Web Development News. straTechnologist

Web Development News

10 ways to orientate users on your site

Imagine you're driving along and due to a road closure you have to follow those conspicuous yellow detour signs...
via [WebDevTips.com]

Improving accessibility for motor impaired users

The unique requirements for motor impaired web users can often be overlooked or poorly implemented...
via [WebDevTips.com]

Eye tracking: Eye candy vs. I can do

Eye tracking has been around for decades but has only become commercially available over the past few years. It has been heralded as the next big thing in user research...
via [WebDevTips.com]

Split A/B testing

Following on from any website usability study a number of usability problems are usually found. There can often be debate within any organisation...
via [WebDevTips.com]

Opening PDFs in a new window with JavaScript

Opening documents such as PDFs in a new window should be automated using JavaScript for the following reasons...
via [WebDevTips.com]

Making the LINK tag useful

One tag that is surprisingly under used is the link tag...
via [WebDevTips.com]

How to get your webpages onto the web

This guide will take you through the steps required to move your site from your computer onto the World Wide Web for all to see.
via [WebDevTips.com]

Focus groups - how to run them

A focus group involves encouraging an invited group of participants to share their thoughts, feelings, attitudes and ideas on certain subject...
via [WebDevTips.com]

Preparing your CSS for Internet Explorer 7

Later on this year Microsoft will officially release Internet Explorer 7...
via [WebDevTips.com]

3 Jan 2012
The Internet has a thing for cats. Social media, on the other hand, seems to have a thing for food. Sites like Foodspotting reward people for posting food photos. Foursquare has made it very easy to associate food with a venue and actively promotes it. In the absence of photos, people sometimes just... continues
via [evolt.org - Workers of the Web, Evolt!]

The Best Forms Implementation I've Ever Built

19 Aug 2011
by Drew McLellan
via [All in the head]

The evolt.org Logo Using Only CSS2 and CSS3

20 Jun 2011
I set out to re-create the evolt.org logo using the bare minimum mark-up and many of the new styles available in CSS3. In addition, I wanted to make sure that the links themselves rendered fine in a text browser (mostly because I still surf in Lynx). Get a current browser and check it out.
via [evolt.org - Workers of the Web, Evolt!]

The Lure of On-page Editing

29 Mar 2011
by Drew McLellan
via [All in the head]

Making and Using QR Codes

28 Mar 2011
If you happened to spend any time at SxSW this year, then you probably were inundated with QR codes everywhere you looked. People were attaching them to everything — backpacks, street signs, business cards and probably even pets. This walk-through covers the basics for making your own.
via [evolt.org - Workers of the Web, Evolt!]

Ideas of March

15 Mar 2011
by Drew McLellan
via [All in the head]

A Consistent User Experience

12 Mar 2011
by Drew McLellan
via [All in the head]

Stop Building Sites In Subfolders

9 Mar 2011
by Drew McLellan
via [All in the head]

OpenID Has Failed. So What's Next?

8 Mar 2011
by Drew McLellan
via [All in the head]

Launch Week

30 Nov 2010
by Drew McLellan
via [All in the head]

Google Instant and SEO/SEM

13 Sep 2010
There's quite the potential for change that this seemingly simple user interface change could have, both on user behavior and money spent on SEM/SEO. The next few weeks may prove to be very interesting.
via [evolt.org - Workers of the Web, Evolt!]

UX Challenges in Touch Interfaces

29 Jun 2010
As mobile devices have been taking over the place of the mobile or home computer for basic apps and web access, developers are struggling with letting go of the mouse as the primary interface device.
via [evolt.org - Workers of the Web, Evolt!]

The Future of Check-ins

4 Jun 2010
Last week Mashable featured a post asking if location-based services are all just hype. Continuing the geolocation theme Mashable has a new post, What the Future Holds for the Checkin, by a guest blogger/columnist. I have a reservations about how well this article delves into future opportunities, s... continues
via [evolt.org - Workers of the Web, Evolt!]

The Curse of max_file_uploads

1 Jun 2010
by Drew McLellan
via [All in the head]

Mapping Location-Based Social Media

10 Apr 2010
If you have been paying any attention to the social media space for the last few years, then you've watched the rise in location-based social media. Part of the appeal of these tools is seeing where you have been, almost like a travelogue for a person, as well as tracking others (friends or fam... continues
via [evolt.org - Workers of the Web, Evolt!]

It's Not the Pay, It's the Wall

26 Mar 2010
by Drew McLellan
via [All in the head]

Define "Cognitive Disability"

26 Jan 2010
With WCAG guidelines, and by extension federal guidelines, referencing "cognitive disability" as one form of disability which developers need to support, you'd be hard-pressed to find a definition of the term anywhere in those guidelines.
via [evolt.org - Workers of the Web, Evolt!]

Mobile Internet Use Continues Climb

26 Jan 2010
As mobile devices are more common, and browsing the web on them has gotten even easier, we can expect to see them continue to gain ground on traditional computers for casual web surfing.
via [evolt.org - Workers of the Web, Evolt!]

Moving from Basecamp to ActiveCollab

24 Jan 2010
by Drew McLellan
via [All in the head]

Accessible Video and Transcripts

20 Jan 2010
With HTML5 on the horizon, it is becoming far easier to embed video on a web page than it has been. However, you also need to bear in mind that not only are video (and audio) transcripts good practice, they are required by law for many organizations.
via [evolt.org - Workers of the Web, Evolt!]

Upcoming IE8: Interview with Bill Gates by Molly Holzschlag

6 Dec 2007
by Shirley Kaiser
Fascinating reading to be had about the upcoming IE8 via a new interview of Bill Gates by Molly Holzschlag: Conversation with Bill Gates about IE8 and Microsoft Transparency. Not long after the interview, the official IE Blog also announced the upcoming Internet Explorer 8. Check out the complete po... continues
via [Brainstorms and Raves - CSS]

Creating a Blog Entry Date Calendar Icon Look with CSS, Mostly

22 Feb 2007
by Shirley Kaiser
I've received numerous inquiries about how I created the entry post calendar icon look for Brainstorms and Raves. So today's post shares the basics of the CSS and the two tiny background images I created to achieve the calendar icon look. (1308 words, 2 links, 12 images)
via [Brainstorms and Raves - CSS]

Inspiration, Insight Behind the New Happy Cog Redesign

10 Feb 2007
by Shirley Kaiser
Do you ever wonder what goes into brainstorming sessions and creative ideas from some of the top names in the Web design field? You'll find that and much more with blog posts earlier this week by three creators of the latest redesign of Happy Cog's website - Jeffrey Zeldman, Jason Santa Maria, and D... continues
via [Brainstorms and Raves - CSS]

Join Us! BrowserCam Subscription via Fundable Available

18 Dec 2006
by Shirley Kaiser
The BrowserCam pool via fundable.org that I belong to is up for its annual renewal. It has a few openings for subscribers this time around. This subscription is for the BC-Complete plan, and the cost is US $26 for the 12-month subscription via fundable.org (information below). US $499.95 is the cost... continues
via [Brainstorms and Raves - CSS]

New Web Accessibility Articles, Accessible Style Switching

12 Oct 2006
by Shirley Kaiser
There are lots of great new and recent articles, tutorials, and tips about Web accessibility. Today's post includes links to articles and tutorials on Web accessibility in general, accessible forms, accessible style switching, including my own site's style switching, accessibility and the blind and ... continues
via [Brainstorms and Raves - CSS]

Part 2: User-friendly Contextual Navigation with Simple PHP Includes

9 Oct 2006
by Shirley Kaiser
Building on the previous post, User-friendly Contextual Navigation with Simple PHP Includes, I thought I'd take things one small and simple step further by using PHP once again, this time to add a CSS class for the current page. Then it's easy to use this CSS class to create a helpful visual cue wit... continues
via [Brainstorms and Raves - CSS]

WebsiteTips.com Relaunch!

23 Mar 2006
by Shirley Kaiser
I've been buried the last five months quietly working hard on a major redesign and restructuring of WebsiteTips.com. I'm now excited to announce that the all new WebsiteTips.com is now online. Read the complete post to learn all about it! (426 words, 11 links, 2 images)
via [Brainstorms and Raves - CSS]

Website Testing: Conquering Cross-browser, Cross-platform Woes

14 Aug 2005
by Shirley Kaiser
As I was doing final cross-browser testing for a redesign of SKDesigns, my website design business, the design implementation was working quite well in nearly every mainstream browser for Windows, Mac, Linux, and even the Lynx text-only browser. Unfortunately, though, I found problems with three old... continues
via [Brainstorms and Raves - CSS]

WaSP, Microsoft, and Web Standards

21 Jul 2005
by Shirley Kaiser
The WaSP (Web Standards Project) website today reported on two recent face-to-face meetings between WaSP and Microsoft as part of a new collaboration to promote Web standards and help developers build standards-conformant Web applications. The initial indications are incredibly positive, and I'm mor... continues
via [Brainstorms and Raves - CSS]

Web Design Misconceptions and Misinformation

19 Dec 2004
by Shirley Kaiser
Molly Holzschlag has written an exceptional and fascinating post on her perceptions from Web Design World 2004 conference in Boston, web design world cool-down. The great news is that she sees a positive shift happening in overall mood, feelings of job security, and there was a good turnout, as comp... continues
via [Brainstorms and Raves - CSS]

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