Recommended links for designing, coding, and writing for the web and email


Blog posts vs. social posts

“Whereas the inertia for a social post quickly losses steam as the algorithm prioritizes novelty, blog posts slowly build steam...”

Diagram of the different kinds of indie web

A great visual showing the different kinds of indie websites and how they connect to each other, each linked with more details.

Don't forget - you're making web pages

“Strive to produce code that is valid and only as complex as it needs to be.”

Let's take back the web!

“...our lives are full of shitty ads, we’re being tracked wherever we go and someone else is controlling the content we see...”

Don't lie to me about Web 2.0

How Web 2.0 is typically viewed as an evolution of Web 1.0 vs how it should actually be viewed.

My approach to alt text

Some good tips, and ideas for providing context for images through their alt text.

What the internet looked like in 1994, according to 15 webpages born that year

“The earliest web pages are a far cry from today’s cyber wastelands.”

Finding the indie web is hard

How connections on the web work and how we can help connect indie websites to each other.

The time for designers to learn to code is now

“The thing to remember about learning HTML and CSS is that they are web standards and will long outlive Figma, Adobe XD and Sketch.”

Publishing AI slop is a choice

Google has chosen to erode the trust that they have built up in search just so they can avoid accusations that they’re “behind”.

Apple’s momentary lapse of reason

A good summation of Apple’s Crush ad from Ken Segall, a former ad creative of some classic Apple ads.

Web forms for everyone

What designers and developers can do to make their forms accessible and improve everyone's user experience as consequence.

CSS button styles you might now know

A great short dive into all button options including touch action for mobile devices.

Creator economy trap: why building on someone else's platform is a dead end

The reason I decide to (re)launch Indie Aisle. I would add that you should use tools, resources, and other people to help develop your site. Work with a designer, a developer, a template, a system. BUT understand how it all works together and how you can make changes if you need to.

The joy of incremental website improvements

Making incremental website improvements give me warm fuzzies. It’s like each update fills in a piece of my being.

How to Favicon in 2024: Six files that fit most needs

Straightforward favicons: classic .ico, homescreen graphic, and SVG version. Plus support for a PWA with a manifest file and a couple more PNG’s.

The internet isn't dying, it's changing

“What we have now is an opening to allow smaller, decentralized communities to flourish.”

Web Independence

“Every new thing that I add to my website works to regain my internet presence away from companies that do not have my interests at heart.”

Which CSS framework should I use?

I feel the same way about CSS frameworks as in this post, they're all made up of too much code than I generally need.

The Apple Vision Pro is NOT what you think it is

I’ve watched quite a few Vision Pro video reviews the last couple of weeks. This one’s probably my favorite.

If you can't find it, it needs to be written

A good way to think about your blog posts.

More than blogrolls

How to help blog discovery beyond just having a blogroll.

The art of hyperlinking

Some great thoughts on linking etiquette: common ways links are shared and what to think about when sharing a link.

Reply by email

An alternative method to having comments on your blog: a reply by email button to start a discussion via email.

The internet is about to get weird again

The fallout of social media platforms is going to lead to a web reminiscent of the early days where people put up their own websites and blogs.

The new CSS

As CSS continues to evolve, designers are designing directly in CSS because of limitations with traditional design tools.

How to create a responsive grid system with CSS Grid

Setting up a simple CSS grid system for your site.

The grain of the web

Rather than fighting the nature of how the platform works, we can lean into each part of the stacks strengths.

Hex colors aren’t great at anything except being popular

Using HSL and RGB as color alternatives to hex on the web.

Is the internet the only place we can truly be ourselves?

Social media has made us think that people aren't being themselves online. This article makes the case that the internet may be the one place where we are able to try and be as much of ourselves as we can be.

Wake up every day, consumed by You, Inc

Getting into the practice of thinking about your own venture as a way to get better at doing it so you're better-prepared for when the big important decisions come along.

Data VS intuition

On how we should use data.

Why you should have a blog (and write in it)

You should have your own place on the internet.

Validation is a mirage

Truth is, you don’t know, you won’t know, you’ll never know until you know and reflect back on something real.

Marketers are addicted to bad data

Until leaders can lead on the strength of their conviction and experience instead of second guessing themselves and their staff based on the inadequacy of data.

That squiggle of the design process

The process of design from a great height.

This page is designed to last

A manifesto for preserving content on the web.

What doesn't seem like work

How you should pay attention to the things someone else considers work but you don't. Those are the things you have interest in, are good at, and can make a living from!

The bus ticket theory of genius

Everyone knows that to do great work you need both natural ability and determination. But there's a third ingredient that's not as well understood: an obsessive interest in a particular topic.

A declaration of the independence of cyberspace

I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind.

Designing a studio for ideas

A prototype iPad app for reading, thinking, and developing ideas.

Having your smartphone nearby takes a toll on your thinking

This is why I started hiding my phone in my desk while working!

Design machines

Great piece on how we present content on the web.

35 interface innovations that rocked our world

Compiled by Xerox, the company that essentially invented the GUI.

20 years of Impulse Tracker

I never programmed any music myself, but I sure listened to a lot of MODs when I was a kid and I’m sure a lot of them were written with Impulse Tracker.

It's pronounced Jif not Gif

David Karp, founder of Tumblr, presents Steve Wilhite, inventor of the GIF, with the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Roads and crossroads of the internet history

The growth of the internet is not a fluke or a fad, but the consequence of unleashing the power of individual creativity.

Hypercard and the invention of the web

I remember using HyperCard as a kid at school, amazed by what I could do with it. Later I started building websites with the same enthusiasm. Even though I only used it for a brief amount of time, I think it’s what inspired me to do what I would be doing for a long time!

Mod love

Free to all comers, facilitated by the growth of the Internet, mod tracking offers a gateway into the world of professional-quality music production that anyone can pass through. And even though mod tracking is no magic wand it does remove key obstacles along the road to self-expression.

Steve Jobs on programming, craftsmanship, software, and the Web

Highlights from Steve Jobs in The Lost Interview.