An Introduction to Web Usability

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Web Design

The main reason web sites are built is so that they are functional to be USED. It’s a simple as that. They are tools, references and resources, nothing more. And as web designers, we need to always remember that.
Designing a web site needs to be about the user and only for the user and every possible need of said user has to have been foreseen and catered for. Only then can a web site be usable. That is what USABILITY is.
Ok, that might be the worst description of web usability that you have ever read, but I am sure you get the point. Usability is important. Very important. The most important.

10 Apps to Optimize and Format CSS

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CSS, Web Design

Why would you ever need to optimize (or optimise, which ever spelling you prefer) or reFormat your CSS? Optimizing your CSS will not only allow your web page to load quicker, it also increases the durabilty and resilience of your site when there is a spike in visitors (i.e. the Digg effect) and, for me, the most importantly part is that it gives you more readable code (I am a very messy code writer).

CSS References, Cheat Sheets, Conversion Tables and Short Codes

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CSS, Web Design

Werther you are a CSS guru or a CSS novice you will always need some help, some resources, some tutorials, some references and, of course, some cheat sheets. In this article we have collected the best resources for answering all possible CSS questions as well as how to understand CSS and how to use it properly. There are also CSS property references, cheat sheets, not only typical cheat sheets, but also cheat sheets for CSS frameworks, conversion tables and CSS short hand.

25 Last Minute Traditional and Downloadable Halloween Masks

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Web Design

Have you remembered your Halloween mask? If you haven’t, we have a cheap and cheerful solution to your problem: Downloadable traditional Halloween masks. Yep, click on any of the mask images below and press ‘print’, and hey presto you have your very own DIY Halloween mask, you will be the envy of everybody (not, really!).

Five Free Social Bookmarking Icons for our Readers

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Icons, UI

If you have followed this design magazine for a while, you will know how much we love well designed icons, especially the free variety. So, when Iconshock offered us the opportunity to have an icon-set exclusively designed for our readers, we jamp at the chance.

The Blueprint Framework – Tutorials, How-to Guides and Tools

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CSS, Framework, Web Design

CSS frameworks are a Gods send. They speed up development, ensure usability, meet all W3C standards, compatabile across most browsers and a hell of a lot more. Sounds marvelous doesn’t it. Why doesn’t everybody use them? Well, for the novice developer, frameworks, may be a little bit tricky to get there head around? That is were this article comes in, to hopefully give everybody a better understanding of what a framework is and how to use it effectively.