Bootstrap vs. Open Props

What is Bootstrap ?

Bootstrap is the most popular CSS Framework for developing responsive and mobile-first websites. Do you know it was originally developed by Twitter now X and is now maintained by a large community of developers. Bootstrap provides a collection of pre-designed HTML, CSS, and JavaScript components that can be used to build websites quickly and easily.

Key Features of Bootstrap

×

• Responsive Grid: 12-column Flexbox grid with multiple breakpoints.
• Prebuilt Components: Includes modals, tooltips, carousels, navbars, etc.
• JavaScript Plugins: Native JS components — no jQuery dependency now.
• Sass Source: Source code in Sass for easy customization.
• Utility Classes: Tons of helper classes for spacing, colors, displays.
• Theming Support: Customizable via Sass variables.

Advantages of Bootstrap

• Fast Setup: Quickly spin up pages with minimal styling needed.
• Consistency Across Browsers: Ensures uniform UI elements.
• Large Ecosystem: Thousands of themes, templates, starters available
• Modular: Easily import only needed components via Sass.
• Strong Community: Longstanding support and wide adoption.

Disadvantages of Bootstrap

• Learning Curve: Advanced customization requires more expertise
• Overuse of Classes: Cluttered HTML, harder to maintain.
• Heavy File Size: Includes unnecessary CSS/JS, increasing load times.
• Limited Customization: Hard to deeply customize without overriding defaults.
• Uniform Design: Sites can look similar unless customized heavily.

What is Open Props?

Open Props is a modern CSS framework built entirely around CSS custom properties (variables). Instead of sending prebuilt UI components or heavy utility classes, it provides a set of reusable design tokens that you can apply anywhere. Think of it as a toolbox of modern CSS features rather than a ready-made UI kit.

It’s not a traditional framework like Bootstrap or Tailwind. Instead, it’s closer to a design system foundation—a library of variables for colors, typography, shadows, gradients, animations, spacing, and sizes. Developers can use these variables in raw CSS, Sass, or even combine them with other frameworks.

Because it’s framework-agnostic, Open Props works well with plain HTML, React, Vue, Angular, or even with utility-first libraries like Tailwind.

Key Features of Open Props

×

• Design Tokens Out-of-the-Box: Colors, gradients, fonts, shadows, borders, animations, spacing.
• Framework-Agnostic: Works with vanilla CSS, SCSS, PostCSS, Tailwind, or any frontend setup.
• Utility Classes (Optional): Comes with optional helpers like margin: var(--size-3).
• Theming Made Simple: Supports dark/light mode with just a few variable overrides.
• Modern CSS-Only: No JavaScript, only pure CSS properties.
• Lightweight by Design: Extremely small bundle size compared to component-heavy frameworks.
• CDN Ready: Drop in via a <link> or import with NPM.

Advantages of Open Props

• Flexible: Can be used standalone or alongside other CSS frameworks.
• Theming Support: Switch to dark mode or brand colors by redefining tokens.
• Beginner-Friendly: Easy for anyone who already knows CSS variables.
• Ultra Lightweight: Just variables, no unnecessary bloat.
• Encourages Best Practices: Pushes developers towards scalable, token-based design systems.
• Easy to Customize: Override props once to apply across your project.

Disadvantages of Open Props

• Small Community: Limited templates, examples, and resources compared to Bootstrap/Tailwind.
• Not Plug-and-Play: Great for design systems, but not ideal if you want instant UI.
• No Prebuilt Components: You’ll need to design buttons, modals, navbars yourself.
• Challenging Learning Curve for Beginners: Requires understanding of CSS variables and design tokens.