Tools & Resources articles

Fall into something new this time of year, with a collection of challenges, tutorials and new tools to speed up your workflows. This month’s collection of new design and development tools is sure to inspire you to try something a little different or add a new skill or tool to your repertoire.  If we’ve missed something that you think should have been on the list, let us know in the comments. And if you know of a new app or resource that should...

With Black Friday/Cyber Monday just a few weeks away, it’s time to get clients set up and ready to sell. The list of solutions to choose from keeps on getting longer, so how do you pick which one to go with? Start with a list of features that are must-haves for your client, be clear on what their budget is, decide how much development you want to do to get the thing set up, and whether you want a hosted solution, or separate hosting. Once you know what...

Every modern website needs a responsive design. This does require more effort but the end result is worthwhile. I actually recommend testing your ideas with responsive design tools to see how your site looks at each stage. You can look for usability issues on different screen sizes all from one handy tool. And these free tools are my top picks for responsive testing since they’re all super easy to use. Best of all these support many device...

If you’re thinking of launching a design conference or attending one yourself this list should be all you need to get started. Out of many annual conferences I’ve curated my 10 picks for the top conferences on web and UX design. These each feature something a little different and they all have their appealing specialties. So whether you’re looking to grab a ticket or design a site for your own conference I think you’ll find something...

This month’s collection is packed with tools that span the scope of website design projects. From icon packs to seasonal vectors to a few cool typefaces and some code snippets to make your life easier, we think you’ll find at least one element in this roundup that you use right away. If we’ve missed something that you think should have been on the list, let us know in the comments. And if you know of a new app or resource that should be featured...

The best way to keep up with industry news is through podcasts. So much happens on a monthly basis and keeping a list of the best podcasts can help you stay on top of major industry changes. We’ve curated some of our top picks here with a nice variety of topics. These podcasts offer a mix between frontend web development topics along with more UI/UX design topics for visual designers. 1. Developer Tea If you’re big into development then you’ll...

As WordPress pushes over 25% of the web it’s easily the most popular CMS to date. And that means more developers are building new websites & webapps on the WP ecosystem. To cut down on dev time you can build on the work of others by reusing code snippets, most of which come from free code generators online. But there are so many other tools built around WordPress that can also help you scale a new WP website. Below are my personal favorites...

Free stuff! Get your free stuff here! Well, it’s a free vector editor, anyway. We like those, right? To be more specific, I am talking about Gravit. Like I said, it’s free, it always will be, and it has a little something for most people. Plus, it has a version for just about every desktop OS (including Linux and Chrome OS. It has a browser version. Android and iPad versions are coming. It even has a simpler version for total beginners called Klex,...

The WordPress content management system has built quite an empire for itself, with a community of passionate fans that help push it to new heights. It’s the customizability of the platform that has everyone so excited about the possibilities, and the fact that WordPress powers over 75 million websites (or 28.5% of the internet) means that the possibilities are all but endless. New plugins, themes, and versions of the WordPress software...

This month’s collection of new tools is a mashup of sorts—there are a lot of new elements, components and typefaces out there and they are all totally different. From patterns to UI kits to browser extensions that will make your workflows better, this list has it all. If we’ve missed something that you think should have been on the list, let us know in the comments. And if you know of a new app or resource that should be featured next month,...

Modern web design involves a lot of moving parts like content design, icon work, and UX design strategies. One newer trend is the use of microinteractions on web and mobile projects. These look great in the final project but aren’t so easy to make with a static mockup. So designers have been picking up animation programs like After Effects to create motion-based mockups. If you’re trying to learn this skillset I highly recommend...

Sometimes the summer months can feel like a dead time for new design tools, but not this year. There are plenty of new elements out there to make your life (and projects) that much easier. Plus, almost everything on the list this month is free, except for a couple of tools. They’re sure to be useful to designers and developers, from beginners to experts. If we’ve missed something that you think should have been on the list, let us know in the comments....

Animation is one of those trends that has got its claws into web interfaces. Its popularity fluctuates, but it’s always there somewhere, as an essential component in any web site. From tiny, barely visible, loading spinners, to whole page transitions like a movie experience, animation reaches into every area of our designs. For designers looking to incorporate animation, there are a wealth of options available. From purely decorative...

Have you ever encountered a website with confusing navigation? Been sent down the wrong path by misleading labels? Or needed your best detective skills to find a particular piece of content? It’s frustrating, isn’t it? What can companies do to ensure that users can find what they are looking for on a website? Usability testing allows you to measure the effectiveness of the site structure and labelling against real user tasks. Get...