.net magazine | The world's best-selling magazine for web designers and developers since 1994

News

Tickets on sale for Generate, .net's first conference!

by Tanya Combrinck

Feature

Content strategy 101, Part 3: put knowledge into action

by Sandi Wassmer

Feature

Facebook’s top 10 social design secrets

by Paul Adams

Newsflash

Want money from customers? Then ask for it

BugHerd CEO says start-ups must be more gung-ho about asking for money

Latest articles

Feature

Big question: how much do you value a formal web design education?

Do you even need a formal qualification to be successful?

19 Jul 2011

By Oliver Lindberg on July 19, 2011 | 7 comments

With an increase in tuition fees and more choice in web design degrees, deciding on a course can be tricky, but do you even need a formal qualification to be successful? We ask our panel of experts to tell us about their experience and thoughts...
Blog

Stop using Lorem Ipsum!

Copywriter John McGarvey on why Lorem Ipsum is destroying web design

18 Jul 2011

By John McGarvey on July 18, 2011 | 57 comments

Latin placeholder text aka Lorem Ipsum isn't just a nuisance. Web copywriter John McGarvey argues that it's a massive obstacle to building truly great online experiences, explains what kind of problems it causes and how you, too, can stop using it
Feature

Five killer ways to use background imagery

It's now possible to use background imagery to make your site sing

18 Jul 2011

By Matthew Smith on July 18, 2011 | 2 comments

Higher broadband speeds mean it's now possible to use full-scale background imagery that makes your site sing, says Matthew Smith. Find out how to use it to add an emotional punch and nuance to a design but be cautious when employing this style
Blog

Charlie Sheen transformed my agency

Carl Smith explains how Charlie Sheen led him to make some big changes

15 Jul 2011

By Carl Smith on July 15, 2011 | 10 comments

All this talk of "winning" and "losing" inspired Carl Smith to make some big changes at his agency. Here the chief keeper upper of nGen Works tells us how Charlie Sheen led him to come up with solutions to quit managing difficult clients, stressing about cash flow and company growth
Tutorial

Getting the most out of jQuery selectors

Jay Blanchard

15 Jul 2011

By Jay Blanchard on July 15, 2011 | 9 comments

A lot of developers who are new to jQuery get hung up by jQuery selectors. In this tutorial Jay Blanchard, author of the forthcoming book Applied jQuery, covers jQuery's selector syntax, how to optimise jQuery selectors and how to apply more advanced selector combinations to your markup elements
Feature

Find the perfect colour for your website

How to use colour to enhance the appeal and usability of your website

14 Jul 2011

By Cindy Li on July 14, 2011 | 5 comments

Colour communicates meaning and our own assumptions can often be wrong as colours have different meanings in different cultures. Cindy Li of Yahoo Applications explains how to use colour to enhance the appeal and usability of your website while ensuring it remains accessible
Blog

Sex sells: the effect of the .xxx domain

Abby Hardoon looks at the potential impact of the .xxx domain

13 Jul 2011

By Abby Hardoon on July 13, 2011 | 2 comments

As the long awaited pre-order launch of .xxx domain names is due to take place in the UK within the next few weeks, Abby Hardoon, founder and CEO of domain name registration and hosting company daily.co.uk, looks at its potential impact
Tutorial

Add a gesture-based image gallery to a mobile website

Learn how to add an iOS-style image gallery into your mobile site

13 Jul 2011

By Ste Brennan on July 13, 2011 | 2 comments

Using the open source script PhotoSwipe, you'll learn how to add a gesture-based, fully interactive image gallery into your mobile website that replicates the "native" photo application bundled with iOS devices. Ste Brennan also gives a quick rundown of the events that are made available by mobile browsers
Feature

The top 10 open source web fonts

Micah Rich rounds up the best open source fonts

12 Jul 2011

By Micah Rich on July 12, 2011 | 9 comments

Micah Rich, co-founder of The League of Moveable Type, rounds up the best open source fonts for web design and explains how you can contribute. He looks at the precursors to the @font-face revolution, Google Web Fonts and fonts from the League
Interview

Keir Whitaker and Elliot Jay Stocks

Keir Whitaker and Elliot Jay Stocks talk about their Insites tour

11 Jul 2011

By Oliver Lindberg on July 11, 2011

Keir Whitaker and Elliot Jay Stocks are going on the road next week to present evenings of informal discussions with prominent web folk around the UK. Oliver Lindberg catches up with them to find out what's different about Insites
Tutorial

Learning the basics of HTML5 canvas

Rob Hawkes takes a proper look at the features of canvas

11 Jul 2011

By Rob Hawkes on July 11, 2011

In Chapter 3 of his book, Foundation HTML5 Canvas, Rob Hawkes explains how to use the canvas element, draw basic shapes and text, change the colour, erase the canvas and how to make it fill the browser window
Blog

How to protect your site from hackers

Designers should be security conscious to combat internet threats

8 Jul 2011

By Alex De Joode on July 08, 2011 | 3 comments

Alex de Joode, security officer at global hosting provider LeaseWeb, explains why web designers should always be security conscious to combat internet threats
Feature

How to use AB testing, eye tracking and Website Optimizer

How Nomensa used A/B testing to decide between grid or list view

8 Jul 2011

By Alastair Campbell on July 08, 2011 | 3 comments

What’s the best way to present content: a grid or list view? Alastair Campbell explains how Nomensa used A/B testing, eye tracking, Google Analytics and Website Optimizer to help the .net team decide for the launch of www.netmagazine.com
Feature

How to run an effective meeting

Kevin M Hoffman explains how to make meetings more produtive

7 Jul 2011

By Kevin M Hoffman on July 07, 2011

Happy Cog's user experience director Kevin M Hoffman discusses the three types of meetings and how to make them more effective and engaging - or even get rid of some altogether
Tutorial

Create a WordPress custom post type

Learn what custom post types in WordPress are and how to use them

6 Jul 2011

By Gilbert Pellegrom on July 06, 2011 | 9 comments

Web developer, software engineer and part-time entrepreneur Gilbert Pellegrom explains how to use custom post types in WordPress. In his example Gilbert builds a book database, which you can control via your WordPress admin area and which displays books on your site