Blog / Page 3

I wasn’t aware that all browsers on iOS are restricted to Webkit, so effectively there is no browser choice on iPhones or iPads. This raises the question of whether there is any point testing websites with different browsers on these devices if their engines are unsupported? Read more

This month, I’ve been working on designing and building the new shop for Hearing Dogs, a UK charity that trains dogs to alert deaf people to important and life-saving sounds they would otherwise miss. Read more

With the arrival of Shopify 2.0, it’s now thrown my development workflow out of the window. The `config.yml` made development much more manageable when working on different store features because it linked directly to a particular theme and excluded any changes made to the `settings_data.json` file. But, the new CLI seems to add extra complications to the workflow by requiring frequent pulls and pushes. Read more

I’m not sure why anybody, developer or not, would want to turn off/hide scrollbars on a desktop. This macOS setting has always puzzled me. Read more

If you work for yourself, this book is a must-read! It’s insightful, down-to-earth, and Austin Kleon explains everything in a simple, enjoyable format. I could relate everything within it to my own personal experiences. Definitely worth reading. Read more

I’ve been using Sass for a few years now, and I’ve gotten so used to using it on new projects, I never gave it a second thought. I thought it was making my life easier, but it’s caused me more hassle than it’s worth in recent weeks. Read more

A couple of new books to add to my reading list: “New Frontiers in Web Design” by Smashing Magazine and “Art Direction for the Web” by Andy Clarke. Read more

A few days ago Shopify announced some of its upcoming features at their annual Unite event. Some of the exciting announcements for me were themes 2.0, improved performance, metafields (finally, and it looks flippin’ awesome!), more focus on store content, GitHub integration for devs, and more checkout customisation possibilities. Read more

I wasn’t aware of the CSS is() pseudo-class, but this would help avoid that much-hated selector duplication. Read more

Essential tips, advice and useful links on improving the page speed and Core Web Vitals on Shopify stores. Read more

An insightful article by Spotify about tweaking elements for better accessibility. Read more

Great article about the problems with mega-dropdown menus. I’ve never been a fan of them, and implementing them is always a tricky task. I recently redesigned the menu on AbilitySuperstore.com from being a mega menu to a traditional “slide-out” structure, akin to how OS (macOS, Windows, etc.) menus work. Read more

A brilliant post about how important HTML and CSS truly are today more than ever. I’ve been watching the JS and React craziness going on over the last few years and have refused to take part. The fundamentals of the web are, and always will be, HTML and CSS. Without these at the core, JS, React, or even PHP (or any other web-based language for that matter) would not even exist. Read more

The paragraph you are reading right now is styled differently from the rest of the paragraphs down below. This only applies if there are more sibling paragraphs below. Read more

In my previous post, I mentioned that I’d added an archive page containing images of old work to my website. To build this, I decided to use CSS columns to create a masonry-style layout without using complex JavaScript or frameworks - just plain old CSS and HTML. Read more

The logo for the English Football Association (The FA) has had a makeover. I like the idea behind it, but the implementation just doesn’t work for me. Personally, I think it lacks any strength and looks too scruffy, with jagged edges, as if it was designed in a 1998 copy of Microsoft Paint! And why are the lions laughing? Read more

I’ve been going somewhat crazy streamlining my services lately to keep things simple for myself. Read more

I’ve been thinking about replacing my Contentful + PHP managed website with a Jekyll one for some time, and this month I’ve finally gone and done it. Read more

It’s time to watch those great movies by the Master of Suspense: North by Northwest, Physco, The Birds to name just a few. Read more

I don’t need to tell you that 2020 has been a crazy year. It’s certainly been a year of change resulting in us reflecting on our everyday lives and deciding what we need and don’t. Read more