Scaffolding

Responsive 12-column grid and fixed- and fluid-width layouts

Default 940px grid

The default grid system provided as part of Bootstrap is a 940px-wide, 12-column grid.

It also has three responsive variations for various devices and resolutions: phone, tablet, and large widescreen desktops.

<div class="row">
  <div class="span4">...</div>
  <div class="span8">...</div>
</div>

As shown here, a basic layout can be created with two "columns," each spanning a number of the 12 foundational columns we defined as part of our grid system.

Offsetting columns

4 offset 4

3 offset 3

8 offset 4

Nesting columns

With the static (non-fluid) grid system in Bootstrap, nesting is easy. To nest your content, just add a new .row and set of .span* columns within an existing .span* column.

Example

Level 1 of column

Level 2

<div class="row">
  <div class="span12">
    Level 1 of column
    <div class="row">
      <div class="span6">Level 2</div>
      <div class="span6">Level 2</div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Grid customization

Variable	Default value	Description
`@gridColumns`	16	The number of columns within the grid
`@gridColumnWidth`	40px	The width of each column within the grid
`@gridGutterWidth`	20px	The negative space between each column
`@siteWidth`	Computed sum of all columns and gutters	We use some basic match to count the number of columns and gutters and set the width of the `.fixed-container()` mixin.

Variables in LESS

Built into Bootstrap are a handful of variables for customizing the default 940px grid system, documented above. All variables for the grid are stored in mixins.less.

How to customize

Modifying the grid means changing the three @grid* variables and recompiling Bootstrap. Change the grids in the preboot.less file and use one of the four ways documented to recompile.

Staying responsive

Customization of the grid only works at the default level, the 940px grid. To maintain the responsive aspects of Bootstrap, you'll also have to customize the grids in responsive.less.

Fixed layout

The default and simple 940px-wide, centered layout for just about any website or page provided by a single <div class="container">.

<body>
  <div class="container">
    ...
  </div>
</body>

Fluid layout

<div class="fluid-container"> gives flexible page structure, min- and max-widths, and a left-hand sidebar. It's great for apps and docs.

<body>
  <div class="fluid-container">
    <div class="sidebar">
      ...
    </div>
    <div class="content">
      ...
    </div>
  </div>
</body>

Supported devices

Bootstrap supports a handful of media queries to help make your projects more appropriate on different devices and screen resolutions. Here's what's included:

Label	Layout width	Column width	Gutter width
Smartphones	480px and below	Fluid columns, no fixed widths
Portrait tablets	480px to 768px	Fluid columns, no fixed widths
Landscape tablets	768px to 940px	44px	20px
Default	940px and up	60px	20px
Large display	1210px and up	70px	30px

What they do

Media queries allow for custom CSS based on a number of conditions—ratios, widths, display type, etc—but usually focuses around min-width and max-width.

Modify the width of column in our grid
Stack elements instead of float wherever necessary
Resize headings and text to be more appropriate for devices

Using the media queries

Bootstrap doesn't automatically include these media queries, but understanding and adding them is very easy and requires minimal setup. You have a few options for including the responsive features of Bootstrap:

Use the compiled responsive version, bootstrap.reponsive.css
Add @import "responsive.less" and recompile Bootstrap
Compile responsive.less as a separate file and include that

Why not just include it? Truth be told, not everything needs to be responsive. Instead of encouraging developers to remove this feature, we figure it best to enable it.

  // Landscape phones and down
  @media (max-width: 480px) { ... }

  // Landscape phone to portrait tablet
  @media (min-width: 480px) and (max-width: 768px) { ... }

  // Portrait tablet to landscape and desktop
  @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 940px) { ... }

  // Large desktop
  @media (min-width: 1210px) { .. }