Tailwind CSS vs. Milligram CSS
By SW Habitation
Tailwind CSS
Milligram CSS
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 is Tailwind CSS?
Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that allows developers to design user interfaces by applying atomic utility classes directly in markup. Rather than offering prebuilt UI components, it empowers developers with building blocks to create fully customized and performance-optimized designs.
Key features of Tailwind CSS
- JIT Engine: Builds only the styles you use, resulting in small and fast CSS bundles.
- Utility-First Classes: Apply styling via single-purpose classes like p-4, text-sm, or bg-red-500.
- Design Tokens: Consistent spacing, sizing, and color scales across your design.
- Framework-Agnostic: Compatible with React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, and plain HTML.
- Plugin Ecosystem: Extend with official and community plugins for forms, typography, etc.
- Responsive Design: Built-in mobile-first breakpoints using prefixes like sm:, md: etc.
- Dark Mode Support: Easily implement dark mode using dark: variants or media strategies.
- No Custom Class Naming: Skip naming headaches now you can directly compose your layout visually with utility classes.
Advantages of Tailwind CSS
- No CSS Context Switching: All styling lives right in the markup — no need to jump between HTML and CSS.
- Framework Independence: Works with any modern frontend stack without restrictions.
- Design Control: Gives developers full control over the UI without being locked into component styling.
- Highly Customizable: Themes, spacing, fonts, and colors can be tailored to any brand or project.
- Consistent Design Language: Utility classes encourage consistency across the app.
- Great Ecosystem: Strong community support, tons of plugins, UI kits, and templates available.
- Performance Optimized: Small CSS bundles with tree-shaking and JIT mean faster load times.
Disadvantages of Tailwind CSS
- Verbose HTML: HTML/JSX can become cluttered with many class names.
- Initial Setup Time: Customizing themes and config files may be overkill for small projects.
- Steep Learning Curve: Takes time to get used to utility classes, especially for those used to traditional CSS.
- No Built-in Components: Unlike Bootstrap or Chakra UI, you need to build components from scratch.
- Harder for Designers: Designers unfamiliar with utility-first might find it harder to collaborate.
What is Milligram CSS?
Milligram CSS is a minimalist CSS framework that weighs in at just 2KB gzipped, making it one of the lightest options available for developers who value speed and efficiency. It follows a clean, modern design approach with sensible defaults, so you can get started quickly without having to overwrite a ton of styles. Milligram uses the flexible grid system powered by Flexbox, making layouts intuitive and responsive right out of the box.
What makes Milligram stand out is its balance between simplicity and usability. Unlike heavier frameworks, it doesn’t come bundled with unnecessary UI components, which keeps your project lean and fast.
Key Features of Milligram CSS
- Easy to Use: Available via npm, Yarn, Bower, CDN, or CLI starter projects for quick setup.
- Roboto Typography: Uses Google’s Roboto font for clean text styling; easy to override if needed.
- Minimal Reset + Base Styles: Comes with normalization and essential styles for clean coding.
- Super Lightweight: Just ~2 KB when gzipped, making it lightning-fast.
- Essential UI Elements: Includes styles for typography, buttons, lists, forms, tables, blockquotes, grids, and utilities.
- Flexbox Grid System: Responsive, flexible layout using modern Flexbox, with customizable max width.
Advantages of Milligram CSS
- Ultra Lightweight: Minimal file size ensures speedy load times.
- Quick Setup: Plug-and-play means just include the CSS and you're good to go.
- Clean Base Style: Neutral, design-agnostic foundation for custom styling.
- Modern Layouts: Flexbox grid offers flexibility and responsiveness.
- Ideal for Prototypes: Great when you need a fast, clean UI baseline.
- No Build Required: Works without any preprocessing or configuration.
Disadvantages of Milligram CSS
- Not for Complex UIs: Best suited for simple layouts, not rich interactive interfaces.
- Limited Components: Does not include advanced UI like modals, dropdowns, or navbars.
- Smaller Ecosystem: Fewer templates, plugins, or community resources available.
- No JavaScript Support: Pure CSS, interactivity must be built separately.
- Typography Dependency: Defaults to Roboto, adds an external request unless changed.
Comparison Between Tailwind CSS vs Milligram CSS
Use Cases of Tailwind CSS
- High-performance marketing pages
- Web apps that need full control over UX and design
- Custom-designed SaaS dashboards
- Design systems with strict branding guidelines
- Mobile-first responsive web apps
Use Cases of Milligram CSS
- Landing Pages: Fast, mobile-friendly, and performance-focused.
- Educational Projects: Beginner-friendly for learning CSS.
- Minimalist Web Apps: For simple, fast, and lightweight projects.
- Quick Prototyping: Build clean UI prototypes quickly.
- Performance-First Sites: Perfect for JAMstack/static sites.
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
Is Tailwind a CSS framework like Bootstrap?
It's more of a utility-based toolkit. While Bootstrap gives you components, Tailwind gives you building blocks.
Can I use Tailwind with React?
Yes, Tailwind works seamlessly with React, Vue, Svelte, and even plain HTML.
How is Tailwind different from inline styles?
Tailwind uses a design system with responsive variants and consistent scaling — unlike random inline styles.
Does it support dark mode out of the box?
Yes. You can use dark: variants or configure custom strategies.
Is Milligram completely free?
Yes, Milligram is open-source and distributed under the MIT license.
How do I include Milligram in my project?
Install via npm/yarn/bower, use the CDN link, or leverage the Milligram CLI to generate a simple boilerplate.
Do I need any build tools to use Milligram?
Nope, just include the CSS file in your project’s <head> and you're set.
What is Milligram best suited for?
It’s ideal for quick prototypes, clean documentation pages, landing pages, and any performance-sensitive project looking for a minimal styling foundation.