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Comment by metalliqaz | Hacker News Reader

Honest question from a non-web dev. Are these things actually used for real working websites? Are there any examples other than landing pages and blog posts?

One of the things that keeps me from using a web platform on my projects is that I don't want to have to worry about aesthetics. With good ole Windows, I drop some controls and buttons into a designer and I know it is going to look pretty good and be obviously functional to all users. I don't have time to place individual lines and worry about the alignment of shading and curves. Projects like Bootstrap interest me because they offer a way for me to focus on function rather than looks, however I never seem them in action for something substantial. Say, a financial accounts manager.

Are there projects out there using these templates for such purposes?

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These tools: bootstrap, material, etc. seem to be exactly what you need. They make sure your style is consistent and looks good without too much work. You can then configure the framework to make it look unique to your application. My impression is these frameworks are used all over the place in production, they are just customized so you might not recognize them. The last three companies I’ve worked at, one used angular material, one used bootstrap, and one had a custom css framework. The later had a tendency to build internal frameworks instead of new product and is suffering the consequences.

We're using Bootstrap for our site, Podium: https://podium.live. It was a great way to get started, we had a decent looking app for a while, then once we could hire a designer we were able to modify where needed. It really does make a difference.

Quick side note. Does anyone else notice the startling lack of information density on these pages. Compare it to hacker news. You have to scroll the window to see the introductory text. That's insane.

I agree with you, @metalliqaz: I personally have a hard time seeing how these examples can map to more business focused projects with the examples being just landing pages and blog posts.

@axelut maybe you can shed some light on why the examples don't cover a layout you would expect for, say a CRM app? Here's what I'm missing in your examples:

- Lists or Tables which can be filtered / sorted - In-line editing of List (or Table) items - In-line / pop-up / card-based detail drill-down of List (or Table) items - CRUD methods

Thanks.

there is a market for "fast food like" websites. The client has little money, and he wants the site done by tomorrow. He also has no idea what he wants to put on his own website...

One tell-tale sign are the portfolio links from web agencies that link to dead sites. The client paid for the site, the theme, one year of hosting etc. After the year was up he saw no reason to continue.

Used Bootstrap on our customer-facing portal for years and in a recent rewrite. Additionally, many websites build atop of Bootstrap as the foundation. Almost all of the admin themes on ThemeForest, for example, are built using Bootstrap, and provide rich "app" functionality.

Here are some big sites that currently, or have previously, use Bootstrap:

walmart.com target.com nba.com spotify.com nasa.gov fifa.com & many more.

Using something like this can save hours and win a client over (shallow souls) on some basic web internal business app.

Are you referring to developing a windows standalone application in C#?

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