Articles by Smashing Magazine from March 2018

In the past, CSS has tied itself to physical dimensions and directions, physically mapping the placement of elements to the left, right and top and bottom. We float an element left or right, we use th...

Do you like filling out forms? I thought not. Its not what we want from a service. All the user wants is to buy a ticket, book a hotel room, make a purchase and so on. Filling in a form is a necessary...

(This is a sponsored article.) In my previous article, I explored the rise of design, in particular focusing on the emergence of design as a business driver. As the spotlight has focused on the potent...

There are lots of ways to measure the performance of a web page and the most popular one is by far Google Analytics. But knowing exactly what images, words, or elements on your site catch your site vi...

Traditional software developers have been hiding a secret from us in plain sight. Its not even a disputed fact. Its part of their business model.It doesnt matter if were talking about high-end enterpr...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel the world while working as a designer? It might sound like a dream, but all that glitters is not gold, and it might not be the right choice for y...

(This is a sponsored article.) As designers working primarily on screen, we often think of user experience design as being primarily a screen-focused activity. In fact, user experience affects the ent...

Every design decision is a decision made on behalf of other people, those we often refer to as “end-users.” As the creators of designed experiences used by people all over the world, it is...

Many people want to create the best email campaigns possible, and this goal can be realized by following best practices for email design and coding and by implementing advanced techniques correctly. T...

Many people want to create the best email campaigns possible, and this goal can be realized by following best practices for email design and coding and by implementing advanced techniques correctly. T...

Linking JavaScript functionality to the DOM can be a repetitive and tedious task. You add a class to an element, find all the elements on the page, and attach the matching JavaScript functionality to ...

(This is a sponsored article.) Designing mobile apps means going through different stages: pre-planning, visual concepts, designing, prototyping, development. After defining your project, you need to ...

Linking JavaScript functionality to the DOM can be a repetitive and tedious task. You add a class to an element, find all the elements on the page, and attach the matching JavaScript functionality to ...

Software developers all over the world can benefit from an increased understanding of intellectual property (IP) laws and how those laws may affect their work. Software programs are often complex work...

As the web continues to evolve and new browser technologies continue to emerge, the line between native and web development becomes more and more blurred. New APIs are unlocking the ability to code en...

Service Worker is probably one of the most misrepresented technologies we currently have. When I hear people talking about it, the topic almost always revolves around serving an app when a user is off...

By now, most people working in tech know and feel the deep concerns related to surveillance capitalism fostered and upheld by the tech giants. We understand that the root of the problem lies within th...

In the Visual Journalism team at the BBC, we produce exciting visual, engaging and interactive content, ranging from calculators to visualizations new storytelling formats.Each application is a unique...

Have you ever used a plugin and wished it did something a bit differently? Perhaps you needed something unique that was beyond the scope of the settings page of the plugin.I have personally encountere...

Back in the 2000s, it was commonplace to see websites that were built using Flash. By viewing the source of a website, you’d often see very little HTML and an embedded SWF file. This meant a few...

Its quite popular these days, and dare I say a damn fine idea, to build sites with components. Rather than building out entire pages one by one, we build a system of components (think: a search form, ...

Over the last few years, I ran several usability studies with participants with various disabilities. I thought it would help others if I shared some of my experiences. In this article, I provide less...

As technologies change and design techniques evolve, its inevitable that wed experience massive growth in terms of design quality. There are similar parallels we can see within video game design as we...

At some point in your career, most web designers and developers can relate to issues with scope creep, unexpected project delays, client relationships breaking down, and unpaid invoices. The good news...

So youve trained yourself as a web engineer, and now want to build a blazing fast online shop for your customers. The product list should appear in an instant, and searching should waste no more than ...

(This is a sponsored article.) With a prototype of your design built, its important to start testing it to see if the assumptions you have made are correct. In this article, the seventh in my ongoing ...

In Part 2, I covered the details of evaluating a plan, choosing web professionals, and determining your website structure. The question of why planning for the web is just as important as planning for...

If youve been thinking of creating free or premium WordPress themes, well, I hope I can help you avoid some of the mistakes Ive made over the years. Even though I always strive for good clean code, th...

If youve been thinking of creating free or premium WordPress themes, well, I hope I can help you avoid some of the mistakes Ive made over the years. Even though I always strive for good clean code, th...

When high potential projects fall apart, its often a failure of collaboration and alignment. The tools, the assumptions, the opportunity, and the intentions may line up, but if people dont communicate...

(This is a sponsored article.) With the big picture established and your user interface considered, its time to start building some prototypes. My sixth article in this series of ten articles dives in...

If you’ve been using WordPress for any amount of time, there’s a good chance you’ve come across the following statement: “Free as in speech, not free as in beer. If you havent,...

Everybodys an artist. That was the idea behind the Smashing Creativity Challenge which we announced at the beginning of the month. We asked the community to get their creative ideas flowing, and desig...

Everybodys an artist. That was the idea behind the Smashing Creativity Challenge which we announced at the beginning of the month. We asked the community to get their creative ideas flowing, and desig...