For Bootstrap 3, you would need to use a custom wrapper and set its width to 100%.

.container-full {
  margin: 0 auto;
  width: 100%;
}

Here is a working example on Bootply

If you prefer not to add a custom class, you can acheive a very wide layout (not 100%) by wrapping everything inside a col-lg-12 (wide layout demo)

Update for Bootstrap 3.1

The container-fluid class has returned in Bootstrap 3.1, so this can be used to create a full width layout (no additional CSS required)..

Bootstrap 3.1 demo


This is the complete basic structure for 100% width layout in Bootstrap v3.0.0. You shouldn't wrap your <div class="row"> with container class. Cause container class will take lots of margin and this will not provide you full screen (100% width) layout where bootstrap has removed container-fluid class from their mobile-first version v3.0.0.

So just start writing <div class="row"> without container class and you are ready to go with 100% width layout.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Bootstrap Basic 100% width Structure</title>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <!-- Bootstrap -->
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://netdna.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.0.0/css/bootstrap.min.css">

<!-- HTML5 shim and Respond.js IE8 support of HTML5 elements and media queries -->
<!--[if lt IE 9]>
  <script src="http://getbootstrap.com/assets/js/html5shiv.js"></script>
  <script src="http://getbootstrap.com/assets/js/respond.min.js"></script>
<![endif]-->
<style>
    .red{
        background-color: red;
    }
    .green{
        background-color: green;
    }
</style>
</head>
<body>
    <div class="row">
        <div class="col-md-3 red">Test content</div>
        <div class="col-md-9 green">Another Content</div>
    </div>
    <!-- jQuery (necessary for Bootstrap's JavaScript plugins) -->
    <script src="//code.jquery.com/jquery.js"></script>
    <!-- Include all compiled plugins (below), or include individual files as needed -->
    <script src="http://netdna.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.0.0/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

To see the result by yourself I have created a bootply. See the live output there. http://bootply.com/82136 And the complete basic bootstrap 3 100% width layout I have created a gist. you can use that. Get the gist from here

Reply me if you need more further assistance. Thanks.


Using Bootstrap 3.3.5 and .container-fluid, this is how I get full width with no gutters or horizontal scrolling on mobile. Note that .container-fluid was re-introduced in 3.1.

Full width on mobile/tablet, 1/4 screen on desktop

<div class="container-fluid"> <!-- Adds 15px left/right padding --> 
  <div class="row"> <!-- Adds -15px left/right margins -->
    <div class="col-md-4 col-md-offset-4" style="padding-left: 0, padding-right: 0"> <!-- col classes adds 15px padding, so remove the same amount -->
      <!-- Full-width for mobile -->
      <!-- 1/4 screen width for desktop -->
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Full width on all resolutions (mobile, table, desktop)

<div class="container-fluid"> <!-- Adds 15px left/right padding -->
  <div class="row"> <!-- Adds -15px left/right margins -->
    <div>
      <!-- Full-width content -->
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

You're right using div.container-fluid and you also need a div.row child. Then, the content must be placed inside without any grid columns. If you have a look at the docs you can find this text:

  • Rows must be placed within a .container (fixed-width) or .container-fluid (full-width) for proper alignment and padding.
  • Use rows to create horizontal groups of columns.

Not using grid columns it's ok as stated here:

  • Content should be placed within columns, and only columns may be immediate children of rows.

And looking at this example, you can read this text:

Full width, single column: No grid classes are necessary for full-width elements.

Here's a live example showing some elements using the correct layout. This way you don't need any custom CSS or hack.


In BOOTSTRAP 4 you can use

<div class="row m-0">
my fullwidth div
</div>

... if you just use a .row without the .m-0 as a top level div, you will have unwanted margin, which makes the page wider than the browser window and cause a horizontal scrollbar.