Until then I had always relied on CSS Grid, which allows for more precise customisation, but at times can be tricky or time-consuming to get setup right. Bootstrap is a great alternative to this and contains lots of features to quickly add interactivity to a site. In conclusion, despite its limitations, Bootstrap provides the tools needed to bring ideas to life. Whether you are an experienced developer or just starting out with your first project, you can use this tool for your benefit to create visually stunning and responsive websites.

For a user accessing your site with high latency, it can cause scenarios of loading the site without it’s CSS library, creating every web developer’s worst nightmare. I’d rather use the physical library’s in that case, but how much file size and bloat does it really create? With version 5, Bootstrap is even more flexible when it comes to colors in your design. You can choose from multiple color modes, meaning you can create your own unique themes or experiment with different color schemes to suit your style. It can be a strength for some websites because users don’t need to relearn the patterns and how to navigate the website.

Using Bootstrap as a module

So, even though Tailwind CSS is certainly on the way to becoming the number one choice of CSS frameworks, low-code builders will have a considerable impact. For both novice and expert developers, low-code builders have become a cost-effective solution in the long run. Both of them are being used for modern website styling. However, if you want to complete and deploy a project quickly, Bootstrap is suitable.

I took to the fundamentals
of HTML fairly quickly; I even grew quite proficient in PHP but CSS was always
an after thought. Honestly as the answer usually always is, it takes time and
lots of practice to learn. In Bootstrap 5, jQuery has been removed and replaced with vanilla JavaScript, along with the inclusion of multiple functional plug-ins. They also what is bootstrap used for saw an opportunity to include more modern plugins like Popper. In addition, from a technical standpoint, consistent coding practices and standards improve the maintainability and scalability of the website. It simplifies the process of making updates, fixing bugs, and introducing new features, ensuring that the website is adaptable in the long run.

How to get started?

As shown in my tests, Bootstrap coding structure along with the core files can cause in some cases up to 23 times the file size. From a web developer’s stand point this can cause lengthy site loading times. In this example I used CSS grid as an alternative but shortcuts rarely occur without their consequences and in this case it’s browser support. Yourself and many others probably use browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, etc.. But there is still a large user base that still browse the web with IE (Internet Explorer). Unfortunately this shortcut’s consequence is the lack of support for IE and with microsoft moving away from IE, there may not be support anytime soon.

It was so terrible it prompted me to write this article. You should consider the project’s deadline, CSS design patterns, and team expertise. If a project needs a modular and utility-first approach and more control over the design as well as your team’s capability, go for Tailwind. Choose Bootstrap if you want to complete a project fast and don’t need extensive customization. For its ease of use and widespread support, it’s a great choice to complete a project quickly, even in 2024.

How to Use Bootstrap in Web Development

And something developers LOVE to do is save time and make their code more maintainable and reusable. A precompiled version of Bootstrap is available in the form of one CSS file and three JavaScript files that can be readily added to any project. The raw form of Bootstrap, however, enables developers to implement further customization and size optimizations. This raw form is modular, meaning that the developer can remove unneeded components, apply a theme and modify the uncompiled Sass files. Adding the .img-responsive class will automatically resize images based on the users’ screen size.

• It takes time to learn the available classes and components, which can be complicated for someone with no technical knowledge.
• When I first discovered the framework I was intrigued — a way to ensure my webpages were responsive in an easy way sounded to good to be true.
• However, there may be limitations regarding modals and dropdowns on smaller screens.
• Additionally, Bootstrap’s grid system makes the data entry process more straightforward.

For example, Symfony documentation explains the concepts of Entity and Repository Pattern. In comparison, the Bootstrap utilities API is a mess. None of the documentation, nor the sample code examples, are easy to pick up, especially when you don’t know version 5. Though both Bootstrap and Tailwind UI components can fit any project very well, Bootstrap is still ahead in terms of popularity. Its high adoption rate, extensive community, rigorous online resources, and compatibility with web development tools have played a vital role here. This highly modular nature, mobile-first development approach, and compatibility with modern development tools make Tailwind CSS an incredible choice for passionate developers.

How to Get Started With Bootstrap

This syntax must be below the jQuery syntax to function properly. The addition process can be done via Google’s URL or a manual download. It’s better to load it from the CDN via HTTP as the files can be cached for a year.

Spotify, like many other companies, employs the Bootstrap framework to power its digital streaming platform. If you have used Spotify at least once, you know that it swiftly adjusts to different screen sizes, enabling users to enjoy their favorite content anytime and anywhere. These two customizable CSS frameworks are the top choices of many developers.

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. Using grid I have replicated the same page layout I created using Boostrap with half the code.

OK, the two cards don’t look the same, but I want you to look at the code. With Bootstrap, card components can differ in terms of sizes and colors, but in the end, they more or less look the same. Remember what I told you at the beginning of this article? You can easily detect when a website is using Bootstrap.

What our customers say

For that reason, both structures need to coexist together to perform a particular action. Here are the three primary framework files that manage the user interface and functionality of a website. Bootstrap also provides additional classes like .img-circle and .img-rounded, which help to modify the images’ shape. 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.