Painless JavaScript Using Prototype

Prototype is an object oriented JavaScript library (written by Sam Stephenson and friends) that makes JavaScript fun. So it says on the site, anyway. Those of you who are familiar with the open source community's latest and greatest application framework, Rails, may recognise Prototype as it actually forms the backbone of Rails' JavaScript helper. However, Prototype can be used independently of Rails to aid the coding of many JavaScript doodads and Web 2.0 thingy wangles.

Webb, Dan. SitePoint (2006). Design>Web Design>DHTML>JavaScript

Pervasive Usability - Planning For an Uncertain Future

Usability is a phenomenon that has dramatically changed the way the products, including Websites, are designed and manufactured.

Kheterpal, Suneet. SitePoint (2003). Design>Web Design>Usability

Re-Write a Layer's Content with Javascript

One of the most common tasks Web developers face every day is to change the content of a Web page, without additional requests to the Web server. The easiest way to accomplish this assignment is through the use of layers.

Todorov, Peter. SitePoint (2003). Design>Web Design>DHTML>Ajax

Read and Display Server-Side XML with JavaScript

XML is a very important base on which Web Services work, and, in conjunction with a number of client- and server-side languages, can be put to good effect. Let's see how we can use XML and client side JavaScript to display the contents of a XML file, access child elements, manipulate elements, and more!

Pillai, Premshree. SitePoint (2003). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design>Ajax

Rotate Regular HTML Content Via DHTML

One of the great pitfalls of using client side techniques, such as JavaScript, to display content on demand is the prerequisite that everything be contained in variables. This makes adding and updating the content very cumbersome.

Chiang, George. SitePoint (2004). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>DHTML

Rough Guide to the Document Object Model (DOM)

In two parts, this series introduces the Document Object Model, explaining its benefits, and exploring its implementation.

Icarus. SitePoint (2003). Design>Web Design>CSS>DHTML

Script Smarter: Quality JavaScript from Scratch

JavaScript is an amazingly useful language that offers many unique benefits. With a little consideration for how scripted functionality degrades, you can use JavaScript to bring a whole range of functional, design and usability improvements to your web sites.

Edwards, James and Cameron Adams. SitePoint (2006). Design>Web Design>DHTML

Seven Steps to Usable Forms

Follow these seven steps to make your forms - and your users - happy.

Reichley, Keith. SitePoint (2002). Design>Web Design>Forms>Usability

Simple Tricks for More Usable Forms

Web developers loathe the task of building forms almost as much as users loathe having to fill them in. These are both unfortunate facts of the Web, but some smart JavaScript and intelligent CSS can go a long way to remedying the situation. In this article, I'll introduce a number of simple tricks for improving the usability of forms, and hopefully inspire you to improve on them and create your own.

Willison, Simon. SitePoint (2004). Design>Web Design>Forms>Usability

Storing Hierarchical Data in a Database

Whether you want to build your own forum, publish the messages from a mailing list on your Website, or write your own CMS: there will be a moment that you'll want to store hierarchical data in a database. And, unless you're using a XML-like database, tables aren't hierarchical; they're just a flat list. You'll have to find a way to translate the hierarchy in a flat file.

Van Tulder, Gijs. SitePoint (2004). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Databases

Synchronize MySQL Data Using SQLyog Job Agent

As MySQL developers, we are often required to keep two databases in complete sync with one another.

Chand, Karam. SitePoint (2004). Design>Information Design>Databases>SQL

Take Command with AJAX

Want to get a bang out of your AJAX artillery? In this hands-on tutorial, Stoyan puts AJAX on the front line as he develops a Web app with which you can execute shell commands on your Web server. The downloadable code provides a real tactical advantage as Stoyan marshals JavaScript and XML to create the app.

Stefanov, Stoyan. SitePoint (2005). Design>Web Design>Programming>Ajax

Top Seven Usability Blunders Of The Big Players

I'm an avid surfer, and have been for several years. However, after all this time, I'm still astonished to see the same old usability blunders repeated in large, brand new sites. Though the use of technology may have changed, the issues with user interface and functionality design persist.

Randour, Philippe. SitePoint (2003). Design>Web Design>Usability

Usability and Accessibility with AJAX

The Ajax express train rumbles on, threatening to crush anything in its path. Recent discussion has turned to those critical elements of good web development, usability and accessibility. Accessibility is a major issue with Ajax, mainly because anything that relies on JavaScript to function is inaccessible pretty much by default. There are two solutions: either provide a fall-back system where the site remains useful without its Ajax enhancements, or provide a whole separate interface that works without scripting.

Willison, Simon. SitePoint (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

Usability On The Cheap

Today's corporate firms focus increasingly on their online presence. However, not many understand the long-term implications of not testing their site's usability before it goes online, and in a recessionary era like the one just past, frequently usability is all too easily forgotten. Often no funds are allocated to conduct usability testing, even though it's a key component of any online or interactive project. In an ideal world, a Website should be evaluated for usability from the point of a new concept's inception, to the final execution and upload.

Kheterpal, Suneet. SitePoint (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods

Well-Behaved DHTML: A Case Study

It’s no secret that over the last few years DHTML has been used almost exclusively for evil purposes. Users associate the technology with intrusive advertisements and error-prone pages, while developers associate it with browser detection and hideous hacks.

Boodman, Aaron. SitePoint (2003). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design>DHTML

XHTML Web Design for Beginners

Explores exactly what XHTML is, and how you can use it to start producing the next generation of Web pages.

Peck, Nigel. SitePoint (2003). Design>Web Design>Standards>XHTML

Fancy Form Design Using CSS

Forms. Is there any other word that strikes as much fear into the hearts of grown web designers? There's also an improperly held belief that the only way you can guarantee that a form displays properly is by using tables. All of the code reproduced here for forms is standards-based, semantic markup, so you've got no excuse for relying on tables now!

Adams, Cameron. SitePoint (2008). Articles>Web Design>CSS>Forms

Ten Accessibility Blunders of the Big Players

More and more countries have passed laws stating that Websites must be accessible to blind and disabled people. With this kind of legal pressure, and the many benefits of accessibility, the big players on the Web must surely have accessible Websites, right?

Moss, Trenton. Sitepoint (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Case Studies

Secret Benefits of Accessibility Part 1: Increased Usability

Web accessibility has so many benefits that I really do wonder why such a large number of Websites have such diabolically bad accessibility. One of the main benefits is increased usability, which, according to usability guru, Jakob Nielsen, can increase the sales/conversion rate of a Website by 100%, and traffic by 150%.

Moss, Trenton. SitePoint (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability

Secret Benefits of Accessibility Part 2: Better Search Ranking

One of the main benefits of Web accessibility is that a Website that's more accessible to people is also usually more accessible to search engines. The more accessible your site is to search engines, the more confidently they can guess what the site's about, giving your site a better chance at the top spot in the search engine rankings.

Moss, Trenton. SitePoint (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Search Engine Optimization

Seven Screen Reader Usability Tips

Simply ensuring that your Website is accessible to screen reader users is, unfortunately, not enough to guarantee that these users can find what they're looking for in a reasonably quick and efficient manner. Even if your site is accessible to screen reader users, its usability could be so poor that they needn't have bothered stooping by in the first place.

Moss, Trenton. SitePoint (2005). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability

Build Accessible Online Forms

Ask anyone who has had to fix a Website that's littered with accessibility howlers, and top-most in their list of problems encountered will be forms, closely followed by tables. These two topics always seem to present the most difficulties, but they needn't be a problem. For the most part, forms are a problem because the extra accessibility tags are simply not known to the Web designer -- after all, it looks right, it seems to work... what's the problem? Only by switching off the monitor and using a screen-reader can our oblivious Web developer understand the issues.

Lloyd, Ian. SitePoint (2003). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Forms

Essential Navigation Checklists for Web Design

These checklists pull together best practice in the disciplines of information design, usability and accessibility, into an easy to apply format. If you are already familiar with those topics, the checklists serve as a handy reminder that is easy to refer to and apply when planning navigation. If unfamiliar it's also a fast-track lesson - providing you with a head-start in getting it right and enables you to make better informed choices / compromises.

Eleniak, Marta. SitePoint (2003). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>Usability

Fifteen Companies That Really Get Corporate Blogging

Below is a list of 15 companies that really get corporate blogging and produce blogs that are informative, fascinating, and a joy to read even for people who aren’t die-hard fans of the company.

Catone, Josh. SitePoint (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Blogging>Case Studies