April 27, 2018 — Is there a better way to make direct changes to your WordPress website? Yes, there is! In this article, Nick Schäferhoff will show you local WordPress development. You will learn about the benefits of building a local WordPress development environment, how to set one up and how to move your local site to the web when it’s ready. Learning how to install WordPress locally is super useful. It enables you to make site changes, run updates, test themes and plugins and more in a risk-free environment (and it’s free thanks to open source software). Read more…

April 26, 2018 — Not sure how to remove the code debt that bloats and weighs down your site? In this article, Jon Raasch will show you the quantitative benefits of optimizing page speed. This guide will give you the tools you need to convince others. Here are specific ways mobile performance impacts your site and page speed results. It’s time to change our mindset. Read more…

April 25, 2018 — Ever find yourself writing the same code over and over again? Sharing code between projects is vital to building software faster, while making your code base simpler to maintain and develop over time. However, the overhead of splitting repositories, refactoring projects, and modifying components from different projects can make it hard to effectively collaborate and share your code. In this article, Jonathan Saring shares his and his team’s lessons learned from their own journey towards simple and effective code sharing. Read more…

April 24, 2018 — Creating a team who can work well together across different disciplines can be hard. Given the wide range of skills held by the line-up at the upcoming SmashingConf Toronto, Rachel Andrew solicits some suggestions from the speakers. She’s wrapped those up with her own experience of 20 years working alongside designers and other developers. Read more…

April 24, 2018 — Today, Vitaly Friedman invites you to join us at SmashingConf Freiburg and explore failures as well as lessons learned from real-life web projects. With Aarron Walter, Tammy Everts, Seb Lee-Delisle, Josh Clark, and many others. Happening September 10–11: Mark your calendars! Read more…

April 23, 2018 — Project goals, processes, and responsibilities should be clear to everyone on your team. Don’t focus on a unique design per se, unless that’s the main feature of your product, and collaborate with other designers whenever possible. When two people are thinking about the same problem, they will deliver better ideas. In this article, Boyan Kostov shares his story and lessons learned from redesigning a digital interior design shop. Read more…

April 20, 2018 — Data tells us that there are more mobile than desktop web visits. However, mobile conversion rates are still lagging behind those on desktop. As more mobile visitors flock to your website, every step leading to conversion needs to be optimized for convenience, speed and security. If your checkout is not adeptly designed to mobile users’ specific needs and expectations, you’re going to find that those conversion rates drop or shift back to desktop. In this article, Suzanne Scacca will dig into why your mobile visitors are willing to ditch their purchases altogether. Read more…

April 19, 2018 — Not all developers are aware of how useful React Native actually is. Here are some tips on how to create an audio and video recording app by using Expo development tools. In this article, Oleh Mryhlod will share some insights about the high-level capabilities of React Native and the products you can develop with it in a short period of time. By the end of this guide, you should have all the necessary knowledge to create video/audio recording functionality with React Native. Let’s get into it. Read more…

April 18, 2018 — In this article, Ricky Onsman brings you a list of current podcast for web designers and developers that our Smashing community listens to. We had what can only be called a very strong response both in number and in passion, and we’re pretty sure that any web designer or developer will find a few podcasts in this lot that will suit their particular listening tastes. Read more…

April 17, 2018 — What do data-driven personas look like, and how do you make one? Creating personas based on actual user data is a great way to build internal consensus, improve your product’s UX, and make your design team more effective. But it is a challenging project that takes time and dedication. In this article, Tim Noetzel will show you how to create and use data-driven personas to improve your design process. Read more…