What is Bootstrap in Programming, HTML & Web Development[Complete Guide]

15 Oct 2022

Have you been researching about creating websites? You might have come across Bootstrap. So, what is Bootstrap and how can you use it to create websites?

Bootstrap is tool used in creating responsive website and web applications(web apps). Bootstrap is mainly concerned with the appearance of your website.

If you download Bootstrap, you will find a bunch of CSS and Javascript files.

Since Bootstrap solves alot of the challenges in web developments, it has been expanded into other tools like React Bootstrap for React.JS and BootstrapVue for Vue.JS.

Bootstrap Versions

Bootstraps has seen 5 major versions releases. The current Bootstrap Version is Bootstrap 5.

Earlier versions of Bootstrap were dependent on Jquery but Bootstrap 5 dropped Jquery.

Where is Bootstrap used

Boostrap is mainly used in making websites and web applications.

Why Use Bootstrap used

Bootstrap is used to add layout and components to your website.

Bootstrap has components already created that also account for browser compatibility.

Bootstrap provides a list of already styled components that you can start using on your project.

How Do you Use Bootstrap

You can use Bootstrap in 3 main methods. You can use Bootstrap through:

CDN links
Downloading Bootstrap files to your project
Installing Bootstrap as a dependency through package managers(NPM, Composer, & Bower)

When Can You Use

Bootstrap is usually used when:

You need a design standard in a team project.
You want to reduce the amount of time taken to produce a website or app.
Individual developers need to scaffold design of the website or app.

What can you do With Bootstrap

You can create multiple types of layouts using Bootstrap’s grid layout.
You can easily add common components to your website.
You can speed up website development instead of creating from scratch.

Advantages

Cross browser compatibility
Easy to use and learn
Availability of templates to speed up development

Disadvantages

Large size of the CSS and Javascript files that impact page download
Latest version of Bootstrap dropped support for older browsers like Internet Explorer
Some parts of Bootstrap are not easy to customize