Free UI Templates for Tailwind CSS Projects

Introduction

Tailwind CSS has exploded in popularity over the last few years. This utility-first framework allows developers to quickly build custom user interfaces without writing custom CSS. However, even with Tailwind, designing and coding every UI component from scratch can be time-consuming. This is where pre-made UI templates come in handy!

Integrating open source Tailwind templates into your projects can save many hours of design and development time. These templates are created specifically for use with Tailwind classes and configuration. They contain commonly used UI components like headers, navigation menus, hero sections, cards, footers, and more. You can simply import and customize these components instead of building them yourself.

In this post, we'll highlight the best free UI template sets available for Tailwind CSS. All of these templates are open source, so you can use and modify them freely for your own projects. They are designed following web design best practices and Tailwind recommendations. Our goal is to help you find quality templates that will kickstart your Tailwind project development. 🚀

Comparison of Popular UI Template Options

With several template sources available, it can be difficult to determine which option best suits your needs. Here is an overview comparing the most popular Tailwind UI template sets:

Float UI - Focuses on clean, minimalist individual components like headers, footers, CTAs, and cards. Excellent for grabbing specific UI elements. Limited number of complete templates.

Cruip - Offers very bold and colorful designs with striking imagery. Provides more complete site template examples for blogs, landing pages, etc.

Tailwind UI - Massive collection of individual components. Uses more muted, business-appropriate color schemes. Integration guides for frameworks.

Tailwind Starter Kit - Delivers complete site templates for specific purposes like blogs, dashboards, etc. Implements a bold, prominent aesthetic.

Windmill Dashboard - Specializes in admin dashboard templates with a data visualization focus. Not as many reusable components.

Key Differences

Design Style - From bold and colorful (Cruip) to minimal and subdued (Tailwind UI). Varies significantly.
Customization - More control with individual components (Float UI) vs set templates (Tailwind Starter Kit).
Components Offered - Extensive individual pieces (Tailwind UI) or more complete templates (Cruip).
Integration - Some provide code examples (Tailwind UI), others are drop-in ready.
Visuals - Cruip and Tailwind Starter Kit use more prominent imagery.

Consider these factors when selecting a template set for your specific project needs.

Hero Section Templates

Hero sections are critical for grabbing attention and highlighting key information. They are typically prominently placed at the top of landing pages. Here are some excellent hero section templates:

Responsive and Eye-Catching Hero Sections

Float UI's Clean Hero Section - Features a bold header, paragraph text, call-to-action button, and option for a full-width background image. It's responsive with excellent typography. Actual example: Float UI Hero Section
Tailwind UI's Hero Section - Has a minimalist, sleek design with bold headline text on a plain background color. Focuses attention on primary message. Example: Tailwind UI Hero
Cruip's Bold Hero Section - Uses a vibrant gradient background with centered, bold header text for high visual impact. Example: Cruip Bold Hero
Tailwind Starter Kit Hero - Implements a full-width background image with a tinted overlay and bold header text. Very striking. Example: Starter Kit Hero
Windmill Dashboard Hero - Contains animated graphics paired with brief header and paragraph text. Has strong call-to-action button. Example: Windmill Hero

Full Page Hero Sections

These hero sections utilize the full viewport height for maximum impact:

Tailwind UI's Full Page Hero - Implements a full-screen background video with an overlay containing bold header and paragraph text. Uses smooth parallax scroll effect. Example: Full Page Hero
Cruip's Parallax Hero - Has highly attention-grabbing animations and graphics that take up the entire viewport height. Bold gradient text stands out. Example: Cruip Parallax Hero
Float UI's Scrolling Hero - Uses eye-catching animations, illustrations, and bold colors that take up full page. Header and text scroll into view. Example: Scrolling Hero
Tailwind Starter Kit Big Hero - Features a tall full-screen background image with overlaid dark tint and huge bold header text. Very prominent. Example: Big Hero

Compact Hero Sections

These condensed hero sections only take up a portion of the page:

Float UI's Centered Hero - Has a concise header, paragraph text, and call-to-action button in a centered column. Example: Centered Hero
Windmill Dashboard Compact Hero - Implements a short header, paragraph, and call-to-action button. Minimal and focused. Example: Compact Hero
Cruip's Card-Based Hero - Uses header text, paragraph, and info cards with icons. Clear explanation of key features. Example: Card Hero
Tailwind Starter Kit Tight Hero - Contains brief header, paragraph text, and email signup form. Quickly gets to the point. Example: Tight Hero

Having a clearly organized navigation menu is crucial for site usability. Here are some great nav menu templates:

Float UI's Basic Navbar - Clean and simple with left-aligned links. Unobtrusive and easy to use. Example: Basic Navbar
Cruip's Colorful Navbar - Uses a vibrant background color with centered logo and links. Eye catching. Example: Colorful Nav
Tailwind Starter Kit Nav Menu - Right-aligned links with toggle menu for mobile. Minimalist and functional. Example: Starter Kit Nav
Windmill Dashboard Navbar - Left-aligned logo and links paired with right-aligned buttons. Balanced layout. Example: Windmill Navbar

Clean menus with basic styling:

Float UI's Light Nav Menu - Thin light grey background with inline left-aligned links. Example: Light Menu
Tailwind UI's Basic Nav - Grey background with left-aligned blue links. Consistent styling. Example: Basic Nav
Cruip's Minimal Menu - Ultra thin horizontal menu with centered logo and links. Example: Minimal Menu
Tailwind Starter Kit Plain Nav - Thin navbar with black links on white background. Subtle. Example: Plain Nav

Bolder, more prominent menus:

Float UI's Solid Navbar - Colored background with dark links and search input. Very noticeable. Example: Solid Navbar
Windmill Dashboard Bold Nav - Colored background with right-aligned icons for notifications and user profile. Example: Bold Nav
Cruip's Solid Menu - White background with large bold links. Includes search input. Example: Solid Menu
Tailwind UI's Strong Nav - Features background image with white links. Icons on hover. Stands out on page. Example: Strong Nav

Call-to-Action Section Templates

Call-to-action (CTA) sections encourage users to take specific actions like signing up, buying a product, etc.

Float UI's Centered CTA - Bold header and paragraph text on vibrant colored background. Highly noticeable. Example: Centered CTA
Cruip's Feature CTAs - Icons, headings and buttons in a responsive grid layout. Emphasize benefits. Example: Feature CTAs
Tailwind Starter Kit Form CTA - Features contact form on partially transparent image background. Example: Form CTA
Tailwind UI's Newsletter CTA - Email signup form with eye-catching vibrant background colors. Example: Newsletter CTA

CTA Sections with Images

CTAs that use images for visual impact:

Windmill Dashboard Image CTA - Overlaid dark transparent layer on background image with bold header and paragraph text. Example: Image CTA
Tailwind Starter Kit Photo CTA - Prominent background photo with bold header and paragraph text overlay. Example: Photo CTA
Float UI's Hero CTA - Bold header and button over large background image. Very striking. Example: Hero CTA
Cruip's Featured CTA - Massive background image with overlaid dark gradient and bold header text. Example: Featured CTA

CTA Sections with Color

CTAs that use color for visual impact:

Float UI's Colored CTA - Features different vibrant background colors on each CTA with bold headers. Example: Colored CTA
Tailwind UI's Vibrant CTA - Bright colored background with white header and paragraph text. Pops on page. Example: Vibrant CTA
Windmill Dashboard Solid CTA - Multiple CTA sections with colored backgrounds, headers, and buttons. Example: Solid CTA
Cruip's Gradient CTA - Animated gradient background with bold header and paragraph text. Mesmerizing. Example: Gradient CTA

Blog and Post Templates

Here are some excellent templates for blog pages and posts:

Cruip Blog Page - Shows latest post excerpts, categories and about section. Familiar blog layout. Example: Cruip Blog
Float UI Blog Page - Features highlighted featured post, listing of other posts, and tags. Example: Float UI Blog
Windmill Blog Page - Includes search bar and grid of post excerpts with images. Scannable. Example: Windmill Blog
Tailwind Starter Kit Blog - Minimalist vertical list of post excerpts without images. Text-focused. Example: Starter Kit Blog

Blog Home Page Templates

Templates designed specifically for the main blog page:

Float UI Blog Home - Has featured post section at the top followed by a list of other post excerpts. Example: Blog Home
Cruip Blog Home - Displays list of categories, search bar, and post excerpts in vertical list. Example: Cruip Home
Windmill Blog Home - Simple vertical list of latest blog posts without images. Clean and text-focused. Example: Windmill Home
Tailwind Starter Kit Blog Page - Contains featured post at top with vertical list of other post excerpts below. Example: Blog Page

Individual Blog Post Templates

Templates for individual blog posts:

Float UI Blog Post - Showcases featured image, post body content, author info, and comments section. Example: Blog Post
Cruip Blog Article - Features striking full-width header image with overlaid bold text and post content below. Example: Blog Article
Windmill Single Post - Implements post title, metadata, formatted post body text, and author bio. Example: Single Post
Tailwind Starter Kit Single Post - Displays featured image, title, post content, and author information in clean layout. Example: Single Post

A quality footer improves site navigation and provides necessary contact information. Here are great footer templates:

Float UI's Basic Footer - Simple design with menu links, social icons, and copyright info. Example: Basic Footer
Cruip's Stylish Footer - Multiple columns with links, bold social icons, and newsletter signup section. Example: Stylish Footer
Tailwind Starter Kit Footer - Minimalist with menu links, social icons, and copyright info. Example: Starter Kit Footer
Windmill Dashboard Footer - Contact details, social media links, and condensed menu. Focused on essentials. Example: Dashboard Footer

Clean, condensed footers that avoid clutter:

Float UI's Light Footer - Thin footer with links in columns, social icons, and tiny copyright text. Example: Light Footer
Cruip's Minimal Footer - Just essential links, social icons, and copyright info. No extras. Example: Minimal Footer
Tailwind UI's Compact Footer - Very thin footer with minimal links and tiny logo. Only essentials. Example: Compact Footer
Windmill Slim Footer - Small menu links, email address, and slim copyright text. Example: [Slim Footer