author

SmashingMagazine

Dive into the latest articles on web design and development from Smashing Magazine, a must-read for web professionals.

April 2, 2025  12:00:00
In this article, Edoardo Dusi shares the engineering and architectural choices made by the team at Storyblok and how real-world migration challenges were addressed using modern PHP practices.
March 31, 2025  13:00:00
The beginning of the new month is the perfect opportunity to give your desktop a makeover. If you’re looking for some beautiful and unique wallpapers to cater for a bit of inspiration this April, well, this post has got you covered.
March 28, 2025  09:00:00
Companies have been turning their attention to “synthetic,” AI-driven user testing. However, as convenient as it might seem, it’s dangerous, expensive, and usually diminishes user value. Let’s take a closer look at why exactly it is problematic and how we can argue against it to make a case for UX research with real users. Part of [Smart Interface Design Patterns](https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com) by yours truly.
March 27, 2025  13:00:00
HTML `
March 21, 2025  08:00:00
You probably already know that you can use developer tools in your browser to make on-the-spot changes to a webpage — simply click the node in the Inspector and make your edits. But have you tried `document.designMode`? Victor Ayomipo explains how it can be used to preview content changes and demonstrates several use cases where it comes in handy for everything from basic content editing to improving team collaboration.
March 17, 2025  10:00:00
Some critics question the agnostic nature of Web Components, with some even arguing that they are not real components. Gabriel Shoyomboa explores this topic in-depth, comparing Web Components and framework components, highlighting their strengths and trade-offs, and evaluating their performance.
March 13, 2025  08:00:00
Have you thought about the security risks WordPress websites face? Anders Johansson explores why they are frequent hacker targets and shares how WordPress SQL injection attacks work and how to remove and prevent them.
March 11, 2025  15:00:00
UX initiatives are often seen as a disruption rather than a means to solving existing problems in an organization. In this post, we’ll explore how you can build trust for your UX work, gain support, and make a noticeable impact. Part of [Measure UX and Design Impact](https://measure-ux.com/) by yours truly.
March 6, 2025  10:00:00
Struggling with slow Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)? Newly introduced by Google, LCP subparts help you pinpoint where page load delays come from. Now, in the Chrome UX Report, this data provides real visitor insights to speed up your site and boost rankings. Matt Zeunert unpacks what LCP subparts are, what they mean for your website speed, and how you can measure them.
March 3, 2025  08:00:00
Modern frameworks are supposed to help speed up development while providing modern tools and a developer-friendly workflow. In reality, Kevin Leary has found that they cause far more problems than they solve. This ultimately leads to the big question: why are modern theme frameworks so popular, and do they really benefit developers in the long run?
February 28, 2025  13:00:00
Do you need a little inspiration boost? Well, then our new batch of desktop wallpapers is for you. Designed by the community for the community, the wallpapers in this collection are the perfect opportunity to get your desktop ready for spring — and, who knows, maybe they’ll spark some new ideas, too. Enjoy!
February 26, 2025  10:00:00
Effective data storytelling isn’t a black box. By integrating UX research & psychology, you can craft more impactful and persuasive narratives. Victor Yocco and Angelica Lo Duca outline a five-step framework that provides a roadmap for creating data stories that resonate with audiences on both a cognitive and emotional level.
February 19, 2025  10:00:00
Eduard Kuric discusses the significance and role of context in the creation of relevant follow-up questions for unmoderated usability testing, how an AI tasked with interactive follow-up should be validated for its capability to incorporate such context, and what the potential — along with the risks — of AI interaction in usability testing.
February 18, 2025  08:00:00
The OWASP vulnerabilities list is the perfect starting point for web developers looking to strengthen their security expertise. Let’s discover how these vulnerabilities materialize in full-stack web applications and how to prevent them.
February 13, 2025  08:00:00
The goal of content design is to reduce confusion and improve clarity. Yet often it’s difficult to pinpoint a problem as user feedback tends to be not specific enough. But: we can use a few simple techniques to assess how users understand and perceive content. Let’s take a look. Part of [How To Measure UX & Design Impact](https://measure-ux.com/) by yours truly.
February 12, 2025  17:00:00
Optimizing web performance means looking beyond surface-level metrics. Time to First Byte (TTFB) is crucial, but improving it requires more than tweaking server response time. Matt Zeunert breaks down what TTFB is, what causes its poor score, and why reducing server response time alone isn’t enough for optimization and often won’t be the most impactful change you can make to your website.
February 7, 2025  13:00:00
Tomasz Jakut reflects on the evolution of web design, from the days of table-based layouts and Flash games to the rise of responsive web design (RWD), which often feels like the end of history in web layout. But as 2025 marks the 15th anniversary of Ethan Marcotte’s article, it’s worth asking whether something significant happened after RWD — something so seamless that it went almost unnoticed.
February 4, 2025  08:00:00
In today’s web development landscape, the concept of a monolithic application has become increasingly rare. Modern applications are composed of multiple specialized services, each of which handles specific aspects of functionality. This shift didn’t happen overnight - it’s the result of decades of evolution in how we think about and implement data transfer between systems. Let’s explore this journey and see how it shapes modern architectures, particularly in the context of headless CMS solutions.
January 31, 2025  09:30:00
Let’s make the most of the shortest of all months, with a new collection of desktop wallpapers celebrating new opportunities, sweet memories, happy little moments, and everything in between. All of them created with love by the community for the community. Enjoy!
January 30, 2025  08:00:00
Design systems play a crucial role in today’s digital landscape, providing a blueprint for consistent and user-friendly interfaces. But there’s another tool that deserves equal attention: the digital playbook.
January 29, 2025  10:00:00
It’s not always the big features that make our everyday lives easier; sometimes, it’s those ease-of-life features that truly enhance our projects. In this article, Brecht De Ruyte highlights two such features: `@starting-style` and `transition-behavior` — two properties that are absolutely welcome additions to your everyday work with CSS animations.
January 28, 2025  15:00:00
After months of anticipation, debate, and even a bit of apprehension, Svelte 5 arrived earlier this year. Frederick O’Brien caught up with its creator, Rich Harris, to talk about the path that brought him and his team here and what lies ahead.
January 21, 2025  08:00:00
Alvaro Saburido delves into the current state and challenges of Open-Source authoring, sharing lessons learned from both community- and company-driven initiatives.
January 17, 2025  08:00:00
A once-revered perk of some tech workplaces, the status of ‘side project time’ seems to have slipped in recent years. Frederick O’Brien believes it deserves a comeback.
January 16, 2025  13:00:00
Shouldn’t there be a way to keep your apps or project data private and improve performance by reducing server latency? This is what on-device AI is designed to solve. It handles AI processing locally, right on your device, without connecting to the internet and sending data to the cloud. In this article, Joas Pambou explains what on-device AI is, why it’s important, the tools to build this type of technology, and how it can change the way we use technology every day.
January 14, 2025  08:00:00
How do we determine the most suitable illustration style? How should illustrations complement and reflect your corporate identity? What will resonate most with your target audience? And regarding the content, what type of illustration would best enhance it, and how would it work for the age range it is primarily for? Thomas Bohm shares insightful examples and discusses the key qualities of effective illustrations, emphasizing the importance of understanding your audience.
January 10, 2025  14:00:00
The best and worst thing about solo development is the “solo” part. There’s a lot of freedom in working alone, and that freedom can be inspiring, but it can also become a debilitating hindrance to productivity and progress. Victor Ayomipo shares his personal lessons on what it takes to navigate solo development and build the “right” app.
January 9, 2025  13:00:00
We know that browsers do all sorts of different things under the hood. One of those things is the way they not only *fetch* resources like images and scripts from the server but how they [prioritize those resources](https://www.debugbear.com/blog/request-priorities?utm_campaign=sm-7). Chrome and Safari have implemented a “Tight Mode” that constrains which resources are loaded and in what order, but they each take drastically different approaches to it. With so little information about Tight Mode available, this article attempts a high-level explanation of what it is, what triggers it, and how it is treated differently in major browsers.
January 8, 2025  11:00:00
HTML attributes are like little instructions that we add to the markup of elements to make them do certain things or behave in certain ways. For example, most of us know that the `target` attribute with a value of `_blank` opens the link in a new tab or window. But did you know that you can use it on the `form` element, too? John Rhea presents several lesser-known uses for common HTML attributes.
January 7, 2025  14:00:00
Product drops and sales are a great way to increase revenue, but these events can result in traffic spikes that affect a site’s availability and performance. To prevent website crashes, you’ll have to make sure that the sites you design can handle large numbers of server requests at once. Let’s discuss how!
January 6, 2025  08:00:00
We, as human beings, don’t worry too much about making sure the connections land at the right point. Our brain just works that way, declaratively. However, for building AI, we need to be more explicit. Let’s dive in!
December 31, 2024  12:00:00
Searching for the most flexible front-end workflows and toolkits, it’s easy to forget how powerful some of the fundamentals on the web have become these days. This post is a journey through new front-end features and what they are capable of.
December 31, 2024  10:00:00
Maybe 2025 has already started as you’re reading this, maybe you’re still waiting for the big countdown to begin — either way, it’s never too late or too early for some New Year’s inspiration! Our new collection of desktop wallpapers has got you covered.
December 23, 2024  10:00:00
Design leaders are expected to deliver the impossible. Instead of trying, we need to redefine our role from implementor to enabler.
December 17, 2024  10:00:00
There are many ways to elevate a design project from good to incredible. For web and product designers, it’s not just about adding more animations and flair. What it truly comes down to is a reframing of your thought processes starting before the project even kicks off. Olivia De Alba presents three approaches that designers can implement and which will change the way they make their projects more successful.
December 11, 2024  15:00:00
10 years after scroll-driven animations were first proposed, they’re finally here — no JavaScript, no dependencies, no libraries, just pure CSS.
December 9, 2024  09:00:00
SVG arcs demystified! Akshay Gupta explains how to master radii, rotation, and arc direction to create stunning curves. Make arcs a powerful part of your SVG toolkit for creating more dynamic, intricate designs with confidence.
December 6, 2024  09:00:00
Few things are as frustrating to a user as when a site won’t respond. Unfortunately, it’s also an all-too-common scenario. Many websites and apps depend on so many elements that one of any number of errors could cause the whole thing to fail. As prevalent as such instances may be, they’re preventable through the practice of graceful degradation.
December 3, 2024  10:00:00
Forms are already notoriously tough to customize and style — to the extent that we’re already starting to see new ideas for more flexible control. But what we don’t often discuss is designing good-form experiences beyond validation. That’s what Jima Victor discusses in this article, focusing specifically on creating multi-step forms that involve navigation between sections.
November 30, 2024  09:00:00
December is almost here, and that means: It’s time for some new desktop wallpapers! Created with love by creatives from all around the world, they are bound to lighten up the last few weeks of the year and, who knows, maybe even spark new ideas. Enjoy!