A lot of enteprise web applicaions still using iframe and the html code is a mess. When doing maintenance, developers feel pain in the ass when modify the style and html. It is time to get a web designer for enterprise application, right now!

Lost in HTML, CSS, and Javascript

Especially for old system, the developer is designer, they violent DRY principal. Ten years ago, copy and paste actually is programmer’s task. No one like pages of messy codes, sometime the code having not usage at all. But now is 21th century, is time to change, hire a web designer for enterprise application, not only for better ui design, but also for cleaner code.

Enterprise web application is well known in having a lot of complex forms, a lot of fields in single page. It time to let UX expert to improve those forms. They will have better idea/trick to design that. Of course, sometime add a designer into development is not easy especially people think “I dont want to break thing”. But in long term, you will see the benefits.

Last Choice

For whatever reason if you cant get a web designer, don’t use homegrow CSS design if you don’t have web designer, use open source CSS/Javascript toolkit like Twitter Bootstrap, or Zurb Foundation. It is free, cost nothing except learning curve for fundamental CSS/JQuery (developer must know basic CSS as well right?). Futhermore, a lot of open source components/tools around these frameworks like JQuery file upload and Bootsnipp can make your life easier.

Still feel pain in the ass when design based on these frameworks? Buy a premium theme (from market Wrapbootstrap), cost you few bucks but save your developers (or even designer) 1-2 weeks time (do your math!), sometime even more. It is not 2-3 pages of forms, it is a lot, sometime up to 50 pages.

Summary

Team lead for enterprise application, stop hiding in cave. Go out and read latest technologies news, open sources tools, hacking on weekends.

For “enterprise” company that doing enterprise application development, get a designer or use open source CSS/Javascript toolkits or buy a premium theme.