Data visualization is an important new aspect in web development. Charts can help you visualize sales performance, user statistics, or analytics in your reports in a way that makes it easy for people to understand complex data.
For developers, merging visual charts and responsive design can be a common headache, and that’s where Bootstrap charts come in. With Bootstrap charts, you can easily and quickly build beautiful, responsive, and mobile-ready charts using the power of Bootstrap and a charting library like Chart.js.
In this article, we will describe what Bootstrap charts are, why they are beneficial, and how they relate to contemporary web development.
What Is a Bootstrap Chart?
A Bootstrap chart is a data visualization component (like a bar chart, line chart, or pie chart) that is implemented via a charting library such as Chart.js, ApexCharts, or Google Charts and styled or composed using Bootstrap’s grid and UI system.
Want to understand layouts better? Read this post: What is a Bootstrap Grid and How It Works?
Bootstrap does not provide any chart components itself, and developers include various external (non-Bootstrap) chart libraries within Bootstrap’s responsive framework. This allows charts to be responsive and look good on all devices, from desktop to mobile.
As an example, a Bootstrap chart could be a responsive bar chart that shows website traffic, inside a Bootstrap card component, and automatically adjusts size and layout as the screen size changes, without breaking the design.
Here are some of the common types of charts used in Bootstrap.
- Line charts: useful for tracking changes over a period of time (ex., sales growth month-over-month).
- Bar charts: useful for comparing categories (ex., revenues by department).
- Pie and doughnut charts: useful for displaying proportions and percentages.
- Area charts: useful for viewing trends over a period of time, and can display the area under the trend with color.
- Radar charts: useful for comparison on multiple variables (ex., level of skills, performance, etc.).
Why Use Charts in Web Development
Charts greatly improve the user experience, allowing users to engage and interpret data more easily. Charts have a visual presentation of the data, are easy to read, and are quicker to grasp than lengthy tables or time-consuming text reports.
Here are some reasons developers usually add charts to websites and web apps.
1. Make Data Insight Easy
Charts visually show trends, relationships, and comparisons that may be difficult to see in raw numbers.
2. Improve UX
An engaging dashboard properly formatted with charts will result in a better user experience on any data-driven platform (e.g., admin panels, business intelligence platforms, and analytics platforms).
3. Save Time
Users are then able to pick up details at a glance instead of combing through multiple pages of reports or an extensive dataset.
4. Improve Decision Making
Businesses use charts to find insights, track KPIs, and measure progress against goals.
5. Make Reports Interactive
Many libraries give users a level of interactivity that static tables cannot replicate, as they can hover or, click through or zoom into data points, in order to offer an engaging experience.
Why Combine Charts with Bootstrap
What is it about Bootstrap and charts that developers find sufficient to want to utilize them rather than code everything individually? The answer is responsive, consistent, and fast.
Here is a list of the main reasons to combine charts using Bootstrap.
1. Responsive Layouts Out of the Box
Bootstrap is constructed on a powerful grid system that makes sure every component, including charts, is responsive to every device.
Your user can look at the dashboard on a mobile device or a laptop, and the charts will dynamically resize and be visually balanced.
2. Faster Development
With Bootstrap, you do not need to code the CSS for positioning or responsiveness. You can simply place your charts in rows, columns, and cards, which can also save you hours for front-end design.
3. Modern and Consistent Design
Bootstrap has pre-styled components that include modals, cards, and buttons. It is simple to put your chart in these components to create attractive dashboards that share a uniform design system.
4. Integration with Popular Chart Libraries
JavaScript charting libraries such as Chart.js, ApexCharts, and Google Charts can easily be incorporated into a Bootstrap application by importing the library’s script and initializing the chart within a Bootstrap container.
5. Customization Flexibility
Because Bootstrap is both open-source and built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, it is simple to change the colors of charts, fonts, and layouts to fit your brand’s look and feel.
6. Mobile-First Design
Bootstrap’s framework is mobile first, which means that all charts and elements are optimized for smaller screens and, therefore, by default, are easier to view on mobile devices.
Wrapping It Up
A Bootstrap chart is not simply an attractive visual, but a valuable method for translating data into information. You can develop responsive, professional dashboards by combining a charting library with Bootstrap’s flexible grid system for use on any device.
Regardless of whether you are designing an admin panel, a financial dashboard, or a data analytics dashboard, Bootstrap charts allow the process to be quicker and easier. They allow you to focus on what matters, the data, instead of spending hours trying to get the layout perfect.
By appropriately using a combination of Bootstrap and chart libraries like Chart.js or ApexCharts, even those without much experience can quickly create advanced web applications that leverage data.
FAQs
1. Are there any charts built into Bootstrap?
No, Bootstrap does not include chart components out of the box. You can use third-party libraries, such as Chart.js, ApexCharts, and Google Charts, to use charts in your Bootstrap projects.
2. Which chart library works best with the Bootstrap framework?
Chart.js is a popular, beginner-friendly option. It is also lightweight, responsive, and works well within Bootstrap layouts.
3. Are charts in Bootstrap responsive?
Yes. Bootstrap’s grid system automatically handles responsive sizing for the charts. In fact, most recently created chart libraries support responsive sizing in their charts by default.
4. Is it easy to add a chart to a Bootstrap webpage?
Not at all. You simply need to include a chart library, supply the chart data, and the chart canvas element within a Bootstrap container or card. You also just need to write a few lines of JavaScript to create a chart.
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