Accessibility is a tricky subject for web developers. I think most developers would say they: build accessible websites already or would like to in theory
Continue reading Lessons learnt making a website pass Level AA WCAG 2.0>
Category archives: Web Development
Using style guides to build better responsive websites
In the days before the mobile web took over, web designers slaved over PSDs for weeks then handed over 10-30 unique templates to a developer who went away and built them to pixel perfection. Not anymore.
Continue reading Using style guides to build better responsive websites>
Website performance
The speed of websites is a hot topic right now with many reports saying that if a website doesn’t load in under 4 seconds then a user will click their back button.
3 speedy tips to optimise your web images
Images are one of the biggest buzzkills for download speeds on the web. If your designer wants to use a carousel you’re potentially asking your customers to download several HUGE images and wait several seconds before they can interact with your site.
Revisiting (and refactoring) old code
Last week, in a moment of unusual quietness on the work front I decided to go back over some old code (on some personal projects) refactoring —where possible— as I went along whilst generally feeling disgusted with myself at how awful some of that old code was.
WordPress plugins
WordPress, is my CMS of choice for nearly all web projects (where I have a say) and over the years I’ve got to the point where I’ve written some pretty useful and generic plugins for those projects.
HTML5
It certainly seems that HTML5 is starting to take hold with more and more websites launching that make use of HTML5 but how good is it?
Removing typographic widows in WordPress page titles
A widow in typography is the one lowly word that gets displayed on a line of its own within a heading. Typographers and designers often go nuts when they see the main headings on a website have widows so here’s an easy fix to appease them:
Continue reading Removing typographic widows in WordPress page titles>
PHPNW Conference 2008 Review
Last weekend, I opted not to spend time with my friends, nor did I choose to perform DIY on my (never finished) home; instead I decided to geek-out at the first ever PHPNW conference at Manchester Central.
Creating a web app’s folder/file structure
I’m convinced that folder/file structure plays an instrumental role in ensuring a downloadable app doesn’t confuse people and is easy to install.
Continue reading Creating a web app’s folder/file structure>
How I debug CSS in IE6
I make my living as a Front-end Web Developer, which means I spend quite a bit of time making websites look as good in Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) as they do in other browsers. It isn’t rocket science and I’ve honed my technique to make bug fixing as quick and easy as possible.
Hello Google Chrome, welcome to the internet
This week saw the launch of the internet’s newest web browser, Google Chrome and what kind of frontend developer would I be if I didn’t give it a quick review?
Continue reading Hello Google Chrome, welcome to the internet>
Should you test your web developers before employing them?
These past few weeks, I’ve been doing some work for a new client. Prior to getting the gig, I did the all the usual things: sent my prospective email, went to meet the client, etc. However, this client, a big web agency, did something I’ve not experienced before – they gave me a programming test.
Continue reading Should you test your web developers before employing them?>
Take 2 web apps into the shower?
Since announcing the launch of Cart45 last week, I’ve had quite a few people asking how I’ve managed to create an ecommerce app and another web app (Bean Counter) simultaneously. So here goes…
Lessons learnt from beta testing
Last week, saw the completion of the first round of beta testing for Bean Counter. Was the beta testing a success? No, not really.