What are the 10 Features That Make Bootstrap Every Website Developer’s Best Friend? What is one thing every novice and veteran website designer looks for while browsing options for site templates? The answer is quite straightforward – Bootstrap makes the work of every designer so easy that it can be a lifesaver for all professional web developers.
Bootstrap is a product of Twitter that had its first open-source debut in 2011. In less than eight years, it has risen to the top of frontend framework templates for all kinds of sites — some of the most popular websites, including PopCornTV, Karma, Lyft, and Vogue. If you go by BuiltWith’s data, then more than 18 million sites use Bootstrap (as of data from 2018).
How does Bootstrap make website design more manageable and smoother?
Bootstrap makes everyone’s job easier and simpler. It aims at building responsive and easy-to-navigate sites that both human users and Google finds appealing. The latest versions of Bootstrap offers extensive customization options that are quite straightforward, even for the absolute beginner.
Even the latest versions of Bootstrap use a 12-column grid for creating a fluid responsive UI. The most straightforward logic entails that the more information you want your site to contain, the number of columns and rows it should include. However, Bootstrap has specific rules that the grid should follow. For example, the site can have any number of rows. However, the total number of columns will always be the immediate children of rows. The column width should add up to 12, but you may not utilize all 12 columns.
Thankfully, any developer or designer can peruse thousands of free and premium Bootstrap template designs complete with CSS and HTML files. Designmodo free Bootstrap templates contain a significant number of templates of diverse purposes. To leverage the power of Bootstrap, you do not need extensive knowledge of CSS, HTML, or other coding languages. These ready-to-use templates are time-saving and manageable.
What essential features should your Bootstrap template have?
Just like any other line of products in the world, not all Bootstrap templates are equal. While exploring your options, you might want to double-check if your template has the following ten key features –
- Easy to use
Any bootstrap template you pick should be easy to use irrespective of the Bootstrap version it uses. Tons of readily available HTML and CSS codes can save you endless nights of coding. Pick a Bootstrap template that’s ready to rock right out of the box.
- Robust grid system
Irrespective of how much information you want your site to hold, you should begin with a 12-column grid system. It is a highly responsive system that is both flexible and easy to manipulate. You should remember that the template you pick should not compromise on the customizability for ease-of-use and vice versa. Choosing Bootstrap should give you the liberty to scale your site up or down according to the device your user prefers.
- Responsive layout
The 12-column grid system should bring a fluid responsive layout for your site on all devices. Without a mobile-ready site, you can lose your ranking and more than 52% of your organic traffic. Google clearly prefers websites with responsive layouts that are easier for mobile users to navigate. Bootstrap is responsive right from the start. That is one of the biggest pros of choosing a bootstrap template in the first place.
- Seamless integration
Bootstrap integrates seamlessly with existing frameworks and platforms. You can modify your content by downloading a file and linking it up. A Bootstrap template is CSS and HTML to a great extent, and that makes it superbly easy to modify and integrate without disrupting already installed platforms and plug-ins.
- Extensive compatibility
Bootstrap templates have to be compatible with every browser version that is currently in use. Unless you have a genuine and updated Bootstrap template, you might face compatibility issues with the leading browsers, including the Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome, and Firefox.
- Customizability
Almost all frontend design platforms boast of customizability. Therefore, calling one’s template “customizable” is no new feat. However, Bootstrap templates are not only customizable, but they are also extremely light-weight with hundreds of customized features. You can be selective or liberal about which features to exclude or include in your website UI.
- Community/Forum support
Bootstrap has always been an opensource platform. Therefore, it has a large and robust community of followers, developers, and regular users. You can get time-tested advice from these professionals. As a beginner, you can receive guidance for your new project. Do not tarry if you need troubleshooting advice for your Bootstrap template. Right now, the Bootstrap community on GitHub has more than 16,000 commits and 900 contributors.
- Scores of HTML, CSS and JS elements
Both JS and CSS are crucial elements for the functioning of any bootstrap template. While designing a site, the developer can choose to omit some JS elements depending on the UI features the website demands. Or, the developer can include all pre-designed elements that make the site-building process time-saving and nearly effortless.
- Consistency
Bootstrap comes with continuous support from the dedicated community of users and developers. It is a successful website frontend development platform that has attracted the attention of some of the biggest design houses and famous developers across the world. It bears a brand of consistent trust and reliability that users of the most high-profile websites expect.
- Tons of plug-ins
One thing bootstrap users never complain about is the dearth of plug-ins for their site. The template comes with the option of close to a dozen plug-ins that impart functionalities like carousel sliders, accordion galleries, and dropdown menus. Even without writing or editing a single line of JavaScript, you can utilize the scores of plug-ins Bootstrap templates bring to your new website development project.
Bootstrap is the most obvious and relevant choice for all website developers and designers, experienced and new. Since millions of sites are already running on Bootstrap without any glitches, it provides an added impetus to all developers to count on Bootstrap for building their website frontend and UI.