Rate your experience with the frameworks that you chose
Using Bulma as our frontend framework was an excellent choice. It helped us quickly and
creatively style a stunning looking website without predefined CSS classes. Ultimately it helped us
produce clean and concise code for our client.
When using Node.js as our backend framework, it
worked out to be very accessible and simple to work with. We decided to also implement
Express.js to create our REST API server within our backend Node.js framework for our application
which we developed.
Did they perform to your expectations?
Bulma worked flawlessly without any issues and performed well above our expectations.
Producing the same styling with raw HTML/CSS
would have been a little difficult and very time-consuming. By using Bulma, it took seconds to use
modern and appealing styling for our application. I think experienced and new web developers would
easily grasp learning to use a frontend framework and would appreciate the convenience which is
offers.
Node.js surpassed our expectations, delivering a great experience. Calling APIs to
retrieve information and execute logic from our backend framework was made simple. We used JSON to
our advantage to pass data between the client and server, as well as leveraged using its JSON
objects
for the mapping of our JavaScript objects.
Were they difficult to install or configure?
Bulma was extremely straightforward to install. Although there are many methods to
import Bulma, we created a CSS file and wrote a one line import which referenced Bulma's CSS files
from their web server. Alternative methods include just referencing their CDN in the 'head' section
of an HTML file or by downloading their actual CSS file and linking that within the 'head' of an
HTML file.
Node.js was surprisingly very easy to install and get running. We created our package.json file and
included essential details and any required packages and that was it! Using Express.js was a breeze
with Node.js, as it only took a few lines of code to actually get the server up and running without giving us any
trouble at all.
Was it easy to create the page(s) with it?
Yes, it was easy to create all the pages with Bulma since their documentation is very
thorough and well detailed. Their documentation is easily accessible if you go onto Bulma's website
and you can see many example's along with their code which makes learning Bulma very simple and
straightforward.
Yes, it was easy to create the pages, allowing them to receive parsed data from our APIs by using
both Node.js and Express.js. This allowed both our client to communicate with our backend server and
to display the data received without any issues.
Was the learning curve steep compared with regular HTML/CSS/JavaScript/PHP?
All of us on our team felt that the learning curve was not steep and that learning these frameworks was hassle free. Bulma is predefined CSS and to use their CSS, you just provide their class names to the elements which you would like to apply the CSS to. Therefore, we believe that by understanding the basics of HTML and CSS, we were able to use this frontend framework right away. Node.js and Express.js both use JavaScript and are very intuitive to use. All of us have used these frameworks many times in the past and have leveraged using many npm packages and cloud services such as AWS and Firebase as well. Although there is much to learn about 3rd party packages and services, the curve from learning Vanilla JavaScript to everything else is not too extreme, it just takes time and patience. Thus, we feel that using a backend framework is extremely beneficial and provides many ways to use JavaScript.
Would you have done things differently in retrospect?
Bulma is a rapidly growing CSS framework being developed by many community members with many new professional and personal projects benefiting from the profound CSS styling which is provides. It is very easy to use and enabled us to create an attractive user interface in no time. Node.js and Express.js are both very popular backend and server frameworks which provide amazing service, efficiency and reliability. Large companies such as Netflix, PayPal, Uber, NASA, and Twitter, all use these technologies to the best of their capabilities to provide top quality services for consumers/users. Therefore, we would not have done things differently in retrospect for this project.
Did you regret your choice of frameworks?
No, both our frontend and backend frameworks were very easy to install, configure, and use. Our frontend framework provided us attractive modern styling, while our backend framework and server provided us with quick and reliable service. Thus, we felt that we made educated decisions which gave us outstanding results.