If you work in the world of web design, whether that be in a studio or working from home, it’s vital to keep up-to-date with the latest industry tools and standards. This month, we’ve found a number of interesting resources that should help you do just that. So, whether you’re looking to delve into the world of artificial intelligence, learn some new skills or launch an app, you’ll find something interesting on this list.
A UI for CSS Color FunctionIf you want to try out the CSS Color Function, this is a good starting point. It’s a UI for applying adjustments to a base colour that shows you the base and the result side-by-side.
Quickly prototype a new UIThis React UI toolkit enables you to build a foundation for creating your own custom UI component libraries. It will help you to quickly prototype a new UI using the most common responsive typographic and layout stylings.
Great for creating a colour scheme to go with an imageIf you need to build a palette that complements the images on your site, a good place to start is with the dominant colours of those images. This is where Vaunt comes in; it’s a Mac app that analyses your images and lets you know which colours are dominant, so you can create pleasing colour combinations in your design.
What should you learn next?How much do you know about web design and development, really? This site lays it all for you: it’s a checklist of topics related to CSS, JavaScript, HTML and so on, and you check them off according to whether you Know, Don’t Know or Know of the topic.
Previews gradients made with your colour combinationsTry this tool from Design by Numbers for creating striking colour combinations. It works by picking various patterns from a colour wheel, and is particularly good if you want to use gradients.
Debug SVG paths in the browserThis is an early release, so don’t expect perfection, but this Chrome extension looks well worth playing around with if you want to try debugging SVG paths in the browser. It works by converting them to outlines and displaying anchors, control points, handles and arc ellipses.
Static files at high speedThis command-line http server requires no configuration and is useful for testing and experimentation, and it’s also powerful enough for production use.
Coordinate your technical preparation, marketing and support perfectlyAbout to launch your first app? Don’t make rookie mistake and then kick yourself afterwards – take some tips from those who’ve done it before. The people at Branch have put together this checklist to guide you through the launch process so it goes as smoothly as possible.
Build a smarter botRegardless of what you think of chatbots, it’s not unlikely that your clients will start to want them on their websites. If that happens, Init.ai is worth a look. It’s one of a slew of platforms that will help you to build conversational apps to interact with your users, and this is the one to try if you’re after something more sophisticated than the standard bot.
Great for discovering and managing APIsRapidAPI is a cool way to discover and use APIs. The interface is great for discovering what’s out there, and it also lets you explore an API’s functionality from within the site. When you sign up, you can use it to track and manage all of your app’s API connections.
