Jens Meiert

Standardistas, Help Fix Wikipedia

When it comes to professional web design and web development, not only the English Wikipedia is in questionable condition. And considering the value Wikipedia has as a contact point for rubbernecks and novices, it should be in our best interest to take care of …

¶ April 13, 2008, filed under Web Development, Accessibility, Usability, Design.

CSS: All Properties from CSS 1 to CSS 3

What would HTML be without CSS? And what is an index of all HTML elements without an index of all CSS properties? To fix the latter I indeed proudly present a continuously updated index of all properties specified in CSS 1, CSS 2, CSS 2.1, and even CSS 3, including all initial values as well …

¶ March 27, 2008, filed under Web Development.

Microsoft and Interoperability: The Hidden Threat

Microsoft’s Interoperability Principles are not only a nice read, they’re in fact a great signal. I could stop writing now if there wasn’t at least one thing that raises doubts though, namely the “Extensions” passage under “Support for Standards” …

¶ March 20, 2008, filed under Web Development.

Website Optimization Measures, Part III

Jens on quality assurance again, this week featuring the link richness challenge, updated ping service lists, improved WordPress plugins and security, revised layout grids, font karaoke, and more prominent update information. Hot and spicy as always.

¶ March 17, 2008, filed under Web Development, Usability, Design.

Great CSS Techniques and the Simple Truth Behind Them

There is a simple recipe to judge CSS techniques: Does the method in question require HTML additions and modifications beyond introducing certain IDs or classes? If yes, the technique is likely to be not very elegant, in fact, it might be inadvisable, depending on the strictness you’re applying …

¶ March 11, 2008, filed under Web Development.

Win a Signed Copy of “Webdesign mit CSS”

I am giving away a free yet signed copy of my German book Webdesign mit CSS – and you know what’s in the 2nd edition :) Winning is easy even though I want to get to know you a little bit better: Just write down your favorite football club and your postal address, then email jens(at)meiert.com …

¶ March 10, 2008, filed under Web Development, Accessibility, Design.

The Secret of Maintainability

Keep it simple.

¶ March 7, 2008, filed under Web Development.

Compatibility and IE 8, Again

After massive, legitimate criticism and concerns, there is a happy end: Microsoft decided against the “opt-in to the browser version I tested with” strategy and had Dean Hachamovitch announce that IE8 will show pages requesting “Standards” mode in IE8’s Standards mode …

¶ March 4, 2008, filed under Web Development.

“helvetica, arial”, Not “arial, helvetica”

Unless Arial really is your standard font, please use the order helvetica, arial in your CSS font declarations, not the popular arial, helvetica. Why? Because Arial basically still means kind of a copy of Helvetica, and Helvetica is ubiquitous or popular enough so that one can actually reference it …

¶ February 20, 2008, filed under Web Development, Design.

Website Optimization Measures, Part II

Now that we talked about blog clean-ups, structure and element revisions as well as search engine verification in part I, here are some additional suggestions, small measures for improvement consisting of .htaccess stuff, SEO, and consistency checks …

¶ February 15, 2008, filed under Web Development, Design.