What is Bootstrap? / Beginner's Guide

Bootstrap

A Beginner's Guide

Maybe you’ve heard of “Bootstrap” but don’t know what it is. Or maybe you have a vague understanding that Bootstrap is connected to web design, but don’t know what Twitter has to do with it. Today, we’ll take a beginner’s look at what bootstrap is and why you should consider it for your website.

What is Bootstrap?

Bootstrap is a collection of tools used to design and develop a website. It’s a front end framework, and it’s open source, meaning that developers can pick, choose, and adapt bootstrap to meet the specific needs of a project. Bootstrap was created in 2011 by Twitter engineers Mark Otto and Jacob Thornton who needed to solve problems with internal inconsistencies. They wanted to create an efficient and singular framework. Since its release on Github in 2011, Bootstrap has become the top open source development project on the Internet.

Why Use Bootstrap?

Bootstrap is popular for a reason-- it’s convenient. With Bootstrap, it doesn’t take much time or effort to create a professional, slick website. And, the even better news is that Bootstrap is continuing to evolve and grow stronger. It’s the most active project on Github, and developers are constantly adding new components and functionality to the framework. Because it’s always under testing, Bootstrap benefits from an engaging community of developers who find solutions to problems, almost immediately. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons Bootstrap is boss.

Bootstrap is Easy to Use

The best feature of Bootstrap is its ease of use. Instead of searching for design elements from all over the web, Bootstrap offers immediate access to a huge list of pre-styled components, including menus, navigation bars, progress bars, and buttons. It makes huge use of the included JavaScript libraries. There’s no hunting for the perfect slider, only to find that it doesn’t work properly with your website. Instead, you can rely on the tried and tested JavaScript plugins to create the look you want in minutes, or even seconds, if you’re quick enough.

Bootstrap is Easy to Learn

Bootstrap doesn’t require that you spend hours of your life, and countless YouTube videos and e-courses to try to master it. Simply choose one of our great Bootstrap templates here on Gridgum, and then get to work tweaking it to make it your own. You don’t have to worry about being a developer in order to create a unique website that you can be proud of.

Bootstrap is Responsive

If you don’t already know, responsive design is not optional anymore. Your website should be viewable on each device, especially mobile devices, right out of the box. That’s why Bootstrap is focused on mobile-first. Websites created with this framework can respond to each viewport with ease.

What are the Drawbacks?

Of course, Bootstrap is not without its drawbacks. One of the loudest arguments against using Bootstrap is the potential that your site can look like everyone else’s. To minimize this worry, try out one of our premium customizable Bootstrap templates for WordPress or HTML.

Conclusion

Bootstrap has energized the development community, and for good reason-- it’s a solid, powerful, and easy to use front end framework. Get started today customizing your very own Bootstrap template.

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responsive design