Increment Issue 13: Frontend
Increment is a beautiful quarterly magazine (print and web) published by Stripe "about how teams build and operate software systems at scale". While there is
How To Create Better Angular Templates With Pug — Smashing Magazine
Pug is a template engine that allows you to write cleaner templates with less repetition. In Angular, you can use Pug to write component templates and improve a project’s development workflow. In this article, Zara Cooper In will cover how you — as an Angular developer — can use Pug to write better templates more efficiently. You’ll learn how to install Pug in your Angular apps and transition exis
The Many Bad (and Good!) Patterns for Close Buttons
Manuel Matuzović details 10 bad HTML patterns for a close button. You know, stuff like this:
Get Programmatic Control of your Builds with Netlify Build Plugins
Today at Jamstack_Conf, Netlify announced Build Plugins. What it does is allow you to have particular hooks for events within your build, like when the build
Code in the browser with GitHub Classroom
Learn about some new ways students can code in the browser. With online integrated development environments (IDEs), students can get right to work in a web browser, avoiding software conflicts that might happen on their local machines.
Getting Started With Axios In Nuxt — Smashing Magazine
Axios is a promise-based HTTP client that works in the browser and Node.js environment or, in simpler terms, it is a tool for making requests in client-side applications and Node.js environment. In this tutorial, Timi Omoyeni will learn how to make a request in our Nuxt.js applications using the Axios module. You will also learn how to use the `ayncData` and `fetch` methods to fetch data on the se
Building Reusable React Components Using Tailwind — Smashing Magazine
Tailwind is a popular utility-first CSS framework that provides low-level class names to web developers. It does not have any JavaScript and works well with existing frameworks such as React, Vue, Angular, Ember, and others. Whilst this is positive, it can be confusing for new developers to understand how to integrate Tailwind in their applications. In this article, Tilo Mitra will explore ways to
Understanding Machines: An Open Standard For JavaScript Functions — Smashing Magazine
In this article, Kelvin Omereshone introduces you to machines, an open standard for JavaScript functions. At the end of this article, you should be familiar with what machines are and how to implement them. There is no special prerequisite for this article. If you can write a JavaScript function, then you’ll be able to follow along. With all that said, let’s dive in.
WordPress Block Transforms
This has been the year of Gutenberg for us here at CSS-Tricks. In fact, that's a goal we set at the end of last year. We're much further along that I thought
Animated Sparkles in React
In this dazzling tutorial, we'll see how to build an animated component. Wrap it around text or images and watch them twinkle! This neat trick is a perfect way to emphasize positive or exciting things.
Unprefixed `appearance `
It's interesting how third-parties are sometimes super involved in pushing browser things forward. One big story there was how Bloomberg hired Igalia to
First Steps into a Possible CSS Masonry Layout
It's not at the level of demand as, say, container queries, but being able to make "masonry" layouts in CSS has been a big ask for CSS developers for a long
How To Create A Mobile App In Expo And Firebase (For iOS And Android) — Smashing Magazine
The social media company released React Native, and it quickly became the most popular framework for building mobile apps with JavaScript. In this article, based on his experience with creating a GPS and navigation application, Chafik Gharbi will show you how to create a mobile app using Expo and Firebase services such as Firestore, Firebase functions and Expo push notifications.
How to Tame Line Height in CSS
In CSS, line-height is probably one of the most misunderstood, yet commonly-used attributes. As designers and developers, when we think about line-height, we
CSS fix for 100vh in mobile WebKit
A surprisingly common response when asking people about things they'd fix about anything in CSS, is to improve the handling of viewport units.
A Day in the Life of a Frontend Foundations Engineer at Slack
6:28 am First alarm rings. Snooze. 6:30 am Second alarm rings. Snooze. 6:34 am Final alarm rings and I know this is the last one, so I hop out of bed and immediately play some music. Music really has a way of waking me up, and I typically play Sofi Tukker or Rufus Du Sol…
Styling Components In React — Smashing Magazine
React is a fantastic JavaScript library for building rich user interfaces. It provides a great component abstraction for organizing your interfaces into well-functioning code, but what about the look and feel of the app? There are various ways of styling React components from using stylesheets to using external styling libraries. In this article, Shedrack Akintayo will explain the cons and pros of
Equal Width Columns in CSS Grid are Kinda Weird
Everything is flexible these days. If you write grid-template-columns: 200px 200px 200px;, sure, you'd have equal-width columns, but that's a rare day. What
Using CSS Masks to Create Jagged Edges
I was working on a project that had this neat jagged edge along the bottom of a banner image.
React Single File Components Are Here
Shawn Wang is talking about RedwoodJS here:
Dealing With Stale Props and States in React’s Functional Components
There’s one aspect of JavaScript that always has me pulling my hair: closures. I work with React a lot, and the overlap there is that they can sometimes be
How I Put the Scroll Percentage in the Browser Title Bar
Some nice trickery from Knut Melvær.
min(), max(), and clamp() are CSS magic!
Nice video from Kevin Powell. Here are some notes, thoughts, and stuff I learned while watching it. Right when they came out, I was mostly obsessed with
Tracing user interactions with React
How to use the (EXPERIMENTAL) interactions tracing API in React.
Rebuilding our tech stack for the new Facebook.com
Facebook.com launched in 2004 as a simple, server-rendered PHP website. Over time, we’ve added layer upon layer of new technology to deliver more interactive features. Each of these new features and technologies incrementally slowed the site down and made it harder to maintain. This made it harder to introduce new experiences. Features like dark mode […]
Angular + Jamstack! (Free Webinar)
It's easy to think that working with Jamstack means working with some specific set of technologies. That's how it's traditionally been packaged for us. Think
List Style Recipes
Lists are a fundamental part of HTML! They are useful in things like blog posts for listing out steps, recipes for listing ingredients, or items in a
CSS Functions Guide
Like any other programming language, CSS has functions. They can be inserted where you’d place a value, or in some cases, accompanying another value declaration.
No-Comma Color Functions in CSS
There have been a couple of viral tweets about this lately, one from Adam Argyle and one from Mathias Bynes. This is a nice change that makes CSS a bit more
Accessible Animations in React
I really love animation, but not everybody does. In fact, it can make some people literally sick! In this tutorial, we'll see how to ensure that we respect user preferences, and create animations that can be disabled.
Common mistakes with React Testing Library
Some mistakes I frequently see people making with React Testing Library.
React Integration Testing: Greater Coverage, Fewer Tests
Integration tests are a natural fit for interactive websites, like ones you might build with React. They validate how a user interacts with your app without
Readability Algorithms Should Be Tools, Not Targets — Smashing Magazine
In recent years a slew of ‘readability’ programs have appeared to help us tidy up the things we write. Used everywhere from newsrooms to browser plugins, these systems offer automated feedback on how writing can be clearer, neater, and less contrived. Sounds good right? Well, up to a point. Readability programs may seem like a godsend, but the worst thing writers can do is write to please them abo
CSS-Tricks Chronicle XXXVIII
Hey hey, these "chronicle" posts are little roundups of news that I haven't gotten a chance to link up yet. They are often things that I've done off-site,
Using Formik to Handle Forms in React
There is no doubt that web forms play an integral role in our web site or applications. By default, they provide a useful set of elements and features — from
Implementing Dark Mode In React Apps Using styled-components — Smashing Magazine
Light mode is a convention in most web and mobile apps. However, in modern development, we have seen how dark mode, which displays light text and interface elements on a dark background, is quickly becoming a user preference. In this article, Blessing Krofegha will show you how to efficiently implement dark mode in a React app on a simple web page, using the styled-components library and leveragin
How to Make a CSS-Only Carousel
Editor's Note: Chrome is prototyping a new feature for creating carousels directly in CSS, including scroll buttons and scroll markers for navigating between
Super Simple Start to React
The most simple React setup imaginable
The Quest for the Perfect Dark Mode
Dark Mode has become common enough that it's a user expectation. And yet, creating the perfect dark mode with a statically-built site/app is deceptively tricky. In this in-depth tutorial, we'll see how to build the perfect, flicker-free, customizable theming solution for React/Next.js apps.
Building a Scalable CSS Architecture With BEM and Utility Classes
Maintaining a large-scale CSS project is hard. Over the years, we've witnessed different approaches aimed at easing the process of writing scalable CSS. In
Implementing Skeleton Screens In React — Smashing Magazine
Skeleton screens offer a better user experience by reducing loading-time frustration. By focusing on progress instead of wait times, it create the illusion for users that information will be incrementally displayed on the screen. In this tutorial, Blessing Krofegha will show you what a skeleton screen UI is and some types of skeleton screen libraries, along with their pros and cons. We’ll build a
Better Form Inputs for Better Mobile User Experiences
Here’s one simple, practical way to make apps perform better on mobile devices: always configure HTML input fields with the correct type, inputmode, and
Pseudo-Randomly Adding Illustrations with CSS
Between each post of Eric Meyer’s blog there’s this rather lovely illustration that can randomly be one of these five options:
npm has joined GitHub
With the npm acquisition complete, we’re ready to start the next chapter of npm and support the JavaScript community in a new way.
Best Practices With React Hooks — Smashing Magazine
React provides a few built-in Hooks like useState. You can also create your own Hooks to reuse stateful behavior between different components. The example below shows a counter whose state is managed using the useState() hook. Each time you click on the button, we make use of setCount() to update the value of count by 1. In this article, Adeneye David Abiodun covers the rules of React Hooks and ho
How To Create A Particle Trail Animation In JavaScript — Smashing Magazine
If you are thinking about distracting visitors of your website with a fancy, glittering particle animation for a few moments, while some data is loaded in the background, all you need is some basic knowledge of CSS and JavaScript and a lightweight animation library such as anime.js. In the end, we should have the following result: Particle animations belong to the most impressive animations that e
Styling in the Shadow DOM With CSS Shadow Parts
Safari 13.1 just shipped support for CSS Shadow Parts. That means the ::part() selector is now supported in Chrome, Edge, Opera, Safari, and Firefox. We’ll
No-Class CSS Frameworks
I linked up Water.css not long ago as an interesting sort of CSS framework. No classes. No <h2 class="is-title">. You just use semantic HTML and get
CSS Variables for React Devs
CSS variables are *really* cool, and they're incredibly powerful when it comes to React! This tutorial shows how we can use them with React to create dynamic themes. We'll see how to get the most out of CSS-in-JS tools like styled-components, and how our mental frame around media queries has been wrong all along.
Stop using client-side route redirects
Why you should stop using client-side route redirects (like the `from` prop on React Router's Redirect component) and what you should do instead.
Inspired Design Decisions With Herb Lubalin: Typography Can Be As Exciting As Illustration And Photography — Smashing Magazine
In this eighth issue of Inspired Design Decisions, Andy Clarke will explain how learning about American graphic designer and typographer Herb Lubalin has transformed his approach to typography on the web. How can we combine elements to develop powerful headers and calls to action? How do we use pre-formatted HTML text, and the text element in SVG for precise control over type? How can we optimise
Getting Started With The React Hooks API — Smashing Magazine
In this tutorial, you are going to learn and understand what React hooks are, the basic React Hooks that are available and also examples of how to write them for your React applications. In the process, you will also get to know about some additional hooks that were shipped with React 16.8 and also how to write your own custom React Hooks.
CSS Findings From The New Facebook Design
Ahmad Shadeed digs around the new Facebook's front-end code.
How to Re-Create a Nifty Netflix Animation in CSS
The design for Netflix's browse page has remained pretty similar for a few years now. One mainstay component is the preview slider that allows users to scroll
Styling Ordered Lists with CSS Counters
Styling an ordered list can be surprisingly tricky; there's no way to get at that bullet! In this tutorial, we'll see a handy trick using CSS counters that lets us style ordered lists without breaking proper semantics.
Building Arrive's Confetti in React Native with Reanimated - Shopify
Shopify is investing in React Native as our primary choice of mobile technology moving forward. As a part of this we’ve rewritten our package tracking app Arrive with React Native and launched it on Android—an app that previously only had an iOS version. One of the most cherished features by the users of the Arrive iOS app is the confetti that rains down on the screen when an order is delivered. T
The State Reducer Pattern with React Hooks
A pattern for you to use in custom hooks to enhance the power and flexibility of your hooks.
CSS-Only Marquee Effect
You make sure the text is more than twice the width of the screen, then use negative translate animations to do the marquee movement.
Getting JavaScript to Talk to CSS and Sass
JavaScript and CSS have lived beside one another for upwards of 20 years. And yet it’s been remarkably tough to share data between them. There have been large
Accessibility Links
Austin Gil has kicked off the first in a five-part series about "HTML Forms Right" and to starts with semantics. It's talking to the "we build our front-ends