Building an elegant API is not an end in itself; you need developers to use it. Your documentation needs to get them up to speed quickly with what your API is, what it does, and how to use it or you risk losing their attention. In this piece, Diana Lakatos offers a wealth of excellent advice on how to properly document an API.
Topic: Code
Yes, That Web Project Should Be a PWA
A Progressive Web App (PWA) is a website with special powers. Despite what you might have heard, most websites—and, more importantly, their readers—can benefit from becoming PWAs. And it’s so easy! New A List Apart editor-in-chief Aaron Gustafson explains.
Web Maintainability Industry Survey: How Do We Maintain?
Maintenance is an ever-present aspect of web development, but there simply isn’t much data about what we do industry-wide. To uncover what developers consider best practices and great resources, we’re all taking the (very short!) Great Web Maintainability Survey from Jens Oliver Meiert.
Fait Accompli: Agentive Tech Is Here
Artificial Intelligence is an extremely hot topic. The process in which everyday devices become more aware of our needs and “learn” to adapt to those needs will play a big part in the future of user experience. In this excerpt from Designing Agentive Technology, AI That Works for People Chris Noessel, examines agentive technology and how it works in behalf of the user.
Practical CSS Grid: Adding Grid to an Existing Design
CSS Grid is here—and easier than you might expect. Eric Meyer shows us how to use Grid on an existing design without breaking things for non-grid browsers. With pictures! Also a couple of gotchas.
Using HTTP/2 Responsibly: Adapting for Users
Depending on your audience’s capabilities, a site optimized for HTTP/2 may be detrimental for a segment of your users. Jeremy Wagner shows us how adaptive content delivery can improve site performance caused by incompatible browsers.
Considering How We Use HTTP/2
HTTP/2 is a rough experience on incompatible browsers. Jeremy Wagner explains the true extent of real-world performance problems, and how to adapt delivery of site assets to a user’s connection.
Learning from Lego: A Step Forward in Modular Web Design
It’s time to reexamine the toys in your conceptual toy box. When you see how to make web components modular down to the elements level, you may leave the Russian nesting doll metaphor and start to envision content blocks as Lego bricks. Samantha Zhang calls it a game changer.
The Coming Revolution in Email Design
Email isn’t just evolving—it’s staging a coup. More and more designers are coming up with exciting new ways of bringing effects like animation and interactivity to the humble inbox. Crucially, for the first time, email client vendors like Microsoft and Google are listening to concerns voiced by email professionals. The web is leaking into the inbox, writes Jason Rodriguez. Don’t get left behind.
JavaScript for Web Designers: DOM Scripting
JavaScript’s ability to access and modify elements on the page is undeniable, and the Document Object Model is an essential component of that. In this excerpt from Mat Marquis’ new book, JavaScript for Web Designers, Mat shows us how to manhandle the DOM to get better results from our scripts.
