Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

UIKit VS jQuery Mobile

Compare UIKit VS jQuery Mobile and see what are their differences

UIKit logo UIKit

A lightweight and modular front-end framework for developing fast and powerful web interfaces

jQuery Mobile logo jQuery Mobile

jQuery Mobile
  • UIKit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24
  • jQuery Mobile Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

UIKit features and specs

  • Modularity
    UIKit is highly modular, allowing developers to include only the components they need. This can lead to more efficient and faster loading webpages.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The framework comes with extensive and well-detailed documentation, making it easier for developers to get started and effectively utilize components.
  • Responsive Design
    UIKit is designed with responsiveness in mind, offering a sleek user experience across different screen sizes and devices.
  • Customization
    UIKit allows for deep customization through its LESS and SCSS files, enabling developers to modify the framework according to their needs.
  • Active Community
    There is an active community which leads to consistent updates and a wealth of shared resources and plugins.

Possible disadvantages of UIKit

  • Learning Curve
    For beginners, UIKit can be complex and might require a learning curve to become proficient in its use.
  • Limited Third-Party Integrations
    Compared to more mature frameworks like Bootstrap, UIKit may offer fewer third-party integrations and plugins.
  • Potential Overhead
    Including too many unnecessary components can add to the overhead, resulting in slower load times if not managed properly.
  • Inconsistencies Across Browsers
    Occasional inconsistencies may be noted across different browsers, which may require additional effort to resolve.
  • Less Recognition
    UIKit is not as commonly recognized as some other frameworks, which may lead to challenges in finding developers experienced with it.

jQuery Mobile features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    jQuery Mobile provides a unified user interface across multiple devices and platforms, making it easier to create applications that work seamlessly on both iOS and Android.
  • Ease of Use
    With a familiar syntax for those who have used jQuery, jQuery Mobile makes it easy to get started with mobile web development. Its straightforward API and comprehensive documentation further aid in rapid development.
  • Theme Customization
    The jQuery Mobile ThemeRoller allows developers to customize the look and feel of their mobile websites easily. Multiple built-in themes are available, and they can be modified or new themes can be created.
  • Extensive UI Components
    jQuery Mobile comes with a wide range of UI components such as buttons, dialogs, sliders, and more. These components are touch-optimized and ready to use, allowing for quicker development.
  • Accessibility
    The framework is designed with accessibility in mind, providing support for ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) guidelines and ensuring that applications are usable by people with disabilities.

Possible disadvantages of jQuery Mobile

  • Performance Issues
    jQuery Mobile can sometimes be slower than native mobile applications or other frameworks, especially on older devices. This is due to its heavy reliance on JavaScript and extensive DOM manipulations.
  • Limited Customizability
    While ThemeRoller offers considerable customization options, deep customizations can be challenging. This can make it difficult to achieve a unique look and feel without extensive CSS overrides.
  • Dependency on jQuery
    Since jQuery Mobile is built on top of jQuery, any limitations or issues in jQuery affect jQuery Mobile as well. Additionally, including the full jQuery library increases the overall load size, impacting performance.
  • Outdated Technology
    As web technologies have advanced, some developers consider jQuery Mobile to be outdated compared to newer frameworks like React Native or Flutter, which offer more robust and scalable options for mobile development.
  • Smaller Community
    The community around jQuery Mobile is smaller compared to other popular mobile development frameworks. This can lead to less frequent updates, fewer third-party plugins, and limited support.

UIKit videos

Should I Learn SwiftUI instead of UIKit?

More videos:

  • Review - SwiftUI vs UIKit – Comparison of building the same app in each framework

jQuery Mobile videos

jQuery Mobile Review

More videos:

  • Review - jQuery Mobile Book Reviews jQuery Mobile - First Look and jQuery Mobile Up and Running

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to UIKit and jQuery Mobile)
Design Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Development Tools
40 40%
60% 60
CSS Framework
100 100%
0% 0
JavaScript Framework
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 UIKit and jQuery Mobile

UIKit Reviews

22 Best Bootstrap Alternatives & What Each Is Best For
UIkit includes an extensive collection of HTML, CSS, and JS components, all easy to use and customizable. Features include a responsive grid system, navigation components, form elements, and more. Though UIkit does not offer explicit integrations, its modular nature means it can be easily incorporated into many different web development workflows and tools.
Source: thectoclub.com
15 Top Bootstrap Alternatives For Frontend Developers in 2024
One of the advantages of UIKit is that it offers a wide range of UI components, even more than Bootstrap. It also includes unique components like Totop, Thumbnav, and more. Considering its rich set of resources, UIKit can be regarded as an ideal alternative to Bootstrap.
Source: coursesity.com
Top 10 Best CSS Frameworks for Front-End Developers in 2022
UI Kit has a comprehensive collection of CSS, HTML, and JS components. It is modular and lightweight. Used for iOS application development, UIKit is one of the bestfront-end CSS frameworks.
Source: hackr.io
10 of the Best Bootstrap Alternatives
UIKit offers an easy approach to developing sophisticated web interfaces. It’s a modular front-end framework that can be used with HTML or JavaScript. With this structure, you may quickly create your web layouts with ease. This structure is perfect for laying out your website. When compared to Bootstrap, this framework offers more UI components. It also includes oddity parts...
Best CSS Frameworks in 2019
Our fourth framework to consider is UIkit. UIkit is “a lightweight and modular front-end framework for developing fast and powerful web interfaces” (UIkit). The framework comes with built-in animations, is customizable and has out-of-the-box designs.

jQuery Mobile Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks For Mobile App Development
jQuery Mobile is a leading user interface framework, created on jQuery core and based on JavaScript programming. It is lightweight in size, with a strong theming framework and simple API that facilitates the creation of highly responsive mobile applications and powerful websites. It designs single good quality websites and applications that can work seamlessly on devices and...
Source: medium.com
9 Top JavaScript Mobile Frameworks To Know In 2020
jQuery Mobile supports a number of user interfaces that are compatible with modern platforms such as Android, iOS and to the earliest of platforms such as Opera Mini and Nokia Symbian. With the help of PhoneGap, you can integrate your jQuery web app code to an interactive iOS or Android application.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, UIKit should be more popular than jQuery Mobile. It has been mentiond 22 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.

UIKit mentions (22)

  • 100+ Must-Have Web Development Resources
    UIkit: A lightweight and modular front-end framework. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Building UIs with Franken UI, a Shadcn alternative
    Franken UI is compatible with UIkit 3 and can work as a standalone CSS framework but can be integrated with Tailwind CSS for faster styling and customization. The design of Franken UI is influenced by shadcn/ui. It aims to provide a solution to developers who are not comfortable using React, Vue, or Svelte by leveraging UIkit for JavaScript and accessibility. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • SwiftUI vs. UIKit: What is the best choice for building an iOS user interface in 2024?
    As an iOS engineer, you've likely encountered SwiftUI and UIkit, two popular tools for building iOS user interfaces. SwiftUI is the new cool kid on the block, providing a clean way to build iOS screens, while UIkit is the older and more traditional way to build screens for iOS. SwiftUI uses a declarative style where you describe how the UI should look, similar to Jetpack Compose in Android. UIkit, on the other... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • How To Build a Web Application with HTMX and Go
    All that's left is adding a little style. I won't claim to be a frontend engineer or a UI designer, so I just used UIKit to easily add modern-looking style to the HTML table and buttons. As mentioned throughout the article, the CSS classes and other small details are excluded since they are not directly relevant to the tutorial. See the full example on GitHub to try running it for yourself. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • On the search for a truly "good" UI framework.
    Can try UIKIT out if you're looking around, I've used it solely for some quick slider stuff in certain projects and use it fully in others. The docs are pretty good and they have a discord community that's fairly active. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

jQuery Mobile mentions (3)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing UIKit and jQuery Mobile, you can also consider the following products

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

Onsen UI - HTML5 Hybrid Mobile App UI Framework - work with Angular, React, Vue, Meteor & pure JavaScript. Material & Flat design.

Semantic UI - A UI Component library implemented using a set of specifications designed around natural language

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

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

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