Daily Tips & Tricks for Web Enthusiasts

Chronological Archive

All tips and tricks, chronologically.
Switch to the category archive.

Week 1: January 1 to January 7, 2018

Intuitive Box Sizing • HTML & CSS Mondays
The default box model in CSS is a bit strange. Learn how to fix it.

Avoid Comparison Surprises • JavaScript Tuesdays
JavaScript's automatic type conversion can produce some strange results. Thankfully it's easy to avoid.

Your HTML Element Needs a Language Attribute • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
Adding a single attribute helps with both automatic translation and accessibility.

The Best Web Docs: MDN • Resources & Links Thursdays
My go-to reference for fundamental web technologies.

Log Out Without Logging Out • Browsing the Web Fridays
A legitimate reason to use private browsing while you're working.

Design is How it Works • Design Saturdays
This perspective on design has acted as a guiding light for me for years.

Link Wisely • Writing Sundays
The web's greatest superpower is the hyperlink. Learn how to make your links the best they can be.

Week 2: January 8 to January 14, 2018

Easy Layout Debugging with Outlines • HTML & CSS Mondays
Quickly see hidden dimensions (without messing with your layout) using a bit of CSS.

Beware of typeof • JavaScript Tuesdays
An examination of some unusual JavaScript behavior and how to (mostly) work around it.

Text Readability Basics • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
A comfortable reading experience is key to engaging with your audience.

Can I Use? • Resources & Links Thursdays
What browsers support what?

Restore Recently Closed Web Pages • Browsing the Web Fridays
Didn't mean to close that tab? Here's how to get it back!

Great Design Seems Obvious • Design Saturdays
How to avoid a common pitfall during the design process.

Write to a Single Person • Writing Sundays
Are you speaking to your audience in the best way possible?

Week 3: January 15 to January 21, 2018

Set a Character Set • HTML & CSS Mondays
Avoid garbled content and security issues by adding a single element to your pages.

Don’t Trust Client-Side JavaScript • JavaScript Tuesdays
Why client-side code should never be trusted for anything critical.

Write Great Alternative Text for Images • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
How to write great descriptions for your images to improve accessibility, user experience, and SEO.

Unsplash: A Myriad of Free Photos • Resources & Links Thursdays
An incredible resource for high-resolution images.

Supercharge Your Web Browser’s Built-In Search • Browsing the Web Fridays
Take your web browser's built-in search to the next level.

Perfection • Design Saturdays
Why good enough really is good enough.

Write Concisely • Writing Sundays
Why keeping your copy short and to the point is worth the effort.

Week 4: January 22 to January 28, 2018

Smart Line Height • HTML & CSS Mondays
Find out why using a length or percentage value for your line heights is a bad idea.

Embrace Curly Braces • JavaScript Tuesdays
Curly braces are technically optional in some cases, but omitting them is not a good idea.

Use Caution when Changing Default Outline Styles • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
Why removing default outline styles without replacing them with something else is a bad idea.

Down for Everyone Or Just Me? • Resources & Links Thursdays
No need to ask a human, there's a great free service that can answer this question for you!

Quickly Cycle Through Browser Tabs • Browsing the Web Fridays
Learn how to quickly navigate the tabs in your web browser using your keyboard.

Only Break Rules You Understand • Design Saturdays
Rules are made to be broken, but make sure you're truly improving things before you do.

Don’t Revise as You Write • Writing Sundays
Find out why it's critical to keep writing and editing separate.

Week 5: January 29 to February 4, 2018

Watch Out for Trailing Commas in CSS • HTML & CSS Mondays
How a common best practice in many programming languages can wreak havoc in CSS.

Tips for Naming Variables • JavaScript Tuesdays
Not too short, not too long, and keep your target audience in mind.

Use What You Build • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
Don't rely on assumptions; take the time to put your work through its paces.

Let’s Encrypt • Resources & Links Thursdays
Find out how to enable HTTPS (SSL/TLS) on your website for free. No catch, no downsides.

Quickly Bypass Your Web Browser’s Cache • Browsing the Web Fridays
Seeing an out-of-date version of your website? Here's the quick fix.

White Space is Your Friend • Design Saturdays
Empty space is filled with vitally important qualities.

Find a Proofreader • Writing Sundays
Improve your writing with the critical eye of another person.

Week 6: February 5 to February 11, 2018

HTML Terminology • HTML & CSS Mondays
Ever wonder what the difference is between a tag and an element? Or what, exactly, an attribute is? If so, this is the tip for you!

Naming Functions & Keeping Them Simple • JavaScript Tuesdays
A simple method to both name functions well and keep your code manageable.

You Can’t Hover on a Touchscreen • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
The :hover pseudo-class enables a wealth of functionality, but if you use it for anything critical you're excluding a huge number of people.

WebAIM • Resources & Links Thursdays
Outstanding accessibility tools and resources.

Change the Size of Text on Any Web Page • Browsing the Web Fridays
How to quickly make any text on the web easier to read.

Empathy is Key to Great Design • Design Saturdays
To craft a great solution you have to understand the people experiencing the problem.

Powerfully Potent Proofreading • Writing Sundays
A simple strategy to increase your effectiveness when editing and proofing your own work.

Week 7: February 12 to February 18, 2018

Specify Automatic Form Functionality • HTML & CSS Mondays
Find out how to take your forms from frustrating to fabulous with four simple attributes.

Be Careful with Code Formatting • JavaScript Tuesdays
Most of the time the way you format your code doesn't matter. Most of the time.

Make Small MP3s that Sound Great • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
Learn what the MP3 encoding options mean and the settings I recommend to strike a good balance between audio quality and file size.

You Might Not Need jQuery • Resources & Links Thursdays
A useful repository of JavaScript snippets, even if you've never used jQuery.

Understanding Private Browsing • Browsing the Web Fridays
Private browsing may not be as private as you think.

Select the Right Image Format • Design Saturdays
Find out how to pick the right image format for the job.

Recognize & Avoid Passive Voice • Writing Sundays
Improve the clarity and flow of your writing by avoiding passive voice.

Week 8: February 19 to February 25, 2018

Don’t Use Inline Styles • HTML & CSS Mondays
Find out why inline styles are bad news.

Access Object Properties with Variables • JavaScript Tuesdays
You can access object property values using any expression that evaluates to the name of the property you're after.

Users Can’t Have an Experience Until You Ship • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
Wherein I provide a simple way to determine when it's time to release what you're working on.

Stack Overflow • Resources & Links Thursdays
The go-to source for programming questions and answers.

Remove Annoying Fixed Elements • Browsing the Web Fridays
A quick and easy way to make more room for the content you care about.

You Can’t Please Everyone • Design Saturdays
Some people aren't going to like the things you make, and that's okay.

Delete That • Writing Sundays
Learn about a word that you can remove from many of your sentences.

Week 9: February 26 to March 4, 2018

CSS Terminology • HTML & CSS Mondays
Wondering what a selector is in CSS? What about a rule, or a declaration? Find out in this tip!

Default Values for Arguments • JavaScript Tuesdays
Assigning default values to your function arguments may be simpler than you think.

Don’t Get Overwhelmed • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
Your website doesn't need to be perfect.

The Wayback Machine • Resources & Links Thursdays
Would you like to go back in time today?

Search for Text on Websites (Plus a Bonus Meta Tip!) • Browsing the Web Fridays
Quickly search for any text on a web page, and find out why not writing this tip would have been a huge mistake.

Great Design Serves the Audience • Design Saturdays
Always remember who you're designing for.

What Does Your Audience Want from Your Copy? • Writing Sundays
Context is key when it comes to writing great website copy.

Week 10: March 5 to March 11, 2018

HTML for Keyboard Shortcuts • HTML & CSS Mondays
Want to talk about keyboard shortcuts or other input on the web? Wow, have I got the element for you!

How to Avoid Confusing Code Hoisting Surprises • JavaScript Tuesdays
Code hoisting in JavaScript can cause some strange and unexpected behavior if you don't know what's going on behind the scenes.

Simplify Your Forms • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
The easier and less intimidating your forms are the better they'll work for both you and your visitors.

DuckDuckGo • Resources & Links Thursdays
How does a more powerful, less creepy search engine sound?

How to Easily Open a Link in a New Tab • Browsing the Web Fridays
Shopping? Find something you want to read later? Doing research? Find out how to make these tasks easier.

Failure is a Natural Part of the Process • Design Saturdays
Find out why embracing failure is critical to your success.

Don’t Punish Yourself for Writing Badly • Writing Sundays
Writing might seem simple, but it's a very difficult skill to master. Don't beat yourself up if you're still improving.

Week 11: March 12 to March 18, 2018

How to Easily Style the Current Navigation Element • HTML & CSS Mondays
This trick makes it easy to give the current section's navigation element a unique appearance, and it scales easily as your site grows.

Don’t Write Magic, Hard-to-Understand Code • JavaScript Tuesdays
Neat code tricks can be tempting to use, but today's tip explains why you should put clarity first.

Accessible Can Be Beautiful • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
Making an accessible site does not mean you have to make a boring site.

Grammar Girl • Resources & Links Thursdays
English is a complicated language; even the best writers have questions sometimes. Luckily there's a great place to find answers.

A Quick Fix for Unbalanced Stereo Audio • Browsing the Web Fridays
Ever come across some audio or video online where all the sound is coming out of only one speaker? Annoying, right? Here's the solution.

Great Design Comes from Deep Understanding • Design Saturdays
Intimate knowledge of the problem domain is required to craft an incredible solution.

Don’t Wait for Inspiration to Strike • Writing Sundays
Motivation and momentum are the result of, not the catalyst for, hard work.

Week 12: March 19 to March 25, 2018

How to Easily Scale Text Dynamically with CSS • HTML & CSS Mondays
Ever wish your text could scale with the size of the viewport?

Computers: Almost Always Great at Math • JavaScript Tuesdays
Find out why 0.1 + 0.2 doesn't always equal 0.3.

Make Sure Your Text is Legible • UX & Accessibility Wednesdays
Can everyone read what you have to say comfortably?

Twemoji • Resources & Links Thursdays
Looking for a great emoji library you can use pretty much anywhere? Look no further!

Quickly Focus the URL/Search Bar • Browsing the Web Fridays
Web browsers offer some really useful keyboard shortcuts. Here's one of the lesser-known, yet extremely useful ones.