Thoughts and ideas about web development and programming. Along with some rants, and reviews of new technologies, websites, and products.
When the placeholder attribute made its way into HTML5 and usage of it became commonplace and fully supported by web browsers, a bad trend started—using them in place of labels in web forms. The temptation for designers to do this is understandable. In the process of laying out a design, keeping a UI as simple […]
For those of us working in fields that reside within the digital realm, becoming a freelancer is very enticing. Especially for web developers and designers. The start-up expenses are negligible, and the path to transitioning away from a full-time job looks fairly natural. Making the switch is the hardest part. People call it, “The Plunge“, […]
After developing my first theme using Shopify, I've found that it is not all it's cracked up to be. There are major flaws and missing features that limit what can be done by the web developer and designer. This was a little disappointing to me, because the Shopify e-commerce platform appeared at first glance to be a beacon of current web standards and modern development, amidst other lumbering options filled with outdated code for the front-end developer...
While managing a few projects that were built by freelancers, I came up with a list of guidelines for the build and for WordPress used as a CMS. I've added reminders to it based upon the mistakes that fly in the face of what I consider a "good" build. Note that some of this is a matter of preference and opinion. I thought I would put this out there as a starting point for anyone trying to put together their own guidelines...
On July 23rd, 2010, I attended the Front-End Design Conference; "A single day design conference focused on content, presentation and behavior". The all-female lineup spoke to a packed room at the Hilton Bayfront in St. Petersburg, FL about branding, ideas, design, CSS, and Old Spice commercials. Sarah Parmenter even flew over from across the ocean to speak about designing apps for the iPhone...