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Tailwind CSS VS MiddleMan

Compare Tailwind CSS VS MiddleMan and see what are their differences

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  3. » Reviews
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Tailwind CSS logo Tailwind CSS

A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.

MiddleMan logo MiddleMan

A static site generator using all the shortcuts and tools in modern web development
  • Tailwind CSS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-13
  • MiddleMan Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-17

Tailwind CSS features and specs

  • Utility-First Approach
    Tailwind CSS uses a utility-first approach, promoting the use of small, reusable utility classes to style elements directly in your markup. This can lead to more readable and maintainable HTML.
  • Customization
    The framework is highly customizable. You can easily configure its default theme, add your extensions, and create custom utilities. Tailwind’s config file allows for deep customization of all aspects of the framework.
  • Consistent Design
    Using utility classes ensures design consistency because the same classes will apply the same styles globally.
  • Responsive Design
    Tailwind CSS has excellent built-in support for responsive design. You can easily apply different styles for different screen sizes using responsive utility variants.
  • Performance
    Tailwind purges unused CSS in production, resulting in smaller final output files and improved performance.
  • Integrates Well with Frameworks
    Tailwind CSS integrates smoothly with modern JavaScript frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular.
  • JIT Compiler
    The Just-in-Time (JIT) mode in Tailwind CSS generates styles on-demand, reducing the development build sizes and speeding up the development process.

Possible disadvantages of Tailwind CSS

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For developers coming from traditional CSS or other CSS frameworks, getting used to Tailwind's utility-first approach may take some time.
  • HTML Congestion
    Due to the utility-first approach, HTML files can get filled with numerous utility classes, making it look cluttered and harder to read.
  • Initial Setup
    Setting up Tailwind CSS initially can be complex, especially for beginners. Configuration settings and integrations with build tools can be confusing.
  • Verbosity
    Some developers find the inline utility classes verbose, particularly when complex styles are required, which can lead to bloated template files.
  • Limited Abstractions
    Tailwind doesn't provide higher-level abstractions such as components out of the box, like other frameworks (e.g., Bootstrap) do. Developers need to build and maintain these abstractions themselves.
  • Dependency Tailoring
    While Tailwind aims to be minimalistic, it may enforce some dependencies or build tool integrations that could be unnecessary for very simple projects.

MiddleMan features and specs

  • Static Site Generation
    Middleman is a static site generator, which means it can create fast, secure, and easily deployable websites without the need for a backend server.
  • Flexibility
    Middleman offers a high degree of flexibility, allowing developers to customize and extend their sites through a variety of plugins and third-party integrations.
  • Simplicity
    The platform simplifies the development process by providing a straightforward approach to creating static pages, allowing developers to focus on content and design.
  • Ruby-based
    As a Ruby-based framework, it integrates well with the Ruby ecosystem, making it an excellent choice for developers familiar with Ruby.
  • Easy Templating
    Middleman supports various templating engines like ERB, Haml, and Slim, enabling developers to use their preferred syntax for building web pages.

Possible disadvantages of MiddleMan

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For those not familiar with Ruby or static site generators, Middleman may have a steep learning curve, requiring additional time to become proficient.
  • Community Size
    Middleman has a smaller community compared to some other static site generators, which may result in fewer resources and less community support.
  • Complexity for Large Sites
    While excellent for smaller sites, managing large sites and content-heavy projects can become complex and cumbersome in Middleman.
  • Deployment
    Although static sites are easy to deploy in general, Middleman does not provide built-in deployment tools, requiring additional setup for deployment solutions.
  • Ruby Dependency
    Being dependent on Ruby, Middleman might not be suitable for teams or projects that do not use Ruby, thus limiting its adoption across different tech stacks.

Analysis of MiddleMan

Overall verdict

  • MiddleMan is a solid choice for developers looking for a Ruby-based static site generator. Its ease of use, combined with robust functionality and strong community support, makes it a reliable option. However, it might not be the best fit for those unfamiliar with Ruby or looking for a solution that requires minimal configuration.

Why this product is good

  • MiddleMan is a popular static site generator that is known for its simplicity and flexibility. It is ideal for developers who prefer to work with Ruby and want a tool that integrates smoothly into their existing workflow. MiddleMan provides a variety of extensions and configurations, allowing users to customize their static sites with ease. The active community and extensive documentation make it accessible for both beginners and experienced developers.

Recommended for

    MiddleMan is recommended for developers who are already comfortable with Ruby and are looking for a flexible, customizable solution for building static websites. It's particularly suited for those who appreciate extensive documentation and a wide range of community-driven extensions.

Tailwind CSS videos

+ Add

Why I Don't Like Tailwind CSS

More videos:

  • Review - Vanilla CSS vs Bootstrap vs Tailwind CSS - Which one should you choose?
  • Review - Get Started with Tailwind CSS in 15 Minutes

MiddleMan videos

+ Add

Reviewing The Middleman: The Complete Series Indispensability!

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to start a Middleman Transaction - Epicnpc.com
  • Review - Book Review : The Middleman by Shankar

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Tailwind CSS and MiddleMan)

Tailwind CSS

MiddleMan

Developer Tools
100 100%
Developer Tools
0% 0
CMS
0 0%
CMS
100% 100
Design Tools
100 100%
Design Tools
0% 0
Blogging
0 0%
Blogging
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 Tailwind CSS and MiddleMan

Tailwind CSS Reviews

  1. pat0rick
    Awesome framework

    I use it in all my current projects. It's easy to start and very customisable. Love it so much! I improved the speed of development 2x times by using Tailwind.

22 Best Bootstrap Alternatives & What Each Is Best For
Tailwind CSS comes with features such as responsive design, customizability, hover, focus, and active states out of the box. These enable developers to build sophisticated, interactive interfaces with ease. When it comes to integrations, Tailwind CSS can be integrated with popular front-end frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular, enhancing its utility across different...
Source: thectoclub.com
15 Top Bootstrap Alternatives For Frontend Developers in 2024
If you want to learn the valuable skill of Tailwind CSS, we highly recommend taking the "Tailwind CSS From Scratch" course by Brad Traversy on Udemy. In this introductory course, you will build great-looking layouts quickly and efficiently using Tailwind CSS utility classes.
Source: coursesity.com
10 Best Free React UI Libraries in 2023
TailwindCSS is a utility-first CSS framework designed to build modern and beautiful websites in no time. Here, utility class names define what to do. Each utility class comes with pre-defined CSS properties.
Source: www.wearedevelopers.com
11 Best Material UI Alternatives
Tailwind CSS promotes a modular approach to styling, where devs can combine classes to create unique and responsive designs. It offers utilities for layout, typography, colors, spacing, and more, allowing developers to create consistent and visually appealing interfaces with minimal effort.
Source: www.uxpin.com
Top 10 Best CSS Frameworks for Front-End Developers in 2022
Tailwind enables faster development of the front-end. Instead of a default theme or built-in UI components, you’d get pre-designed widget menus and utility classes to build your website. Tailwind has modular components, and if you make changes in one place, other parts of your code won’t get impacted. Tailwind requires the least amount of learning and is easy to use. You can...
Source: hackr.io

MiddleMan Reviews

We have no reviews of MiddleMan yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Tailwind CSS seems to be a lot more popular than MiddleMan. While we know about 1016 links to Tailwind CSS, we've tracked only 11 mentions of MiddleMan. 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.

Tailwind CSS mentions (1016)

  • MailPlanet🌍: Visualize email origins on a global map
    Styling: Tailwind CSS (Assumed, common with Next.js). - Source: dev.to / 3 days ago
  • How to add markdown to a Next.js project
    This article assumes the reader is a developer that knows their way around Markdown, TypeScript, React.js, and [Next.js] https://nextjs.org/). Familiarity with Tailwind-css would also be useful. - Source: dev.to / 19 days ago
  • SonicScan - A Music Fingerprinting and Identification App
    Then I learned Tauri and used my favourite frontend framework SolidJS with TailwindCSS and DaisyUI to build the UI with MotionOne to add animations and Tauri to build the desktop/web/android/ios app. - Source: dev.to / 20 days ago
  • Top 5 Free React UI Libraries to Use in 2025
    Shadcn/ui contains a set of beautifully designed and accessible components, and it works seamlessly with major React frameworks. It’s open-source and has amassed 85.5k (and counting) GitHub stars. It’s built on the shoulders of giants — Radix UI and Tailwind CSS, making it one of the best to work with. Unlike many other UI libraries, the components are not just installed as npm modules, they’re downloaded into... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Tailwind vs Linaria: Performance Investigation
    We're going to investigate the difference in performance between Tailwind and Linaria. Tailwind, you already know. And Linaria has been getting quite a lot of traction since styled components went into maintenance mode recently. We'll cover why Linaria is a good choice for this comparison a bit further. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
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MiddleMan mentions (11)

  • “Make” as a Static Site Generator
    Most of the Static Site Generators default to generating blog from markdown, which is not feasible for company websites etc. For such projects I like Middleman (https://middlemanapp.com) which provides layouts/partials and things like haml templates. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Bloggers who host statically, do you use Jekyll or Pelican to roll your blog posts?
    I've done similar with Middleman, and I'm 99% sure you could set this up with Pelican if you wanted. It sounds like the site generation workflow is the issue rather than the tool. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Show HN: Self-hosted CMS on Cloudflare for podcast/blog/images/videos/docs/URLs
    I use middleman[^1] + bulmaCSS + FontAwesome but host on github using the `github.io` domain and upload podcasts to "archive.org"[^2]. The reason I choose this setup is because I want the content to survive as much as possible, hence open source technology and "free & long lived" hosting were requirements. [^1]: https://middlemanapp.com/ [^2]: https://archive.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Web app architecture design process guidance
    Thanks u/Draegan88, but what's Middleman got to do with app architecture & design/ERD/schema design? Source: over 2 years ago
  • CMS > MiddlemanApp > static Site - how to start middleman on heroku?
    A simple middleman app consumes the data and builds a static export that runs standalone (just HTML, CSS and some JS files). That gets FTP'd/released to the webserver. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Tailwind CSS and MiddleMan, you can also consider the following products

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

GatsbyJS - Blazing-fast static site generator for React

Bulma - Bulma is an open source CSS framework based on Flexbox and built with Sass. It's 100% responsive, fully modular, and available for free.

Jekyll - Jekyll is a simple, blog aware, static site generator.

React - A JavaScript library for building user interfaces

Hexo - A fast, simple & powerful blog framework, powered by Node.js

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