I am now working on something bigger than simple web page. It should be accessible on mobile/tablet/pc. Is better to use framework like http://foundation.zurb.com/ or implement more layouts for different end devices?
Whether you choose a framework or not, you will still have to write some custom CSS for different view ports.
But I would go with a framework regardless. They do all the heavy lifting for you, and hundreds of people have worked on them, which makes them more robust than anything you can come up with in a short period of time.
All you have to do is write some additional #media queries to customise your styles for different view ports.
I have an old ASP.NET web application (Web Forms, no MVC) and I would like to make it "look nice" in mobile browsers, while keeping the current design for desktop browsers.
One of my options is CSS media queries , but then - is there a list of standard screen sizes I should adapt it for?
I also read about Modernizr - but it seems to just detect browser capabilities, and I wouldn't know how to use it for my purposes.
What would be my best bet? Appreciate it.
You should take a close look at jquery-mobile which has a lot of built in functions to deal with both changing the display based on device as well as a variety of layouts pre-optimized for mobile views.
Take a look at this link for way more information : http://jquerymobile.com/
However this would not necessarily be easy, depending on the complexity and overall layout of the "normal" web page. However it could easily be implemented to judge what device is being used and then switch to an already defined layout.
I recurred to CSS media queries. Here's a nice introduction. Much appreciated.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Guide/CSS/Media_queries
I have an asp.net website, it contains database calls etc
Whats the best way of taking an existing asp.net website and making it look good in mobile and tablet devices?
I have done some research but there seems to be so many options eg lessframework.com, jquerymobile etc
I havent used mvc before but a few people say to use mvc + jquerymobile
any help would be muchly appreciated
There is no magic bullet that will instantly convert your website to mobile. In fact without knowing the specifics of your website it would be hard to recommend a good fit for your situation since the tools you mention like MVC, JQMobile, etc. would be used in one case or another. With the question as you have posed it you will get personal opinion and there are millions of us with opinions... here's mine:
I would recommend not building a mobile specific website like mobile.website.com but rather look into responsive design where your website and the underlying data structs remain the same but your view changes depending on screen real-estate. Bootstrap or HTML5 Boilerplate or any number of design frameworks will help you get started. You just need to figure out a design that fits your websites functionality.
I use MVC + HTML5 Boilerplate (I love Razor) for most of my new projects but sometimes even it has too much overhead so I just start from scratch (multiple PSD's, convert to HTML in Dreamweaver, apply logic with MVC & client side scripting) but that is something you will have to decide on a project by project basis.
just wondering is there any free tool which can aid in making the GUI/interface layout of asp.net/html forms ? My forms mostly end up in being less user friendly and not good looking at all.
I have been using Bootstrap framework to get my design up to speed in no time. You can use this tool to get forms created in minutes. http://bootsnipp.com/forms?version=3
Why don't you try downloading the Firefox Web Developer Toolbar and use it to reverse-engineer some simple, good looking sites that you come across?
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/61772/
You can use it to grab the entire CSS of any site, or hover over areas of a page and see the various divs and their associated CSS rules highlighted.
I am building a new WebSite based on Grails technology.
Concerning the graphical design of my website, I plan to use services from a professional web designer but meanwhile, I need to do some basics graphical design myself in order to have a "user-friendly" beta-version.
I have read through the stackoverflow.com site but couldn't make up my mind. Here is what I have found out:
how-do-you-choose-a-css-framework
what-is-the-best-css-grid-framework
can-someone-recommend-a-bells-and-whistles-css-framework
what-is-the-best-css-framework-and-are-they-worth-the-effort
But unfortunately there are many contradictory answers.
First, some say that using CSS framework is backwards authoring and not a good thing. Others advice YUI Grids, BluePrint, 960 gs, YAML...And many say that Compass allows to develop CSS layouts easily and reusable.
So considering that:
I am new to the CSS world and I do not intend to be a web designer
My layout should be user-friendly (but not necessary awesome L&F)
It should be maintanable and easily improvable (by a professionnal web designer)
Easy to implement (in order to have something quickly)
What do you advice me for getting started with the web design of my site?
Thank you for your advices.
Fabien
First, if you don't intend to be a web designer, I'd suggest outsourcing your CSS. There are several websites where you can supply HTML or a Photoshop design and have it coded up for well under a grand (1k). Or get HTML/CSS designs free.
Then there is one thing you need to know and another two you need to work out:
all HTML should be written in a semantic and valid manner: semantic = properly ordered headings, lists, no excessive divs etc.; valid = will pass WC3 validation tests. None of this is rocket science, but is still a skill that needs to be learned. Andy Clarke's Transcending CSS is a great book on semantic HTML/CSS. For ease of maintenance, the HTML and CSS should be tidy and consistently indented, etc.
you need to determine whether you'll be needing an admin backend and database for managing content, or if you're just building a site consisting of static pages (i.e. html and css files, images and other media etc.). If it's the former, that's a whole other learning curve :-)
what are your best skills? If you're a good designer, get other people to write the HTML/CSS, or use a ready-made template (there are many on the web) and customise it. Here's a good start for multi-column layouts. If you're a programmer, learn to use a framework like Django (Python), Titanium (Perl), something smaller in Ruby (because Ruby on Rails is a bit big to start with) or one in your favourite language.
Good CSS is a craft, and simplicity is the essence, but if you want to learn enough to get started, my advice would be to:
understand inheritance (the 'cascade' in CSS) and the fact that anything can be a 'block', so don't use lots of nested divs just to apply a style. Instead, apply the style to the HTML element itself, or to the element only when it appears in a parent block (like a menu unordered list contained in a sidebar div);
learn about block and inline elements (Web Design from Scratch is a great learning resource and I'd recommend it), and that CSS can change this behaviour;
test in Firefox, then test in Internet Explorer. >= IE7's not so bad (but look out for HasLayout). What you can't tweak to get right in IE, use conditional comments to add CSS that only IE can see - never use CSS hacks - .htc files that add missing IE functionality (e.g. rollover styles on any element) are available;
learn about CSS positioning, and use 'fixed' sparingly;
put all your CSS in one file (for starters), and don't use inline CSS in the HTML;
styling forms and form fields is almost a separate skill :-)
Use background images to add style, but also understand that you can offset and overlap images using positioning. You'll need to use PNGs for nice transparency, though. Oh yes, and opacity looks nice, but requires non-standard CSS for now. although the more flexible rgba (a=alpha) method is widely-supported. As do rounded corners, but both worth using.
I'd avoid CSS frameworks and resets for now - they'll complicate things at this stage by adding yet another DSL to learn (but read the arguments and the pros and cons). To avoid annoying default margins and padding, I always reset everything by doing html *, body * {margin: 0; padding 0;} then build padding and margins back in wherever needed - never been a problem so far :-)
What do you advice me for getting started with the web design of my site?
Get Firebug plugin for Firefox now!
Primary CSS uses:
See which CSS rules apply
Change CSS in real time and see the affect
Inspect other websites to see how they do things
I would not be able to develop CSS (and other web related technologies) without this tool
Take a look at YUI CSS reset/base/font/grid
http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/3/cssreset/
And Grid 960 also has some nice layouts (search for their site in google)
I don't know what OS you are running, but if you are a Mac user, I suggest a great free tool for CSS: Xyle Scope. It's not an editor but a CSS viewer/scanner, it let you browse easily the CSS code of any web page so you can learn better how css works and you can analyze any well done layout on the web.
CSSEdit (Mac Only) is a good solution for writing Cascade sheets, easy to use, not expensive, and reach of features.
Fireworks: I think is a great software to draft your layouts and make some good graphical works!
Dreamweaver: it's an all in one solution for web developing ... it's a really great tool to easily maintain synched your remote version of the website with your local one.
Coda (Mac Only) is a very good alternative to Dreamweaver, even if it don't let you manage and edit the .htaccess files!
For coding your web site I suggest dreamweaver or Coda, but an other good alternative is BBEdit (Mac Only).
Bootstrap, Its the best css framework i can suggest, there is another one called foundation also but i prefer bootstrap more since it is popular among developers and is extendible. There are few more other frameworks, I wrote a blog about that, Here Read it too if you want http://www.andwecode.com/freebies/5-responsive-css-frameworks :)