Clearly, a good mobile experience requires good form usability, and implementing touch keyboards is a key part of that. During a recent study of 18 of the largest mobile commerce websites, we observed how certain features and limitations of modern touch keyboards can collide with the user’s expectations of how to fill out a form. When this happens, users quickly grow frustrated, Today, Christian Holst will look deeper into the usability issues surrounding touch keyboards, including five design guidelines that will alleviate some of these pains.
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In this article, we’ll demonstrate methods to identify how people interact with a website differently on mobile devices, and the design decisions that can be made based on this understanding. Our objective is not only to improve Web performance but to increase the client’s return on investment. The following techniques center on the two unique characteristics of mobile phones: small batteries and small screens.
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In this article, Stephen Shaw introduces a technique for perfect horizontal and vertical centering in CSS, at any width or height. The techniques works with percentage-based width/height, min-/max- width, images, position: fixed and even variable content heights.
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Backbone.js provides structure to JavaScript applications, but it leaves a lot of design patterns and decisions up to developers who end up running into common problems when they first begin developing in Backbone.js. In this article, Phillip Whisenhunt will explore different design patterns that you can use in your Backbone.js applications, and he’ll look at many of the common gotchas that trip up developers.
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Tools for live CSS editing aren’t new these days. So, why would someone ever need to create yet another tool and even call it a “live CSS editor of the new generation”? In this article, Sergey Chikuyonok would like to introduce Emmet LiveStyle. This plugin takes a completely different approach on updating CSS. Unlike other live editors, it doesn’t simply replace a whole CSS file in a browser or an editor, but rather maps changes from one CSS file to the other.
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We are pleased to introduce Type & Grids, a free responsive HTML5 template by Jeremiah Shoaf. All of the content resides in a single HTML file, so setting it up is super-simple. Its extensive customization options set Type & Grids apart from other templates out there. Each type theme is meticulously handcrafted, with attention paid to the smallest typographic details.
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Your typography helps to create an experience for users before they’ve even read a word or clicked a button. The treatment of type creates an atmosphere and elicits a response much the same way as tone of voice does. It establishes a mode of communication and, in turn, the personality of the website. The choice of typeface will determine how people respond to your website. The following websites have very distinct personalities, largely established by the typography.
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Front-end Web development has been majorly affected by recent changes in coding techniques and approaches. In 2003, a competent front-end Web developer would have known HTML and CSS, possibly with a bit of copy-and-pasted JavaScript, and they built websites that would be viewed on desktop computers. In this article, Jen Kramer will focus on just two courses: an introductory graphic design course and an introductory HTML and CSS course.
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We’re constantly refining two interfaces simultaneously: one for visitors who load the website, the other for developers who have to tackle the code in the future. But we shouldn’t forget that developers are users, too. Therefore, our convention for naming and organizing files is critical if we are to ensure active development in the future. But do we really design the partials, files and directories that make up this interface with a particular set of users in mind?
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As designers we usually turn to different sources of inspiration. As a matter of fact, we’ve discovered the best one—desktop wallpapers that are a little more distinctive than the usual crowd “Desktop Wallpaper Calendar: August 2013”) This creativity mission has been going on for over five years now, and we are very thankful to all the designers who have contributed and are still diligently contributing each month!
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