Getting Started with Standard Framework

Welcome! Choose your path: use Standard CSS with any project, or use it as a complete 11ty plugin for content-heavy sites.

Quick Navigation

Choose Your Path

Path 1: Standalone CSS Only

Use Standard’s CSS framework with any HTML or JavaScript framework (React, Vue, Svelte, etc.).

Perfect for: Static HTML, web apps, or any project needing beautiful styling.

Path 2: 11ty + Standard Plugin

Use Standard as a complete 11ty plugin for blogs, documentation, and content sites.

One plugin. Everything included:

Perfect for: Blogs, documentation, knowledge bases, portfolios, marketing sites.

Path 1: Standalone CSS Only

Installation

Via npm

npm install @zefish/standard

Via CDN

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/@zefish/standard@0.10.52/dist/standard.min.css">
<script src="https://unpkg.com/@zefish/standard@0.10.52/dist/standard.min.js" type="module"></script>

Basic HTML Setup

Create index.html:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>My Website</title>

  <!-- Standard Framework CSS -->
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/@zefish/standard/dist/standard.min.css">
</head>
<body class="bg-background text-foreground">
  <header class="rhythm-block padding-base">
    <h1>Welcome to Standard Framework</h1>
    <p class="text-color-subtle">Beautiful typography. Responsive layout. Automatic dark mode.</p>
  </header>

  <main class="width-line-base center-horizontally padding-base rhythm-block">
    <h2>Getting Started</h2>
    <p>
      Standard Framework provides everything you need for beautiful, accessible websites.
      No CSS to write. No design decisions to make. Just semantic HTML.
    </p>

    <h3>What You Get</h3>
    <ul>
      <li>Mathematical typography system based on golden ratio</li>
      <li>Responsive 12-column grid</li>
      <li>Semantic color system with automatic dark mode</li>
      <li>Vertical rhythm and spacing system</li>
      <li>Beautiful components and utilities</li>
      <li>100% accessible</li>
      <li>Zero JavaScript required</li>
    </ul>

    <h3>Your First Page</h3>
    <p>You're looking at it! This page uses nothing but semantic HTML and the Standard Framework CSS.</p>
  </main>

  <footer class="rhythm-block padding-base border-color-default" style="border-top: 1px solid;">
    <p class="text-color-subtle">&copy; 2024. Built with Standard Framework.</p>
  </footer>

  <!-- Standard Framework JS (optional) -->
  <script src="https://unpkg.com/@zefish/standard/dist/standard.min.js" type="module"></script>
</body>
</html>

That’s It!

You now have a beautiful, responsive, accessible website with:

Open in browser. No build process. No configuration.

Path 2: 11ty + Standard (Complete Setup)

Perfect for blogs, documentation, and content-heavy sites.

Step 1: Create Project

mkdir my-website
cd my-website
npm init -y

Step 2: Install Dependencies

npm install --save-dev @11ty/eleventy
npm install @zefish/standard

Step 3: Create Config

Create eleventy.config.js:

import Standard from "@zefish/standard";

export default function (eleventyConfig) {
  // Add Standard Framework plugin
  eleventyConfig.addPlugin(Standard, {
    outputDir: "assets/standard",
    copyFiles: true,
    useCDN: false
  });

  return {
    dir: {
      input: "content",
      output: "_site",
      includes: "_includes"
    }
  };
}

Step 4: Create Base Layout

Create _includes/layouts/base.njk:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>{{ title or "My Website" }}</title>
  {% standardAssets %}
</head>
<body class="bg-background text-foreground">
  <header class="rhythm-block padding-base">
    <h1>My Website</h1>
    <nav class="display-flex gap-base">
      <a href="/">Home</a>
      <a href="/about/">About</a>
      <a href="/blog/">Blog</a>
    </nav>
  </header>

  <main class="width-line-base center-horizontally padding-base rhythm-block">
    {{ content | safe }}
  </main>

  <footer class="rhythm-block padding-base border-color-default" style="border-top: 1px solid;">
    <p class="text-color-subtle">&copy; 2024. Built with Standard Framework.</p>
  </footer>
</body>
</html>

Step 5: Create Content

Create content/index.md:

---
layout: layouts/base.njk
title: Home
---

# Welcome

This is your homepage. Edit `content/index.md` to change the content.

Standard Framework handles all the styling automatically. Just write markdown.

Create content/about.md:

---
layout: layouts/base.njk
title: About
---

# About Me

Tell people about yourself here.

This page automatically gets the same beautiful styling as your homepage.

Step 6: Build & Preview

npx @11ty/eleventy --serve

Visit http://localhost:8080

Your website is live with:

Common First Steps

Add Blog Posts

mkdir content/blog

Create content/blog/first-post.md:

---
layout: layouts/base.njk
title: My First Post
date: 2024-10-22
---

# {{ title }}

<time>{{ date | dateFilter('long') }}</time>

Your post content here.

Customize Colors

Create _data/site.js:

export default {
  name: "My Website",
  url: "https://example.com"
};

Override colors in CSS:

:root {
  --color-accent: #0066cc;
  --color-background: #ffffff;
  --color-foreground: #000000;
}

Add Navigation Menu

Add to front matter:

---
layout: layouts/base.njk
eleventyNavigation:
  key: About
  title: About
  order: 2
---

11ty automatically builds the navigation.

Protect Content with Password

---
layout: layouts/base.njk
title: Premium Content
encrypted: true
password: my-secret
---

# Members Only

This content is password protected.

Understanding the Basics

Semantic HTML

Standard Framework works best with semantic HTML:

<!-- Good - semantic elements -->
<article>
  <h1>Title</h1>
  <p>Content</p>
</article>

<!-- Also good -->
<section>
  <h2>Section title</h2>
  <p>Content</p>
</section>

<aside>
  <h3>Sidebar</h3>
  <p>Side content</p>
</aside>

CSS Variables (Design Tokens)

All colors, spacing, and typography use CSS variables:

:root {
  /* Spacing - standard scale */
  --space-xs: 0.25rem;
  --space-s: 0.5rem;
  --space: 1rem;           /* base/default */
  --space-l: 2rem;
  --space-xl: 4rem;

  /* Colors */
  --color-background: #ffffff;
  --color-foreground: #000000;
  --color-accent: #0066cc;

  /* Typography */
  --font-text: InterVariable, system-ui, sans-serif;
  --font-header: InterVariable, system-ui, sans-serif;
  --scale: 1rem;           /* base font size */
  --line-height: 1.5;
}

Customize by overriding:

:root {
  --color-accent: #ff6b35;
  --font-header: "Georgia", serif;
}

Responsive Design

Mobile-first approach using utility classes:

<!-- 1 column on mobile, 2 on tablet, 3 on desktop -->
<div class="display-grid" style="grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(250px, 1fr));">
  <div>Card 1</div>
  <div>Card 2</div>
  <div>Card 3</div>
</div>

Dark Mode

Automatic based on system preference. No configuration needed.

Test in browser:

Project Structure

Standalone

my-project/
├── index.html          # Your page
├── css/
│   └── custom.css      # Optional custom styles
└── images/
    └── logo.png

11ty + Standard

my-website/
├── eleventy.config.js  # 11ty config
├── package.json        # Dependencies
├── content/
│   ├── index.md        # Homepage
│   ├── about.md        # About page
│   └── blog/
│       └── post-1.md   # Blog post
├── _includes/
│   └── layouts/
│       └── base.njk    # Main layout
└── _site/              # Built output (auto-generated)

Utilities

Standard Framework includes extensive utility classes for spacing, sizing, typography, and layout.

See the complete Utilities Reference for:

Quick tip: All utilities follow the pattern [property]-[side]-[size] making them easy to guess.

Next Steps

Learn More

For Content Sites

For Designers

Common Issues

CSS Not Loading (Standalone)

Check the path:

<!-- Correct for npm -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="node_modules/@zefish/standard/dist/standard.min.css">

<!-- Correct for CDN -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/@zefish/standard/dist/standard.min.css">

Styles Not Applying (11ty)

Ensure {% standardAssets %} is in your layout <head>:

<head>
  {% standardAssets %}
</head>

Build Errors

# Clear cache and rebuild
rm -rf _site node_modules/.cache
npm run build

Changes Not Showing

When using npm start with 11ty:

# Restart the dev server
Ctrl+C
npm start

Get Help

You’re Ready!

You now have everything needed to build beautiful, professional websites.

Standalone: Your first page is already live above.

11ty + Standard: Run npm start and visit http://localhost:8080.

That’s it. Start building. ✨

What’s Next?

Remember: Stop configuring. Start creating.

The boring stuff is handled. Focus on your content.