Hello again!, After a short break, I am back again with a non-technical post. As Web-Dev's, we use and search all possible ways, to get our job done in the easy way. The most vital visual part of Web-Dev, the FRONT-END, is very important to catch the eyes and to give a nice user-friendly experience for the user. To make this job easy, we use CSS frameworks like Bootstrap. So, after these many good years with many technical competitors, is Bootstrap still good to hang on with?
Let's see about this in today's blog.
So, we'll start with
What is Bootstrap?
Bootstrap is a CSS framework (Most popular), which uses class based Web-design. The official site of Bootstrap describes itself as,
“Quickly design and customize responsive mobile-first sites with Bootstrap, the world’s most popular front-end open source toolkit, featuring Sass variables and mixins, responsive grid system, extensive prebuilt components, and powerful JavaScript plugins.”
And that's completely true, Bootstrap is fast and provide responsive mobile-first build classes to achieve what we Web-Dev's dream of as “RESPONSIVE DESIGN”. It provides an awesome grid system(Which I love) and JavaScript plugins(I hate them using jQuery, we'll get into it).
Competitors
Bootstrap now faces a reasonable competition from similar UI kit based CSS frameworks like Foundation and Bulma. Apart from these, It also faces a severe blow from TailwindCSS. Bootstrap is always criticized for its inflexibility. I would say, it's not inflexibility, but the huge amount of time taken for customizing the defaults provided by Bootstrap(It provides default UI components, because it's a UI Kit based CSS framework). Whereas in frameworks like TailwindCSS, Utility classes, which provide low-level flexibility, are provided.
Should Bootstrap worry about competition?
I would say Bootstrap was not made to work like TailwindCSS. Bootstrap was made to provide developers of all levels, from beginners to advanced, the ability to quickly spin up a nice looking UI without worrying about responsiveness. Bootstrap's users are mostly beginners, who start their journey of using class based CSS utilities from pure CSS. It also has a good learning curve, so people get it better soon, as frameworks like TailwindCSS, Foundation and Bulma comparatively has a steeper learning curve.
Should we use Bootstrap still in 2021?
Of course, It is best in class for rapid web-deign, where you want a useful and nice looking site, without any brand colour pallets or pixel specific needs. Even today, more than 19% of websites use Bootstrap as their CSS framework. I would say, it's the most probable gateway for learners, who get into class based CSS frameworks from pure CSS and HTML. If you want a quick site for a Boot camp you arrange next week, go for Bootstrap, It's faster to build, gives responsiveness.
Bootstrap is gearing back again!
As you all know, Bootstrap 5 came with a nice update from 4. It let go of jQuery and switched to Vanilla JavaScript. So, now how good is that!
Bootstrap also managed to bring back the Bootstrap icon support.
It also came up with some low level utility classes for added flexibility. Overall, Bootstrap is not going to be dead, but getting back on track.
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Attributions:
cover-image : www.drupal.org
Oldest comments (52)
Woo JIT mode is cool...
Am I the only one who is deeply unsatisfied with the React Bootstrap framework? It just feels like I have to write a lot of boilerplate.
Before React, I used to enjoy Bootstrap. :/
Yeah that's true :-1
bootstrap vue is awesome though.. great docs, quite a lot more functionality.
No @denniseh you are not the only one. Angular Bootstrap has a lot of this rubbish that tags along like plastic flotsam on a clear blue lake.
Having used Bootstrap for a longish period, I'd say, all these technologies, yours and mine, just complicate what should be a very simple task of incorporating a good CSS framework in their projects
Exactly, I have the feeling it makes it more complicated for me than using CSS in the first place. Especially React Bootstrap forces you to use the Bootstrap React components. Which is odd, because I want to use a CSS framework and not a React framework.
you mean like
<Row><Col><Col>
</Row>
If so then I know what you mean
I would rather actually write normal html divs with classes (even if using bootstrap) because I can easily swap a classname of col-1 for columns-1 if moving to tailwind in future rather than have to replace every instance of <Row>
Totally!
Don't use it in 2021 there is no point.
My stake is **Bootstrap" is not yet dead, and people are still using it. It has some sense to use it when you don't care spending more time customizing it or if your client wants it badly and doesn't care about brand-design. Personally, I've seen clients like this more often.
As @gilbertoalbino pointed out, accessibility part is pretty good in Bootstrap.
Bootstrap is still my goto because I know it fairly well. I think BS gets a bad rep because it's so easy to use the defaults and put up an unstyled website that looks like every other BS website, but if you spend a bit of time changing the defaults and writing some of your own CSS you can easily get a fully responsive website that is 100% unique.
I know there is a lot of new hotness around Tailwind but at this moment I don't see the point in investing the time to learn something new when BS still works fine for me.
Unrelated side rant:
Bulma is a bit of a nonstarter for me because it's not accessible .
That's true @tfantina
I too use Bootstrap, even now, for some simpler projects which just focuses on functionality rather than brand-uniqueness. Tailwind is pretty good TBH and fantastic if you spend some time with it, but requires like a indepth knowledge of CSS, whereas Bootstrap gives UI components for ready.
So most of my friends starting out in Web-Dev start from Bootstrap :-)
My thoughts exactly. When you have been in the software game long enough, you see that there's a new framework every month.
If there's a demand for something then learn it. E.g. React not jQuery anymore.
Someone told me about tailwind and I saw all the classnames and was like "thats bootstrap"
I'm in a real "I may as well just stick with Bootstrap" mindset.
I tried bootstrap many years ago, When I saw 3 nested divs for just centering a div in container, I stopped trying it.
The only reason I know a little bit of bootstrap is because almost all the templates I used to download for a quick freelance project, were built with bootstrap. I can't even stand tailwind. I have used it but it's much easier and faster to just write css with some sass mixins.
But then, I am not really a designer.
HAHA that's true I too had a brief break from Bootstrap, planned to try Bootstrap5 when it launched. I still use it for simpler projects.
If you are a designer, It's better to be off from Bootstrap or else you have to spend some more dev-time customizing it.
Hey, @abhinav1217 Try the new Flexbox. My designers tell me its an absolute blast to work with.
Guarantee you won't be that disappointed, this time.
I agree with you @lukeshiru :-)
There are better alternatives out there, like Tailwind and Material. The purpose of Bootstrap today in 2021 is drastically reduced, but we must admit that, it still acts as a entry point for many people ,AFAIK Even I started my journey with Bootstrap and then started learning Tailwind, which hepled in my case.
I also use a "no-class" CSS framework called "SpectreCSS" :-)
Happy that you've responded!
Tailwind is 🔥But I gotta say 😅 It does take quite the set up, and after using it in a handful of projects, the docs is still my right hand man lol. I can't do a thing without it!
But then again, I don't remember how long it took me to get bootstrap down 🤣
Also, I have a soft spot for Bootstrap lol. First css framework!
Solid points great article ✌️
Spectre ftw for small projects
Bootstrap is not bad, it's good fast development tools. and it's good for people who worked in backend and not accustomed to native CSS. styling in native CSS has more pain for some developer.
Yep :-)
That was what I thought to convey.
In my experience Vanilla CSS is generally the best option for professional-grade work. The 'framework of the week' mentality of so many, will cause nothing but misery.
I've no longer using Bootstrap since 2016 after doing a project and got nice cash.
It is popular but not so intuitive.
Finally in 2021 Tailwind makes sense, only the setup is bit complicated and it takes different way than any traditional CSS fws out there
Hands down Tailwind is 🔥