Bootstrap
What Is Bootstrap?
Bootstrap?is a free and open-source web development framework. It’s designed to ease the web development process of responsive, mobile-first websites by providing a collection of syntax for template designs.In other words, Bootstrap helps web developers?build websites?faster as they don’t need to worry about basic commands and functions. It consists of?HTML,?CSS, and JS-based scripts for various web design-related functions and components.
After its open source release in 2011, Bootstrap became popular very quickly, and not without reason. Web designers and web?developers like Bootstrap?because it is flexible and easy to work with. Its main advantages are that it is responsive by design, it maintains wide browser compatibility, it offers consistent design by using re-usable components, and it is very easy to use and quick to learn. It offers rich extensibility using JavaScript, coming with built-in support for jQuery plugins and a programmatic JavaScript API. Bootstrap can be used with any IDE or editor, and any server side technology and language, from ASP.NET to PHP to Ruby on Rails.
With Bootstrap,?web developers?can concentrate on the development work, without worrying about design, and get a good looking website up and running quickly. Conversely, it gives web designers a solid foundation for creating interesting Bootstrap themes.
Basic Functions of Bootstrap:
Bootstrap’s primary objective is to create responsive, mobile-first websites. It ensures all interface elements of a website work optimally on all screen sizes.
Bootstrap is available in two variants ??precompiled?and?based on a source code version. Experienced developers prefer the latter since it lets them customize the styles to suit their projects.
For example, the “source code” version of Bootstrap lets you access the?Sass port. This means it creates a custom stylesheet that imports Bootstrap, allowing you to modify and extend the tool as needed.
You can also?install Bootstrap?with a package manager ? a tool that manages and updates frameworks, libraries, and assets.
Some of the most popular package managers include?npm,?Composer, and?Bower.?Npm?manages server-side dependencies, while?Composer?focuses on the front-end. If you work on PHP-based projects, consider using?Bower?instead.
Due to its popularity, more and more Bootstrap communities emerge. These are great places for web developers and web designers to share knowledge and discuss the latest versions of Bootstrap patches.
Why Should You Use Bootstrap?
Some of Bootstrap’s interface components include navigation bars, grid systems, image carousels, and buttons.
If you’re still not convinced whether Bootstrap is worth a try, here are the advantages of using it compared to other web development frameworks.
Ease of Use
First and foremost, Bootstrap is easy to learn. Due to its popularity, plenty of tutorials and online forums are available to help you get started.
One of the reasons why Bootstrap is so popular among web developers and web designers is that it has a simple file structure. Its files are compiled for easy access, and it only requires basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JS to modify them.
You can also use themes for popular content management systems as learning tools. For example, most WordPress themes were developed using Bootstrap, which any beginner web developer can access.
To increase the site’s page load time, Bootstrap minifies the CSS and JavaScript files. Additionally, Bootstrap maintains consistency across the syntax between websites and developers, which is ideal for team-based projects.
Responsive Grid
Bootstrap comes with a predefined grid system, saving you from creating one from scratch. The grid system consists of rows and columns, letting you make a grid inside the existing one instead of entering media queries within the CSS file.
Additionally, Bootstrap’s grid system makes the data entry process more straightforward. It contains lots of media queries, allowing you to define each column’s custom breakpoints based on your web project needs.
The default settings are usually more than enough. After creating a grid, you only need to add content to the containers.
The Bootstrap grid system has two container classes to better accommodate both desktop and mobile-based projects ? a?fixed?container?(.container) and a?fluid?container?(.container-fluid).
The first container class provides a fixed-width container, while the latter offers a full-width container capable of adjusting your project to all screen sizes.
Browser Compatibility
Making your website accessible via different browsers helps reduce the bounce rate and rank higher in search results. Bootstrap fulfills that requirement by being compatible with the latest versions of popular browsers.
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Despite not supporting lesser-known browsers like?WebKit?and?Gecko, websites with Bootstrap should function correctly on them as well. However, there may be limitations regarding modals and dropdowns on smaller screens.
Bootstrap Image System
Bootstrap handles the image display and responsiveness with its predefined HTML and CSS rules.
Adding the?.img-responsive?class will automatically resize images based on the users’ screen size. This will benefit your website’s performance, as reducing image sizes is part of the site optimization process.
Bootstrap also provides additional classes like?.img-circle?and?.img-rounded,?which help to modify the images’ shape.
Bootstrap Documentation
Bootstrap provides documentation for developers who want to learn to use this framework for the first time. Here are several topics you can find on the Bootstrap documentation
The documentation also includes code samples for basic practices. You may even copy and modify the code samples for your projects, saving you time from having to code from scratch.
3 Primary Files of Bootstrap
Bootstrap consists of a collection of syntax compiled in three primary files ??Bootstrap.css,?Bootstrap.js, and?Glyphicons. Keep in mind that Bootstrap requires a JS library called?jQuery?to run JS plugins and components.
Here are the three primary framework files that manage the user interface and functionality of a website.
Bootstrap.css
Bootstrap.css is a CSS framework that arranges and manages the layout of a website. While HTML works with the content and structure of a web page, CSS deals with the layout itself. For that reason, both structures need to coexist together to perform a particular action.
Bootstrap.css and its functions help a developer create a uniform look on as many pages as they need. As a result, the web developer won’t have to spend hours on manual editing.
Instead of coding from scratch, you only need to refer a web page to a CSS file. Any necessary alteration can be done in that file alone.
CSS functions are not limited to text styles only as you can use them to format other aspects within a website, such as tables and image layouts.
Bootstrap.js
This file is the core part of Bootstrap. It consists of JavaScript files that are responsible for the website’s interactivity.
To save time from writing JavaScript syntax numerous times, developers tend to use jQuery ? a popular open-source, cross-platform JavaScript library.
Here are a few examples of what jQuery can do:
While Bootstrap with CSS properties and HTML elements can function just fine, it needs jQuery to create a responsive design. Otherwise, you can only use the bare, static parts of the stylesheet language.
Glyphicons
Icons are an integral part of the front-end of a website, as they often display actions and data within the user interface.
Bootstrap uses icons called Glyphicons, which include a?Glyphicons Halflings set. Although the design is basic, they perform their essential functions, and they’re free to use.
If you want to find more stylish icons,?Glyphicons?sells various premium sets for niche-specific sites.