We often think of shadows in CSS as something to reach for when we want to add depth to a design. But shadows can be used for more than depth. Let’s experiment with different shadows — two CSS properties and a filter — to make interesting hover effects, different text styles, and even casting shadows on other shadows. https://smashingmagazine.com/2023/08/interesting-ways-use-css-shadows/
Discover how to improve the user experience of nested menus and tackle a minor yet common issue with them when the user’s pointer leaves the menu item for a moment, and the nested menu goes away, requiring the user to re-hover and try again. A well-known concept called the “safe triangle” solves this problem. https://smashingmagazine.com/2023/08/better-context-menus-safe-triangles/
The background image used in the hero component, which is slow to load, is a very common problem with any component that uses a large image file as a background image. In this article, Mike Herchel walks you through how to tackle this common performance issue using modern techniques. https://smashingmagazine.com/2023/08/methods-improving-drupal-largest-contentful-paint-core-web-vital/
Most of the projects have at least a few unused files, exports, and dependencies lying around, often because it’s difficult knowing when one thing relies on another and scary removing something you’re not sure is in use. Lars Kappert shares a tool he’s been working on that offers a solution. https://smashingmagazine.com/2023/08/knip-automated-tool-find-unused-files-exports-dependencies/
In Part 2 of the series, Hannah Milan reviews in detail various accessible text over images techniques for designing your web and mobile app content, including framing the image, soft-colored gradients technique, text styles and text position, solid color shapes, and use of colored backgrounds. And finally, the emphasis will once again be placed on the accessibility aspect, which needs to be “baked in” right from the start rather than being an afterthought in your design process. https://smashin
What does your performance “stack” look like? There are all kind of tools available for measuring page speed, but what data and assumptions do they use to measure performance? And speaking of measuring performance, there’s quite a difference between that and monitoring performance. Let’s dig in! https://smashingmagazine.com/2023/08/running-page-speed-test-monitoring-versus-measuring/
Friction often has a negative connotation in user experience design, but it actually has many benefits. Its best-known use case is mitigating unintended consequences in high-risk scenarios, yet it has a new place in the age of artificial intelligence. Adding strategic friction to interfaces can lead to profound efficiency gains in machine learning algorithms. https://smashingmagazine.com/2023/08/friction-feature-machine-learning-algorithms/
In this two-part series of articles, Hannah Milan covers the best practices when using various accessible text over images techniques for designing your web and mobile app content. https://smashingmagazine.com/2023/08/designing-accessible-text-over-images-part1/
Liran Cohen and the team at Bookaway, a travel booking service, dramatically improved their site’s performance by auditing Core Web Vitals. In this article, Liran shares his team’s process for auditing and monitoring Web Vitals and the effort it took to dramatically improve Bookaway’s performance — and the benefits that came with it. https://smashingmagazine.com/2023/08/optimize-performance-serve-global-audience/
We’re talking about headless content management systems. What are they, and how do they differ from more traditional systems? Drew McLellan talks to Alvin Bryan to find out. https://smashingmagazine.com/2023/08/smashing-podcast-episode-64/