Images have also been a key part of the web. They communicate ideas instantly, but they are also a lot heavier than text to load. This means that it’s essential to get loading and displaying them right, if you want to give your users a fantastic first impression. An excerpt from Addy's new book (also, check a free PDF preview). https://sm
The cat is out! For the last year, we’ve been working with Addy Osmani on a new Smashing Book all around image optimization. And now it’s here. Meet “Image Optimization”, our practical modern guide to delivering high-quality images on the web with the best performance. https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/04/image-optimization-pre-release/
Easing functions can change the look and feel of an animation by affecting the rate, or speed, of an animation. In this article, we’re going to take a deep dive into easing functions and see how we can use them to create those natural and stunning animations. https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/04/easing-functions-css-animations-transitions/
Accessibility experts Kate Kalcevich and Mike Gifford introduce readers to "layered accessibility testing”, a practice of using a variety of tools and approaches at different stages in the digital product lifecycle to catch accessibility issues early — when it’s easier and cheaper to fix them. https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/04/bake-layers-accessibility-testing-process/
The CSS Working Group Editor’s Draft for Selectors Level 4 includes several pseudo-class selectors that already have proposal candidates in most modern browsers. This guide will cover ones that currently have the best support along with examples to demonstrate how you can start using them today! https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/04/guide-supported-modern-css-pseudo-class-selectors/
Sometimes it’s the little things in web life that make us look twice. From carousels to documentation to cookie disclaimers, here are some sites taking the mundane and sprinkling in a little magic. https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/04/web-design-done-well-part1/
Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) is a new evolution of the Jamstack, allowing you to update static content instantly without needing a full rebuild of your site. The hybrid approach of Next.js allows you to use ISR for e-commerce, marketing pages, blog posts, ad-backed media, and more. https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/04/incremental-static-regeneration-nextjs/
As designers, we are often burdened by the responsibility of producing and managing website content. It’s not our job to write it, but it’s not the client’s either. We can avert disaster by including content production in the design process. https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/04/content-fundamental-part-web-design-process/
Let’s explore the plugins providing GraphQL servers to WordPress. When should we use WPGraphQL, and when the GraphQL API for WordPress? Is there some advantage of one over the other, or some particular task that is easier to accomplish with one of them? In this article, we will find out. https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/04/making-graphql-work-in-wordpress/
How are Core Web Vitals measured? How do you know your fixes have had the desired effect and when will you see the results in Google Search Console? Let’s figure it out. https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/04/complete-guide-measure-core-web-vitals/