Graphic AtX. We make pretty websites. Austin, Texas

Simplifing the Lives of Web Designers

If your job, mission, or passion is to design and/or develop well designed and user-friendly web interfaces, then you probably don’t want to spend most of your time writing a bunch of code just to get to the starting line. With web frameworks you don’t have to.

At Graphic(At.X) we believe than delivering more by presenting less is the way to go. Just as we don’t like to overload your perception with the over use of colors and graphics we feel the same way about the code. Also by using web frameworks it’s easier than ever to recycle line of codes and keep plug-ins, libraries, consoles, etc. organized in your server. Web frameworks also highly increases productivity by making the creation of web templates, applications, features, and animations much simpler allowing its users to work on tomorrow’s solutions instead of being stuck with yesterday’s approaches.

What are the so-called web frameworks?

According to Wikipedia: A web application framework is a software framework that is designed to support the development of dynamic websites, Web applications and Web services. The framework aims to alleviate the overhead associated with common activities performed in Web development. For example, many frameworks provide libraries for database access, templating frameworks and session management, and often promote code reuse.

From the common tools of most front end developers: JavaScript frameworks like jQuery, Yahoo User Interface library (YUI), Prototype, Mootools, to CSS templating frameworks like Blueprint, Elements, Yahoo’s very own YUI Grids, and more, to the under-the-hood ready to develop, maintain, and deploy applications frameworks such as Ruby on Rails (ROR), Django, and cakePhP among others. Each of these frameworks have the common goal of getting more done in less time. Web frameworks help to create web layouts by providing libraries for database access, defining an easy-to-use grid system and typography, promoting code reuse, creating style-sheets for printing, web based session management, etc.

Web frameworks provide a method of website assembly with a broad range of application features without the need for PHP-level coding. Ideally, we simplify yesterday’s complex tasks in order for us to focus on creating tomorrow’s solutions.

Fast, less, and on time!

Learning anything new does require some time and attention. If you’re working on a single project then jumping into something new and kinda big like embracing a new framework might not be worth it. However, if you’re a website builder and your handiwork tends get complex, your time investment will multiply it’s revenues in the long run.

What really makes web frameworks fast is the use of conventions over configuration and that they all come with their own collection of codes, libraries and classes which allow developers not to only bring their own knowledge to the table, but also to utilize the experience and knowledge of other developers. Furthermore, there is no need for developers to solve the common problems that are part of almost, if not all, web projects. Instead, developers can focus in the applications’ logic and functionality. For instance, you won’t need to write layout blocks in CSS anymore with the use of the framework’s grids, or write extensive lines of code to achieve a simple effect with JavaScript, or in the case of PHP frameworks: no configurations needed, just set up the database, follow the framework’s conventions and start working.

Installation and use difficulties vary depending on the framework you chose. I would suggest to read more about each one, find those who seem to meet your criteria then download and test drive. Did we also mention that most frameworks are open-source? That’s right…several don’t even cost a dime to use.

The possibilities are pretty profuse. Many frameworks also offer their own documentation and demos and for the most popular ones it’s just a matter of searching the web to find videos, examples, and plugins.

If you undertake a fair amount of web projects and find yourself repeating the same mind-numbing tasks over and over, you might want to consider how frameworks will help to minimize and simplify these patterns of work and get you started faster.