Recently, Bootstrap gained much popularity as the number one Front-end framework among web developers. It was developed by Twitter’s team and is a combination of Javascript, CSS, and HTML code meant to help web developers build UI (User Interface) components. It’s basically a free collection of tools used to develop responsive websites and web applications.
However, as with any framework, there are some clear pros and cons to using Bootstrap and in this article, we’ll cover some of them in order to help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.
Pros
#1 – Saves Time
Writing code can be extremely time-consuming, especially if you don’t document your own work and have to go reading through your code to figure out where to pick up. Not only does Bootstrap have great documentation on every component, but by using it you won’t even have to write code anymore. All you need to get started is some basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, or Javascript and you can start developing. It’s also extremely simple to use, which means you won’t have to waste a couple of days just figuring things out.
#2 – Bootstrap Encourages Consistency
Twitter employees started developing Bootstrap thinking about a framework that’s going to be consistent above all else. By solving the consistency issues between the development front and the end users Bootstrap became the number one framework among web developers. The main problem it solved are various inconsistencies that exist between developers and designers on a project because Bootstrap’s final results always look the same on every platform and every browser. By recognizing the need to pair the designers and developers, Bootstrap became open-source framework in 2011.
#3 – Better Teamwork
One of the best things about Bootstrap is that the coders will be free to code without having to worry about how their work is going to look like in the end. Add detailed tutorial documents to that and you have a framework that’s extremely beginner friendly. If a new person joins your team, it’ll be extremely easy for them to learn how to use the framework. Anything you need to know about the framework – you can find it in the docs.
#4 – Bootstrap Offers an Excellent Grid System
A good grid is required if you’re looking to create page layouts and Bootstrap has probably the best responsive grid system. Bootstrap website content is always divided into 12 fluid, responsive columns. It makes working through columns a breeze which is very cool when you’re looking to hide platform specific content. Certain elements can only be made visible on a desktop (because you don’t need them on mobile devices) and vice-versa. Using the predefined classes will make using the grid much easier and faster to get a grasp on.
#5 – Responsiveness
If there’s one thing that’s certain today it’s that mobile devices will only continue to grow in popularity in the years to come. Most of the initial searches today are run through mobile devices, which goes to say how important it is to have a responsive website. This is why most companies like Webwingz Web Development recommend to always do everything you can towards responsiveness of your website. Well, Bootstrap is all about creating mobile-friendly websites. You literally don’t have to do anything to get to a required level of responsiveness, thanks to the already mentioned fluid grid.
You just need to decide how many squares each column occupies and whether your columns are going to stack vertically or horizontally to display as intended on mobile devices.
Cons
#1 – Every Bootstrap Website Looks Similar
Bootstrap was created by the Twitter team for the purpose of working faster on a standardized interface, which makes Bootstrap a purpose made-tool, one that’s not completely aligned with standard concepts of web development.
The main drawback of this is that everything built with Bootstrap will have very similar looks. You might be able to override and modify style sheets manually, but this kind of kills the purpose of initially using the framework. And even if you do it, there’s no changing the fact that all websites built through this framework will be extremely recognizable as Bootstrap.
#2 – Has a Learning Curve
While it’s easy to learn using Bootstrap, you still have to invest some time into it. You’ll need to know all the available Bootstrap CSS classes, but also just how Bootstrap components access these classes. You’ll also need some time to experiment with and get used to the grid system. Like we said, Bootstrap’s amazing documentation goes a long way to get you through the learning process, and once you’re used to it you won’t need much time adapting to the newer versions of the code.
#3 – Can be Heavy
While it’s easy to build a responsive website with Bootstrap, the end results can be quite a bit heavy for the users in terms of slower loading times, as well as battery drain issues. Also, the files generated by Bootstrap can be huge in size, which can slow things down for you quite heavily. You might be able to go on and delete things manually, but this again defeats the purpose of using the framework at all.
Bottom Line
Using Bootstrap framework for web development has clear ups and downs and it all depends on you whether you’ll use it or not. It’s worth to note that time is extremely pricey these days, so every minute you save by using a framework like Bootstrap can mean a lot. It can also make the whole coding experience more fun since you won’t have to worry about how your end result looks like – you’ll already know it from the get-go.
If you want to learn how to use Bootstrap you can check this interactive Bootstrap tutorial from BitDegree.org.
