What is Twitter Bootstrap? Simply said, Twitter Bootstrap is an absolutely free, thanks to Twitter’s Mark Otto and Jacob Thornton, “multi-toolkit” for web designers. Twitter Bootstrap offers HTML and CSS-based design templates for typography, forms, buttons, charts, navigation and other web design components.
Here are 3 pros of Twitter Bootstrap:
- Responsive
Hang around a few web techie guys and you start to hear the phrase “responsive web design” thrown around a lot. If you’re new to web design and suddenly feel like the Greek titan, Atlas, struggling under the weight of the web design world, then Twitter Bootstrap might make you shed tears of joy. Bootstrap already has responsive frameworks and fluid layouts that give you a jumpstart in designing your website. Bootstrap uses LESS framework and as the name implies, it makes use of simple, fluid layouts that complement almost all internet capable devices.
- Saves Time
Twitter Bootstrap houses a library of templates that are already coded. All you have to do is tweak a few things, make some adjustments here and there and boom! – you have a website. Of course, you have to edit the content, make the theme fit your client’s brand, but you get it.
- Novice Friendly
Whether you’re just a newbie to the company or a master of code, Twitter Bootstrap has you covered. For novices in particular, because of the onset popularity of Bootstrap, you’ll find tons of informative tutorials and support. Twitter Bootstrap is pretty straightforward and wants you to start design as soon as possible without having to learn extensively about CSS code, hence, the ready-built templates that you can just tweak to your heart’s content.
Here are the 3 cons:
- Less Originality
It is both a strength and weakness that Twitter Bootstrap has a consistent and universal code, but it also means less originality. Twitter Bootstrap is now widely being used as a web design platform, but because of it’s trademark characteristic – minimalist simplicity – there is less room for uniqueness. On the flipside, it’s good because designers must then use a double dose of their creativity to turn simple into beautiful.
- Limiting
For those web designers who are super fluent with code and are diligent enough in customizing css and figuring out the JavaScripts required, then Bootstrap may be a bit constricting for your fountain of wisdom. Twitter Bootstrap was developed to make designing easier by creating shortcuts and instant results. However, this hinders designers who want to go full custom on their websites. That is the trade-off that isn’t really so bad because there is so much that designers can still play with.
- Desktop Before Mobile
With Bootstrap, primarily you are still designing a website that is optimized for a desktop. The CSS and media queries tweaks are then applied after. It’s not that much of a big deal, but if you are designing primarily for small screen devices it may be a little hard to implement the design effectively. One solution would be to preview your designs via Adobe Edge Inspect. Cool thing is that you get to do so wirelessly. As in you can actually view it on whatever device you intend it for.
We did put some cons, but everybody’s saying it – Twitter Bootstrap is ‘d bomb! Despite confusion over whether to use Bootstrap or not – we recommend it, but it’s not your one-time big-time solution. Many web designers still choose to use different web designing platforms depending on their needs, but Bootstrap is a paramount option.
Author Bio:
Celina Conner is an advanced Yoga practitioner, she finished her Diploma in Business Administration in Martin College Australia as a Cum Laude. She’s also a caring mother to her one and only daughter, Krizia. Celina loves experimenting in the kitchen and preparing unique vegetarian recipes.