bootstrap's grid system and styling, bootstrap-vue enables developers to build modern interfaces quickly while maintaining a consistent design. However, there are several alternatives available that cater to different design philosophies and frameworks. Here are a few notable options:
foundation-sites is a responsive front-end framework that offers a flexible grid system and a wide range of UI components. Developed by ZURB, Foundation is known for its customizability and mobile-first approach, making it a great choice for developers who want to create highly responsive and accessible websites. It provides a robust set of tools for building complex layouts and is particularly favored by developers looking for an alternative to Bootstrap with a different design aesthetic.
material-ui is a popular React component library that implements Google's Material Design principles. It provides a rich set of components that are designed to work seamlessly with React applications. Material-UI offers a modern look and feel, along with a powerful theming system that allows developers to customize the appearance of their applications easily. If you are building a React application and want to adhere to Material Design guidelines, Material-UI is an excellent choice.
react-bootstrap is a library that provides Bootstrap components specifically for React. It allows developers to use Bootstrap's styling and components in a React-friendly way, ensuring that the components are fully compatible with React's component lifecycle. React-Bootstrap is a great option for developers who want to leverage Bootstrap's design while working within the React ecosystem, offering a seamless integration of Bootstrap styles with React components.
foundation-sites is a responsive front-end framework that helps developers create responsive and mobile-first websites quickly and efficiently. Developed by ZURB, Foundation offers a set of customizable components, a grid system, and a variety of plugins designed to enhance the user experience. Its flexibility and modularity make it a popular choice among developers looking for a robust framework to build upon. However, there are several alternatives in the CSS framework landscape that also provide similar functionalities. Here are a few notable options:
bootstrap is one of the most widely used front-end frameworks. Developed by Twitter, Bootstrap provides a comprehensive set of pre-designed components, a responsive grid system, and extensive documentation. Its popularity stems from its ease of use and the vast community support available. Bootstrap is an excellent choice for developers looking for a reliable and well-established framework that can help them build responsive websites quickly.
bulma is a modern CSS framework based on Flexbox. It offers a clean and minimalistic design, making it easy to create responsive layouts without the need for JavaScript. Bulma is known for its simplicity and straightforward syntax, which allows developers to focus on building their applications without getting bogged down by complex configurations. If you prefer a lightweight and easy-to-use framework with a modern aesthetic, Bulma is a great option.
materialize-css is a front-end framework based on Google's Material Design principles. It provides a set of components and styles that follow Material Design guidelines, ensuring a consistent and visually appealing user interface. Materialize-css is ideal for developers who want to create applications with a modern look and feel while adhering to Material Design standards. Its components are designed to be responsive and easy to use, making it a solid choice for building user-friendly applications.
material-ui is a popular React UI framework that provides a comprehensive set of components and styles based on Google's Material Design guidelines. It allows developers to create beautiful and responsive user interfaces with ease. Material-UI offers a wide range of customizable components, making it a go-to choice for many developers looking to build modern web applications. However, there are several alternatives in the React ecosystem that also provide robust UI component libraries. Here are a few notable ones:
antd (Ant Design) is a comprehensive design system and UI library for React applications. It provides a large set of high-quality components and is particularly well-suited for enterprise-level applications. Ant Design emphasizes a clean and elegant design, offering a variety of customization options. If you are developing a complex application that requires a consistent design language and a wide range of components, Ant Design is an excellent choice.
react-bootstrap is a popular library that integrates Bootstrap with React. It allows developers to use Bootstrap's responsive grid system and components as React components, making it easy to build responsive layouts. React-Bootstrap is ideal for developers who are already familiar with Bootstrap and want to leverage its components while working within the React ecosystem. Its simplicity and ease of use make it a great option for projects that require a quick setup and a familiar design framework.
semantic-ui-react is the official React integration for Semantic UI, a development framework that helps create beautiful, responsive layouts using human-friendly HTML. Semantic UI React provides a set of components that are easy to use and integrate seamlessly with the Semantic UI CSS framework. If you prefer a more semantic approach to building your UI and want to utilize the extensive features of Semantic UI, this library is a solid choice.
Yarn is our package manager of choice here. Check out setup
instructions here if you don't have it installed already.
After that you can run yarn run bootstrap to install all the needed dependencies.
From there you can:
Run the tests once with yarn test (Or run them in watch mode with yarn run tdd).
Start a local copy of the docs site with yarn start
Or build a local copy of the library with yarn run build
