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The Dark Side of the Grid
10.3.2019
Manuel Matuzovic makes the point that in order to use CSS grid in some fairly simple markup scenarios, we might be tempted to flatten our HTML to make sure all the elements we need to can participate on the grid. What we need is subgrid and non-buggy display: contents;, so I'd like to think in...
CSS Variables + calc() + rgb() = Enforcing High Contrast Colors
21.2.2019
As you may know, the recent updates and additions to CSS are extremely powerful. From Flexbox to Grid, and — what we’re concerned about here — Custom Properties (aka CSS variables), all of which make robust and dynamic layouts and interfaces easier than ever while opening up many other...
How do you figure?
1.2.2019
Scott O'Hara digs into the <figure> and <figcaption> elements. Gotta love a good ol' HTML deep dive.
I use these on just about every blog post here on CSS-Tricks, and as I've suspected, I've basically been doing it wrong forever. My original thinking was that a figcaption was just...
Using Artificial Intelligence to Generate Alt Text on Images
1.2.2019
Web developers and content editors alike often forget or ignore one of the most important parts of making a website accessible and SEO performant: image alt text. You know, that seemingly small image attribute that describes an image:
<img src="/cute/sloth/image.jpg" alt="A brown baby sloth...
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...
Toggling Animations On and Off
9.1.2019
A nicely detailed tutorial by Kirupa that gets into how you might provide a UI with persisted options that control whether animations run or not.
The trick is custom properties that control the movement:
body {
--toggle: 0;
--playState: "paused";
}
Which are used within animations...
Reader Mode: The Button to Beat
7.1.2019
As a young nerd, I loved to immerse myself in digital worlds, learning the ins and outs of the rules someone else had created for me (intentionally or not). But the older and crankier I get, the more I find myself losing patience when navigating these "delightful" experiences.
This fascination...
The practical value of semantic HTML
7.1.2019
I love how Bruce steps up to the plate here:
If the importance of good HTML isn’t well-understood by the newer breed of JavaScript developers, then it’s my job as a DOWF (Dull Old Web Fart) to explain it.
Then he points out some very practical situations in which good HTML brings meaningful...
The Elements of UI Engineering
4.1.2019
I really enjoyed this post by Dan Abramov. He defines his work as a UI engineer and I especially like what he writes about his learning experience:
My biggest learning breakthroughs weren’t about a particular technology. Rather, I learned the most when I struggled to solve a particular UI problem....
Too Much Accessibility
3.12.2018
I like to blog little veins of thought as I see them. We recently linked to an article by Facundo Corradini calling out a tweet of ours where we used an <em> where we probably should have used an <i>.
Bruce Lawson checks if screen readers are the victims of these semantic...
Empower Through Web Development
28.6.2018
As a person with a disability, I appreciate the web and modern-day computing for their many affordances. The web is a great place to work and share and connect. You can make a living, build your dream, and speak your mind.
It’s not easy, though. Beginners struggling with the box model often take...
Creating a VS Code Theme
8.6.2018
Everyone has special and perhaps, particular, tastes when it comes to their code editor. There are literally thousands of themes out there, and for good reason: a thing of beauty and enhancement to productivity for one can be a hindrance to another.
It’s been an item on my bucket list to create...
Computer says NO to HTML5 document outline
9.6.2016
What a brilliant idea! For the longest time HTML5 specified, and advised developers, that it no longer mattered what the number (1 to 6) was in a heading element (when used in conjunction with sectioning elements). What mattered was the nesting level of the H1-h6 in sectioning elements, just like...
Computer says NO to HTML5 document outline
9.6.2016
What a brilliant idea! For the longest time HTML5 specified, and advised developers, that it no longer mattered what the number (1 to 6) was in a heading element (when used in conjunction with sectioning elements). What mattered was the nesting level of the H1-h6 in sectioning elements, just like...
The woes of date input
19.1.2016
One of the many new input types that HTML5 introduced is the date input type which, in theory, should allow a developer to provide the user with a simple, usable, recognisable method of entering a date on a web page. But sadly, this input type has yet to reach its full potential. Briefly, the date...
The woes of date input
19.1.2016
One of the many new input types that HTML5 introduced is the date input type which, in theory, should allow a developer to provide the user with a simple, usable, recognisable method of entering a date on a web page. But sadly, this input type has yet to reach its full potential. Briefly, the date...
HTML Developers: Please Consider
9.12.2015
ARIA is an amazing technology, it allows developers to add meaning to meaningless HTML or override meaning on HTML that is being repurposed and sometimes misused, so that users who rely upon the meaning of HTML, as implemented in browsers, can understand and interact with HTML User Interfaces...
HTML Developers: Please Consider
9.12.2015
ARIA is an amazing technology, it allows developers to add meaning to meaningless HTML or override meaning on HTML that is being repurposed and sometimes misused, so that users who rely upon the meaning of HTML, as implemented in browsers, can understand and interact with HTML User Interfaces...
The ride to 5
28.10.2014
Forwards In recent weeks I contacted around 40 people, a cross section of those who have banged away at, or banged on about, HTML5. I asked them for their perspectives on HTML5 becoming a W3C Recommendation. Below are the words of the 28 people who responded, pretty much in the order they hit...
The ride to 5
28.10.2014
Forwards In recent weeks I contacted around 40 people, a cross section of those who have banged away at, or banged on about, HTML5. I asked them for their perspectives on HTML5 becoming a W3C Recommendation. Below are the words of the 28 people who responded, pretty much in the order they hit...