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The Ethics of Web Performance
14.1.2019
Tim Kadlec on the issues surrounding poor web performance and why it’s so important for us to care about making our sites as fast as possible:
Poor performance can, and does, lead to exclusion. This point is extremely well documented by now, but warrants repeating. Sites that use an excess...
Build a Blog Using Express.js and React in 30 Minutes
14.1.2019
Building a web server sounds complicated, but it doesn't have to be! What if I told you that you can create a web server with just a couple lines of code? Yes! You can do things like this using Exp
Re: Pleasing Color Palettes
11.1.2019
There are so many tools out there to help you pick colors. I totally get it! It's hard! When colors are done well, it's like magic. It adds a level of polish to a design that can really set it apart.
Let's look at some, then talk about this idea some more.
Here's one I just saw called Color...
Styling a Web Component
8.1.2019
This confused me for a bit here so I'm writing it out while it's fresh in mind. Just because you're using a web component doesn't mean the styles of it are entirely isolated. You might have content within a web component that is styled normally along with the rest of your website. Like this:
See...
The Most Hearted of 2018
4.1.2019
We've released the Most Hearted Pens, Posts, and Collections on CodePen for 2018! Just absolutely incredible work on here — it's well worth exploring.
Remember CodePen has a three-tiered hearting system, so while the number next to the heart reflects the number of users who hearted the item...
WordCamp US 2018
4.1.2019
I recently attended and had the chance to speak at WordCamp US 2018 in Nashville. I had a great time. I love conferences that bring people together around a tight theme because it's very likely you'll have something to talk about with every person there. Plus, I rather like WordPress and...
Gradient Borders in CSS
28.12.2018
Let's say you need a gradient border around an element. My mind goes like this:
There is no simple obvious CSS API for this.
I'll just make a wrapper element with a linear-gradient background, then an inner element will block out most of that background, except a thin line of padding around...
Regarding CSS’s Global Scope
20.12.2018
html {
font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;
}
With the except of some form elements, you've just set a font on every bit of text on a site! Nice! That's probably what you were trying to do, because of the probably hundreds of elements all over your site, setting that font-family every time would...
WooCommerce
20.12.2018
(This is a sponsored post.)
I just read a nicely put together story about WooCommerce over on the CodeinWP blog. WooCommerce started life as WooThemes, sort of a "premium themes" business started by just a couple of fellas who had never even met in person. Two years and a few employees later they...
Nobody is quite wrong.
17.12.2018
There are two opposing views on using non-polyfillable new web features that I find are both equally common in our industry:
Websites don't need to look the same in every browser. The concept of progressive enhancement helps with that. There are tools, even native language features, that help with...
Creating an Animated Login Form for TouchID
11.12.2018
I came across this amazing Dribbble shot by Jakub Reis a while back. It caught my eye and I knew that I just had to try recreating it in code. At that moment, I didn’t know how. I tried out a bunch of different things, and about a year later, I finally managed to make this demo.
I learned a couple...
CSS Selectors are Conditional Statements
6.12.2018
foo {
}
Programmatically, is:
if (element has a class name of "foo") {
}
Descendent selectors are && logic and commas are ||. It just gets more complicated from there, with things like combinators and pseudo selectors. Just look at all the ways styles can cascade.
Jeremy Keith:
If...
The Software We Pay For
5.12.2018
We did a Web Developer Economics series a few years ago, where we looked at the various costs of being a web developer:
Web Developer Economics: One-Off Software Costs
Web Developer Economics: Hardware Costs
Web Developer Economics: Monthly Service Costs
Web Developer Economics: The Wrapup
I'm...
How I Migrated From WordPress to a Static Site
4.12.2018
I've just recently done a complete redesign and rewrite of my course platform site Learn Build Teach. Originally, I created it using
The Hottest Black Friday Deals For Web Developers
21.11.2018
These days, you don't need a formal CS degree to be an amazing developer. Whether you're brand new or just looking to sharpen your skills, there is no lack of content out there for
Get Up and Win
5.11.2018
Down on my hands and knees, I crawl around, bleeding out. I’m resigned to my fate. A kind stranger, a new friend, rushes over to me and kneels to help, reviving me at a time that didn’t require it. Just as I’m revived, the kind stranger says “Get up and win”. I...
Find and Change Default App for File Type from Command Line
23.10.2018
There are few things more frustrating to any computer user than files opening in an unwanted application. Sure you can use the Open menu item in the desired application but we all just want to double-click a file and see it open in the application we expect. I recently got to thinking about this...
How to Get and Set CSS Variable Values with JavaScript
8.10.2018
CSS variables are a very welcome addition to the language, despite them being incredibly basic. Sure we could use SASS or stylus but languages should never count on developers relying on frameworks and toolkits to accomplish what we know we need. And just like every other part of a webpage,...
Sometimes `sizes` is quite important.
27.7.2018
Paraphrased question from email:
I just read your article Responsive Images: If you’re just changing resolutions, use srcset. In the age of "responsive websites," srcset does not help in certain situations. For example, I have a popular products slider. On mobile, I have one image per slide where...
Create the Google Button Effect with CSS
27.7.2018
I always found Google’s branding simple but grew to realize that was the beauty in their design; there’s something about “just enough” that is the perfect balance between bland and over the top. GMail’s design grew old over the years and Google just got around...