What is Bootstrap(One of the best free HTML CSS framework for responsive web applications)

What is Bootstrap?

Bootstrap is a CSS framework which has several predefined CSS classes using which we can design our Website or web application very easily and with a good look and feel. It also provides some JavaScript Components which are very useful, easy to integrate and completes almost all the need of designing and developing a professional looking website or web application.

Bootstrap also provides inbuilt CSS classes to design responsive (for mobiles, tablets) websites. With latest bootstrap it has mobile first approach and with choice we can make it non-responsive.

It has a very good documentation reading which we can easily understand the use and implementation of bootstrap.

Brief History

Bootstrap has been designed and developed by Mark Otto and Jacob Thornton at Twitter as a framework to encourage uniformity in design, reusability of interfaces for their internal projects.

Later on after its great success within the company, Twitter released Bootstrap as open source in August, 2011. Prior to being an open-sourced framework, Bootstrap was known as "Twitter Blueprint". (Know more )

Latest Version

At current, Bootstrap 3 is the latest version which has mobile first approach as compare to the desktop first approach of their previous releases.  Mobile first means if we use bootstrap in our website by default our site is responsive i.e.  With a single design your website is capable to adjust itself while browsing it on desktop, mobiles and tablets. And if want non-responsive design we can add the related CSS classes. It also has several new CSS classes and bug fixes.

Getting started with Bootstrap

It’s very easy to start a design with Bootstrap, steps in brief are as follows:

• Download latest version from here.
• It has its core required CSS files and JavaScript files, include all those in your website or web application.
• As per your design layout, read bootstrap’s documentation and add appropriate CSS classes to your HTML components.
• If using it for ASP.NET MVC applications, you can include it by using NuGet  package manager provided in Visual Studio Tools.

Some useful sites:

Builtwithbootstrap.com

It’s a site maintained by Simon Hamp. It has showcase for all the sites which are designed using bootstrap. Have a look of this site as it will help you to understand what kind of website we can design using bootstrap.  And once you complete with your site, you too can submit your site here. (Visit Site)

WrapBootstrap.com

WrapBootstrap is a marketplace where designers can sell their own themes and templates based on the Bootstrap framework. It has awesome themes and templates which you can consider for your website. (Visit Site)

In this site, some free themes are also available which you can found at “Bootswatch”

layoutit.com

If you’re not so comfortable with HTML and CSS, then this site will be useful for you. For experts too it has usefulness as you can decide your base layout very easily. (Visit Site)

Hope you all have liked this post about Bootstrap. If I have missed something feel free to share it in comment section below.