What is Bootstrap CSS?

Bootstrap: -

Bootstrap is a CSS framework that is free to use and is used for the front-end development of the website in a faster and easier way.

Bootstrap was released as an open-source product on August 19 in 2011 on the GitHub platform but was originally developed by Mark Otto and Jacob Thornton on Twitter.

Bootstrap combines HTML and CSS-based design templates for forms, tables, buttons, images, carousels, etc. Bootstrap is a grid system.

It is used for designing or creating responsive templates. Bootstrap has many versions like version 1. x, version 2. x, version 3. x, version 4. x, and version 5. x, but the latest version is Bootstrap 5.

Bootstrap version 3 was released in 2013. Bootstrap version 4 was released in 2018, and now the current version of Bootstrap, bootstrap 5, was released in 2021.

Bootstrap versions 3, 4, and 5 differ because bootstrap 5 uses JavaScript instead of jQuery.

Bootstrap 5 is supported by all major browsers except Internet Explorer 11 and its own versions. Using Bootstrap, we can save a lot of time for writing CSS code, and that saved time can be utilized in designing web pages.

Bootstrap is an open-source toolkit that comes with global CSS settings, pre-defined buttons, forms, slide bar, navigation bar, etc.

It also has some JavaScript plugins, which are optional but can be used to speed up the process of web development.

How to Download Bootstrap CSS: -

Instead of downloading Bootstrap, we can use it remotely via Bootstrap CDN or jsDelivr. But while using it remotely, we will require an internet connection so that we can visit or see the website.

But if we want that our Bootstrap should work without an internet connection, we can download the suitable version for our website.

Using Bootstrap CSS:

We first need to integrate the Bootstrap into our web development environment. For doing so, we first need to create a folder and now, in that folder, save CSS and JS files and HTML File.

In the HTML file, we will load Bootstrap, and now we are ready to use bootstrap templates.

We can choose to include our JS separately.

For CSS, only the code to be included in html file is as follows. This stylesheet <link> should be added into <head> tag before loading all other stylesheets: -

<link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.0.2/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" integrity="sha384-EVSTQN3/azprG1Anm3QDgpJLIm9Nao0Yz1ztcQTwFspd3yD65VohhpuuCOmLASjC" crossorigin="anonymous">

For JS, we need to add the below script at the end of our pages before we close the <body> tag.

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.0.2/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js" integrity="sha384-MrcW6ZMFYlzcLA8Nl+NtUVF0sA7MsXsP1UyJoMp4YLEuNSfAP+JcXn/tWtIaxVXM" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

Responsive Meta Tag: -

Bootstrap is developed for mobile-first, which means we can optimize our code for mobile devices and then scale up the components according to the necessity of using CSS. The responsive meta tag is added in the <head> tag to be visible for all devices.

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

Advantages of Bootstrap: -

1. Mobile Responsive as well as website responsive.
2. We can customize it according to our needs.
3. It is compatible with all browsers like Chrome, Firefox, etc., also called cross-browser compatibility.
4. Easy to use and Fast development.
5. Saves time for writing huge CSS Code.

Disadvantages of Bootstrap: -

1. Requires basic coding knowledge as it is not like WordPress to drag and drop where we don't need to know how to code, but while using Bootstrap, we need to know basic coding.
2. Bootstrap might not be a good option if we want to develop a small, simple website.
3. By using Bootstrap, we can become reliant on it this we make the developer so reliant that we will never try to design a website from scratch.
4. Upgrading might get difficult as every version has its designs.
5. JavaScript is not robust enough.

We can use any version of Bootstrap for our website development because now also Bootstrap, many developers use 3 and 4 for developing their websites.

Some interesting facts about Bootstrap.

Is Bootstrap best, or does it have some alternative?

So, the answer to this question is...

Yes, Bootstrap is easy and good to use, but yes, it has another alternative which is known as W3.CSS.

W3.CSS is small, easy to use, and fast to develop.