bootstrap has taken over!!

[Eric]

I have not been here in a long time!
I used to be a bit more active…

I learned a lot from Chris’s blog back when it was young and it was just Chris posting.
Anyways a long time ago css grids was a big deal and the 960 grid made sense. It was hard to calculate columns when a fixed gutter was not possible.

Then we got box-sizing and it changed everything! I remember Chris creating a “Don’t overthink it grid” post which basically showed you the gist of it, (although I remember he put padding on one side instead of just splitting it onto both creating gutters…)

Now we have flexbox and cssGrid making it even easier! However for some odd reason people seem to think a grid is a very difficult thing. They prefer to use some elaborate framework that uses twisted logic to make columns out of pixels instead of percentages and doesn’t use rem units for its font sizes (among many other silly things).

I keep meeting people who literally can’t do css without bootstrap. They lean on it like it’s jQuery for javascript, which is a ridiculous comparison!

It didn’t bother me until recently when I was given projects from a few companies and I was told it MUST use bootstrap. I am being limited by bloated code that uses strange math to figure out columns and forced to fit my design into this thing…

What happened? CSS was moving forward and I am being forced to dumb it down.
Are we creating a generation that hates css and does not want to learn it and so using bootstrap is there way out? I tried explaining to these companies that I don’t need it, but they just seemed confused as to “how that’s possible” and what other css framework would I be using?

I am very frustrated with what’s happening to the css world!?

[rkieru]

Bootstrap is like any other framework; it provides an expedient way to quickly construct your website. A person can be an expert in Bootstrap without really having a comprehension of how CSS or HTML works.

It’s not unlike jQuery in that regard… understanding the framework but not the underlying language.

I’m not sure I really share your umbrage though. I don’t think it is inherently wrong or bad for the companies you referenced to demand certain practices, including using Bootstrap. Perhaps they prefer the use of Bootstrap for consistency across designs? Perhaps they know that their service will need elements like alerts, tabs, carousels, etc… and as Bootstrap provides all of that it makes it an ideal way to get things done.

As much as you dislike that they are limiting you by forcing Bootstrap, aren’t you limiting yourself by treating Bootstrap like it is always going to be the wrong choice?

If you have specific concerns as to why Bootstrap might be the WRONG choice for a project I would encourage you to bring that up in a meeting with whomever your point of contact is for the project. But if it’s just a matter of “I don’t like Bootstrap because; reasons” well… if I were in charge of the project I would let you know politely that your issues with Bootstrap are not my concern, and that you would be advised to build a bridge and get over that problem double-quick :)

[deeve007]

Agree with rkieru. Bootstrap is never my first choice to use, and I have my own very simple/clean starter “framework” for my own projects where appropriate. But if a client requires it for reasons that are important to them, and if I want to take their work on, then why now?

And I’m actually in the middle of quite a large online app, and using Bootstrap for that has been a godsend in simplifying so many aspects of it! I can build the core structure and functionality quicker, with a plan to go back towards the end and do more style and visual customisation to remove most of the “Bootstrapness” look.

[Krish1980]

One can do a custom Bootstrap download, so, imo, if done right, the code bloat can be reduced to a great extent. (I almost never include the navbar component since it is too bloated and has classes that have been buried deep in specificity. )

The grids also provide an easy way of implementing grids in a quick, standardized fashion – especially useful when working in large teams.

[deeve007]

I actually prefer using one of the popular CDN versions, as there’s a very good chance that the majority of users will already have it cached in their system.

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