In Awe of Semantic UI
22 Feb 2018As a student and a future developer, it is important for to find many solutions to different problems. HTML and CSS are important steps to learn when learning the basics. As one gets better and more comfortable with the language, the next step is to take efficiency into account. Although one has to relearn the different classes and the syntax of Semantic UI, there are many benefits when one becomes proficient at it. This includes a nicer layout with less CSS code due to the new classes that are introduced in Semantic UI. It is also faster as I can divert most of my attention to coding in the index rather than improving my CSS. Semantic UI feels like “cheat codes” for people who don’t want to improve their CSS skills. This does not mean that learning CSS is not important, as one needs their fundamental building blocks before disregarding CSS completely and to just rely on Semantic UI.
Going from Javascript to HTML/CSS was a decent jump for me as it was my first time
experiencing HTML/CSS. Once I started learning it, I gradually wanted to learn and improve
more as it is a very open language that allows me to be creative and express myself in site
design. Learning Semantic UI was confusing at first as I didn’t understand why I did not have to
call any classes in CSS, until I realized that there is already code within the class when I
inspected it using developer tools. 
When making subclasses within Semantic UI in the CSS file,
there has to be a space after the Semantic UI class or the class doesn’t run. This syntax format
gave me many headaches during the practice and Danny wods, as I didn’t understand why my
CSS changes weren’t going through. I also made the same mistake on the Hardrock WOD as
my changes weren’t going through again until I fixed my syntax errors. This is just a habit that I
have to learn to develop if I want to improve on my efficiency where I do not have to look for
simple syntax errors and I can focus on functions and designs.
UI frameworks is a great option for developers who want to branch off to something new after already being proficient in HTML/CSS. It gives them more options for other designs that are more complicated when just coding with raw HTML/CSS. Having more options for different classes, allow for a wider design range where developers can pitch to their audience. Customers do not enjoy seeing the same product over and over again. It is smart to have a wide spread of designs that people could choose from to expand your business and one’s expertise.