Sharpening the Blades: Website Usability, Analytiks and impress.js
Master Sensei,on the topic of  Apple, Browsers, Business, Design, JavaScript, Project Management, Tools, Usability, Web Development
01.10.2012   |   3comment

Mashable 22 Essential Tools for TestingChad, 22 Tools for Testing Your Websites Usability
One thing that we here at Code Greene have been trying to do is pushing our limits by getting faster and better at development. But with this we have realized that we need to help the pursued the client to get the best site they can. These clients come to us with an idea and they know their industry well, but it is our job and responsibility to take their ideas and build it in a way that is needed to give the end user what they want and need quickly.

Luke, Analytiks iPhone App
A little while ago I stumbled upon this little app for my iPhone. For those of us that don’t sign in to our Google Analytics often but know we should this app will be very valuable. Analytiks shows me just the important information I’d like to know about my websites on my phone. I can check it quick and get back to whatever else is going on that day. The interface is quite nice. I would ditch the rusted sign look myself but other than that it is fantastic. It is 99 cents in the app store.

Impress JSBenjam, impress.js
It’s not much in the way of content, but the way that content is displayed. It’s simple… yet eye catching and very intriguing. Makes me very excited about where the web is heading.

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Helpful jQuery Tricks, Notes, and Best Practices Part I
Brian,on the topic of  Browsers, JavaScript, jQuery, Tools, Usability, Web Development
12.16.2011   |   1comment

If there is one bad thing about jQuery, it’s that the entry level is so amazingly low, that it tends to attract those who haven’t an ounce of JavaScript knowledge. Now, on one hand, this is fantastic. However, on the flip side, it also results in a smattering of, quite frankly, disgustingly bad code (no one is immune to this). But that’s okay; frighteningly poor code that would even make your grandmother gasp is a rite of passage. The key is to climb over the hill, and that’s what we’ll discuss today. continue reading “Helpful jQuery Tricks, Notes, and Best Practices Part I”

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Sharpening the Blades: Firebug and Landing Pages
Master Sensei,on the topic of  Browsers, Business, Design, Tools, Usability, Web Development
11.08.2011   |   0comment

Chad, Firebug Guide for Web Designers
Firebug is one of the most common developer tools used out there. I know that for me it is something I use to try to discover what is going on with a clients site and try to give some insight to the developer to fix it. So last week I came across a great article that gives a good introduction to using firebug.

Mark, Your Landing Page Sucks!
When we do our planning here at Code Greene we always wait until the end to do the homepage with our clients. The homepage of any website in my opinion is often the very most important page of the site. The homepage acts sort of like the grand unification of the website. I see the purpose of the homepage is to be a place that user’s initial reaction is “oh this is a good site” and secondly its used to point them to the most important parts of the site. In some cases a site can be really flat and the homepage  or landing page may do almost all the work of the site, in those cases it has to be perfect. Recently I saw an article on landing pages and thought it further delved into some good examples. Check it out and rethink your homepage or landing page if it sucks.

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Internet Explorer Drops Below 50 Percent Market Share…So What
Chad,on the topic of  Browsers, Web Development
11.04.2011   |   1comment

I remember when surfing the web consisted of either using Netscape or Internet Explorer. Those that were new used “AOL” and the great joke was that at least I used a browser that supported JavaScript. Oh how the times have changed, and they have changed for the better. The tools we use today to build websites are better, more powerful, and are built to accommodate what the public wants. With better and more powerful tools to build websites, the browsers have to keep up and for the most part they have.

When I heard the news that IE has dropped just below 50 percent market share on the desktops, I reflected on when I started to develop for the web. When I started web development seriously, I was working for the Davis School District in Utah. We were required to use IE5, but when IE5.5 came out I was so excited. So hearing this news brought back memories (some good and some bad). continue reading “Internet Explorer Drops Below 50 Percent Market Share…So What”

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how to win your boyfriend back
Mark,on the topic of  Apple, Browsers, Business, Design, Tools, Usability
10.28.2011   |   0comment

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I recently read a series of articles on smart phones and tablet devices in The Economist and saw some pretty interesting statistics. Smart phone use worldwide is projected to grow 20x in the next 8 years from 1 to 20 Billion, and right now 1 in 4 Americans have smart phones.  Tablet devices are likewise expected to grow really fast as well

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. On a small side note, I initially thought, how can the iPad be really any different than an iPhone when they mostly run the same apps? But everyone I talk to seems to feel the larger experience is a reinvention they love, so I anticipate a lot of growth here as well.

What all this has meant to us at Code Greene is that finally more and more of our customers are asking us to design and build for these devices in addition to regular browsers. It has been our philosophy to not venture down dark and lonely roads, so we will often sit back a little to see where new technologies are headed before diving into a pool with potentially only one foot of water in it. Admittedly there have been times we’ve missed waves, but there are other times we’ve ended up saving ourselves a lot of wasted energy. We are at the point that cross device compatibility is now a well lit path we are going to travel on. continue reading “how to win your boyfriend back”

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Sharpening The Blades: Texture on the Web & JavaScript Powering Linux
Master Sensei,on the topic of  Browsers, Design, JavaScript, Linux, Tools, Usability
10.25.2011   |   0comment

Art and The Web Texture

Mark, Art and The Web Texture
I thought this was a nice article and analysis of Textures by Nick Petite. Though to many people texture may seem like a subtle thing we feel it is an important part of a website for creating the right mood. The thing that Nick points out is how much more dynamic a website can seem once a more interesting texture is added. In web design, I personally really like the layered texture strategies because it helps to neutralize an otherwise potentially overbearing texture, Nick covers the gambit of options and provides some examples, check it out.

JavaScript Powers Linux In A BrowserBrian, JavaScript Powers Linux In A Browser
I get asked all the time ‘Why Linux?’ and ‘How lightweight it is?’. My usual reply references how Ive seen a Linux web server run off a 2GB thumb drive, but this article trumps even that. With all the overhead the operating systems of today require, people usually assume a servers absolute minimum is even higher. Running Linux in a client-side script like this just blows my mind!

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CSS3 PIE and WordPress
Luke,on the topic of  Browsers, JavaScript, WordPress
10.20.2011   |   3comment

We all love CSS3 and the things we can do with it. It is saddening when a client opens up the site you just coded and doesn’t see all the CSS3 goodness because they are using some version of IE. Frequently, CSS3 PIE has saved me from the client saying: “Why don’t the buttons have the rounded corners like your design?”

CSS3 PIE makes some CSS3 features work in IE6 – 9. It supports border-radius, box-shadow, and linear-gradient. It works great and is super easy to set up. Unless you use it in WordPress. After some Google searching, a fair amount of testing, and a lot of grumbling I got it working in a WordPress site. It is really simple. I hope that this will save others from some headache.

1. Put the PIE.htc file in the WP Root directory and then reference it in your css as – behavior: url(“PIE.htc”);
2. All the elements that use CSS3 features will need either position: relative or position: block on them

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Sharpening the Blades: Useful Tweets
Tim,on the topic of  Browsers, CakePHP, PHP, Web Development
09.03.2010   |   0comment

Below are some tweets that I have seen recently that I have found to be helpful.

Smashing Magazine – HTML5/CSS3 Cheatsheet – http://bit.ly/aj0yfA

Ben Ludman – URL shorteners and CakePHP – Snook.ca http://bit.ly/btTmSP

And this site – HTML5 Doctor – I couldn’t track down the tweet that I found it from, but it is a great resource for HTML5.

I looked for some tweets about Magento, but just couldn’t find any that were appealing.

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Recent Work: 3M iPad Site
Tim,on the topic of  Apple, Browsers, Portfolio
08.11.2010   |   0comment

Rare Method came to us with a specific need for their client 3M. They wanted to have a website built that felt like a native iPad app but without the development costs and time associated with building a native iPad app.

The need for this site stemmed from feedback from 3M sales reps. The reps didn’t want to continue to carry around heavy laptops to just show a couple of videos, so 3M provided iPads to accomplish this feat. Rare Method was involved in the execution and design and we provided a solution to their problem.

We knew the site would have a fixed height and width since this was only going to be on the iPad and not used anywhere else. We coded up the site and embedded the videos using the HTML5 <video> tag. There were advantages to this but also disadvantages. If the rep was in a spot with shady WiFi or typical AT&T coverage, then the videos would load slowly.

We also built other pages the reps could use in their sales pitch as well as a contact form that the client could fill out if they were interested.

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Sharpening the Blades: Redesign v. Realign and Better Buttons with CSS3
Master Sensei,on the topic of  Browsers, Design, Usability, Web Development
06.01.2010   |   0comment

After some time off, the Sharpening the Blades series is back with two front-end/design articles.

Luke, Redesign v. Realign
I really liked this article. As designers when we are approached by a client we always start to redesign their project. Sometimes all they want is a realign though. This article defines what a redesign is and what a realign is. The way each is approached is different and when they are followed I think it will lead to more happy clients. The hard part is defining when each is needed. This article will help with that. Web designers give this a read.

Mike, Better Buttons with CSS3
With better browser support, CSS3 is finally starting to get some traction. While IE is still emerging from the dark ages, there’s no reason we can’t start using CSS3. Web Designer Wall recently published an article on creating web buttons with nothing more than CSS. Even though rounded corners, gradients, text shadows, and box shadows aren’t all supported, your buttons will look fantastic for browsers that do, and perfectly usable for the ones that don’t.

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