Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Apache Cordova VS HTML5 Boilerplate

Compare Apache Cordova VS HTML5 Boilerplate and see what are their differences

Apache Cordova logo Apache Cordova

Platform for building native mobile applications using HTML, CSS and JavaScript

HTML5 Boilerplate logo HTML5 Boilerplate

A rock-solid default for HTML5 awesome.
  • Apache Cordova Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-17
  • HTML5 Boilerplate Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30

Apache Cordova features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Development
    Apache Cordova enables developers to build applications for multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, etc.) using a single codebase, which saves time and resources.
  • Use of Web Technologies
    Cordova allows the use of standard web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making it accessible for web developers to create mobile applications without needing to learn platform-specific languages.
  • Extensive Plugin Ecosystem
    Cordova provides a wide range of plugins that enable access to native device functionalities (such as the camera, accelerometer, GPS, etc.), allowing for more versatile app development.
  • Cost Effective
    By reducing the need for multiple native developers and leveraging a single web development team, Cordova can significantly cut down the costs of application development.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Apache Cordova benefits from community support and contributions, leading to continuous improvements and a wealth of shared knowledge and code.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Cordova

  • Performance Issues
    Applications built with Cordova may experience performance issues, especially with complex graphical or computational tasks, as they are essentially web applications wrapped in a native container.
  • Limited Native Functionality
    Although Cordova provides many plugins, accessing the latest native features often requires custom development, which can be complicated and time-consuming.
  • Dependency on Plugins
    Developers often rely heavily on third-party plugins to access native features. If these plugins are not well-maintained, they can introduce compatibility issues and bugs.
  • User Experience
    The user experience of Cordova-based apps may not be as smooth or responsive as fully native applications, potentially leading to lower user satisfaction.
  • Security Concerns
    Using multiple plugins and technologies can increase the surface area for security vulnerabilities. Also, web-based applications can be more susceptible to common web security issues.

HTML5 Boilerplate features and specs

  • Standardized Best Practices
    HTML5 Boilerplate incorporates industry-standard best practices for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, ensuring a robust foundation for web development projects.
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility
    The template includes code that helps ensure compatibility across different web browsers, reducing the likelihood of rendering issues.
  • Performance Optimization
    The project includes performance optimizations like caching rules and minified files, helping to boost site speed and improve user experience.
  • Security Enhancements
    HTML5 Boilerplate comes with built-in security features such as sensible default security settings and recommendations, making the project more secure out-of-the-box.
  • Responsive Design
    The templates provide a responsive grid layout and other responsive design features that ensure sites look good on various screen sizes.
  • Documentation and Community Support
    Extensive documentation and a strong community make it easier for developers to understand and use HTML5 Boilerplate effectively.

Possible disadvantages of HTML5 Boilerplate

  • Learning Curve
    While documentation is excellent, beginners might find the extensive setup and various options overwhelming at first.
  • Overhead for Small Projects
    The default setup includes many features that might be unnecessary for small or simple projects, leading to potential overhead.
  • Customization Required
    Developers often need to customize the default settings to fit specific requirements, which can add to the initial setup time.
  • Dependence on External Libraries
    It may include or recommend certain libraries or frameworks which might not be necessary for every project, leading to potential bloat.
  • Not Always Up-to-Date
    Despite active maintenance, there can be periods where the project doesn't immediately incorporate the latest web development trends and technologies.

Apache Cordova videos

Apache Cordova - Hello World from Android and iOS

More videos:

  • Review - What’s Your View on Apache Cordova?

HTML5 Boilerplate videos

HTML5 Tutorials #5 - HTML5 Boilerplate

More videos:

  • Review - Paul Irish on HTML5 Boilerplate
  • Review - An introduction to HTML5 Boilerplate v5.0

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Cordova and HTML5 Boilerplate)
Development Tools
88 88%
12% 12
CSS Framework
0 0%
100% 100
JavaScript Framework
100 100%
0% 0
Design Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Cordova and HTML5 Boilerplate

Apache Cordova Reviews

Top 10 Flutter Alternatives for Cross-Platform App Development
Developed by Apache Cordova, PhoneGap is used extensively for developing cross-platform mobile with the use of several web technologies. It lets developers write code by using HTML, CSS & JavaScript and package it as a native app. Being a simple framework, it includes the largest collection of plugins that extend its wide functionality.
Top 5 Flutter Alternatives for Cross-Platform Development
Apache Cordova is an open-source mobile development framework that lets you create cross-platform apps using standard web technologies like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Like NativeScript, Apache Cordova is more accessible to developers comfortable with web development, especially Angular or VueJS.
Source: www.miquido.com
Exploring 15 Powerful Flutter Alternatives
Oracle Mobile Application Framework (MAF) offers cross-platform development using standards like HTML5 and JavaScript containerized via Apache Cordova. Oracle MAF delivers excellent offline support capabilities matching the needs of field service teams and remote inspectors. With tools like Oracle Database and middleware, MAF apps cache relevant data subsets locally while...
Top 10 Android Studio Alternatives For App Development
Apache Cordova is used for building mobile applications with the help of HTML, CSS, and Javascript. It is an open-source mobile application development framework that was created by Nitobi.
10 Best Android Studio Alternatives For App Development
Apache Cordova is a tool to develop Android App Development. It enables software engineers to build apps for Android mobile phones. Using HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript instead of relying on platform-specific APIs. Like those in Android, iOS or Windows phones. When you are using Apache Cordova APIs, an app can be developed without any native code (like Java, objective-C, etc.) from...
Source: techdator.net

HTML5 Boilerplate Reviews

15 Best CSS Frameworks: Professional Bootstrap and Foundation Alternatives
Even though Bootstrap is relatively easy to learn, it is much more than just a front-end template. So what if you need a fully compatible JavaScript, CSS3, and HTML5 template? In this case, HTML5 Boilerplate is a good choice.
20 Best Front-End Frameworks For Bootstrap Alternative
Just like its name, HTML5 Boilerplate provides you HTML5 ready template that has been optimized to meet the most standard of HTML new features. By using this template, you can create a fast, robust and responsive site that is able to adapt to any kind of browser, even the old ones like Internet Explorer.
Source: beebom.com
15 Fabulous Alternatives to Bootstrap, Foundation and Skeleton
HTML5 Boilerplate is a collective effort of prominent web developers in the industry. This platform is perfect for designing adaptable websites that work without any performance issues.
Source: www.agriya.com
The 21 Most Used Bootstrap Alternatives
HTML5 Boilerplate helps you build fast, robust, and adaptable web apps or sites. Kick-start your project with the combined knowledge and effort of 100s of developers, all in one little package.
8 Bootstrap Alternatives
HTML5 Boilerplate isn’t really a framework but rather it is a professional front-end template to give you a head start building a robust and adaptable web app. Boilerplate comes baked with Modernizr, Normalize.css and jQuery to help you create pages that work across browsers and can adapt to browsers that don’t offer support for certain features.
Source: modernweb.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Cordova should be more popular than HTML5 Boilerplate. It has been mentiond 44 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Cordova mentions (44)

  • Show HN: I Made a Web App to Bring Children's Drawings to Life
    This is truly amazing. Is there a 'How it Works' a 'Potentials' section? I work with things that push to inspire creativity and learning to foster the passion behind creativity and authentic works where otherwise we'd see how 'AI copies our work' and now we can see how AI can bring works to life and make them more fun. Over-all would you like to see schools adopting your project? I didn't see a contact form but... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • PWAs wont replace native iOS apps
    Anyone have experience with/opinions on Apache Cordova? [1] It seems like it would solve most of the PWA issues. Although I vaguely recall reading that Apple is not too fond of apps that are basically just wrapped web views. [1] https://cordova.apache.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • What's the latest way of submitting pwas to the app stores?
    Has anyone tried pwa builder?[2] Thank you for any insights! [0]https://cordova.apache.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Why does everyone "suddenly" hate Single Page Apps?
    A little over a decade ago, I worked on the open-source project Apache Cordova/Adobe PhoneGap, first at IBM and later at Adobe. Apache Cordova enables you to build mobile applications using HTML, CSS and JavaScript while targeting multiple platforms with one code base. In today’s technology landscape, mobile is dominated by iOS and Android. In the early 2010’s we were awash in mobile platforms from BlackBerry,... - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • The right way to build multi platform apps in 2023 using web tech. ?
    There are layers that offer access to native APIs like capacitor, cordova and nativescript. Apparently sometimes multiple of them should be used, but I didn't understand what are the differences even after reading the announcement. These seem to be frontend agnostic technologies and Capacitor is apparently the more modern choice at the moment. Source: over 2 years ago
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HTML5 Boilerplate mentions (18)

  • How to Write a Good index.html File
    Also, if you want a starter template that goes further than just the index.html file, you might want to check out HTML5 Boilerplate. It's a great resource to get up an running really fast when building a Progressive Web App. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • html5 boilerplate with bootstrap
    Download the HTML5 Boilerplate template from the official website (https://html5boilerplate.com/). You can choose to download the standard or the enhanced version, depending on your needs. Source: about 2 years ago
  • How to create a basic webpage. Hey everyone , I need to create a basic web page that has a few hyperlinks at the top, some pictures, and a few paragraphs. I have no clue how to start this, first time doing something like this. Any advice / tips?
    Also https://html5boilerplate.com might be good starting point. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Web Developer path
    Learn to a medium degree of proficiency HTML and CSS. Dig through something like the source code for https://html5boilerplate.com/ and try to understand why they're doing the things that they're doing. Learn Git and use it in practice. Even if you're just working on your own code. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Do you still use HTML5 Boilerplate when starting new projects? what are alternatives?
    Do you guys still use HTML5 Boilerplate when starting new projects? Https://html5boilerplate.com/. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Cordova and HTML5 Boilerplate, you can also consider the following products

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

Materialize CSS - A modern responsive front-end framework based on Material Design

PhoneGap - Easily create apps using the web technologies you know and love: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Bootstrap - Simple and flexible HTML, CSS, and JS for popular UI components and interactions

Ionic - Ionic is a cross-platform mobile development stack for building performant apps on all platforms with open web technologies.

Foundation - The most advanced responsive front-end framework in the world