The kit provides a simple way to make interactive prototypes that look like pages on GOV.UK. These prototypes can be used to show ideas to people you work with, and to do user research.
It's built on the Express framework, and uses these GOV.UK resources:
Read the project principles.
You may already have it, try:
node --version
Your version should be 4.2.2.
If you don't have Node, download it here: http://nodejs.org/.
Install Node.js (see requirements)
Unzip the file
Open a command line app (Terminal on OSX) and change to the unzipped directory. Then run:
npm install
This will install extra code that the prototype kit needs.
node start.js
Go to localhost:3000 in your browser.
If you want to view multiple prototypes at the same time you can give them unique port numbers, like this:
PORT=3005 node start.js
To avoid conflicts we recommend using ports between 3000 and 3009. To change the port number permanently, edit the port variable in /server.js.
Any code changes should update in the browser without you restarting the app.
The app recompiles app/assets/stylesheets/application.scss everytime changes are observed.
- Prototyping kit principles
- Getting started
- Making pages
- Writing CSS
- Deploying (getting your work online)
- Updating the kit to the latest version
- Tips and tricks
- Creating routes (server-side programming)
This project is built on top of Express, the idea is that it is straightforward to create simple static pages out of the box. However, you're not limited to that - more dynamic sites can be built with more understanding of Express. Here's a good Express tutorial.
We have two Slack channels for this app. You'll need a government email address to join them.