Tools & Resources articles

Typography is an integral part of website design. The typography and fonts you use play a huge role in multiple aspects of a website design. It affects factors such as readability, user experience, and even the perceived length of an article or page. It is very important that web designers get it right with typography to adequately convey the purpose of the website and its content.  As with almost every part of web design, there are several...

There are plenty of new tools to speed up your work available now. From background patterns and icons to landing page templates and new fonts, we’ve got something for almost everyone here. And while some of these tools are premium options, almost everything is free and open-source. Here’s what’s new for designers this month. Pattern.css Pattern.css is a CSS-only library that you can use to fill empty backgrounds. There are tons of pattern...

Content Management Systems are arguably the internet's most powerful web development tool. In a rapidly growing market where every business under the sun requires a website that is not only fully functioning, but optimised, easy to update regularly, and implement the latest features, the right CMS is important. As a web developer it can be easy to stick to the CMS you know – even if there are potentially better ones out there. With such a busy...

Since you are dealing with customers — even if it’s just a few, it is important that you offer them the best possible experience. This is especially important for freelancers and small design agencies with a few clients because they don’t have the luxury of losing clients. In fact, 73% of clients say that having a positive experience is one of the key factors that influence their brand loyalty. One way to improve your client experience...

While there’s a lot going in the world with the COVID-19 pandemic, the design world is also reacting. You’ll notice that some of the newest tools and resources for designers are for working through or with the virus’ impact or are inspired by this change to our lifestyles. Here’s what new for designers this month. Snapfont Snapfont is a browser extension that lets you test any font on any website in a snap. You can preview differences...

One of the biggest perks of a career in Web Design is the potential for working remotely. As long as you have access to Wi-Fi, you can basically work from anywhere, whether it be from home, a co-working space, or even the beach — the world is your proverbial remote oyster. Whether you’re new to the telecommuting game or a seasoned veteran, working solo comes with its own set of challenges and roadblocks. Design work, in particular, is a collaborative...

It’s April Fools’ Day, and each year on the 1st of April we normally join the rest of the world in posting a humorous, and entirely fictitious story. But this year, we decided to go a different way. These aren’t normal times. Around the world, millions of people are struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. Many people have lost family members, and many more are struggling to support themselves and their families....

Spring is in the air. As the season changes, many designers are looking for a little refresh of their own. Hopefully some of these new tools and resources will do the trick. Here’s what new for designers this month. Visme Visme allows you to quickly create and share content with tools to build presentations, infographics, documents, videos, and graphics — with little to no design skills. But it’s for designers too with features that...

While it’s important to know about the latest research and surveys impacting web design, I think it’s just as important to stay informed about news that may affect your work as a designer. As such, this roundup of the latest research for web designers includes a mix of reports along with some news and facts about something that people are talking about all around the world: the coronavirus. A Better Lemonade Stand Analyzes the Best Remote...

On the surface, web browsers seem very similar. They all provide you with a relatively straightforward way to get online and search for the content that you need.  However, the more time you spend building your skills as a designer/developer, the more you’ll recognize the need for a unique kind of browsing experience. Fortunately, we’ve found some of the best browsers for web developers, to get you started. Let’s take a look at what...

In the following roundup of the latest research for web designers, I’ve included reports and surveys that shed light on: The battle between mobile and desktop, Why so many websites keep getting hacked, What’s keeping ecommerce business owners awake at night, and What Google is now saying about mobile-first indexing. Hootsuite Puts a Spotlight on Mobile Although Hootsuite is a social media marketing tool, its Digital 2020 report...

Are you starting 2020 off on the right foot? How about keeping up with those resolutions to learn or try something new? Either way, you’re in luck. This roundup is packed with new tools to help you through projects or learn new tricks to enhance your skillset. Here’s what’s new for designers this month. Calcolor Calcolor is a color tool that provides deeper information and meaning for every color in your palette so you can make better color...

Currently somewhere in the region of 34% of websites are built with WordPress, it’s the most utilized CMS (Content Management System) in the world. Part of that popularity stems from its underlying technologies—PHP and MySQL—which allows for dynamic content in posts, but also enables a rich ecosystem of plugins. One of the trickiest aspects of launching a website is its digital marketing, and so naturally there are a plethora of WordPress...

We typically start the month with a roundup of new tools and resources for designers, but with the start of a new year (and new decade), we thought a roundup of things to help you get more organized would be appropriate. Some of these tools have been around for a while with features you might not be using. Other tools are on the new side and offer great functionality. How many of these tools are part of your kit? Which ones will you resolve to use this...