Blogs about web-design:

Fantastic Tabs.

7.31.2010

This X/HTML and CSS technique differentiates the current page or section from others in a navigation bar, using a single stylesheet and without requiring any server side code. In the iframe below, "Home", "About" and "Contact" are different pages, each sharing the same CSS file. Click the different tabs and note that the current tab remains highlighted during navigation.

Read more about it in my article here.

Dynamically Adding a JavaScript Element.

7.21.2010

This bit of JavaScript will allow you to dynamically add a JavaScript element (which will execute) into a document's head.

var theScript = document.createElement("script"); theScript.type = "text/javascript"; theContent = document.createTextNode("alert('hi')"); theScript.appendChild(theContent); document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(theScript);

First, we prepare a new script element using createElement(). We then create the text that will be our executing JavaScript, and insert it into the script element. Last, we append the new script element to the end of the first head element in the document.

Why would we want to use JavaScript to edit the HTML to add JavaScript? Clients.

Domain Jokes.

4.20.2010

Web domain names are not case sensitive. This has lead to some hilarious results in choosing a domain. I just happen to have a list of some sub-optimal choices. (Read them a couple of times to find the jokes.)

  • WhoRepresents.com
  • TherapistFinder.com
  • PenIsland.com
  • PowerGenItalia.com
  • ExpertsExchange.com (This is my favorite example, because they should know better.)

Do you know any I've missed?

Browser Support.

4.7.2010

There was an interesting discussion about browser support in Boagworld's panel at the 2009 SXSW conference. (Start listening at about 44 minutes into the podcast. Yes, yes, I'm a little behind in my podcasts.)

When asked when web designers would no longer have to support IE6, Jeremy Keith rejected the very premise of the question - that "supporting" a browser was a simple "yes" or "no" decision. He argued that lessened functionality was OK in older browsers, and that no browser should be denied access to your content.

In my opinion, designing a site which degrades nicely while only testing in a few modern and high-traffic browsers is definitely the way to go.

Opera Mini on the iPhone.

3.26.2010

Those folks at Opera appear to have an abundance of chutzpah. Not only did they port their web browser to the iPhone (it's wicked fast, too), they've also posted a giant timer showing how long it's been since they submitted the app to Apple. (Apple is notorious for not approving apps which duplicate existing iPhone functionality.) The big question is, does it have Flash?

Remaining blogs about web-design: