Smashing Network

The Smashing Network features selected articles from the best online publications with main focus on design, Web development and user experience. This page is updated regularly. The articles are published semi-automatically, but they are also regularly double-checked by our team. You can also subscribe to the Smashing Network RSS feed.

My Slides from InControl 2012: What We Don’t Know

From CSS Tricks
February 22nd, 2012

I know it’s weird to go through slides of a presentation outside of the context of a real talk (and pales in comparison to the experience of being there) but nonetheless, there may be bits of goodness you can extract from them. [Slides are embedded, come ...

Cookie law: the gnarly truth

From .net Mag
February 22nd, 2012

To act in accordance with new EU legislation, websites must now gain consent for the use of cookies. Mark Steven, head of client services at CIVIC, looks at the new law and explains what to do to bring your site in line

Responsive Design: Why You’re Doing It Wrong

From DesignShack
February 22nd, 2012

Responsive design isn’t a fad that arose because of a cool CSS technique, it’s an answer to a problem. Always remember that and constantly ask yourself whether or not you’re really adequately addressing that problem. If you’re using copy and paste to insert your media ...

Changing the look of your Search Result Pages

From Yoast
February 22nd, 2012

I love Google, I seriously do. What I don’t like too much is them adding more and more fluff to my search result pages (or SERPs) that I really don’t want or need. Most of us know about their new Terms of Service now, right? ...

Five top tips for building responsive WordPress sites

From .net Mag
February 22nd, 2012

Web developer Jesse Friedman explains how you can integrate responsive web design with WordPress and goes over both the advantages and challenges of responsive theming

Textured Web: Showcase of Textured & Patterned Website Designs

From Noupe
February 22nd, 2012

When it comes to design resources, textures and patterns are among some of the most popular tools on offer. And while we may never be able to get a single, definitive answer from the community as to why this [...]

Designing for search engine optimization

From Webdesigner Depot
February 22nd, 2012

When it comes to designing a new web site, most beginning and unaware designers only care about how amazing the site will be.Often times as designers, we can take off with a crazy idea for a site design and it ends up jam packed with ...

How to Create and Use WordPress Custom Menus

From Developer Drive
February 22nd, 2012

WordPress 3.0 introduced users to a powerful feature: custom menus. Now, without the need for plugins, we can exclude, include, and rearrange our page links at will, displaying a different menu for different pages, and with some code, even different users entirely. How to Create a Custom ...

What your product’s design says about you

From Finch Blog
February 21st, 2012

In the book, Do You Matter? How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company, the authors take the reader through a series of car lots while shopping for some new wheels. As we traverse the mishmash of brands, we start to see something: Every ...

Finger-Friendly Design: Ideal Mobile Touchscreen Target Sizes

From Smashing Magazine
February 21st, 2012

In darts, hitting the bulls-eye is harder to do than hitting any other part of the dartboard. This is because the bullseye is the smallest target. This same principle can also apply to touch targets on mobile devices. Smaller touch targets are [...]

Create better content by working in pairs

From UXBooth
February 21st, 2012

Have you ever had to come up with copy all on your own? It’s a nearly impossible task, often leading to content that is unfocused and lifeless. Yet everyday, copywriters, clients – and, yes, editors too – publish content without much input from their stakeholders. ...

Setting up a local server for WordPress development

From Webdesigner Depot
February 21st, 2012

Today I’m going to talk to you about setting up a local server to use with WordPress. Using a local server is important for many reasons, if only to keep you from having to upload and download your files all the time. Anytime we need ...

Colors of Spring: Color Palettes from Spring Flowers and Foliage

From Noupe
February 21st, 2012

As the icy grip of winter closes in tighter many begin to dream of spring. That time of renewed growth and warmer days that tends to draw us back outside and into nature’s waiting open arms. With the seeming [...]

Create super-efficient SVG characters with localStorage

From .net Mag
February 21st, 2012

Jim Morrison explains how to paint SVG sprites using HTML5 localStorage as an intelligent cache, plus how to achieve the same effect in IE8 and working around the lack of native SVG support

What Harvard Business School Can Teach Us About Web Design

From The Daily Egg
February 21st, 2012

Harvard University has graduated eight U.S. presidents and more Nobel Laureates than you can count on all of your fingers and toes. It is also home of the largest academic library in the U.S. Harvard University knows academics. But it turns out they are no slouch when it ...