It started as a Twitter blueprint, but the ability to code for multiple platforms at once that Bootstrap offers has made it the framework of choice for many web designers and developers. Using nothing more than CSS, JavaScript, and HTML, Bootstrap leads the pack for developing responsive, mobile-first websites. Here are some of the top reasons to use Bootstrap to build your web projects.
Ease of Use
A web page only needs to reference three files to use Bootstrap: jquery.min.js, bootstrap.min.js, and bootstrap.min.css. Optionally, there is also a CSS theme file called bootstrap-theme.min.css.
You don’t even need to host Bootstrap yourself. Just link to the CDN-hosted (Content Delivery Network) files. CDNs can offer a performance boost by reducing loading time by hosting the Bootstrap files on multiple servers spread across the globe. That way, when a browser requests a file, it will usually be served from the server nearest to it.
Saves Development Time
Perhaps Bootstrap’s main benefit is the savings in development time that it offers. Rather than waste hours and days on trying to make a site look good across multiple devices, Bootstrap lets you focus on the overall look. By applying different CSS classes depending on viewport size, Bootstrap tailors the page to look its best whatever device it’s viewed on. In addition, Bootstrap provides a myriad of reusable coding blocks and templates. Finally, many third-party vendors sell ready-made Bootstrap themes that you can fine tune to fit your requirements.
Responsiveness
The need to have a responsive website is becoming increasingly important as more and more mobile devices enter the market. Bootstrap uses a fluid grid layout that dynamically adjusts to the proper screen resolution by appropriately scaling up to 12 columns as the device or viewport size increases. Moreover, Bootstrap includes several pre-defined classes that allow you to specify how many spots in the grid system you want each column to occupy. You can also set the point at which columns begin to stack horizontally rather than vertically to better display on mobile devices.
Customizable
Bootstrap can be customized to suit the parameters of your project. The customize page allows you to select the exact components that you wish to remove from the distributable. Just tick off all the features that you DO NOT require, such as CSS for tables, buttons, or forms, components such as input groups, button groups, and pagination, or JavaScript for dropdowns, popovers, and carousels.
http://getbootstrap.com/customize/
Themes Galore
While there’s no denying that Bootstrap will make your site look a whole lot sleeker right out-of-the-box, it doesn’t make good business sense to look like everyone else’s sites. Thanks to Bootstrap Themes, that problem is easily remedied. Just type in the phrase “Bootstrap themes” into Google and you’ll have about 17,800,000 candidates to sort through! Some themes are free, while others cost a little – usually under $20.
Component Library
Bootstrap features dozens of reusable components such as Dropdowns, Button Groups, Navigation Bars, Breadcrumbs, and many others. Every component is styled using the current theme so that it fits right in to your site. The LESS dynamic style sheet language is employed so that customizing components is a snap too.
Support
The problem with a lot of free libraries and frameworks is that support is often woefully inadequate. Not so with Bootstrap; it boasts a very sizeable support community that can provide with help whenever the need arises. The creators have also been consistent and timely in their updates of the library. Bootstrap’s GitHub project has accumulated more than 11,500 commits, as well as more than 650 contributors.
https://github.com/twbs/bootstrap
