Bootstrap vs WordPress – Features & Differences

Bootstrap Vs WordPress – Is There Need for A Comparison?

People entering the field of web development often seem to be confused about which framework to “choose”, when picking between Bootstrap Vs. WordPress. But to most experienced developers, Bootstrap Vs WordPress is a pointless debate for three basic reasons:

1. Although both are popular frameworks used for web development, WordPress and Bootstrap are different kinds of frameworks.
2. Hence they serve different purposes.
3. Both can be used together (though it doesn’t seem to be the simplest approach), so a debate on what to choose isn’t technically necessary.

Although it isn’t a comparison that needs to be made, we will go on to discuss which features each framework (or combinations of frameworks) offer, and what may be the best choice for individuals or firms wanting to develop their website.

Also Read: SquareSpace vs WordPress – Which One is Better Blogging Platform?

WordPress – Introduction

WordPress was released in 2003 and is a fork of B2/cafelog. It is based on its source code. B2/cafelog was a revolutionary software for bloggers, as it allowed you to generate dynamic pages from a MySQL database. This was an entirely new concept. However, B2/cafelog is no longer in use, as it was not maintained. Out of it’s forks, WordPress is by far the most prevalent and popular.

WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS). It is based on MySQL and PHP. WordPress is more of a combination of frameworks, rather than just one specific framework. WordPress combines frontend and backend concepts, and allows users to utilize drag and drop features, and pre-existing themes, to create different types of functional, and dynamic, websites and blogs.

• The themes have been designed using PHP, HTML, and CSS.
• Developers that have knowledge or experience in that regard can easily modify the pre-existing themes to meet their specifications, or even develop their own custom themes.
• There is a large variety of themes available; free, as well as premium themes at various costs, so people who don’t have the expertise to design or modify their own themes, can easily find something that fulfills their needs.
• There are over 50,000 plugins available that can extend the functionality of the website and add features. They allow detailed customization of the website, and even offer features such as SEO optimization.
• WordPress is a maintained platform, and is often getting upgraded.
• A minor drawback of upgrades is that some plugins may lose functionality, but it isn’t a major issue, as there are many plugins available through WordPress, and even more can be purchased or acquired from third party sources.

All in all, WordPress offers customizable appearances, features, and functionality, and is hence very popular.

Bootstrap – Introduction

Bootstrap was originally named Twitter Blueprint and was initially intended as a framework to ensure that the internal tools at Twitter remained consistent. The group of developers behind it saw potential in it to be more than an internal tool, and so they continued to work on its development, and aided by contributions from other employees of Twitter, they developed the framework that is now Bootstrap. They released it in 2011. Since then, development continued and newer versions continued to be released. The beta version of Bootstrap 4 was released in August, 2017.

Bootstrap is a frontend framework. That means it has mostly to do with the appearance and design of the website, and the interface that users interact with. This includes features like forms and buttons.

•  It contains templates that consist of HTML structure, CSS declarations and there are optional extensions containing JavaScript code.
• It supports the latest versions of most major browsers, although using Bootstrap 4 would mean that some older versions may no longer be supported.
• Since Bootstrap 2, the web pages adjust automatically based on the device they are accessed on (e.g PC, tablet, etc.); the interface is dynamic.
• It is modular and uses a series of stylesheets that allow the implementation of the various components.
• The stylesheet language used was Less but Bootstrap 4 uses Sass.
• Stylesheets allow for a better experience and appearance when it comes to formatting text, tables, form elements etc.
• Bootstrap includes reusable components which are implemented as CSS classes, applied to some of the HTML elements on the page.
• The JavaScript components are in the form of JQuery plugins that increase interface functionality and allow for elements such as auto-complete, dialogue boxes, drop-down features etc.

Although Bootstrap is being upgraded and its development continues to ensure that it is cutting edge and modern, the fact that it is purely frontend means that the user either has to be a backend developer capable enough to ensure the complete functionality of the site, or the user has to use Bootstrap in combination with a backend framework or CMS, such as WordPress.

Bootstrap Vs WordPress-  The Verdict:

Choosing one best in this Bootstrap vs WordPress comparison is not very difficult. Bootstrap and WordPress are both free, open-source frameworks. WordPress is extremely popular and has been for a while. Bootstrap has also been growing in popularity. However, it is noted that the popularity of Bootstrap is in part based on the fact that learning Bootstrap gives developers a strong foundation in the use of CSS frameworks, and these knowledge and skills are often desired by employers.

However, one cannot neglect the fact that Bootstrap is not a one-stop solution for someone in need of a website. There is a lot of work required in making a fully functional website that uses Bootstrap for the front interface. Integrating a Bootstrap-based interface with WordPress is a task that requires a lot of work as well. And although there may be other frameworks that Bootstrap could work better with, we have to acknowledge that using WordPress on its own can give a fully functional, and customized website, in a much easier and faster way, even if one does not have much knowledge of web-development. And if one does have knowledge and experience… Well, WordPress could ease the path for them to create true website-greatness.

We hope that this article “Bootstrap vs WordPress” has increased in your knowledge of creating websites and you are now fully aware whether you should go with Bootstrap or WordPress. We personally suggest you to go for WordPress in order to create your website because of the benefits and features mentioned above.

Also Read: Weebly vs WordPress – Which One You Should Choose for Your Blog?