Are you fascinated by dynamic data? Do you go green with envy when you see tweets pulled magically into websites? Trust me, I’ve been there. The goal of today’s tutorial is to create a simple Web app for grabbing movie posters from TMDb. We’ll use jQuery and the user’s input to query a JSON-based API and deal with the returned data appropriately. I hope to convince you that APIs aren’t scary and that most of the time they can be a developer’s best friend. APIs Are The Future But, More Importantly, The Present JSON-based APIs are a hot property on the...

    In this article, we’ll explore a scoring system for rating and comparing websites, we’ll visualize those ratings using infographics, and we’ll see what data and structure this method provides for reviewing websites. How To Tell Whether A Website Is Junk We are all reviewers. We review many websites every day without even realizing it. In fact, many of us are experts at it. We don’t realize it because the whole process occurs in moments. That’s how it is....

    Many of us rely on open source tools, technologies and standards to help improve the work we do on a daily basis. None of this would however be possible without the hard work, commitment and dedication that others, just like you, have invested in giving back to the Web community over the past two decades. Modernizr, HTML5 Boilerplate and jQuery are just a few examples of well known projects which were born from a desire to put something out there that could help...

   Javascript is one of a web designer’s best friends. Learning how to use this powerful tool to its fullest potential can prove invaluable to our work and our clients. jQuery helps make JS more accessible. jQuery is a free, fast, and concise JavaScript library that allows you to efficiently write cross-browser javascript code to make Ajax requests, animate elements, manipulate the DOM, and do a variety of user interface manipulations. So today we are going to look at getting started with jQuery. This is the most popular javascript library available and has an...

    Imagine you’re playing the latest hash-tag game on Twitter when you see this friendly tweet: You might want to check your #WP site. It includes two copies of jQuery. Nothing’s broken, but loading time will be slower. You check your source code, and sure enough you see this: <script src="/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.js?ver=1.6.1" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/wp-content/plugins/some-plugin/jquery.js"></script> What...

    If you’re into WordPress development, you can’t ignore hooks for long before you have to delve into them head on. Modifying WordPress core files is a big no-no, so whenever you want to change existing functionality or create new functionality, you will have to turn to hooks. In this article, I would like to dispel some of the confusion around hooks, because not only are they the way to code in WordPress, but they also teach us a great design pattern for...

   With CSS animation now supported in both Firefox and Webkit browsers, there is no better time to give it a try. Regardless of its technical form, whether traditional, computer-generated 3-D, Flash or CSS, animation always follows the same basic principles. In this article, we will take our first steps with CSS animation and consider the main guidelines for creating animation with CSS. We’ll be working through an example, building up the animation using the principles of traditional animation. Finally, we’ll see some real-world usages. CSS Animation...

   Over the past several years, there has been a big divide between designers: those who work in print distribution and those in digital distribution. The irony is that, despite the disputes, name-calling and flat-out arguments between the two camps, their techniques and methods are far more common than many believe. Both sides of this communications field are heavily influenced by each other. Grid systems and typography now play a strong role in Web-based design, and usability and user experience play a big part in developing print material. Adobe InDesign is the...