Phones are getting bigger, and some parts of the screen are easier to interact with than others. Having the hamburger menu at the top provides too big of an interaction cost, and we have a large number of amazing mobile app designs that utilize the bottom part of the screen. We need to adjust how we build and design our websites. Is there something to learn from app design and tap bars? Can we fix the mobile navigation of our websites to have a lower interaction cost? In this article, Arturas Leonovas will find out.
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You’ve probably heard of WebAssembly and why it’s a powerful tool in the browser. In this article, Robert Aboukhalil will explore why serverless WebAssembly might be equally powerful outside the browser, and how to get started using it. Certain types of applications — such as data analysis and image processing, to name a few — can greatly benefit from such an approach. Though the runtime suffers because of the additional round-trips to the network, this approach does allow us to process more data at a time and not put a drain on users’ resources.
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Philippe Hong has made the switch to Figma almost two years ago and he has no regrets so far. In one of his previous blog posts on the topic, he made an in-depth review of Figma, and he’s glad he could help other designers make the switch In this article, let’s take a closer look at what Figma really has to offer. Here are 20 tips on how to work faster and better with this well-known and collaborative interface design tool.
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In this tutorial, Matt Zand will show you how to harness the power of HTML5 web storage by creating a shopping cart step-by-step. What you learn from this tutorial can easily be applied to other site features that may not require database storage such as user preferences, users’ favorite contents, wish list, user settings like username and password and more.
Update (27,29 Aug) Editor’s Note: We have updated the examples to address accessibility issues in the HTML.
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The Embedded Image Preview (EIP) technique introduced in this article allows us to load preview images during lazy loading using progressive JPEGs, Ajax and HTTP range requests without having to transfer additional data. JPEG files, for which lazy loading is mostly used, have the possibility, according to the specification, to store the data contained in them in such a way that first the coarse and then the detailed image contents are displayed. Instead of having the image built up from top to bottom during loading, a blurred image can be displayed very quickly, which gradually becomes sharper and sharper.
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As with many other topics in software development, testing and test driven development are often made needlessly complex in theory and implementation by placing too much emphasis on learning a wide array of testing frameworks. In this article, Ryan Kay will revisit what testing means by a simple analogy, explore concepts in software architecture which will directly result in a reduced need for testing frameworks, and some arguments as to why you might benefit from an attitude of minimalism for your testing process.
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Think about your last few software projects. Was there a healthy balance between concrete business goals, meeting users’ needs, and shipping the product in a timely fashion? The key to striking this balance is a design process that accounts for complexity, addresses design problems early, and avoids relying too heavily on third parties. A major contributor to clunky software is flawed design processes. In this article, Eric Olive will outline four design process problems and explain how to address them.
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Virtual reality is a new immersive medium for exploring content, whether that content is a film (Life of Pi), a game (Beat Saber) or a social experience (as depicted in Ready Player One). Despite its novelty, VR doesn’t require a drastically different toolset to design for — the same tools we use for web game development, 3D modeling, and others are all still applicable. In this tutorial, Alvin Wan leverages your familiarity with web development to get started with VR development.
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Writing for a publication such as Smashing Magazine can help to build your reputation as an expert. In this article, Editor in Chief Rachel Andrew is going to go through the process for pitching, heavily based on her own experience as a writer and as Editor in Chief of Smashing. However, She’s also taken a look at the guidelines for other publications in order to help you find the right places to pitch your article ideas.
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What happened in the web community in the last few weeks? The web is developing and changing so fast, and we need to acknowledge that we as individual persons can’t know and understand everything. And that’s fine. Choose what you want to do, set your priorities, and, most importantly of all, don’t hesitate to hire someone else for the things you can’t do on your own. In this article, Anselm has summarized the most important happenings in the web community that have taken place over the past few weeks in one handy list for you. Enjoy!
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