Pricing Tables Generator lets you change a lot of parameters:
Once everything looks to your satisfaction, all you have to do to enjoy the beautiful result is copy two surprisingly short and elegant code snippets (one for HTML and another for CSS).
px-em is a px to em converter that allows you to work out the em sizes from px. Enter the parent px size in the top box, required px size in the bottom one, and it will calculate the result for you.
If layout type names like “responsive,” “adaptive,” “liquid” confuse you, Liquidapsive is here to bring clarity with a traditional 3 column layout and multiple page elements.
In a few clicks, you will see which is which and what the differences are. And the good old “static” version is there too to remind you where it all started.
Pick a flavor from the drop down on the top of the page then drag your window narrower and wider, taller and shorter. It will make much more sense when you see for yourself how the approach works.
After experimenting with how content is displayed on the ooomf blog, Mikael Cho discovered there’s an element of science behind why seemingly small things like font and the spacing between letters can impact how we feel when reading online. The result is an article about the research done, complete with tips on how to better present the content by choosing the right font and layout.
“Understanding the way we read is important for designing how words look because you can directly impact someone’s connection to your writing with the right font and layout. ”
~ Mikael Cho
Brad Frost shares his considerations for creating high-quality media queries in his article 7 Habits of Highly Effective Media Queries.
Adrian Sanabria of 451 Security posted a detailed explanation of two different security codes for a credit card: one that we are asked for when paying online or over the phone (card-not-present transactions) and another that is used when the card is actually swiped (card-present transactions). The card-not-present security code is printed on the card; the other one is stored in the card’s magnetic strip.
This is a confusing topic because different terms for both security codes are used interchangeably by merchants, payment service providers, and even card brands themselves. The most resent example of confusion was Target.
It is a somewhat lengthy read but well worth your time: Better understanding of the Target breach through Credit Card anatomy
Adrian not only explains which is which but also provides several examples of both types of security codes for several different payment cards. Those examples show that the two always have different values used for different purposes.
At WPLift, Joe Fylan posted a nice review of different backup options for web sites powered by WordPress. BackupBuddy is mentioned there of course, along with several good free options that allow to put the backup on the server, send it by email, or putting it to Google Drive (not fond of this option personally) or Dropbox (one of my favorite, along with backing up via InfiniteWP – the option not mentioned in the article since it does not fall into the plugins category).
Type Rendering Mix applies CSS based on the text rasterizer and
antialiasing the browser is using. It allows to achieve a more consistent rendering while preserving the accuracy of sub-pixel antialiasing by decreasing the font weight for browsers running on OS X and iOS platforms that use Core Text to render text.
This large collection of links about various aspects of responsive web design is a part of the This Is Responsive web site. It covers approach, process, cost considerations, case studies, tools, layout and typography issues, and of course the basics of responsive design.
Jim Walker (The Hack Repair Guy) offers something very valuable to prevent a possibility of a hack: a comprehensive list of bad bots. With a simple directive in the .htaccess file you can hide your site from all bots in the list or edit the list to suite your preferences.
The “bad bots” name is not exactly accurate as it also includes bots that belong to legitimate organizations like McAfee, Mozilla, etc., so it pays to go through the list and removing anything you do not agree with. Alternatively, you may want to add your own items to the list if you identify a new attacker from your access logs; Jim shows you how to do that. But for the majority of us, the list is great as it is.
My favorite security plugin for WordPress, Better WP Security, allows to activate Jim’s bad bot list under Ban Users > Enable Default Banned List. So if your web site is powered by WordPress, it’s even easier to repel bad (and any unwanted) bots.