11 Best CSS Frameworks For Making Your Website Stylish

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The field of website design and development has grown out to become a really competitive virtual arena. It is no longer sufficient just to have static slump of online web application, but to ensure survival in the web world, the website has to be laced with a number of functionalities and have irresistible design. The coding has to be apt and precise to ensure there is no glitch and the web pages are easily loaded on the browser. Besides, there has to be viable scope for further additions and improvements in the web design, so that more up to date features can be added in the web design.

One of the best tools available with website designers and developers to provide high end solutions to high ended website development needs are CSS frameworks. Along with reducing the coding structures and coding time, CSS frameworks offers the developers convenient website development.

What exactly does the CSS Framework stands for?

One of the very basic reasons behind the flourishing websites is the existence of active PSD to CSS conversion services. CSS is an acronym for Cascading Style Sheet Language which enables you to present your website in such a attractive way. CSS takes human psychology and presentation semantics into consideration, and aims at carefully organizing the data, so that, there is no drop in the user’s attention span while visiting through your website.

CSS gives web developers an immense flexibility in coding by separating the markup content i.e. PSD to HTML or XHTML conversions and the presentation content, which describes the page layout, presentation, fonts and styling and etc. Another handy attribute of CSS is that of CSS Frameworks. CSS Frameworks are the previously prepared elements and exists in the libraries. These are called with .css extension and allows the developers to recall a particular code. Thus they don’t have to write the entire code again and again and hence a lot of time is conserved. By taking the repetitiveness out of the coding, it gives ample scope for the developers to concentrate on the strategic area, and produce more visually astounding web applications. Besides, the reduced coding is directly shows direct implications on the loading time of the website and makes the website to quickly be loaded on the web browsers.

Using a CSS framework is a smart choice, instead of having to begin from the very scratch each time you go for website development. You can make a default style sheet and markup template for yourself and use it each time you have to begin the task of website development. The basics will be covered in the Framework and you can concentrate your efforts and skills on the detailing and uniqueness of the website.

The eleven most popular CSS frameworks

1. Blueprint

A Norwegian tech student names Olav Frihagen Bjørkøy was the reason behind the development of one of the strongest CSS Framework – Blueprint. Blueprint offers a sturdy platform to use Cascading style sheet language and develop typographic grids. This CSS framework was designed with the aim of enable you to considerably reduce the time required for CSS development. Blueprint gives you a very user friendly grid generator by which you can build frames based on the choice of the width size. Besides, it also provides you with customized style sheets to let you integrate the buttons and typography, forms having complete professional design, and style sheet which comes handy for printing purposes. Lastly, one of the most important advantage is that it can execute mass reset of the default styles of your browser.

2. Yahoo! UI Library CSS Foundation

The Yahoo UI library is powered by JavaScript and CSS, and is a compilation of utilities and controls which empowers you to develop highly responsive and interactive web applications, by providing high end techniques like DOM scripting, AJAX and DHTML. The Yahoo UI Library is available free of cost and is available under a BSD license.

The Yahoo UI was carefully prepared by the front end engineers of Yahoo Inc along with the contributors across the Globe. It also has a proven record of adding scalability and quickness to your web application along with providing robust foundations. If you are comfortable with JavaScript, this is perhaps the best and the most powerful solution for you.

3. The Yet Another Multicolumn Layout – YAML

The Yet Another Multicolumn Layout is a result of extreme diligence of Mr. Dirk Jesse, the developer of YAML, who designed it with precise understanding of web standards to make it compatible with the various prevalent web browsers being used today. And also, YAML provides you with a debugging style sheet and a print style sheet. Another advantageous feature of YAML is that, it offers detailed documentation and provides examples in two languages – English and German. Also it enables you to develop CSS layouts right within your web browsers, by providing an effective editor known as YAML Builder, which works on a “What you See Is What You Get (WSYIWYG)” basis and subsequently integrate various creatively designed elements into your framework.

4. 960GS

The 960 Grid System came into existence with a sole aim to smoothen the work flow related to developing a website by providing a common platform of 960 pixels layout width. The 960 Grid System provides you with two different package options of 12 and 16 columns which can be used along with each other or separately. It gives you sturdy background support by putting together several useful templates and graphics, also providing you with an overlay tool.

5. Fluid 960GS

The highly advantageous Fluid 960 Grid System has been the result of the combination of the hard work of Nathan Smith and his original creation, 960 Grid System.

6. Elastic CSS

This CSS framework is actually an elastic in the CSS frameworks scenario. Just like an elastic, it can be stretched and give sturdy support to an extensive range of layouts, which involves – fixed, fluid and elastic layout. Need not compromise on the kind of layout you want for your web application, just run through various permutations and combinations across the elastic CSS framework until you get the layout of your choice. The only thorn in the rosy attributes of Elastic CSS Framework is that it requires the use of JavaScript. JavaScript provides you with high quality and aesthetic designs, but could be a cumbersome task for those who are not well versed with JavaScript.

7. The jQuery UI CSS Framework

This CSS Framework was designed specifically for developing customized widgets based on jQuery. The classes covered in this CSS Framework envelopes a very wide range of all the user interfaces which are required. If you employ the jQuiery UI CSS Framework, you will be able to easily integrate the plugins along with your website code and will be able to utilize the shared conventional markup codes. If you use jQuery, you get the power to create buttons and also choose many buttons at a single given time.

8. SenCSs

The expansion of SenCSs would reveal – Sensible Standards CSS, which is exactly what this CSS Framework do. It lets you sensibly style all the rhythmic (read: repetitive) part of the CSS and hence saves a lot of time to concentrate on other important issues related to website development.

9. Typogridphy

This CSS framework is based on the 960 Grid System and enables you to create highly dynamic and varied grid layouts. Typogridphy is a Typographical and Grid Layout CSS Framework which gives website designers and developers the ultimate scope to swiftly code highly functional and aesthetic looking grid layouts.

10. Tripoli

Tripoli cannot be classified as a CSS framework but rather is a CSS standard for depicting the HTML elements. Tripoli provides a sturdy rendering engine and a concrete foundation for developing animated layouts without making any changes with the typography of coding. It is a very mellow CSS standard which resets the default browsers and works on then silently.

11. BlueTrip CSS Framework

This CSS framework does complete justice to its name and provides you the best possible amalgamation of the three frameworks – 960GS, Blueprint and Tripoli.

Why to opt for CSS Frameworks?

In the present generation, it is not sufficient to just work hard but it is a prerequisite for success that the person should work smart and not just hard. The CSS Frameworks lets you achieve just that. It is a smart way of developing websites. Instead of starting from the scratch, it protects the developers from all the anxiety and frustration by providing robust foundations for developing websites.

In addition to that, the website development process is quite tedious and takes a lot of time, and a person may make certain mistakes in the repetitive codes. CSS frameworks keep a check on that. In case all of your projects has a default CSS code, you will not be required to go through the source code of each and every page of the website. A detailed CSS framework ensures fruitful work flow of the processes and saves a lot of time, avoiding any scope for misunderstandings or miscommunication between the team of developers.

As you must have read above, most of the CSS frameworks are already cross browser compatible, thus you need not worry about the cross browser compatibility of your website.
In the end there is hardly any persuasion left to suggest the use of CSS frameworks. It saves a lot of your valued time, supplements the website with highly profitable features and functionalities and allows the developers enough scope and flexibility to come out with the best of designs.