Kick-Ass Websites

WorkAwesome – “WorkAwesome is a resource for the worker. It’s a blog for people who want to be awesome at work. It’s also a blog for people who want to find work, or simply quit work. Whether you need to know how to make a kick-ass PowerPoint presentation or survive the office Christmas party (hint: stay away from the CEO’s flirtatious wife), we’ve got it.”

Fuel Your Blogging – “Your loyal readers hang on your every word. You have a bunch of subscribers who think you’re great and can’t wait to get your next post in their inbox. Heck, WE think you’re great. Fuel Your Blogging is here to make you even better.”

Blog Action Day 2009 – “Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 will be the largest-ever social change event on the web. One day. One issue. Thousands of voices.”

The League of  Moveable Types – “We’re done with the tired old fontstacks of yesteryear. Enough with the limitations of the web, we won’t have it. It’s time to raise our standards. Here, you’ll find only the most well-made, free & open-source, @font-face ready fonts. Like any revolution, we aim to make progress, and we need help. If you want to be a part of this free, open-source type movement, you should join us and contribute. If you have any questions about The League or the movement, get in touch.”

Kick-Ass Links

Web Trend Map – “The Web Trend Map community curates meaningful link trends by choosing sources they trust.”

Ajaxload – “Ajax loading gif generator”

Google Chrome Frame – “Google Chrome Frame is an early-stage open source plug-in that seamlessly brings Google Chrome’s open web technologies and speedy JavaScript engine to Internet Explorer.”

Kick-Ass Articles / Tutorials

Get Ready for HTML 5 – “With support in Chrome, Firefox 3.5, Opera, and Safari, HTML 5 is coming at you like a runaway train. Here are some suggestions to help you prepare to get on board rather than be left at the platform or tied to the tracks.”

Learn 3 Excellent JavaScript Libraries at Once – “Let’s go with a hands-on approach today. We are going to write a tiny snippet of code in jQuery and then port it over to several different libraries. Outside of that chunk, we are going to look at how to implement some basic, necessary functionality in each of these libraries. Sounds fun? Let’s dive in!”

20+ HTML Forms Best Practices for Beginners – “Working with XHTML forms can be somewhat daunting; they not only use some niche HTML elements, but also blur the line between static content and user interaction. Let’s review some things to remember when creating your next form.”

How to Create a Valid Non-Javascript Lightbox – “I recently came across a solution on CSSPlay for a JavaScript free lightbox that uses invalid markup. So, being a sucker for a challenge, I set myself the task of creating one with valid markup and I eventually succeeded.”

40 Super-Neat JavaScript Plugins – “The right combination of JavaScript plugins can turn a simple website into a fantastic one – all while requiring minimal work on your behalf. Today, we’ll review forty of the most popular plugins available. If we missed some, let us know in the comments!”

Bulletproof @font-face syntax – “Let me introduce you to the best way to do your @font-face definitions”

11 Classic CSS Techniques Made Simple with CSS3 – “We’ve all had to achieve some effect that required an extra handful of divs or PNGs. We shouldn’t be limited to these old techniques when there’s a new age coming. This new age includes the use of CSS3. In today’s tutorial, I’ll show you eleven different time-consuming effects that can be achieved quite easily with CSS3.”

20 Useful Fireworks Tutorials for Designers – “In this article, you will discover some great Fireworks tutorials that showcase the capability of this often ignored graphic design software.”

How to Draw with HTML 5 Canvas – “Among the set of goodies in the HTML 5 specification is Canvas which is a way to programmatically draw using JavaScript. We’ll explore the ins and outs of Canvas in this article, demonstrating what is possible with examples and links.”

10 Really Helpful Traversing Functions in jQuery – “With jQuery, selecting HTML elements is laughably easy. But at times, we may wish to further refine the selection, which can be a hassle when the HTML structure is complicated. In this tutorial, we’ll explore ten ways that we can refine and extend a set of wrapped elements that we wish to operate upon.”

Wireframes and Concept: Planning a Website – “When planning a website the first important steps involve just a pen and a paper. It’s crucial to understand what we are creating and its nature. To list the purpose, the expected content and draw its structure will be our first concern.”

Search Engine Optimization 101 – “Your website may be top notch but what’s the use of an online presence if no one can find it? In this quick start guide to search engine optimization we’ll review an assortment of tactics to increase your page ranking.”

WordPress Cheat Sheet – “The number of WordPress functions can be dauntingly. Why not print a helpful cheat sheet for future reference? This one will do the trick!”

A Deeper Look at mod_rewrite for Apache – “When people think of .htaccess configuration the first thing that pops into most people’s minds is URL manipulation with mod_rewrite. People typically get frustrated with mod_rewrite’s complexity. This tutorial will walk you through everything you need to know for the most mod_rewrite tasks.”

How to Make a Light and Sleek Web Layout in Photoshop – “In this web design tutorial, we’ll create a light and sleek layout in Photoshop. We will use the 960 Grid System, and if you haven’t used it before, no problem, I will show you how it works and how it can help you design better layouts.”

Getting Clean With PHP – “Data security is important and often undervalued by designers, developers, and clients alike. Since PHP 5.2.0, data sanitization and validation has been made significantly easier with the introduction of data filtering. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at these filters, how to use them, and build a few custom functions.”

12 Fresh, Original and Unique Photoshop Tutorials – “Everyday the Photoshop community offers several new tutorials and free resources. Any and all tutorials are appreciated, sometimes though, you yearn for a tutorial that is fresh, original and unique. Something out with the norm. A chance to learn a new skill or technique and stretch your graphic design skills to the limit. In this post we have collected 12 recent Photoshop tutorials that meet that criteria.”

Why You Should Switch from Subversion to Git – “Now, this isn’t really a how-to on Git – I won’t be going over a lot of specific commands or get you up and running. This is a list of arguments on why you should be seriously considering Git if you’re currently using SVN.”

How to Debug in PHP – “This article breaks down the fundamentals of debugging in PHP, helps you understand PHP’s error messages and introduces you to some useful tools to help make the process a little less painful.”

Make Yourself Presentable – “My first time speaking professionally in public was back in 2005 at the first An Event Apart in Philadelphia. While not my first time speaking in front of a big audience, it was the first time I had to prepare a slide deck and use Keynote.”

An Ever Growing iPhone Resource Thread – “In an effort to help the community as a whole I am releasing  “An Ever Growing iPhone Resource Thread”. The point? It’s simple. We are all busy. We all need to finds things fast, learn, download and move on.”

300+ Resources to Help You Become a WordPress Expert – “Below are more than 300 resources to help you master WordPress no matter what your skill level is. Everything from premium and free themes to plugins to WP hacks and everything in between is included. If it’s possible with WordPress, it’s likely you’ll find it below.”

Roundup of Font Embedding and Replacement Techniques – “There are more options than ever for getting unique, good-lookin’ fonts into your pages. Apart from @font-face, here are your options for font embedding services and font replacement techniques.”

Guide to CSS Font Stacks: Techniques and Resources – “CSS Font stacks are one of those things that elude a lot of designers. Many stick to the basic stacks Dreamweaver auto-recommends or go even more basic by just specifying a single web-safe font. But doing either of those things means you’re missing out on some great typography options. Font stacks can make it possible to show at least some of your visitors your site’s typography exactly the way you intend without showing everyone else a default font. Read on for more information on using and creating effective font stacks with CSS.”

Create an In-Place Editing System – “Making users click through multiple pages just to edit a field is so 1999. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create an in-place editing system as found on popular sites, such as Flickr.”

10 Useful Usability Findings and Guidelines – “Everyone would agree that usability is an important aspect of Web design. Whether you’re working on a portfolio website, online store or Web app, making your pages easy and enjoyable for your visitors to use is key. Many studies have been done over the years on various aspects of Web and interface design, and the findings are valuable in helping us improve our work. Here are 10 useful usability findings and guidelines that may help you improve the user experience on your websites.”

5 Lesser Known JavaScript Libraries that Make Web Design Easier – “In this round-up we’ll be looking at 5 JavaScript libraries that can really ease the development of modern, attractive web sites. The libraries that we’ll be looking at aren’t libraries in the same sense as something like jQuery or the YUI; they’re much smaller and much more specialized. But they’re the best at what they do and provide unique functionality.”

Everything you Need to Know About Font Licensing for the Web – “In this article, we’ll take a look at font licensing for web usage via methods such as FLIR, sFIR, Cufón, @font-face, etc. and ways to protect yourself.”