2025 UPDATE

We have updated this blog post to include the new features available up to 2025 since its original publication in 2020.

Tailwind CSS vs Bootstrap

Bootstrap has been the main framework for making responsive, mobile-first websites in web development. Its 12-column grid system made designing easier, but its common use has made many websites look the same. Tailwind CSS is a new option that offers more customization and originality.

The Evolution of Bootstrap

Bootstrap, a veteran in the web framework arena, has been a cornerstone for responsive and mobile-first websites. Its 12-column grid system and pre-designed components have been staples for developers. With the release of Bootstrap 5, significant improvements were introduced, including the transition to vanilla JavaScript, enhancing the grid system, and offering better component customization. These updates have maintained Bootstrap’s relevance in web development.

Tailwind CSS for advanced customization

Tailwind CSS is different because it focuses on utilities first. It gives you basic utility classes to make your own designs in HTML. This lets you create a design that’s really your own, showing off your brand and ideas.

By 2025, Tailwind CSS has advanced, offering developers huge customization options. Its latest versions, including Tailwind CSS 3.0 and beyond, have introduced experimental features that give developers more power to create unique and tailored designs. Tailwind's capability to avoid the "cookie-cutter" look that Bootstrap can sometimes cause makes it a favorite for those who want to stand out.

Installing and using Tailwind CSS

Starting with Tailwind CSS is easy. You can add it to your project with npm using the command npm install tailwindcss, or try it with Tailwind’s CLI tool. Tailwind also has a CDN for quick tests, but installing it locally is better for full customization. New plugins and tools have enhanced the Tailwind ecosystem, offering developers a rich set of options to streamline their workflow.

Optimizing Tailwind CSS for production

Tailwind CSS’s initial file size may seem big at first, but with PurgeCSS, which gets rid of CSS you don’t use, the final file can be very small. By removing styles that aren’t used in your project, the resulting CSS file can be as small as 10kb when compressed. This makes Tailwind a lightweight and fast framework for production environments.

Tailwind CSS in real-world applications

At Lucky Media, we’ve seen how good Tailwind CSS is in our work. Tailwind has greatly boosted our productivity, whether we’re making custom websites with Statamic or complex web apps with Laravel. Our designers and developers work well together, and Tailwind’s utility classes fit our design needs from Figma.

Conclusion

Even though many developers still use Bootstrap, Tailwind CSS is a new choice for those who want to make unique designs. It meets the need for original, custom-made websites today and lets developers create freely.

This article is part of our ongoing series, "Which technologies do we use and why?", where we explain the technologies that we use on a daily basis and the reasons behind our choices.

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