My friend Jerome Covington shared an interesting article, The Interface Layer: Where Design Commoditizes Tech, that talks about the “Age of Aggregated Interfaces”; in a world where no one “searches the Internet”, but instead “Googles it”, how far off can we be?
Hyperlink is a Node library that tests for invalid, or inefficient (read: redirected), links in your site. Works on both localhost and remote servers, via command line. Pretty slick!
And speaking of hyperlinks, a recent A List Apart article reminds us that progressive enhancement is still a smart approach to website development…
Nice three-part (so far) Google Developer series on Optimizing Performance by Ilya Grigorik and Paul Lewis (so far).
I would hope by now that most web developers are familiar with the Google Webmaster Tools site, and have already tested all of their websites for “mobile friendliness”, but in case you haven’t, or just want to double-check you did all you could do, this Smashing Magazine article is worth at least a quick scan.
Two quick WP articles from WPMU DEV:
- Mastering the WordPress Media Uploader to Make it Work For You: A pretty serious run-through regarding the Media Library & Upload processes
- 12 Not-So-Obvious WordPress Tweaks to Improve Posts and Pages: From permalink cropping to plugins and shortcodes
As a developer, I really love the concept of a style guide, which should allow us to build something the right way, from the start. I haven’t had many opportunities to work with one, but this article about living design systems has done nothing to curb my desire to do so…
New, free, Udacity course: Responsive Images: Fewer Bytes, Faster Loads.
And have you been following Jason Grigsby‘s Responsive Images 101 series?
And when we finally get element queries, what a huge boost to responsive images that will be!
Amok is a Node.js live-reload compiler that runs in the Chrome Debugger. Whaaaaaa????
You can now run Android apps on a Mac or PC with Google Chrome. Okay, that’s pretty damned cool…
And going in sort of the opposite direction, Microsoft’s Office Lens app turns your iPhone or Android phone into a powerful scanner.
Blink is shipping a new CSS parser that “performed 15-25% faster”… Well okay then.
And finally, in our line of work, sitting at a desk and clicking on a keyboard all day, it is not easy to be healthy. But several of our peers have done it, each slightly differently than the other. The trick is to find something that works for you, and do it. Remy Sharp talks about his subtle life changes and “planning to cheat” once in while. Chris Coyier took the more extreme route of seeking professional help to get things on track, and although he too lapsed, he managed to get back on the plan. And both of these guys are looking great! I want to be healthier too, and now that Germany is starting to come out of its winter permafrost, my bike is in the shop getting repairs, and hopefully within a week I will be riding to and from work again. Anyone else out there interested? If so, read what Remy and Chris have to say, and maybe check-out Jay Fanelli‘s How to Lose Weight like a Web Designer, and read Tyler Tervooren‘s take on How To Build An Exercise Routine You’ll Stick To. And remember: You don’t have to go full-boar-nutso-freaking-crazy-health-nut, you can also simply improve some aspects of your diet and exercise routine; anything is better than nothing.
Happy reading,
Atg
As always, a nice list of articles. I especially appreciate the last paragraph of links…I’m a developer who’s run 2 marathons, close to a dozen half-marathons, and countless shorter-distance races…but as I get further into my career, my ability to stay active & healthy seems to be dissolving right before my eyes, so that set is very timely for me. Thanks!
Good to hear those links were helpful, Fesh. And at least you are at a better starting point than so many others. Best of luck to you!!
Atg