CSS Archive

Responsive Design: Why You’re Doing It Wrong

February 22nd, 2012 11 Comments

Responsive design isn’t a fad that arose because of a cool CSS technique, it’s an answer to a problem. Always remember that and constantly ask yourself whether or not you’re really adequately addressing that problem. If you’re using copy and paste to insert your media query breakpoints, your solution might be flawed.

Let’s discuss why media queries exist and how we can leverage them to truly solve the quandary of the ubiquitous web. Let’s talk about why you should let your content determine the breakpoints of a layout, not hypothetical screen sizes.

4 Fun CSS Image Effects You Can Copy and Paste

February 16th, 2012 8 Comments

Once upon a time we relied purely on Photoshop to create fancy image effects. These days though we’re turning more and more to pure CSS to add eye candy to our images. Applying custom image treatments using code makes for an infinitely flexible workflow that’s easy to tweak at any time.

Today I’ll walk you through creating some extremely simple and fun CSS image tricks. From polaroids to vignettes, you won’t believe what we can pull off.

Twitter Bootstrap 2: Bootstrap Goes Responsive

February 15th, 2012 11 Comments

Recently, we published a piece titled 5 Incredibly Useful Tools Built Into Twitter Bootstrap, which took a look at the basic structure of Twitter’s Bootstrap framework and walked you through implementing some of the major components.

Twitter just released Bootstrap 2.0, an update so large it equates to a near full rewrite. There are quite a few new features and toys to play with, but the real headliner is that the framework is now fully responsive. Join us as we dig in to see how the new grid works and what other cool new features have been added. You’ll learn how to implement Bootstrap in your projects and will also pick up some extremely handy CSS techniques that you can use anywhere.

Three Super Easy Ways to Pull Off a Masonry Layout

February 8th, 2012 9 Comments

Masonry style layouts push the boundaries of creative layout techniques. I personally love how capable they prove to be at maximizing the efficiency of galleries containing items with varying heights. Every bit of screen space is used and the result can be downright mesmerizing.

Today we’re going to dive into the concept, ideas and popular techniques that are currently prevalent in masonry style layouts. We’ll learn three different methods for pulling off a masonry layout, discuss the ins and outs of each and make sure that the result is beautifully responsive and reflows based on browser width.

Convert a Pricing Table PSD to HTML and CSS

February 7th, 2012 9 Comments

Today we’re going to grab some PSD pricing tables from Design Curate and try to convert them to pure CSS so you can easily drop them into your site.

It’ll be a super basic but fun exercise in bringing a static design to the web and you’ll learn plenty of fun stuff along the way such as how to style hr tags a create a superscript effect.

Code a Useful Expanding Vertical Navigation Menu

February 6th, 2012 9 Comments

Today we have yet another awesome step-by-step CSS project for you! This time around we’re going to build a super useful expanding vertical navigation menu. It’s a great way to hide a lot of links in a fairly small space and the animations will add a nice touch to your site.

Even if you’re a complete beginner, you should be able to pull this off. I’ll guide you along every step of the way and explain how each chunk of code works so you can implement these same techniques in future projects and deepen your understanding of CSS. Let’s get started!

5 Online Playgrounds for HTML, CSS and JavaScript Compared

February 3rd, 2012 6 Comments

Local coding environments are great, but it’s often the case that I don’t want to crack open Espresso and spend a few minutes setting up to code when all I really want is to test out an idea or work on a bug. Also, sharing options for most local coding apps are limited and typically require integrating an outside app like Dropbox.

Online playgrounds or sandboxes such as jsFiddle solve this problem by providing you with an instantly ready coding environment for you to begin experimenting in as soon as the page loads. These tools let you combine CSS, HTML and often even JavaScript to create and share coding examples. I’m completely addicted to these things and have extensively tested every one I can get my hands on. Today I’ll go over my five favorites and discuss not only why what I like about each option, but also where they fall short.

Code an Awesome Animated Download Button With CSS3

January 30th, 2012 11 Comments

Follow along as we create a simple and fun download button using some fancy CSS3. Our button will use lots of fun goodies including border-radius, box-shadow, linear-gradients, z-index and transitions to achieve a unique double sliding drawer effect on hover.

As we go, I’ll discuss why some techniques that you might think to use should be avoided. Transitions are tricky to work with and are quite prone to refuse to work with certain properties. Read on to find out more.

Jumpstart Your Web Project With HTML KickStart

January 24th, 2012 14 Comments

Recently, we took a look at a really solid framework from the good folks at Twitter called Bootstrap. This toolkit is a swiss army knife of utilities and includes both a functional layout grid and enough pre-styled elements to get a great jumpstart on any project.

Today we’re going to look at a very similar tool from Joshua Gatcke called HTML KickStart. This framework is simply overflowing with great stuff that will enable you to build web page prototypes at light speed. Let’s jump in and build a page with it to see what we think.

Nailing Browser Support in CSS3 and HTML5: Invaluable Resources to Use Today

January 23rd, 2012 3 Comments

New technologies are making web development more exciting than ever before. HTML5 and CSS3 provide a double dose of modern practices that are absolutely refreshing and empowering. Unfortunately, utilizing these technologies can considerably complicate your quest for cross browser compatibility.

How can you know which techniques are safe to use now and which you should either provide alternatives to or avoid altogether? Join us as we take a look at a handful of our favorite resources that quickly and easily help you make informed decisions about real world HTML5 and CSS3 implementation.