1,379 articles from Smashing Magazine.
In Part 1 of the series, Temani Afif demonstrated how creating ribbon patterns in CSS has evolved with the availability of new CSS features. In this second installment of this brief two-part series, we look at two additional ribbon variations that introduce techniques for masking a repeated background gradient in CSS.
Product teams benefit from knowing their users’ needs and how they respond to product updates as they build out the roadmap of a product. This article covers Voice of Customer programs and is aimed at those who work on a product team as well as executives who are looking for how to better inform your products using insight from users.
Effective collaboration between designers and developers is vital to creating good user experiences. However, bridging the handoff between design and development with the many tools and workflows available today has its pitfalls. Matthew Mattei introduces you to the Uno Platform, which offers a robust set of productivity boosters.
Ribbons have been used to accent designs for many years now. But, the way we approach them in CSS has evolved with the introduction of newer features. In this article, Temani Afif combines background and gradient tricks to create ribbon shapes in CSS that are not only responsive but support multi-line text and are easily adjustable with a few CSS variables.
Words alone aren’t enough to safeguard best practices in the world of web design and development. Web design documentation must be like its medium — interactive and constantly evolving.
Animation and accessibility are often seen as two separate powers at odds with one another. How is it possible to strike a balance between elements that move and the possible negative effects they expose to users who are sensitive to motion? Oriana García explains how her team at Mercado Libre tackled the challenge by creating guiding principles for applying animation to user interfaces and incorp
WordPress Playground began as an experiment to see what a self-hosted WordPress experience might look like without the requirement of having to actually install WordPress. A year later, the experiment has evolved into a full-fledged project. Ganesh Dahal demonstrates how WordPress Playground works and gets deep into how it might be used.
The CSS `clamp()` function is often paired with viewport units for “fluid” font sizing that scales the text up and down at different viewport sizes. As common as this technique is, several voices warn that it opens up situations where text can fail WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.4, which specifies that text should scale up to at least 200% when the user’s browser reaches its 500% maximum zoom level. M
Icons are capable of enhancing the content that surrounds them, but they have to be self-explanatory for that to happen. We have icons for things we like (a thumbs up), things we can share (a box topped with an up arrow), and even for protection against malicious online attacks (a shield), but what are the options we have for representing “privacy”?
Take a closer look at how various performance tools audit and report on performance metrics, such as core web vitals. Geoff Graham answers a set of common questions that pop up during performance audits.
November is just around the corner, and with it, a new collection of desktop wallpapers to celebrate the beginning of the month. Designed by creatives from all across the globe, they come in versions with and without a calendar. Let’s make this November colorful!
Passkeys are beginning to make their way into popular apps, from password managers to multi-factor authenticators, but what exactly are they? As this new technology promises to make passwords a thing of the past, Neal Fennimore explains the concepts behind passkeys, demonstrates how they work, and speculates what we might expect from them in the future.
Victoria Johnson began a career in front-end development upon graduating from college. Now, roughly one year later, she reflects back on the decisions she made to crack into the field and find her first full-time job. This is her story, and she’s sharing it to provide those who are just starting out with another beginner’s perspective.
Inuit (short for “**In**terface **U**sability **I**nstrumen**t**”) is a new questionnaire you can use to assess the usability of your user interface. It has been designed to be more diagnostic than existing usability instruments like, e.g., SUS and for use with machine learning, all the while asking fewer questions than other questionnaires. This article explores how and why Inuit has been develop
Having access to a free reporting tool like Lighthouse in DevTools is a great start for diagnosing performance issues by identifying bottlenecks on the main thread. Even better are paid tools like [SpeedCurve](https://www.speedcurve.com/?utm_source=smashingmag&utm_medium=magazine&utm_campaign=sm7_2023&utm_id=sm7_2023&utm_term=sm7_2023) to dig deeper into the data for more targeted insights and to
Removing properties from an object in JavaScript might not be the most exciting job, but there are many ways to achieve it, each revealing a fundamental aspect of how JavaScript works. Juan Diego Rodríguez explores each technique in this article.
WCAG 2.2 officially became a “W3C Recommended” web standard on October 5, 2023, and with it, new success criteria and changes to existing guidelines for accessible user experiences. What are the changes, and how can you conform to them? This roundup provides links to WCAG 2.2 explainers that have been published or updated since the release.
Finding the right typeface is tricky as a whole. Dividing the process into steps and having the right information at hand will make this journey a design adventure full of surprises. To avoid sinking into unnecessary details, use this guide as a map for your path. Review various font paraments and learn how to apply them to your designs.
CSS loaders and progress indicators are some of the most widely used examples in tutorials and documentation. In this article, Preethi demonstrates an approach using animated custom properties, a conic gradient, CSS `offset`, and emoji to create the illusion of a scooter racing along a donut track.
In today’s Smashing Podcast episode, we’re talking about Tech Unions. What part can unions play in a modern tech workplace? Drew McLellan talks to Ethan Marcotte to find out.
In the final part of this two-part series on solving headaches when working with media files in Gatsby projects, Juan Rodriguez demonstrates strategies and techniques for handling various types of documents, including Markdown files, PDFs, and 3D models.
Fintech products are systems that are overloaded by many types of data like numerals, texts, spreadsheets, and so on. Working with these products requires the designer to pay a high level of attention and responsibility, as he becomes a provider between user and data. Daria shares her approach to digital product typography and reviews the key points to consider when choosing typefaces.
Working in the area of UX sometimes feels like a crime drama. Can’t believe it? Then look at these fun parallels between modern UX practices and a classical TV detective.
Discuss the concept of large language models (LLMs) and how they are implemented with a set of data to develop an application. Joas compares a collection of no-code and low-code apps designed to help you get a feel for not only how the concept works but also to get a sense of what types of models are available to train AI on different skill sets.
Discover how to incorporate a variety of media formats, such as images, videos, GIFs, SVGs, and so on, in a Gatsby website. Juan Rodriguez shares what he’s learned about optimizing files for improved performance after working with different plugins and techniques.
Re-create a fancy hover effect where an avatar pops out of a starburst pattern for the frame on hover. The idea is to apply the concepts in a new context and gain another view of how trigonometric functions can influence the way we mask elements in CSS.
Geoff explores the often-overlooked divide between WordPress.org and WordPress.com, shedding light on the blurred lines between open-source ideals and commercial interests.
In this second article of a two-part series, Adrian shares insights about building WaterBear — his first project as a lead developer — discussing the challenges his team encountered while building it and various accessibility and performance improvements they’ve made. You’ll get a peek at the inner workings of a team striving to find its groove to systematize the work.
How about a little inspiration boost? Well, we might have something for you: desktop wallpapers created with love by artists and designers from across the globe. They are available in versions with and without a calendar for October and can be downloaded for free. Enjoy!
This article is all about experimenting with modern CSS features. We will combine things like CSS masks, CSS variables, trigonometric functions, `@property`, and more to create a neat hover effect that would have been extremely difficult to do even a few years ago without the latest and greatest that CSS has to offer.
In this article, Ganesh Dahal explains how the features have evolved since reusable blocks were officially released in WordPress 5.0 — and how the two have converged in WordPress 6.3 to form a powerful feature capable of allowing content creators to sync content and design patterns consistently in pages and posts.
Branches are a really nice (and safe) way to configure or reconfigure your database without fear of screwing up the production database. Let’s take a closer look at how branching works with [Neon](https://bit.ly/46cEgX1), and the good news is, you probably already know how it works!
We’re talking about running grassroots conferences and meet-ups. What does it take to organize a small industry event for your community? Drew McLellan talks to WDC’s Alex Older to find out.
Adrian’s kicking off a two-part series, sharing his journey as a lead developer. In the process, you will learn about the lessons and insights Adrian gained at work, including the strategies that went into the technical stack of the project and what it looks like to collaborate with a team he is leading for the first time.
With the new CSS `linear()` easing function on the horizon, the possibilities of what we can do to create natural-feeling animations and transitions in the future are greatly expanded. Jhey Tompkins looks at the current state of CSS easing in this article and demonstrates what we can expect from `linear()`, including handy tools to get your hands on it today.
To help ensure the success of a workshop, Ben Shih introduces the concept of an inclusive workshop. In Part 2 of the series, you will continue to delve deeper into several key principles and guidelines that you can follow during and after the workshop to encourage an inclusive atmosphere.
This article is a peek behind the curtain of how content is managed here at Smashing Magazine. In it, you’ll get a tour of an article’s full lifecycle, from a basic outline to the sort of thing you’re reading right this second.
Let’s play with images and experiment with CSS masks. The idea is fairly simple: take a single `` tag and harness the power of CSS to accomplish complex hover transitions. Through different demos, you will see how CSS masks combined with gradients allow us to create fancy effects — with efficient, reusable code.
Running a workshop can be an effective alternative to traditional, long-standing meetings. To help ensure its success, Ben Shih introduces the concept of an inclusive workshop. In Part 1 of the series, you discover the fundamentals of inclusivity and get some solid guidance on how to plan an inclusive remote workshop.
Gradients are a powerful CSS feature. We use them for texture, depth, and even to hide parts of elements with CSS masking. This article covers another interesting way to use gradients — as a hover effect that affects the appearance of other elements around the hovered element.
Pratik Joglekar takes a philosophical approach to remind designers about the lost joy within themselves by effectively placing massive importance on mindfulness, introspection, and forward-looking. Without joy, the work we do would feel meaningless. To prevent it from happening, check out a few ideas that would help rediscover that spark of joy.
Is the Test Pyramid really dead? Discover the more contemporary testing strategies and evaluate the Test Pyramid’s relevance in today’s software development practices.
In this article, Joas Pambou builds the tool to provide a sentiment score in **real-time** with enhanced user experience by providing multilingual support. You will use an OpenAI library called Whisper that transcribes audio files into text and detects the language, and Gradio, a UI framework, to establish the interface.
Let’s get ready for September with some fresh wallpaper designs! Created with love by artists and designers from across the globe, the wallpapers in this collection come in versions with and without a calendar. Enjoy!
The CSS Color Module Level 4 specification defined a slew of new color features when it became a candidate recommendation in 2022, including Oklab and Oklch, which have widened the field of color we have to work with. Explore the Oklch color space and how to start using it in CSS today.
The so-called “Double Diamond” is a great way of visualizing an ideal design process — but it’s just not the way most companies deliver new projects or services. Andy Budd proposes a new “Double Diamond” idea that better aligns with the way work actually gets done and highlights the place where design has the most leverage.
We often think of shadows in CSS as something to reach for when we want to add depth to a design. But shadows can be used for more than depth. Let’s experiment with different shadows — two CSS properties and a filter — to make interesting hover effects, different text styles, and even casting shadows on other shadows.
Discover how to improve the user experience of nested menus and tackle a minor yet common issue with them when the user’s pointer leaves the menu item for a moment, and the nested menu goes away, requiring the user to re-hover and try again. A well-known concept called the “safe triangle” solves this problem.
The background image used in the hero component, which is slow to load, is a very common problem with any component that uses a large image file as a background image. In this article, Mike Herchel walks you through how to tackle this common performance issue using modern techniques.
Most of the projects have at least a few unused files, exports, and dependencies lying around, often because it’s difficult knowing when one thing relies on another and scary removing something you’re not sure is in use. Lars Kappert shares a tool he’s been working on that offers a solution.
In part 2 of the series, Hannah Milan reviews various accessible text over images techniques for designing your content, including framing the image, soft-colored gradients technique, text styles and text position, solid color shapes, and use of colored backgrounds.
What does your performance “stack” look like? There are all kinds of tools available for measuring page speed, but what data and assumptions do they use to measure performance? And speaking of *measuring* performance, there’s quite a difference between that and *monitoring* performance. Let’s dig in!
Friction often has a negative connotation in user experience design, but it actually has many benefits. Its best-known use case is mitigating unintended consequences in high-risk scenarios, yet it has a new place in the age of artificial intelligence. Adding strategic friction to interfaces can lead to profound efficiency gains in machine learning algorithms.
In this two-part series of articles, Hannah Milan covers the best practices when using various accessible text over images techniques for designing your web and mobile app content.
Liran Cohen and the team at Bookaway, a travel booking service, dramatically improved their site’s performance by auditing Core Web Vitals. In this article, Liran shares his team’s process for auditing and monitoring Web Vitals and the effort it took to dramatically improve Bookaway’s performance — and the benefits that came with it.
We’re talking about headless content management systems. What are they, and how do they differ from more traditional systems? Drew McLellan talks to Alvin Bryan to find out.
In this article, Carie Fisher outlines which CSS media features are available for detecting user preferences and how they are used to design and build more inclusive user experiences.
New month, new wallpapers! In this post, you’ll find unique and inspiring wallpapers for August 2023. Created with love by the community for the community, they come in versions with and without a calendar. Enjoy!
Join Temani Afif on experiment with modern CSS features to create an array of colors. The goal is to define a comma-separated list of colors and iterate through them using an index.
In this article, we’ll explore how to build a chat summarizer using the Cohere API and deploy it as a web application using Gradio.[ Cohere](https://cohere.com/) is an AI platform that provides state-of-the-art natural language processing models for a variety of tasks, including summarization. We’ll cover the steps involved in training the summarizer using sample chat conversations, interacting wi
