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Labs

Guided: Enhance Web Interactivity with Bootstrap Components

Welcome to the code lab: Guided: Enhance Web Interactivity with Bootstrap Components. This lab will teach you how to bring your static webpage to life using Bootstrap! How do you turn a basic webpage into a dynamic, responsive, and user-friendly experience? How can you integrate interactivity without writing heavy custom JavaScript? By the end of this lab, you will be able to integrate interactive, accessible and responsive components to your website packed with dynamic behavior without writing complex JavaScript from scratch.

Labs

Path Info

Level
Clock icon Beginner
Duration
Clock icon 43m
Published
Clock icon May 12, 2025

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Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Introduction and Setup

    Bootstrap is an open‑source CSS & JS framework that provides pre‑built components (buttons, navbars, modals, etc.) and a responsive grid. It packages HTML, CSS, and JavaScript into a ready‑to‑use toolkit so you don’t have to start every project from scratch.

    In this lab, you will customize a static HTML page for better responsiveness and interactivity with less code and effort using Bootstrap components.

    Whenever you need to test the app in the browser, it is recommended to open the browser in full screen tab by clicking the arrow icon beside the URL so that you see accurate real results and you will be able to emulate different devices using the browser's Dev tools. To be able to use Bootstrap in your web application, you need to either download the necessary files, install the bootstrap library or use the online scripts and css CDN links.

    In this lab, we have bootstrap files downloaded offline in bootstrap folder and here are the steps followed for using bootstrap offline:

    1. Go to https://getbootstrap.com
    2. Click on download
    3. Under the section titled: Compiled CSS & JavaScript, click the download button
    4. Add the folder to your project's directory

    Globomantics is a travel booking company that needs to enhance their website to be interactive and responsive.

    Open the initial template intravel-booking-app/index.html and explore how the HTML is written down then refresh the web browser tab to see how the initial app looks like.

    You will notice that:

    1. It is very basic
    2. Not responsive
    3. No modern design
    4. No proper user interaction experience

    In this lab, you will start enhancing this template using Bootstrap to provide better responsivness, design and user experience.

    If you get stuck in any of the tasks you can check the solutions folder.

  2. Challenge

    Adding an Interactive Carousel

    Bootstrap provides simple steps and code samples for each component you want to add with all the variations in style and interactivity and you can explore these components on their website's documentation https://getbootstrap.com/docs/

    The first component you will add in this lab is tha carousel to show some featured travel locations in a slide show.

    Carousel is a slideshow component that cycles through images or content with sliding transitions. Controlled via indicators, arrows, and the JS API.

    Why it matters?

    Great for highlighting multiple destinations in one hero area without overwhelming the user.

    How it works?

    Each bootstrap component is structured and styled by specific class names that also provides the js functionality for the interactivity of the component.

    So for each component you want to add, you will need to find the corresponding structure and class names needed from the bootstrap documentation in order to configure and render the component correctly.

  3. Challenge

    Implementing a Modal Sign-Up Form

    Modal is a dialog overlay that interrupts the main flow to capture user attention. Bootstrap modals manage focus trapping and backdrop automatically.

    Why it matters?

    Perfect for email capture or critical confirmation without navigating away.

  4. Challenge

    Enhancing Navigation With a Drop Down Menu

    Dropdown (Navbar) is a toggleable menu built on Popper positioning library. Supports keyboard arrows and escape to close.

    Why it matters?

    Compresses complex navigation into a clean, mobile‑friendly header

  5. Challenge

    Adding Tooltips and Accessibility Features

    Tooltips are a lightweight pop‑over text bubbles that appear when users hover, focus, or tap an element. It usually requires initialization via JS (new bootstrap.Tooltip(el)).

    Why it matters?

    Provides extra context without cluttering the UI and improves accessibility when triggered on focus.

  6. Challenge

    Customization and Best Practices

    A polished web app must work for everyone, regardless of device size, connection speed, or assistive‑technology needs. Finishing touches, like responsive checks, performance audits, and consistent styling practices, ensure the UI remains usable, maintainable, and inclusive.

    Best‑Practice Highlights

    • Accessibility & Responsiveness: Always test layout and interaction on multiple device sizes and with screen readers/keyboard navigation. An accessible app benefits all users, including those with disabilities.

    • DevTools Audits: Chrome DevTools’ Lighthouse report quickly evaluates Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, and SEO. Use it early and often to catch issues.

    • Follow Bootstrap Guidelines: Stick to Bootstrap’s documented patterns, e.g., proper class combos and data attributes, to get built‑in ARIA roles, focus handling, and touch support for free.

    • Scoped Custom CSS: When overriding Bootstrap styles, attach your overrides to a custom class (e.g., .btn-newsletter) instead of editing core classes like .btn. This prevents accidental global changes unless you intentionally want them for branding. ##### Example Responsiveness Test Using Dev Tools

    1. Open Chrome DevTools (F12) → Device Toolbar.

    2. Cycle through presets (Galaxy S8, iPhone SE, iPad) and resize manually.

    3. Confirm:

      • Carousel images scale without overflow.
      • Navbar collapses into hamburger < 992 px.
      • Modal content fits within small screens—no horizontal scroll.
    4. Run a Lighthouse dev tool audit; aim for ≥ 90 in Accessibility and Performance. ###### Explore Component Reuse & Modular Structure

    5. Extract shared markup into partials (if using a templating engine) or create reusable React/Vue components in future iterations.

    6. When adding custom styles, prefix them with .travel- (e.g., .travel-shadow-rounded) and keep them in styles.css to avoid collision with Bootstrap updates.

As a seasoned engineer with over 12 years of experience, I am deeply committed to mentorship, sharing my wealth of experience, and staying at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies. I bring a unique blend of theoretical knowledge and practical skills to the table. My expertise lies in guiding and mentoring aspiring developers through challenging projects across the entire lifecycle. My technical proficiency spans full stack development, software architecture, cloud computing, DevOps, and automation. Utilizing a versatile toolkit that includes .NET, Microsoft Azure, Nodejs, Nextjs, JavaScript, PHP, Hacklang, SQL, CQL, Angularjs and React, I specialize in crafting scalable and reliable applications that meet the demands of modern development. I have a lot of AI ideas to share and mentor and have been embracing AI as one of the current challenges to tackle. In addition to my hands-on work, I am a dedicated contributor to the development community. I have published courses and also actively share my insights and expertise with fellow developers. Passionate about solving complex problems, embracing new technologies, and fostering collaboration within cross-functional teams, I am driven by a goal to create impactful and innovative solutions that elevate user experience and enhance business value. My commitment to mentorship and continuous learning reflects my belief in the power of shared experiences and staying at the cutting edge of the ever-evolving tech landscape.

What's a lab?

Hands-on Labs are real environments created by industry experts to help you learn. These environments help you gain knowledge and experience, practice without compromising your system, test without risk, destroy without fear, and let you learn from your mistakes. Hands-on Labs: practice your skills before delivering in the real world.

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Did you know?

On average, you retain 75% more of your learning if you get time for practice.