Twitter Bootstrap is a free and open source front end web development framework that allows developers create responsive web applications easily. The framework was developed by Mark Otto and Jacob Thornton at Twitter and it’s now one of the most popular projects on Github with over 86,670 stars and 35,807 forks.
Learning Bootstrap is very helpful for front end web developers as it’d provide them with a powerful tool that would facilitate their job, it’s also helpful for back end developers willing to start developing for the front end, finally it’s very useful for web development beginners who have just finished learning HTML/CSS and want to dig deeper into web development, then Bootstrap would be an excellent option.
The aim of this post is to present and compare between free online sources that beginners can rely on to learn Bootstrap, the sources stated here are full-structured courses that beginners can follow along.
Getting Started with Bootstrap from Scratch
EdX
EdX is the first free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bootstrap through video tutorials, you’ve to register in order to have access to the course.
Structure: The training is divided into 3 main modules, each module has video lessons that cover some tools available in Bootstrap, each module has a quiz to test your understanding of the module.
Interface: The interface is very simple, just select the module and then select the video lesson you’re interested in and it’ll start in the same webpage.
Now the pros and cons:
Pros
- Free.
- The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.
- the training covers the basics of Bootstrap that allows you to start building projects using Bootstrap.
Cons
- The training doesn’t cover every aspect of the Bootstrap, but that won’t be a big problem for complete beginners.
Verdict: This is the best free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bootstrap through video tutorials.
Udemy
Udemy is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bootstrap online through video tutorials, as the above outlet you’ve to register to have access to the course. The course entitled “Be a Bootstrap Developer from scratch” was the best free course available at the time of writing this post.
Structure: The training is divided into 6 sections, each section is divided into lessons (33) in total, each lesson covers certain tools in Bootstrap.
Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the lesson you’re interested in or just continue from where you’ve left and the video will start right away.
Now the pros and cons:
Pros
- Free.
- The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.
- The training covers some of the basics of HTML/CSS which might be helpful for beginners.
Cons
- As the above outlet the training doesn’t cover every aspect of the Bootstrap, but that won’t be a big problem for complete beginners.
Verdict: This is an excellent free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bootstrap through video tutorials.
Brad Hussey YouTube Channel
Brad Hussey YouTube Channel is the third free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bootstrap through video tutorials.
Structure: The training is divided into 26 video lessons, each video lesson covers a certain topic in Bootstrap.
Interface: Standard YouTube interface.
Now the pros and cons:
Pros
- Free.
- The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.
Cons
- Though it covers more intermediate/advanced topics but they’re not covered thoroughly, but that won’t be a problem for beginners to start using Twitter Bootstrap.
Verdict: This is an excellent free online outlet where beginners can start learning Twitter Bootstrap through video tutorials.
DesignLoud
DesignLoud is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bootstrap through a text based tutorial, you don’t have to register to have access to the tutorials.
Structure: The tutorials are divided through 6 articles, through these articles and if you follow them from start to finish you’ll build a website using Twitter Bootstrap.
Interface: Follow the six articles from start to finish using the link provided in this post.
Now the pros and cons:
Pros
- Free.
- The tutorials is well-organized for beginners.
Cons
- The tutorial only covers the very basics of Bootstrap.
Verdict: This is the best free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bootstrap through a text based tutorials.
W3schools
W3schools is the fifth free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bootstrap online through a text based tutorial, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.
Structure: The straining is divided into 7 sections, each section is divided into topics that covers the various tools in Twitter Bootstrap.
Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the topic you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to it.
Now the pros and cons:
Pros
- Free.
- The training is well-structured for beginners.
Cons
- The tutorial has no real organization targeting beginners
Verdict: This is a good free online outlet where beginners can start learning Bootstrap through a text based tutorials.
Bottom Line
The recipe for learning Twitter Bootstrap:
- EdX is the best outlet for beginners to start learning Twitter Bootstrap through video tutorials.
- DesignLoud is the best outlet for beginners to start learning Twitter Bootstrap through text based tutorials.
- There are other outlets like; Tutorial Republic, Tutorials Point, Tutorials Collection and w3resources that haven’t been stated in this post as they’re very similar to W3schools and they’re not well organized for complete beginners.
Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in learning Twitter Bootstrap.