How Is Foundation 5 Better Than Its Previous Versions?

Foundation 4, the responsive front-end framework released in February 2013, was successful in becoming a hot favorite because of its great documentation and mobile-friendly attitude. However, everything has a room for improvement; and an updated version of Foundation 4 was always on the cards. In comes Foundation 5, released in November 2013, which is already generating rave reviews for being simpler, smarter and faster than all its previous versions.

According to a partner at ZURB named Jonathan Smiley, “Foundation 4 was successful in taking front-end frameworks to the peak. The only things that could be worked on in a future version were the speed and efficiency. And these are just the sectors focused by Foundation 5.”

So, how is Foundation 5 better than its previous versions? Let’s have a look:

Faster to Learn

The documentation section of Foundation 4 has undergone a high-scale upgrade in the latest version. This means that there is a greater number of code examples, and ZURB ensure that these examples are all high-quality ones. What Foundation 4 lacked was a user-friendly guide that would make it easy to fit the framework into a workflow. Foundation 5 doesn’t walk the same path with the introduction of the “Getting Started” guide. Users can also find useful videos in this section. Foundation 5 also introduces the ‘Foundation Forum’ which makes it easier to connect with the community.

Faster to Code

The new components of Foundation 5 make sure that a user has to put in lesser efforts in manual work. There are new templates to work with, and a medium grid with media queries and custom breakpoints. Foundation 5 also has a command line tool that was absent in the previous versions. Moreover, it will also use a back-end Sass compiling library and its own CLI wrappers. All of these ensure that the entire process of coding is faster than ever.

Faster for Site Users

The base visual style has become easier to restyle. This means that users can experience smoother transitions and animation. Moreover, the power of the Interchange plug-in has been enhanced in Foundation 5. In the previous versions, the plug-in was able to deliver images to different devices. With this update, the plug-in can deliver an entire section of a page.

Conclusion

If you have had complains with Foundation 4, ZURB tries its best to fulfill a lot of your wishes with Foundation 5. It remains responsive as ever, and there are some really handy inclusions which transforms the framework into a true wonder.