Most Web designers do not use CSS frameworks.
I’ve been hanging around CSS tricks which I didn’t visit for quite some time. It happens that Chris Coyier, Css Tricks editor, made a survey on the use of CSS frameworks. These are used to rapidly prototype website designs. I have jotted on some of them around on the Web Design Bureau : 960gs and Blueprint. As things go on, these are useful tools but I don’t use them as I have my own way of developing websites and writing my own code. I also have a tendency, when I am the code master, to code things from scratch following specific design patterns.
Now, if you don’t use a framework, it doesn’t mean you’re a dork. You might just not have time to try and master a tool or have difficulties that any developer has to dive into other people’s code. I, for some time, thought that I was not doing a good thing for not using frameworks and I have tried some of them. I would like to stress that frameworks should be used for rapid prototyping, I don’t think that they’re good groundwork for complete integration. You might want to have complete control over your code.
All in all, my thoughts were confirmed in reading the CSS Frameworks survey results. I don’t have anything against them but I just like to control and throw my own code. The poll confirms that over 50% of the Web designers (answering it) do not use any framework. Others do use frameworks but the results are disseminated among a variety of those and many build their own. If we look at things the other way round it also means that around 30% of Web designers are using frameworks, meaning that these are gaining as design patterns and standards.
I think that it takes time to master a framework and this is whart hinders their progress in the community. It might change with time and who knows, I might myself be in the new riders of frameworks.
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IMHO I think using CSS frameworks is great. I used to write CSS from scratch, but rapidly I found myself reinventing the wheel again and again! Then I discovered YUI grids and since then I never looked back. Coupled with Blueprint CSS framework, I can save a lot of time with my coding. An example is the http://www.orange.mu portal, which used the YUI grids + a tuned version of Blueprint CSS framework. I encourage you start trying these, will save you a lot of time
Asvin
Thanks for you input Asvin. I’ve worked on YUI grids and tried blueprint. I also worked on the Orange IT & Labs site in France. CSS frameworks are still interesting for quickly building prototypes and though I won’t say that I have my own framework, I’ve got my own CSS design library which I use. I might start looking into more details of blueprint but I need time to do this. Anyways, nice to see someone actually really use these solutions, especially in Mauritius.