I’ve launched twenty sites since January 1st, 2015. Some of them were just adjusting pre-existing themes, so it’s not like I’m developing from scratch. Only three of them were totally from scratch. I’ve done them all alone, as far as design and development. Copy was generally done by someone else. Seventeen were from work, one is a non-profit (which actually has yet to launch, but is probably 90% done) I did in my spare time. Here’s what I’ve got: Custom Underscores blog-styled theme for dating site messages Custom Underscores blog-styled theme for celebrity images Custom Underscores private site for authors […]
Why Firefox
I use Firefox on desktop, tablet, and mobile. Why Firefox I use Firefox at least partially because I still remember absolutely freaking out as a teenager over tabbed browsing. I’ve been using Firefox pretty much since it came out. I’ve stuck with it through some performance issues in the past — maybe a smarter person would’ve switched during those times, but I’m glad I never did. And at this point, I’ve been using it long enough that it’d have to become unusable for me to quit. Customization I also find Firefox more configurable and customizable than Chrome. I can do […]
I Like Purple (New Theme for katemwalsh.com)
Made a new theme for this site. Nothing super fancy. Basically just a Saturday project. I like purple and I like storms. I figured since this thing has been here almost a year, it was maybe a pretty good time to create an actual custom theme rather than relying on twentythirteen and slightly modified children. Built on Underscores with Waypoints, Sass, Grunt, Bourbon, and Neat. Thanks to jpaxonreyes@Flickr for the great header photo! Feedback welcome and appreciated!
Working with Mock-Ups and Web Graphics
As a front end web developer, you may not necessarily have to create mock-ups. By the time you see the design, it may be finalized already. The web designer is usually the one to make and work with mock-ups heavily. In larger team environments, you might never touch a mock-up aside from slicing it up and turning it into code. However — you will almost certainly have to work with mock-ups in some capacity as a front end web developer, even if you aren’t creating mock-ups. On the other hand, as a freelancer, or working in smaller teams, or as […]
Organizational Tools
Organization isn’t easy. What works for one person might not work for everyone else. To make matters worse, there are about a billion and two tools out there — it can be really tough figuring out what’s worth your time.
Fixed Position Click-to-Call Mobile Phone Number Code
The code here helps you show, for your mobile website only, a mobile phone number stuck at the top of the site, following the user as they scroll down the page. The HTML <span class=”desktop-phone”>(555) 555-5555</span> <a id=”floating-mobile-phone” href=”tel:+15555555555″>(555) 555-5555</a> The CSS /* ======================== mobile phone ======================== */ a#floating-mobile-phone { display:none; } @media only screen and (max-width:600px) { a#floating-mobile-phone { /*theming-related: colors, fonts, sizing, etc. edit at will*/ background-color:#558a93; color:#fff; text-align:center; font-size:18px; /*positioning-related: don’t edit unless you’re css-confident*/ display:block; position:fixed; top:0; left:0; width:100%; z-index:9999; } }
Local Development for Beginning Developers
Local development is the practice of using your local machine to develop websites or web applications. Didn’t know you could do that? Sure you can. A web server is basically a big, powerful computer — and you can install software and similar that can help you turn your local computer into a place where you can develop websites.
Web Design and Development Workflow
This is a post describing my workflow for creating a website from scratch. It’s not necessarily right, just descriptive of what I do. If you see any flaws or potential areas of improvement, please let me know. This is primarily relevant to personal projects, where I do exactly what I want regardless of what anyone else wants out of me. This is not likely to succeed in environments where you’re working on a team! Added — this isn’t really step-by-step. Sometimes I’ll go back to Photoshop after doing the colors in code to design some specific things. I definitely doodle […]
General Speed and Efficiency Tips
In real life, I’m frequently asked how I get fast at things on the computer. This guide addresses some common tips for speeding up at general computer use for beginners.
Ways to Implement Social Media Sharing Icons on a Website (Benefits & Drawbacks)
If you run a blog, adding sharing icons is a good thing to do. Encouraging others to share your content via social media broadens your reach, and can expose your content to new audiences. From a user standpoint, I personally prefer sharing icons to be embedded on a page because I don’t always know what to say about an article or resource I’m sharing. Having that content pre-written for me is really nice! Making sharing easy for people is the best approach — someone can share your stuff within a matter of clicks. Much easier than a couple clicks, a […]
