XSLT is cool and powerful
Tuesday May 30, 2006
When I first learned about XSLT I wasn't sure I understood the point. Then I was asked to create a Web site that used XML on the back end and ... Read More
I love this book
Monday May 29, 2006
Normally, when I pick up a book on Web development, I have to force myself to do more than skim it. They are, in general, boring and hard to read. ... Read More
Many people ask me what the point of learning XML is
Sunday May 28, 2006
And I have to say that it's just a good idea. Okay, that's not really a great answer, but XML is shaping up to be one of the more common ... Read More
Frames can wreak havoc with search engines
Saturday May 27, 2006
Frames can be ugly to search engines. Search engine spiders mostly don't like them, and so use the noframes tag to try and figure out what's going on. But if ... Read More
Why does it work on my hard drive but not on the site?
Friday May 26, 2006
This question actually sends shivers down my spine, but it is a really common question for beginners putting up Web pages they've designed and built on their local machine. The ... Read More
Poll: Have you ever created a podcast?
Thursday May 25, 2006
yes
no
what's a podcast?
View Results
Before you decide to become a Web developer, maybe you should think about some things
Thursday May 25, 2006
Don't get me wrong, I love being a Web developer. I've been doing it for 10 years, and it's been a lot of fun. But there are some definite drawbacks, ... Read More
Do you need a CSS editor?
Wednesday May 24, 2006
I got an email the other day asking me why I didn't recommend WYSIWYG CSS editors. That seemed like a really good question, so I started looking at the CSS ... Read More
XML can push your pages out to your customers
Tuesday May 23, 2006
It's actually really easy to set up a Web site using CDF XML and push your Web pages to your customers.
Push Technology - XML in Action
Labels on forms aren't just important, in some cases they're essential
Monday May 22, 2006
I first fell in love with labels for forms when I realized that I could use the label tag as another hook for my CSS to create better looking forms. ... Read More
There's so much more you can do with CSS
Sunday May 21, 2006
Once you understand the basics, you should learn more advanced techniques so that you can take your CSS to another level.
Advanced CSS
What do you use meta tags for?
Saturday May 20, 2006
There are lots and lots (and lots) of meta tags. But only a few are used all the time.
Basic Meta Tags
CSS is nothing to be afraid of
Friday May 19, 2006
You can get rid of those font tags. You can throw out your b, i, and u. Cascading Style Sheets are not nearly as hard as you think, and you ... Read More
Poll: HTML vs. XML
Thursday May 18, 2006
In a comment, theMan wrote
"HTML is dead! This topic is moot. If you don't XML you'll be out of a job in two years."
Image courtesy yarranz from StockXchng #426123.
I wonder ... Read More
XML doesn't have to be ugly
Thursday May 18, 2006
You can use CSS for more than just your Web pages. In fact, you can set up style sheets to render XML documents just like you do your XHTML documents. ... Read More
Do you read XML in your browser?
Wednesday May 17, 2006
Most modern browsers allow you to view XML right in the browser, but there are also a lot of great tools that give you so much more about your XML. ... Read More
There are simple things you can do to improve your site
Tuesday May 16, 2006
It's amazing to me how many times I come to Web sites that don't even use these five simple techniques to make their pages better. For example, alt text on ... Read More
Do you know what the most important button on your Web page is?
Monday May 15, 2006
It might surprise you to learn that the most important button on your Web pages is not a button that you built into the page at all - it's the ... Read More
I loved well-formed things
Sunday May 14, 2006
Especially Web pages. But what does it mean to write a well-formed XHTML document? It's actually not that hard. And once you get the hang of it, you won't ever ... Read More
Caches are annoying
Saturday May 13, 2006
Yes, I know, I know, when you have a cache the page will load more quickly than without one. But they're annoying for testing, and for building things like Ajax ... Read More
Understanding inputs - at least the input tag
Friday May 12, 2006
When you have a form, in most cases, you'll have a button or something to send the form data from the Web site to the server. But there are a ... Read More
Poll: How long have you been building Web pages?
Thursday May 11, 2006
less than 1 year
1-2 years
2-5 years
5-10 years
more than 10 years
View Results
DOCTYPE and DTDs
Thursday May 11, 2006
Whenever I hear the word DOCTYPE, I immediately think "type of doctor?" but that's not what a DOCTYPE is. In fact, it's defining the type of document that your page ... Read More
XML is not only fun, it's easy
Wednesday May 10, 2006
Once you get the idea. And if you write HTML you should be able to understand the concepts behind XML, as it's a tag-based language just like HTML. The cool ... Read More
Get free color software
Tuesday May 9, 2006
Coffeecup is doing a promotion where if you put a link on your site to their site, you can get a copy of their Color Schemer software, free.
Yes, of ... Read More
Do you link your images?
Monday May 8, 2006
If you don't, you should. When watching customers use Web pages, especially with click tracing software, you will find that images are very popular to click on. Even if they ... Read More
XML is fun - really
Sunday May 7, 2006
I keep trying to come up with a way to make XML seem less scary to people. But I think it'll be a while before I hit the magic combination ... Read More
<em>, <i>, <b>, <strong>, <kbd>, etc...
Saturday May 6, 2006
XHTML purists will often tell you to write your XHTML semantically. They will insist that you should use tags that define the semantics of the content, not the look or ... Read More
Web 2.0 recipes
Friday May 5, 2006
IBM DeveloperWorks has created some great Web 2.0 recipes to help you learn how to write and build Web 2.0 applications. There are DHTML and PHP versions of several Web ... Read More
So, you think you know what text is, do you?
Friday May 5, 2006
That seems like such a silly thing to say, but as I work more and more with TeamSite I realize that most people don't know what text is, in the ... Read More
Poll: Is Web 2.0 just hype?
Thursday May 4, 2006
No way, I use it all the time
Yes, it's just smoke and mirrors
I'm not really sure what Web 1.0 is...
View Results
Markup Language
Thursday May 4, 2006
There seem to be a lot of Web languages that end in "ML" - or Markup Language. But what does it really mean to be a markup language?
What Are ... Read More
Your head is very important
Wednesday May 3, 2006
The other day one of my co-workers posted a site without a <head>. Actually, she posted the details of the head element, but forgot to type in the <head>. We ... Read More
Protecting yourself and your family
Tuesday May 2, 2006
Staying safe is always important, and safety on the Web can often seem like a nebulous thing, especially with news alerts every day saying how dangerous the Web is. But ... Read More
Do you force your readers to think?
Monday May 1, 2006
Usability in its simplest form is how much or how little thought it takes to use an item. For example, when you're handed a glass with liquid in it, do ... Read More