I like bootstrap because I'm terrible at getting things to align properly on a web page and it basically does it for me.
As a programmer, this is awesome because I can spend the rest of my time on the interesting programming stuff. Really, it appeals to:
1.) My complete lack of understanding of the intricacies of CSS and web page design.
2.) My mindset as an industrious but lazy programmer.
3.) It can be made to be generally portable.
I can see that down the line I might want to replace it with something else or hire a real designer to make me real buttons and web page styles, but it an excellent tool for the rough drafts of different ideas that I have. I can put things 'here' and 'there' on a web page quite easily, and that is really what I want/need.
It is much like a writer throwing down his ideas stream of consciousness style onto a piece of paper. He knows that he will have to edit eventually to make it consumable, but for now, he just needs to get the ideas down on paper while he has them.
I just started a Bootstrap app and customising it is surprisingly easy. If I were worried about my app looking like a bulk standard Bootstrap app it probably hard to modify the Bootstrap CSS enough to give it a unique style.
We could do this at least as far back as 96, I can confirm. Even without Bootstrap you can just write a super simple HTML page, with bare minimum markup and layout, and just focus on getting the functionality right. No CSS or Bootstrap needed. There's always time to iterate on the prettiness. Plus if a customer/user likes your site when it's "ugly" but functional, and especially will pay for it like that, then they might like it even more when it's "pretty".
This was the reason bootstrap was invented. You can choose to use parts of it to make your quick and dirty work look usable and not just thrown together.
As a programmer, this is awesome because I can spend the rest of my time on the interesting programming stuff. Really, it appeals to:
1.) My complete lack of understanding of the intricacies of CSS and web page design.
2.) My mindset as an industrious but lazy programmer.
3.) It can be made to be generally portable.
I can see that down the line I might want to replace it with something else or hire a real designer to make me real buttons and web page styles, but it an excellent tool for the rough drafts of different ideas that I have. I can put things 'here' and 'there' on a web page quite easily, and that is really what I want/need.
It is much like a writer throwing down his ideas stream of consciousness style onto a piece of paper. He knows that he will have to edit eventually to make it consumable, but for now, he just needs to get the ideas down on paper while he has them.