# start_html ships five HTML5 starter layouts for people who want a working baseline

> wdmcourses/start_html is a collection of ready made HTML5 and Sass starter folders for responsive front end work, each one a complete file structure with a preloader, a fonts file, a main stylesheet, a media query file and a common script, so a new project starts from a working page rather than an empty document. It suits a front end developer or student who wants the scaffolding in place, and it captures the JavaScript stack of the 2010s rather than a modern toolchain.

**wdmcourses/start_html** — Стартовые шаблоны для адаптивной вёрстки сайтов

- Repository: https://github.com/wdmcourses/start_html
- Stars: 569 · Forks: 494
- Language: Sass
- License: not declared
- Published: 2026-10-22 · Updated: 2026-10-22 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/wdmcourses-start-html

## Five starter folders, one per build setup

The repository is a set of starting points rather than an application, and the choice is which of five folders to copy.

The documentation gives a one line command for each, in the form of a git clone of the repository followed by a copy of the named folder into the current directory and the removal of the clone. The one line for the optimized gulp and Sass variant clones https://github.com/wdmcourses/start_html, copies start_html/_optimized_gulp_sass into the current directory and removes the clone, and the one for the plain HTML variant does the same with start_html/_optimized_html.

The other three follow the same shape, for _clean_html, _clean_sass and _optimized_gulp_sass_jade. The naming is the documentation: a clean folder is a plain hand written HTML or Sass project, an optimized folder has the build step added, and the Jade variant swaps the template language.

The top level of the repository matches exactly those five directories, plus a .gitignore and the README, and there is no package.json, no build configuration and no source outside them. That is the whole point of the repository. You clone once, copy the folder you want, and delete the clone.

There is a second route documented as well. You can download the whole archive from GitHub with the Code button and Download ZIP, unpack it, and delete the folders you do not need. The clone route exists so that the copying can be automated, and the documentation says you need a Unix shell and Git, which are available by default on macOS and Linux, and that Windows users are advised to use WSL, with a link to an installation guide for WSL and the Node.js environment on Windows.

The author of the build is credited at the top of the page as webdesign-master.ru.

## What the clean variants actually contain

The README lists the contents of the latest build, and the list is the best description of the project you will get.

First, a starting file structure that the documentation says is the one accepted by most front end developers. Then index.html, described as the index HTML file with initial valid markup, and a page preloader that is present in the clean HTML and clean Sass variants.

Then the starter CSS and Sass files. There is a fonts file, given as a Sass file for connecting fonts with an example, a main file for the main user styles, and a media file described as the media query file for responsive layout with an initial Desktop First and Mobile First structure. The clean Sass variant also includes the Bourbon mixin library, linked to bourbon.io, described as a ready to use mixin library.

There is a /fonts directory with the Roboto typeface in eot, woff and ttf. There is an img/favicon directory with Apple compatible favicons of the right size, connected in index.html and provided as an example. And there is a mail.php, a PHP script for sending requests from the site with an example structure.

That last item is the one that dates the project. A mail.php form handler sitting in a starter template is a 2010s pattern, and a project built on it today would be handling form submissions with a script that sends mail directly from the server. The README is explicit that the templates are meant to speed up the development of modern adaptive sites, and it also says the templates are maintained and regularly updated and recommends downloading a new version before starting a project.

The primary language of the repository is recorded as Sass, which matches the emphasis on the Sass variants.

## js/common.js bundles analytics setup, form posting and a scroll plugin

The common script file is the piece that shows what the author considers the default front end obligations, and it is worth going through item by item.

The file includes a structure for setting up Google Analytics and Yandex.Metrica goals, so the template ships with both analytics vendors wired in. It includes a fallback for SVG images connected through an img tag. It includes an initial script for sending site forms over AJAX. It includes smooth page scrolling in the Chrome browser, pointing at a /plugins-scroll path. And it disables dragging of images on pages.

The last three are the ones a modern project would throw away rather than keep, and the first one is the one a company would have an opinion about.

Shipping a template with Google Analytics and Yandex.Metrica goal structures pre-built means a new project starts with two analytics vendors' configuration in place, ready to receive identifiers. That is convenient, and it is also a privacy decision that the person who copies the folder inherits without making it.

The AJAX form script is a starting point too. It is described as an initial script, which is the honest framing: it sends forms, and you will replace it with something that knows about your endpoints, your validation and your error states.

## The bundled libraries are the real constraint

The library list in the README is the clearest way to date the templates, and it matters for anyone starting a project from them.

The base jQuery plugins included under /libs are Animate.css, animate-css.js and Waypoints, described as plugins for simple scroll triggered animation on pages. Bootstrap is there, and the README is precise about which version: the full and the lightweight bootstrap-grid.min.css version are included, and in index.html the lightweight one is connected, so only the grid, with no JavaScript and no components.

Then there is html5shiv for HTML5 in Internet Explorer, jQuery from the first branch, modernizr, and Respond.js.

Read together, that is a stack assembled around the problem of supporting older browsers: a shim for HTML5 in IE, a Respond.js polyfill for CSS media queries in older IE, modernizr for feature detection, and jQuery itself.

That is a coherent design for its time and a poor fit now. jQuery from the first branch, Bootstrap's grid without its JavaScript, and a media query polyfill for a browser that no longer needs one are three dependencies a 2026 project would not want to inherit. The list is not a flaw in the templates, since the templates are meant to be edited, but anyone adopting them should plan on removing the /libs directory rather than maintaining it.

The one genuinely durable decision in the list is the Bootstrap grid. A grid system with no JavaScript attached is still a reasonable way to lay out a page, and it is the part of the stack that has aged best.

## The Sass and Gulp variants, and the Jade option

The optimized variants add a build step, which is what the gulp and Jade names refer to, and the Jade variant is the outlier in the set.

The two clean variants and the two optimized HTML and Sass variants are the mainstream choices, and the difference between clean and optimized is whether the Sass is compiled through the task runner or kept as plain files. The Jade variant replaces the HTML with Jade templates, and Jade has been effectively abandoned as a project, so a folder built around it is a folder you will convert before you use.

The practical question for a new project is whether you want a build step at all. If your project will use a modern bundler anyway, the clean HTML or clean Sass folder is the one to start from, because the gulp configuration and the Jade templates are both work you would throw away. If you want nothing but a static site with prewritten CSS, the optimized HTML variant is the most self contained.

The README does not describe the gulp tasks, the Sass structure or the Jade setup in any detail. It points to the author site, webdesign-master.ru, and to the file list of what is included, and that is the extent of the documentation. The named component files, fonts.css, main.css and media.css, are the map of the stylesheet structure, and the Desktop First and Mobile First mention in the media file description is a hint about how the responsive layer is meant to be organised, but the actual contents of those files are not documented.

## Where this starter set is the wrong tool

There is a clear case against, and it is about the age of the stack rather than the quality of the templates.

The first problem is the dependency set. A starter template is the one place where an inherited dependency is hardest to remove later, because every page already links to it. Starting from this repository means starting with jQuery from its first branch, two IE polyfills, modernizr, and the grid-only build of Bootstrap. A project that has to keep those for the life of the codebase has taken on a maintenance obligation before it has written a line of its own code.

The second is that the templates are an opinionated snapshot. index.html comes with favicons connected, a mail.php handler, two analytics integrations and a set of plugins already referenced. A new project has to unpick that before it can be its own thing, and the unpicking is more work than writing those eight files fresh.

The third is the licence question, which is unresolved in the metadata. The repository lists the licence as one GitHub cannot classify, and there is no LICENSE file in the top level listing, which is only .gitignore and README.md beside the five starter folders. For a repository whose whole purpose is to be copied into other projects, that is a gap worth closing before you copy anything.

The alternative is not another starter repository, it is starting from a directory you control. The value the templates add is real: a file layout that most front end developers recognise, a working preloader, a media query file split by breakpoint, and a set of components that are already wired together. Take the layout and the component list, and take the libraries from a current source.

## Conclusion

start_html fits a front end developer or a student who wants a complete, opinionated file structure to start a responsive site from, and who would rather copy one of the five starter folders than design a directory layout. It does not fit a team building on a modern bundler and component pipeline, because the included libraries are jQuery from its first branch, Bootstrap's grid only in the page, modernizr and Respond.js, and there is no build step in the clean variants. Before starting a project from it, read the file list in the README and check the licence file, because the repository metadata does not classify the licence, and plan to replace the bundled jQuery plugins and analytics stubs with your own rather than shipping them.

## FAQ

### How do I get one of the start_html templates?

Clone the repository and copy the folder you want, for example git clone https://github.com/wdmcourses/start_html; cp -r start_html/_optimized_gulp_sass .; rm -rf start_html. You can also download the whole archive with the Code button and Download ZIP, unpack it, and delete the folders you do not need.

### Which starter folders does start_html contain?

Five: _clean_html, _clean_sass, _optimized_html, _optimized_gulp_sass and _optimized_gulp_sass_jade. The clean variants are plain HTML or Sass, the optimized ones add a build step, and the Jade variant uses Jade templates.

### What libraries does the start_html template bundle?

Under /libs it includes Animate.css, animate-css.js, Waypoints, Bootstrap including the lightweight bootstrap-grid.min.css that is the version connected in index.html, html5shiv, jQuery from the first branch, modernizr and Respond.js. It also ships a fonts file, a main file, a media file and the Bourbon mixin library in the clean Sass variant.

### Does the start_html repository have a documented licence?

The licence field in the repository metadata is one that GitHub cannot classify, and the top level of the repository contains a .gitignore and README.md beside the five starter folders without a LICENSE file. The README also points to the author's site for details.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/wdmcourses/start_html/issues)
- [README](https://github.com/wdmcourses/start_html/blob/master/README.md)
- [wdmcourses/start_html on GitHub](https://github.com/wdmcourses/start_html)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/wdmcourses-start-html