If you’re looking for some great ways to improve your WordPress workflow, read on for a massive collection of free themes, plugins, tools and tutorials. These resources were all linked via the Smashing Magazine Twitter stream, Facebook stream, and other social-media streams around the Web.
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Finding little techniques and tricks to help you get to results faster can immensely improve your productivity, so you don’t have to waste time on solutions that will never see the light of day. Vitaly Friedman loves finding those little useful front-end goodies that make our lives easier. Since technologies emerge and evolve permanently, keeping track on what’s going on is often difficult, especially since specifications change and so does the browser support.
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It is encouraging to see a big increase in mobile web adoption and Google has definitely proved it has the last word when it comes to SEO. Responsive web design is the big winner of the go-mobile race and will most likely continue to gather the spoils. However, the mobile web has a lot of room for growth when it comes to strategies, user experience or conversions. The new .app top-level web domain together with WordPress’s REST API and the emerging JavaScript frameworks could definitely push things in the right direction. This year we might see a new development on the mobile web, a wave that will take us beyond responsiveness and into the promised land of web apps.
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Today, we’re happy to release the Easter Icon Set designed and created by Manuela Langella and, as always, is free to use in private and commercial projects. This set of 13 icons is available in AI, PSD, EPS, PDF, SVG and PNG formats. Feel free to modify the size, color or shape of the icons. We’d kindly like to ask you to provide credits to the creator and link to this article if you would like to spread the word about the freebie. A big Thank You to Manuela Langella for designing this wonderful icon set — we sincerely appreciate your time and efforts! Keep up the brilliant work!
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What’s going on in the industry? What new techniques have emerged recently? What insights, tools, tips and tricks is the web design community talking about? Anselm Hannemann is collecting everything that popped up over the last week in his web development reading list so that you don’t miss out on anything. The result is a carefully curated list of articles and resources that are worth taking a closer look at.
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Creative folks like yourself know how important our daily dose of hot and steaming coffee is. Many of us even choose to work from a coffee house because the cozy atmosphere, the smell of freshly ground coffee beans and the carefully created art on the glossy foam fuels our creativity.
Designed by Oliver Pitsch, Barista is an icon set dedicated to all baristas and coffee lovers. It consists of 50 carefully crafted vector icons. A big thank you to Oliver Pitsch for designing this wonderful icon set — we sincerely appreciate your time and efforts!
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Part of what makes WordPress so versatile is its powerful plugin system, which makes it incredibly easy to add functionality. In this article, Emerson Loustau will walk you through how he made GitHub Pipeline, a plugin that allows you to display data from the GitHub API on WordPress pages using shortcodes. By the end of this article you will have a clear understanding of the moving pieces involved in creating a WordPress plugin that consumes third-party service APIs, and hopefully you are inspired to write your own WordPress API plugin!
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With the ever-increasing computing power of desktops, browser sophistication and use of native apps, every day we learn of new ways to push the limits of what defines a well-crafted UI. When used correctly, motion can be a key utility in helping your users achieve their goals. UX designers who are considering motion in their designs will find themselves under pressure to explain, communicate and defend why the extra effort is required. Know your audience, and communicate your intentions to the team early on. With UX animation, subtlety is key. Focusing on helping users achieve their goals is paramount.
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The best designs balance aesthetics and performance by working with mobile in mind from the start. In this article, Danny Bluestone will share the current mobile performance optimization processes he uses at Cyber-Duck. Aim to create a website that can balance aesthetics and performance on mobile, and achieve real conversion metrics. A collaborative, iterative performance optimization process will help you achieve this. Right from the start of the project, build an understanding of the client and server-side factors that determine website performance on mobile.
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As Veerle Pieters explores print and web design, photography, art and type, she uncovers a lot of brilliant design gems. She has compiled a selection of inspirational examples for you in this showcase, and the plan is to bring out a new one every month, so let us know in the comments if you like what you see. But for now, please lean back and enjoy!
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