Tools & Resources articles

Since there are so many CMS plugins out there, it can be overwhelming to choose the best ones for your website. We’ve done the research for you; this list contains the top new CMS plugins for November 2020. You’ll find useful plugins for WordPress, Craft, Shopify, and Joomla. Let’s get started… WordPress 404 Page Editor 404 Page Editor is a simple WordPress plugin that helps you add custom text to the default 404 page on your website....

In the spirit of fall feasts, this month’s collection of tools and resources is a smorgasbord of sorts. You’ll find everything from web tools to icon libraries to animation tools to great free fonts. Let’s dig in. Here’s what new for designers this month. The Good Line-Height The Good Line-Height is the tool you won’t be able to live without after using it a few times. The tool calculates the ideal line-height for every text size in...

Plugins offer a ton of benefits to developers and website administrators; from flexibility, to saving time in development, the right plugin is priceless to a project. In this article, we’ll cover a list of the best new plugins for October 2020. You’ll find useful plugins for WordPress, Craft, Shopify, and Joomla. Let’s get started. WordPress Sticky Post Expire Sticky Post Expire is a simple plugin for WordPress that allows you to add...

This month’s collection of new tools, resources, and freebies for designers is a smorgasbord of sorts. You’ll find everything from useful APIs to icons to tutorials to fonts. Let’s get right into it, here’s what new for designers this month: Tooltip Sequence Now that your app or website is ready, you might need to help users engage with it. Tooltip Sequence is a simple JavaScript package that helps you create a series of small tooltips...

Web accessibility is important for two reasons: Being ADA & WCAG compliant is required by law (we’ll explain this further) so if your website isn’t compliant, you can get sued. It allows people with disabilities to browse your website, which increases your potential audience and it is the decent thing to do. In this accessiBe review, we’ll cover: How Does accessiBe Work How to Install and Setup accessiBe Why ongoing compliance...

It’s fun to see new website design tools that reflect current times and the state of the world. That’s very true this month with new databases devoted to diversity and women in technology, as well and resources to make your design life easier. Here’s what’s new for designers and developers this month: Ztext.js Ztext.js is an easy to implement, three-dimensional typography tool for the web that works with any font you want to use. With...

I often see freelancers on social media asking what the secret is to working fewer hours, making more money, and helping new clients to find them. While those things tend to happen the longer you’ve been freelancing, it doesn’t happen without some effort. If you’re wondering how you can change things so that your business becomes more profitable and easier to manage, education is the key. But it’s not just mastering new design techniques...

Google resembles an iceberg: there’s the part above the water we can see and use everyday; there’s also the part beneath the water, that we don’t see and know little about. While many of us are concerned about the aspects of Google we don’t see — the parts that threaten our privacy, or monopolize the web — there’s no denying that Google offers some amazing products and tools, many of them free, all from the convenience of a single...

The common theme in this month’s collection of new tools and resources is “things that help you show off your work.” Many of these tools are made to help you better web products or apps or showcase designs with others. Here’s what new for designers this month. Naturaltts Naturaltts is an online text to speech converter, that allows you to download an mp3 recording. The tool has more than 60 voices to choose from in six languages. There’s...

The right typeface can make or break your website. As designers, we will always be naturally drawn towards the premium fonts such as Circular, DIN, or Maison Neue; Before you know it, your website is racking up a font bill larger than your hosting bill. We’ve put together a list of open-source fonts that will rival your fancy fonts, and might even persuade you to switch them out. All the fonts listed here are completely open-source, which means...

I think of a creative practice as a combination of an approach (a design philosophy) and a series of techniques (craft skills); a good tool facilitates a technique, which in turn supports an approach. It wasn’t until I sat down to write a list of tools I can’t design without, that I realized just how many tools I rely on as an integral part of my creative process. The danger of tools is that they promote certain techniques, and that bias can alter...

Some of the changes we are seeing with where we work are starting to pop up in the type of new tools made for designers and developers. More tools with remote collaboration as a key feature are increasing in popularity. (You’ll find a few of those here.) Here’s what new for designers this month. Webdesign Toolbox Webdesign Toolbox is a collection of tools, apps, and resources all in one location for designers and developers. The best part...

No matter how skilled you are as a designer, you need tools. A surgeon can’t operate without a scalpel; the same goes for designers. To get the job done effectively, you need to right tools in your arsenal. Tools certainly don’t make the craftsman, but they do make your job easier (and mostly fun). There are so many tools available today, it can be daunting to start seeking out the right tools for you. In this semi-regular series, designers...

Whether Adobe’s focus on collaboration and remote-working was prescient long-term thinking, or if this direction of development is a reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic is unclear; what is clear is that the timing of this release is ideal for the new work environment we find ourselves in. Adobe CC June Update Highlights Adobe’s move from an 18-month release cycle, to multiple releases per year thins out the excitement surrounding these...