Framework7

Why Framework7?

Framework7 solves a specific problem: making web applications look and behave exactly like native mobile apps. Unlike generic UI libraries that provide responsive components, Framework7 implements the subtle interactions—like page transitions, swipe-to-back gestures, and overscroll behavior—that users expect on mobile devices. It is a "battery-included" framework, providing not just buttons and inputs, but a complete mobile navigation system and state management solution tailored for touch interfaces.

• Auto-Matching Themes: Automatically detects the user's device and applies the correct theme (iOS or Material Design) to ensure the app feels at home on the platform.
• Native Navigation Logic: Includes a powerful router that manages history, transitions, and modal stacking exactly how a native mobile OS handles navigation controllers.
• Gesture Support: Built-in support for complex touch interactions, such as swipe-to-delete list items and pull-to-refresh, without needing third-party libraries.
• Capacitor/Cordova Ready: specifically architected to sit inside a WebView wrapper, handling safe areas (notches) and status bars automatically.
• Vue/Svelte/React Support: While we focus on React here, its core logic is framework-agnostic, meaning the underlying engine is robust and widely tested across communities.

Code Snippet

Framework7 applications require a specific root structure (App, View) to handle the routing and navigation history.

import React from 'react';
import { 
  App, 
  View, 
  Page, 
  Navbar, 
  Block, 
  List, 
  ListItem 
} from 'framework7-react';

const HomePage = () => (
  <Page name="home">
    {/* Navbar automatically adapts layout for iOS/Android */}
    <Navbar title="My App" large />
    
    <Block strong>
      <p>This app feels native but runs in the browser.</p>
    </Block>

    <List>
      <ListItem title="Product 1" link="/product/1/" />
      <ListItem title="Product 2" link="/product/2/" />
      <ListItem 
        title="Swipe Me" 
        swipeout // Enables native-like swipe actions
      >
        <div slot="swipeout-actions-right">
          <div onClick={() => alert('Deleted!')}>Delete</div>
        </div>
      </ListItem>
    </List>
  </Page>
);

export default function MyApp() {
  // Framework7 parameters
  const f7params = {
    name: 'My App',
    theme: 'auto', // Detects iOS vs Material
  };

  return (
    <App {...f7params}>
      {/* Main View handles the navigation stack */}
      <View main url="/" />
    </App>
  );
}

In this example, theme="auto" does the heavy lifting. If opened on an iPhone, the Navbar will be translucent with a centered title. On Android, it will be solid with a left-aligned title.

Pros and Cons

No library is perfect; understanding the trade-offs is key to selecting the right tool.

Pros

• Rapid Prototyping: You can build a high-fidelity mobile prototype that looks "real" in a fraction of the time it takes to build a React Native app.
• PWA Excellence: Unmatched for building Progressive Web Apps that need to convince users they are native apps when installed on the home screen.
• CSS Styling: Since it's just DOM elements, you use standard CSS/LESS/SCSS. No need to learn a specialized styling abstraction like StyleSheet.create.

Cons

• Desktop Experience: The components are strictly designed for mobile paradigms. Using Framework7 for a standard desktop website often feels awkward (oversized touch targets, sliding transitions).
• WebView Limitations: Unlike React Native, it runs in the DOM. Heavy animations or complex computations can suffer from jank on lower-end devices compared to native rendering.
• Router Complexity: Framework7 uses its own router, which can be confusing if you are used to react-router. It's powerful but has its own learning curve.

Comparison with Other Mobile Solutions

The table below outlines the positioning differences between Framework7 and other popular mobile-first libraries:

Verdict: When to Adopt

Choose Framework7 if your primary goal is to ship a PWA or a hybrid app (via Capacitor) that is indistinguishable from a native app to the average user, and your team prefers working with standard HTML/CSS. It is the best choice for "web-native" applications where the "feel" of the navigation and transitions is critical. Avoid it if you are building a responsive website that targets desktop users primarily, or if you need the raw performance access of React Native.