Choose the right React framework/Best Reacts Frameworks

Alexandre Colon
Sep 8, 2018 · 6 min read

Hi ! My name is Alexander, and this year I learned ReactJs !

ReactJs appeared in 2013 and knew a big success, and indeed, it is very cool and effective to use !

I learned React during a short period in a carSharing company, and I decided to learn more and restart a new React project !

But after a few moments, a question came into my mind … Which framework should I use ?

It’s a very important question, why ?

  • The quality of the components is very important
  • It have to be customizable
  • It have to be stable
  • It have to be up to date, and the version have to be ok
  • etc …

So there are a lot, and a loooooot of good reasons for which one it is important to choose THE good framework for your project !

So, I tried some of the mosts famous React frameworks to help you to make the right decision ! (Yes I did.)

So here the framework I tried for you :

  • Material Ui
  • Ant Design
  • Bootstrap
  • ToolBox
  • Semantic

And, at the end of this article I will give you a tab with the marks I give to each framework depending of some specifications and a final mark !


So, let’s begin with Material Ui ! (https://material-ui.com)

Actual version : v.3.0.2

Still in development : Yes

Number of components : There are 111 components in the API components list (Also available in the Demo components list). Material is very effective and propose you a lot of components !

Easy to install and use : Material UI is incredible, he is very easy to install and to use, the documentation is complete

Design : The design is very cool, in fact, Material UI implement Google’s material design, which are very beautiful !

My view : Material UI is a very good React Framework, you have access to a lot of beautiful components, and it is very professional. I worked a lot with Material UI when I started React, and I never regretted this choice !

Here two exemple of what we can do with Material UI :

https://demos.creative-tim.com/material-kit-react/?_ga=2.99385310.111020758.1536072610-1438615030.1530944608#/

https://demos.creative-tim.com/material-dashboard-react/?_ga=2.23967482.111020758.1536072610-1438615030.1530944608#/dashboard


Now, let’s see Ant Design ! (https://ant.design)

Actual version : v.3.9.1

Still in development : Yes

Number of components : There are 57 principals components (Buttons, Menus etc… ) but every principals components have components, which make Ant Design very complete !

Easy to install and use : Ant Design is very easy to install and to use, the documentation is very useful and complete !

Design : In terms of design, Ant Design is a very good choice, the components are very sample and effective, and you have a large choice and possibilities to make !

My view : Such as Material UI, Ant Design is a very good choice, it’s a big framework well documented with a lot of components !


Now let’s talk about React Bootstrap ! (https://react-bootstrap.github.io)

Actual version : 0.32.3

Still in development : Yes

Number of components : 20

Easy to install and use : Yes, but it is not very completed, the documentation is pretty small, you only have explication of how to install the framework and some little explications … !

Design : The design is simple and beautiful, but you don’t have a large choice of components !

My view : It is not a bad framework but if you want to do a professional project I don’t recommend it to you, the version is not stable and the evolution is not very good. But, if you have to do a little project and you love the components … !


(http://react-toolbox.io/#/)

Actual version : v2.0.0-beta

Still in development : Not Really

Number of components : 28

Easy to install and use : ToolBox is easy to install and use, but in fact, just as Bootstrap, the documentation is not incredible, but you can do the most important things with no difficulties !

Design : Just as Material UI, there are using Google design, the result is good !

My view : React Toolbox is not a good choice for a few reasons, first, when you take a look on the github of the project, you can see that the most recent commit was made 2 months ago, and most of the folder, commits was made 1 years, 2 or 3 years ago … The design of the components is the same than Material UI, so if you like it, you know what choice you have to do !


And now, the last one, Semantic UI React ! (https://react.semantic-ui.com)

Actual version : v0.82.3

Still in development : Yes

Number of components : There are approximately 50 principals components, and such as Ant Design, every principals components propose you a lot of components !

Easy to install and use : Yes, Semantic is very well documented, and propose you a lot of thing to help you to use the framework

Design : Semantic UI React was made for the people who loved Semantic UI, which is use for a lot of very famous websites ! The design is very simple and beautiful, it is very versatility ! The only big default, is the version which is not very stable yet, but I think it will be good in the future !


When there is a “P” on the right of the number of components, it means that this is the number of principals components and the that there are a lot of versions of theses components*


CONCLUSION:

This is just my view : For me, if you want to make a serious project, material UI and Ant Design are the better options. Theses two frameworks are up to date, well documented, you can customize components and the components are very goods and beautiful. Semantic is also very good, but the version is still not very stable yet, but I think it will change in the future! You can use Bootstrap but for me it is not a good choice for serious projects, and I do not recommend to use ToolBox because he has to much defaults for me …

Thanks for reading and good luck with your projects !

TheGreatLebowski

Epita’s student since 2015, lover of Python and ReactJs

Alexandre Colon

Written by

TheGreatLebowski

Epita’s student since 2015, lover of Python and ReactJs

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