Top Material Design Lite Alternatives for Modern Web Development
Material Design Lite (MDL) has long been a go-to for developers looking to add Google's Material Design aesthetic to their static websites without relying on heavy JavaScript frameworks. An implementation of Material Design components in vanilla CSS, JS, and HTML, MDL is known for its cross-device optimization, graceful degradation, and accessibility. However, with the ever-evolving landscape of web development, many are seeking a Material Design Lite alternative that offers more features, better community support, or a different approach to front-end development. This article explores some of the best alternatives available today.
Top Material Design Lite Alternatives
Whether you're looking for a robust framework, a lightweight solution, or something specifically tailored for Material Design, these alternatives offer compelling reasons to make the switch.
Bootstrap
Bootstrap is an incredibly popular open-source collection of tools for creating browser sites and applications. It contains HTML and CSS-based design templates for typography, forms, buttons, navigation, and other interface components. As a Material Design Lite alternative, Bootstrap stands out with its responsive design, active development, extensive documentation, and a wealth of premade templates. It's a Free, Open Source, Self-Hosted solution leveraging HTML5 Boilerplate and JavaScript.
Semantic UI
Semantic UI empowers designers and developers by creating a shared vocabulary for UI. This Free, Open Source, Web-based framework focuses on making front-end development more intuitive and responsive. Its emphasis on semantic classes and clear component structures makes it an excellent Material Design Lite alternative for those prioritizing clean, readable code and robust responsive design capabilities.
Foundation
Foundation is an easy-to-use, powerful, and flexible framework for building rapid prototypes and production code on any kind of device. As a Free, Open Source, Web-based CSS framework, Foundation provides a comprehensive toolkit for responsive design, making it a strong Material Design Lite alternative for developers who need extensive customization and flexibility for their projects.
Materialize
Materialize is a modern responsive CSS framework based on Material Design by Google, making it perhaps the most direct Material Design Lite alternative for those committed to the Material Design aesthetic. This Free, Open Source, Web-based framework offers rich Material Design components, a mobile-first approach, and strong responsive design features, ideal for web development projects aiming for a Google-inspired look and feel.
UIkit
UIkit is a lightweight and modular front-end framework for developing fast and powerful web interfaces. As a Free, Open Source, Web-based solution, it serves as an excellent Material Design Lite alternative for developers seeking a highly customizable and extendable framework. Its modular architecture allows you to include only the components you need, reducing overall file size and improving performance in web development.
Purecss
Purecss is a set of small, responsive CSS modules that you can use in every web project. This Free, Open Source, Web-based framework stands out as a minimalist Material Design Lite alternative. Its small footprint and modular design make it perfect for projects where performance and a lean codebase are paramount, offering essential CSS for common UI elements without bloat.
Polymer
Polymer is a library that uses the latest web technologies to let you create custom HTML elements. Build anything from a button to a complete application as an innovative Material Design Lite alternative. As a Free, Open Source solution available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, Polymer is ideal for developers who want to leverage Web Components for reusable UI elements and enhance their web development process.
Skeleton
Skeleton is a small collection of CSS & JS files that can help you rapidly develop sites that look beautiful at any size, be it a 17" laptop screen or an iPhone. This Free, Open Source, Web-based CSS framework is a highly minimalist Material Design Lite alternative, focusing on providing just the essentials for responsive design, perfect for small projects or as a starting point for custom builds.
HTML5 Boilerplate
HTML5 Boilerplate is the professional badass's base HTML/CSS/JS template for a fast, robust, and future-proof site. While not a direct component library like Material Design Lite, this Free, Open Source, Web-based tool provides a rock-solid default for HTML5 web development, making it an excellent foundation upon which to build any modern web project, offering a clean slate and best practices from the start.
Element UI
Element UI is a Vue 2.0 based component library for developers, designers, and product managers. As a Free, Open Source, Web, Self-Hosted CSS, JavaScript, and Vue.js solution, it offers a rich set of UI components. While specifically for Vue.js, Element UI serves as a powerful Material Design Lite alternative for those building single-page applications with Vue, providing a comprehensive CSS framework and extensive features.
The choice of a Material Design Lite alternative depends heavily on your project's specific requirements, your team's familiarity with different frameworks, and your preferred level of customization. Explore these options to find the best fit for your next web development endeavor, ensuring your site is modern, responsive, and easy to maintain.