Bootstrap 5: Worth it?

10 Oct 2024

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Introduction

Web development is constantly evolving. It comes with a variety of tools, libraries, and frameworks designed to help the process. Bootstrap 5 has become one of the most popular frameworks for developers. However, learning a new UI framework can feel like picking up a whole new programming language. Why not stick with HTML and CSS?

Efficiency

One of the benefits of using Bootstrap 5 is the amount of time you can save. HTML and CSS are great, but they can be very time-consuming. Bootstrap 5 provides a grid system, pre-built components, and a set of classes.

In my own experience, the framework allowed me to remake a website (shown above) that ended up being very close to the actual website. I would imagine that I probably could not have even come close to creating that without Bootstrap 5.

Browser Compatibility

Another reason to use an UI framework is the browser compatibility. HTML and CSS look slightly different on different browsers, which can lead to inconsistencies. On the other hand, Bootstrap 5 ensures that all elements on the website will look the same, which means you don’t have to spend extra time adjusting the CSS for each browser.

The Learning Curve

Yes, understanding how to use Bootstrap is hard at first. There’s a lot of terminology to learn. But, once you get the basic structure (head, navigation bar, body, and footer), it is not too difficult and you’ll notice right away how much nicer the website looks.

Wrapping it up

While basic HTML and CSS can be used in web development, the modern developer who demands high-quality, responsive websites will benefit greatly from learning a UI framework. I can say from experience that it is absolutely worth it. After using Bootstrap, I wouldn’t want to return back to HTML. It looks very outdated and plain. I highly recommend that any Computer Science student take some time to learn this framework.