Kendo UI
Kendo UI is a component library for JavaScript that allows developers to create slick and modern looking web apps in a fraction of the time.
- A library featuring over 70 components
- Designed specifically to suit the needs of mobile app developers
- Four different price points available
- Grid system is a real highlight and streamlines one of the most common structural components of modern apps
- Supported by very strong resources, both in the form of documentation and videos
- Highly polished and tested by the dev team before each release and update
- Not an open source product, and communication with the community can be weak
- All available icons use web fonts
- Backwards compatibility with old versions of Kendo can be inconsistent
Mobile is the new standard for app development. The way we interact with technology is changing, and more and more users rely on apps they can use on their phone to get the results they need. But mobile app design is a different beast than the sort of traditional software you'll find on your laptop or desktop, both in terms of aesthetics and implementation. Kendo UI provides a rich library of JavaScript components that allow you to put together a slick and sleek interface with less laborious coding. They offer over 70 diverse components you can integrate directly into your software, and all of these components can be customized to accommodate the look and branding of your app. Developer Telerik boasts that you can speed up the development time of your app by as much as half. Kendo isn't exactly reinventing the wheel when it comes to the component library it offers, but they don't really need to. Their library is all about making the implementation of the most popular design trends easier rather than changing how developers approach design on a fundamental level, and this is reflected in their approach to grids. The grid structure has become the standard for UI design in both the mobile and desktop design space, and Kendo accomplishes some interesting things in how they approach this design structure. While standard CSS, JavaScript, and Bootstrap come with a number of ways to align components in a grid, they can also be fiddly. The addition of inline grids greatly reduced the difficulties that come from using traditional floats, but Kendo takes it a step further. A drag and drop interface means that you can do more with less code, and you can spend less time experimenting with the inline structure and ratios when trying to put together a meaningful grid that looks good on any screen. All of the components available through Kendo can be manipulated directly through their UI builder - a cleanly designed dashboard that displays everything you need in a clean and sleek visual interface. This can serve as an Angular scaffolding your whole team can interact with to get a head start on development. Design templates can be easily swapped between team members, and API support for Kendo is top notch and incredibly well implemented. As far as the back end is concerned, larger and more complex development teams will get a lot of mileage out of the interface that Kendo offers. But your users will benefit strongly as well. Kendo's vast array of visual components like grids and charts look good right out of the box, and they can be easily customized to match your specific needs. That means you can quickly create an appealing interface that conveys information to your customers more effectively.