Web Design Articles

JavaScript-Powered HTML Table Code Generator

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Recently I searched Google to try to find an HTML table code generator that would let me easily create an HTML table quickly and efficiently, similar to how Dreamweaver does it — but with more customization options that are in line with the the latest in web standards and best practices. I also wanted to be able to enter my data right inside the code generator itself, and not have to copy the code with empty cells, then tediously cut and paste all the data into the individual cells. I found a few options that were reasonably good, but I decided instead to build my own HTML table code generator using pure, (sort of) unobtrusive JavaScript. The entire table and data insertion would take place on the client side and be fully customizable and easy to use.

Well, after about 5 or 6 hours of blood sweat and tears (not really, it was fun), I’ve completed what I feel is one of the most efficient and useful table code generators available on the web. I know what you’re thinking: tables aren’t used very often these days by top web developers, and all HTML editors provide good support for table code generation. But the customization I’ve added and the ease with which the data can be inserted I think is worth giving it a try.

New Features of Adobe’s Creative Suite 4 (CS4 Webcast)

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Tuesday morning, Adobe followed through on a webcast that was alerted via email subscribers informing previous Adobe software customers of the newest release of Adobe Creative Suite, specifically CS4. The graphic designers and front end developers at the company I currently work for got together to watch the web cast. Here is my summary: It […]

Why IE6 is the Greatest Browser Ever Made

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How would you react if I told you that I had released a piece of software on August 27, 2001 that was deemed (at the time) to be of high standards and quality by its users and reviewers, and that, although it is unstable and buggy by today’s standards, currently holds a 25% market share […]

Cleaner HTML by Avoiding ‘Attributitis’

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Did I just invent that word? Most developers using CSS layouts have likely heard of “divitis” (using far too many DIVs in your markup). But what about “attributitis” (or, Attribute-itis, if you will) — the distant cousin of divitis? I didn’t bother googling that word to see if anyone else has used it; I’m hoping I’ve coined it! I thought of it this morning while helping a coworker debug a CSS problem. It struck me that the class and ID attributes that are commonly added to HTML tags can really get out of hand if they aren’t controlled properly. Let’s discuss a few points that will ensure cleaner code and better future development time through the practice of avoiding attributitis.

SEO Rules vs. SEO Concepts

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Often times, web development blog posts recite easy to understand, step-by-step instructions on how to optimize XHTML code for SEO. Generally, I think this is good. The fact is, web users have low attention spans, and usually the best way to get a message across is to state it simply in point form. But in order for developers and internet marketers to enhance their abilities over the long haul, more is necessary, as we’ll discuss. With this article I’ll show how online writers and readers alike can become part of a long-term commitment to making the web a better place to surf.

5 Tips for Better CSS Files

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While working on medium to fairly large websites, I’ve recently found it helpful to apply certain coding practices in my CSS files to help readability, and to ensure that any future developers (including me) will have little difficulty editing the CSS code. Since my main CSS files nowadays often end up being anywhere from 1000 to 2000 lines long, here are some quick tips that I think help CSS code to be more readable and web developer-friendly.

Must-Use Methods to Spam-Proof Your Email Address

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Working for a busy web development & hosting company exposes me to the sad fact that well over 90% of website owners today do virtually nothing to protect themselves from email spam. Spam filters are good, and they’ve come a long way, but they are not the perfect solution — far from it. Even with a close to perfect spam filtering system in place (which never happens), users will still be inclined to waste time sifting through junk mail just to ensure that nothing was incorrectly filtered.

In this post, I’ll describe a few solid methods to ensure that your email address will not be harvested by “bots” or other automated programs that harvest emails from naive website owners.

IE6 Ghost Text Bug (With Multiple Solutions)

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It is a sad fact that, according to some current browser statistics, Internet Explorer version 6 is still holding one of the highest percentages of use for one browser version (28.9% — although I personally think that number is somewhat inflated for reasons that I’ll save for another blog post). Unless the site you are working on has specific stats that show a much lower number for IE6 users, then it is still necessary to ensure that IE6 is displaying your markup reasonably well.

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