Experience with Coreframework Regarding Bloat and Future-Proofing

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Hello everyone :slight_smile:

I’ve been thinking a lot about whether or not to use a CSS framework with Bricks. The main reason behind my consideration is, of course, the consistency that a CSS framework brings. Before I shifted my focus more towards WordPress, I worked a lot with TailwindCSS, which I absolutely loved! It was also a huge time saver because I didn’t have to manually create all the classes for every new project, only the ones I needed beyond Tailwind.

However, when it comes to WordPress, I’m a bit unsure about using such a framework. I’ve read that Coreframework interferes with the page to the extent that if it’s uninstalled, the entire styling breaks. Naturally, this is something I want to avoid. In general, I try to keep the number of WordPress plugins I use to a minimum, based on my experiences with past companies I’ve worked for.

So, I have two questions:

  1. Is it true that the website’s styling will break if I remove Coreframework at some point?
  2. Are there alternatives to frameworks like Coreframework/ACSS/etc.? I noticed that in Bricks, there’s an option to import variables as JSON. Would it make more sense to create a custom CSS framework tailored to my needs and import it directly into Bricks? I understand that variables alone don’t make a complete CSS framework, but it seems like a good start if I can upload all the variables as a .json file for each project.

Additionally, I’ve seen that “Fluid Typography” is on the Bricks roadmap. Could this be a reason to skip a framework altogether, especially if I don’t need other features like colors from Coreframework?

Also, has anyone had positive experiences with performance and page speed when using frameworks like these within WordPress and Bricks?

Thanks in advance for your responses! :slight_smile:

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If you don’t want the plugin on the site, you can always export the complete css and save it in the custom css field in bricks settings, or a stylesheet in bricks child theme. See this academy article. Child Theme – Bricks Academy

The plugin is great for customizing the framework, and with the bricks add on, it makes building in bricks with the framework much easier. But once everything is completed, as long as the framework is stored and can reference it somewhere else, you don’t need the plugin.

Just one idea of what you can do.

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Thank you very much for your message! It really helped me! :blush: :heart:

If I uninstall the plugin later, most likely only the CSS will remain. Do you have any experience with how Coreframework (with or without the plugin) impacts the performance of your site(s)? Without the plugin, it shouldn’t have much impact on performance, right?

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Honestly, I don’t notice anything, but I only deal with one site so I don’t have much to go by.

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Using Tailwind CSS with Bricks

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