What is Bootstrap?

Bootstrap is a free and open source front end development framework for the creation of websites and web apps. The Bootstrap framework is built on HTML, CSS and JavaScript (JS) to facilitate the development of responsive, mobile-first sites and apps.

Why Use Bootstrap?

Every front-end developer’s goal is to create a multi functioning, easy-to-navigate, and aesthetically appealing front-end design for website and web/mobile apps. It might seem very basic but the effort that goes into building such a front-end requires a lot of patience, efforts such as writing repetitive and time consuming coding processes. Fortunately, a team of developers started to build a Framework that lightened the burden on the shoulders of front-end developers and they named it Bootstrap.

Bootstrap became popular among the front-end community in no time since its launch, and the reasons are plenty. According to BuiltWith, the number of active websites using Bootstrap is over 12 million. It’s time to start exploring the reasons why you should look up for Bootstrap.

Here are some reasons why you should use Bootstrap:

Time-Saving
Easy to Use
Responsive Grid System
Customizable
Cross-Browser Compatibility
Establish Consistency
Open-Source
Huge Number of Resources and Community Support

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Time-Saving

When you are bound to an extremely confined timeline to build a website, web app or mobile app, you can take advantage of Bootstrap and nail your project effortlessly. It’s because of the ready-made blocks built ready for you to use them. Clearly, you don’t have to start everything from scratch, and you can modify certain elements to make it unique with your inputs.

Also, Bootstrap unpacks ready-made themes & templates when you download and install it. You can choose from it or you can also opt to include inputs from other sources. But, you must also be aware that there are a lot of people who do the same. Hence, to look unique from the rest of the websites that have the same theme or template, you need to get a little creative and tweak certain things so that it defines your website or application distinctively.

Easy to Use

No matter whether you are an expert or a beginner in web technologies, you can swiftly do the Bootstrap installation for yourself without any hassle. As said, though you don’t have to be an expert in web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), having basic knowledge of them don’t hurt. Below are the ways to link your HTML document with your style sheet and script file.

Cascading Style Sheet (CSS):

JavaScript:

Responsive Grid System

Creating a page starts from creating a grid layout for your page. Responsive grid systems are of utmost priority as there is an increase in the usage of smartphones. Any disorientation in front-end design will directly impact on the authenticity of the website and your website fails to gain the visitors’ trust. Since Bootstrap has been built under the idea of “Mobile-First”, its grid system can divide the screen into 12 equal columns and accommodate the elements according to the screen size. This makes your website’s front-end mobile-friendly. Also, with the help of the grid system’s classes, you can hide and show certain elements only on certain devices.

Customizable

You can always tweak the CSS file if you’re not satisfied with Bootstrap’s design template. Also, you can combine it with your existing design and make them complement each other’s functions. It is very much helpful when you want to give your website a distinct look but you don’t have enough time to learn or code custom CSS from scratch.

With the help of Bootstrap’s customization page, you can tweak it further to create your own theme. Also, you must identify and remove all the plugins and components that you will not require for your web project. Moreover; you also get to have a section where you can customize your template by changing the values to the variables.

Cross-Browser Compatibility

The Bootstrap team ensures the compatibility of the framework with all modern browsers versions and platforms. Also, the team claims that they don’t support proxy browsers and older browsers; but that doesn’t affect its display or functionality.

Establish Consistency

For a longer period, there have been inconsistencies prevailing between the Front-end and Backend development teams. The creators of Bootstrap wanted to find a solution to establish consistency among them. Thus, they came up with Bootstrap that eradicates the use of libraries that differ from developer to developer. Hence, no matter who handles the project, the framework establishes consistency throughout the project. Since it is also cross-browser compatible, no matter what browser you use for your development purpose, it consistently reflects the same output across all browsers.

Open-Source

Since Bootstrap is an open-source framework, you can modify according to your project demands without having to spend a dime on licenses. Also, it encourages the fellow community developers to contribute so that it can grow at a steady pace.

Huge Number of Resources and Community Support

Bootstrap offers a lot of resources on their official website and some other websites also offer certain resources that would ease the front-end development process. Also, the official website offers incredible documentation with which creating a website has never been easier. Moreover, you get access to their templates and themes to which you can make changes.

You can also search for resources offered by websites other than Bootstrap, and you can find UI Kits, tutorials, themes, plugins, templates, etc. for inspiration. You can then use them on projects that demand their presence. Since the Bootstrap community is big, if you are stuck with an error and you couldn’t figure out why it went wrong using Google, you can post a question. Expert developers who walked your path will definitely lend a hand to help you out.

Bootstrap updates their framework continuously and keeps the community posted. Also, the developers keep the community posted by providing informational content regarding the updates and its growth through Bootstrap’s official blog. As a result, it encourages its audience (developers) to give feedback; and the team gets direct tangible feedback from its user base.

Conclusion

Bootstrap is a powerful framework that has taken web development, especially front-end development, and community to the next level. Also, it paces up the development process by offering resources such as templates and themes, which can be customized according to the project needs. Moreover, it’s an open-source framework and you can modify it without spending a penny.

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