Tachyons vs. Fomantic-UI
By SW Habitation
Tachyons
Fomantic-UI
You know how building a website can feel like a lot, especially when you’re trying to style every little thing yourself? Buttons, forms, layouts… it adds up fast. That’s where UI frameworks really save the day. They give you a bunch of premade design elements that you can just drop in and go. It’s like having a design starter pack that helps your site look clean and professional, without spending forever tweaking the details.
What isTachyons?
Tachyons is a functional/atomic CSS framework that uses small, reusable utility classes. Instead of big UI components or deeply nested CSS, Tachyons encourages developers to style elements using many tiny, single-purpose classes.
Let's check by the example,
1
2
3
<button class="f6 link dim br3 ph3 pv2 mb2 dib white bg-dark-blue">
Click Me!
</button>Here, each class f6, br3, ph3 controls a specific CSS property like font size, border radius, padding, etc. This modular approach makes styling predictable and reusable.
Tachyons was one of the innovator of the utility-first CSS movement—it influenced modern frameworks like Tailwind.
Key Features of Tachyons
- Atomic CSS Classes: Every class does one thing (e.g., pa3 = padding).
- Responsive Utilities: Classes adapt to multiple screen sizes.
- Small Bundle Size: Around 14KB minified & gzipped.
- Performance-Oriented: Encourages minimal CSS output.
- Accessible Defaults: Typography and spacing built for readability.
- Framework-Free: Works with plain HTML, React, Vue, or any frontend.
- Rapid Prototyping: Compose UIs quickly with utility classes.
Advantages of Tachyons
- Stable: Mature and widely battle-tested since 2015.
- Highly Composable: Mix classes freely to achieve complex designs.
- Consistent: Predictable, reusable naming system.
- Fast & Lightweight: Tiny CSS footprint.
- Great for Prototypes: Quickly test ideas without writing custom CSS.
- Utility-First Approach: No deep CSS overrides needed.
Disadvantages of Tachyons
- Smaller Community: Fewer themes, templates, and ecosystem resources.
- Messy HTML: Can lead to class-heavy markup that’s harder to read.
- No Components: You must build everything (buttons, navbars, modals) manually.
- Learning Curve: Class names (pa3, f5) are shorthand and non-intuitive for beginners.
- Not Actively Maintained: Less frequent updates compared to newer frameworks.
What is Fomantic-UI?
Fomantic-UI is a modern version of the popular Semantic UI, made and improved by the community. It is a tool for building websites that are responsive, easy to style, and user-friendly, fast.
It focuses on semantic class names that read like natural language, making code more intuitive and easier to understand. Since it’s a fork, it has continued where Semantic UI left off, with new features, updates, and active maintenance by the community.
Key Features of Fomantic-UI
- Human-Friendly Classes: Semantic class names like ui button, ui card, ui grid.
- Rich Components: Buttons, forms, modals, dropdowns, cards, tabs, and more.
- JavaScript Behaviors: Built-in behaviors for modals, accordions, dropdowns, sliders, etc.
- Responsive Grid: Powerful 16-column responsive grid system.
- Theming System: Fully themable with LESS variables and customization options.
- Extensible: Modular build — include only what you need.
- Community-Powered: Active development and updates compared to the abandoned Semantic UI.
Advantages of Fomantic-UI
- Full-Featured: Includes both CSS components and JavaScript behaviors.
- Rich UI Library: Over 50 components for quick UI building.
- Readable Code: Natural-language style class names make HTML easier to read.
- All-in-One Framework: No need to rely on external JS for basic UI behaviors.
- Strong Theming Support: Easily customizable with LESS variables.
- Community Driven: Regularly updated and maintained by the community.
Disadvantages of Fomantic-UI
- Requires jQuery: JavaScript behaviors still depend on jQuery.
- Learning Curve: Semantic-style class names may feel unusual for new developers.
- LESS Dependency: Built on LESS, which is less popular today compared to Sass or CSS-in-JS.
- Not as Popular: Smaller ecosystem compared to Bootstrap or Tailwind CSS.
- Heavy File Size: Larger compared to lightweight frameworks like Bulma or Milligram.
Comparison Between Tachyons vs Fomantic-UI
Use Cases of Tachyons
- Rapid prototyping and MVPs.
- Building custom UIs without depending on pre-styled components.
- Designers who want total control over design instead of prebuilt themes.
- Developers who like atomic/functional CSS.
- Lightweight projects where performance is critical.
Use Cases of Fomantic-UI
- Teams migrating from Semantic UI: Seamless replacement with updates and support.
- Enterprise Web Apps: Strong theming and responsive layout capabilities.
- Prototypes: Quickly build UI with semantic classes.
- Admin Dashboards: Ready-to-use components and JS behaviors.
- Apps Requiring Complex UI: Dropdowns, modals, tabs, accordions built in.
Other Resources
Conclusion
UI frameworks make building a polished website way easier. Whether you're working on something simple or a big project, they help you get things looking just right without having to stress over every little design decision. With ready-to-use components, responsive layouts, and modern styles, you can build faster and smarter.
So, pick one that works for you, and start creating a site that looks amazing from the get-go.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start using Tachyons?
Include via CDN, install with npm, or build a custom version with PostCSS.
What makes Tachyons different?
Tachyons is utility-first and functional using small, single-purpose classes combined directly in HTML.
How big is Tachyons?
Very lightweight, under 14 KB gzipped, and you can slim it down further by removing unused modules.
Can I customize Tachyons?
Yes, through custom builds, CSS variables, or tools like Components AI for theming.
Is Tachyons enough for UI development?
Yes, many developers build full, responsive, and accessible UIs using only Tachyons plus basic CSS knowledge.
What is the difference between Semantic UI and Fomantic-UI?
Fomantic-UI is a community-driven fork of Semantic UI. While Semantic UI is no longer actively maintained, Fomantic continues development with updates and improvements.
Does Fomantic-UI need JavaScript?
Yes, for interactive components like modals, accordions, dropdowns, and tabs. It relies on jQuery for JavaScript behaviors.
Is Fomantic-UI beginner-friendly?
Yes, especially for developers who like readable class names for example, ui button. But it may take some time to adjust if you’re coming from Bootstrap or Tailwind.
Can I use Fomantic-UI with React or Vue?
Yes, but since it depends on jQuery, you may need extra configuration or wrappers like Semantic UI React though it’s not fully tied to Fomantic updates.
Is Fomantic-UI still maintained?
Yes, the community is actively maintaining it with frequent updates and bug fixes, unlike the original Semantic UI.