Title; I am new to coffeecup and my goal is to create an artistic website for photography and media sharing. I read the Site Designer Help guide that says the following about Frameworkless: https://tutorials.coffeecup.com/site-designer/index.html#frameworks



Some features that I want my site to include if it helps for context:

Buttons
Navigation & Footer bars
Overlays & pop-ups when you click on an image
Forms
Menus
Photo galleries
Image Carousels & Slideshows
Interactive elements such as hover/pressing features, timed movement, etc.

Since I do not have much of an html or CSS coding background at all, should I go with Bootstrap, Foundation, or Materialize, or will that reduce the flexibility I have down the line for my website? I'm not sure what would be the best pick out of any of those three either. I've tried using Framer in the past, but wanted to move away from that company for a variety of reasons (including the subscription prices). I'd appreciate any advice on this. Thank you!

Hello
First of all Site Designer comes with all those frameworks built in + a lot of templates ready made that may suit your purposes.
There is nothing out of the ordinary with the list of things you require for your website, again ALL are readily available within Site Designer.

The only thing I would say is that Frameworkless WILL require a certain amount of custom coding (which is easily available) but then the problem using that, is you cannot see what you have done until previewing or exporting, whereas on the other frameworks, you can see what you have done and how it looks as soon as you do it, and therefore make any adjustments accordingly.


Finally Part1
There are lots of other users here that can do and are willing to help, give advice and even provide special codes if required. all you would need to do if you get stuck is ask. But if ever do do, please try to remember to let us know on the post, which framework it is you are using, (and if it is a ready made template then which template you used that helps us tremendously in providing the relevant solution/advice.

Finally Part2
Do take advantage of the 2 weeks free trial, and USE THAT PERIOD to get to know what it can do ask question watch the HOW TO VIDEOS believe me, 2 weeks isn't long enough EVEN FOR SOME OF THE MORE EXPERIENCED CODERS TO GET A WEBSITE FULLY OPERATIONAL AND FUNCTIONING, (many have tried and failed.)

Good Luck and hope to see you later as a valued member of the CCup Forum

Site Designer comes with some ready-made components for the features you listed, and if you like to see more, take a look at the link you find in my signature. I have a collection of components for all the frameworks that you find in Site Designer.

Hi G H,

Since you’re just starting out and want lots of built-in interactivity with minimal coding, Bootstrap is usually the easiest pick in Site Designer.

It has ready-made navbars, buttons, forms, modals, carousels, and galleries that work out-of-the-box.

Foundation is powerful and lightweight but a bit more developer-oriented.

Materialize gives a Google-style look but has fewer components than Bootstrap and is less commonly used now.

You can always add your own custom CSS later—choosing a framework won’t lock you in for styling tweaks. If your main focus is getting features running quickly, go with Bootstrap, then customize its styles as you learn more.

If you’re new to coding and want to build a visually rich, interactive photography site, starting with a CSS framework is the easiest path. Bootstrap is generally the most beginner-friendly — it includes built-in responsive grids, navigation bars, modals, carousels, and galleries that you can customize without heavy coding. Foundation is more flexible but steeper to learn, and Materialize gives a modern Google-style look but less design freedom. Frameworkless offers maximum control but requires writing your own CSS and JS for every feature. So for your use case, Bootstrap in CoffeeCup Site Designer strikes the best balance between ease, flexibility, and long-term scalability.