Why LayUI Is Fading Out and What Its Unique Features Offer Developers

Origin

An unexpected announcement that the official LayUI website will close sparked a sense of loss, even though the author noted that new downloads, documentation, and examples will remain on GitHub and Gitee.

The original creator hinted that, amid the rapid wave of front‑end engineering, LayUI still carries a faint glow of jQuery and encourages developers to embrace Vue.js and Element UI.

LayUI’s Characteristics

Facing competition from Vue, React, Angular, Ant Design, and Element UI, LayUI survives thanks to its unique traits: simplicity and practicality.

It was designed primarily for backend developers; adding class="layui-table" to a static table instantly produces an elegant UI, which is a boon for ASP.NET GridView users.

Unlike Ant Design, which requires importing numerous JavaScript modules, LayUI offers ready‑made components that work out‑of‑the‑box.

Visual Appeal

The author praises LayUI’s color palette as fresh yet deep, reducing visual fatigue and allowing seamless integration with various website designs.

Its layout is especially suitable for backend‑oriented projects, and the author frequently uses it in internal software development.

LayAdmin

LayUI also offers a commercial framework called LayAdmin. LayUI itself is likened to individual car parts—tires, steering wheel—while LayAdmin assembles these parts into a semi‑finished vehicle with static data.

Limitations

LayUI’s module system does not conform to CMD or AMD standards, and before ES6, JavaScript lacked native import/export support, making its custom module syntax both simple and problematic.

Data binding can be cumbersome, and mobile‑device support is limited, which confines its ideal use to enterprise application development.

Why Is LayUI Closing?

Although the exact reason is unclear, the author speculates that the original maintainer may be exhausted, and the lack of a sustainable commercial model makes open‑source development difficult.

LayAdmin offers two versions—iframe and single‑page—but the complexity and the non‑profit nature of the project likely contributed to the shutdown.

Despite its end, the community appreciates the contribution and hopes LayUI’s legacy will continue to inspire.