Current Web Design Articles

Web Design, HTML, and XML Articles from the About.com Guide to Web Design and HTML

By Jennifer Kyrnin

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05/21/2012 Hyphenation in CSS3
Learn how you can affect the typography of your web pages with more effective hyphenation using CSS3 properties. This article explains about the CSS3 hyphens property as well as other hyphenation properties that have been deferred to CSS4.

05/20/2012 How to Test Web Page Designs
Learn how to test your websites so that they work in as many browsers as possible. Alexander Peev explains how to test, what to do if problems come up during testing, and how to test changes that are added after testing is complete.

05/12/2012 GET versus POST Requests on HTML Forms
There are two methods you can use on your HTML forms but how do you decide which one to use? This article explains when you should use each one.

05/03/2012 CSS Vendor Prefixes
Learn why CSS vendor prefixes are important and why you should use them. CSS vendor prefixes or browser prefixes allow you to add advanced CSS to your pages and get support in the most browsers.

05/01/2012 Flash Websites Need Fallback Options for iOS Users
Flash websites don't work on iOS devices, but that doesn't mean you should just ignore them or worse suggest they should get a different device. The only readers you have that will be loyal enough to do that are your relatives, and even they might not be willing to buy a new hundred dollar device just to view one web page.

04/30/2012 Five Excellent HTML Editors for iPad
There are a lot of iPad apps to choose from and while it can be tempting to just watch movies and read books on your iPad, it is possible to do work on them too. These five editors let you edit web pages right from your iPad without needing a laptop or other intermediate step.

04/29/2012 Koder
Koder is an HTML text editor for the iPad. This is a quirky editor that still has a lot of rough edges, but it will work to edit HTML and web documents on your iPad. Learn more in my review of the Koder HTML editor app.

04/24/2012 Glow Effects with CSS3
CSS3 box shadows give you the ability to create outer glow effects that used to have to be done with Photoshop or another graphics program. This tutorial shows you how to create an outer glow on an element using CSS3 and no images.

04/23/2012 First Look: Dreamweaver CS6
Adobe is releasing the latest version of the Creative Suite (CS6) in a month or two, and I had the opportunity to start working with Dreamweaver ahead of time. There are some exciting new features to Dreamweaver that I think you will enjoy. Here is my first look at Adobe Dreamweaver CS6.

04/20/2012 Review of Xara Web Designer MX Premium
This is a review of the no code web page editor Xara Web Designer MX Premium. Web Designer is a Windows web page editor that requires no knowledge of HTML, CSS, or JavaScript code to create dynamic, interesting web pages.

04/17/2012 Positioning and Clipping Background Images with CSS3
Learn how to use two new CSS3 properties: background-clip and background-origin. This article will help you understand the way these two properties work and how they work together.

04/16/2012 Cross Browser Testing
Testing your web pages in many browsers is very important. This article by Alexander Peev explains when to test your web pages and what browsers and versions to test.

04/10/2012 Stop Optimizing Old Content and Start Adding New Content
Once you've learned how to do SEO, it can be tempting to keep doing it and tweaking it and fixing it. But doing that can lead to over-optimization which Google is now treating as a bigger sin than not optimizing at all. Your best bet is to just write naturally, for your customers, and keep adding new stuff.

04/09/2012 Even Small Speed Gains are Important
There are many things you can do to improve the speed of your web pages. And many of them have what appear to be almost a negligible effect on the download times. Because of this, many people are inclined to ignore and dismiss these things. But that is a bad idea. Learn why even the small speed increases are important.

04/02/2012 Rag, Widows, Orphans, Typography, and CSS
There are three typography basics that are difficult to correct using CSS style sheets: widows, orphans, and rag. This article explains why you should still be concerned about them and gives suggestions for how to fix them. Plus, it describes a common mistake that beginners make regarding two CSS style properties.

03/30/2012 Readers’ Choice Awards 2012 Winners
Find out who won in the 2012 About.com Readers’ Choice Awards.

03/25/2012 Textastic Review
Textastic is a full-featured text editor for iPad. Read my review of Textastic.

03/25/2012 Gusto Review
Gusto is a great text editor for iPad. Read my review of Gusto.

03/20/2012 Obscure Tips for Writing Web Pages for International Audiences
Many people build web pages for an international audience. And in general, most people focus on just the language of the page. They might use special characters, but they don't realize that there is more to an international page than just the language. This article explains a few other tips you should remember so that your pages still work even if the audience is people in a country other than where you live and work.

03/19/2012 Styling Web Forms and the CSS Box Model Part 2
When you are adding styles to the web forms, you need to be aware of how browsers interpret the box model so that your styles turn out as you expect. This article by Alexander Peev explains how web browsers interpret the box model for various form input elements. This is the second article explaining how the box model affects the form fields for file input, option elements, and the HTML5 input fields.

03/05/2012 Limit the number of “Things” on Your Pages
Web pages can be difficult for people to follow. By removing all but the most critical elements of any given page, you help your readers get more out of your website. Learn how to get rid of the things that are cluttering up your web design.

03/04/2012 What is a CDN (Content Delivery Network)?
When designers think about speeding up their sites, they often start with the obvious things like optimizing images and reducing content. But a Content Delivery Network or CDN is a server-level tool you can use to speed up your web pages. Find out what a CDN is and whether your site will benefit from using one.

02/27/2012 HTML5 Sectioning Roots
HTML5 sectioning elements create outlines of your web pages. Sectioning roots help you divide your pages into areas that are outlined and areas that are separate from the main outline.

02/14/2012 CSS Generators
Building CSS is difficult, there are a lot of properties to remember and hundreds if not thousands of ways you can design your pages. These CSS generators help take some of the memorization out of building CSS. You just plug in what you want in your design and the generator makes the (often cross-browser compliant) CSS for you.

02/13/2012 Build Your First HTML5 Document
Learn how to build an HTML5 document from scratch. The ending document doesn't look terribly enticing because there are no styles attached, but it is a valid HTML5 document.

02/07/2012 How to Value a Domain Name
Domain names are more than just the URL of your website. Domains can have value and are an asset for companies. But just like any other asset, there are things that make a domain more or less valuable. Learn how to improve your domain names so that you can sell your site for more money.

02/06/2012 Tell Google About Your Writing
Once you have articles on your website, you can tell Google the authorship information. And then, Google can add that information to your search results, making your pages more appealing. Learn how to tell Google about who authored your pages.

01/31/2012 What is the History API
Learn more about the History API, a new HTML5 API that helps web designers control the browser history so that web pages can be more usable for readers.

01/30/2012 What are Microformats?
Microformats are a way of making your HTML more computer-readable or semantic. Microformats use existing, valid HTML tags and attributes to add semantic data to your web pages. Learn how to use microformats to make your web pages more semantic.

01/24/2012 CSS Transformations versus Transitions
There are two CSS3 properties that people confuse. They are very different, but if you use them in the wrong place they won't work. Learn the difference between CSS3 transitions and transformations.

01/23/2012 CSS Transformations
Learn how to transform your HTML elements to make them look different on the page using just CSS. You can rotate, skew, scale, and translate (move) your elements using the CSS3 transform property.

01/18/2012 About.com Readers’ Choice Awards 2012
Nominate and vote for your favorite web designs, editors, hosting, and more.

01/16/2012 CSS Transitions
Learn how to animate the changes on your websites with CSS transitions.

01/15/2012 Internet Explorer CSS Filters
CSS filters are a tool that Microsoft created for Internet Explorer to handle some features like opacity and so on. But it’s a bad idea to use filters, even if all your users use IE.

01/06/2012 Where to Place Scripts in Your Web Documents for Optimal Display
A common mistake that many web developers make is to put all their JavaScript in the HEAD of the document. This is what we were taught, but it can affect the speed of pages downloading. Instead, get in the habit of putting your scripts last. This article explains why this is important and gives some tips for how to adjust your scripts so that they will work even if they are loaded last.

01/01/2012 How to Write a Web Design Proposal
Learn how to write a proposal to help you land your next web design client. A good proposal both helps your clients understand what you're offering and the costs involved, but also acts like a pre-contract to help you secure clients.

01/01/2012 How to Use the HTML5 HGROUP Element
The HTML5 HGROUP element allows you to collect multiple headings into one outline segment. This makes your pages more accessible and the HTML5 outlines they generate easier to read. Learn how to use the HTML HGROUP element.

01/01/2012 Where Should CSS Be Placed in an HTML Document?
You may know there are three different ways you can include style sheets in your web pages, but do you know how to choose the best method for the job? Find out how to choose the best method for what your page or site needs.

01/01/2012 CSS3 Shadows: Box Shadows and Text Shadows
Learn how to create shadows on text and other elements with CSS3. This article explains how to use the CSS3 properties box-shadow and text-shadow and their browser extensions.

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