In this article, we’ll highlight how modern image formats (AVIF or WebP) can improve compression by up to 50% and deliver better quality per-byte while still looking visually appealing. We’ll compare what’s possible at high-quality, low-quality and file-size targets.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/modern-image-formats-avif-webp/

You can find Markdown in many places on the Internet. This article covers different aspects of Markdown and how it interacts with other technology.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/improving-accessibility-of-markdown/

Is end-to-end testing a painful topic for you? In this article, Ramona Schwering explains how to handle end-to-end testing with Cypress and make it make it not so tedious and expensive for yourself, but fun instead.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/cypress-end-to-end-testing/

We made the switch from a more traditional integrated e-commerce platform to a headless platform with Next.js. Here are the most important lessons learned while rebuilding a large e-commerce site with Next.js.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/lessons-learned-ecommerce-nextjs-case-study/

You’ve seen them before. Confusing and frustrating design patterns that seem to be chasing you everywhere you go, from one website to another. It’s time to fix them for good in a [free Smashing online workshop](https://smashingconf.com/online-workshops/workshops/vitaly-friedman-frustrating-patterns/) next week.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/smashing-workshop-frustrating-design-patterns/

The new CSS `accent-color` property makes it quick and easy to roll out our brand colors to certain form inputs by leveraging user agent styles. In this article we’ll take a look at what it does and how to use it alongside `color-scheme` for simple, accessible checkboxes and radio buttons — and imagine how we might use it in the future.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/simplifying-form-styles-accent-color/

We love little useful tools and techniques to help folks get their work done better and faster. Today, we’d love to shine the spotlights on a little helper that helps spot common performance bottlenecks easily: [ct.css](https://csswizardry.com/ct/).

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/css-head-tag/

Building a development environment with the shell as a keystone offers multiple benefits. You can customize everything depending on your own needs, and the biggest of all, you can control your entire development environment with your keyboard.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/mouseless-development-environment/

The last 18 months have been a time of unprecedented turbulence. As the people of the world have flooded online, businesses have joined them, using web development tools to adapt in real-time.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/web-development-tools-users-keep-pace-rapid-change/

Content scraping is a fact of life on the Internet. When you think of web scraping, you probably do not think about the scrapers turning around and immediately serving your entire, whole page content on another website. But what if your site content is being re-published? It might be already happening.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/imposter-domains-republishing-website/

Gatsby Functions provide front-end developers a way to write and use server-side code without the hassle of maintaining a server. If making money from open-source is of interest to you and your site isn’t built using Gatsby, this approach may well be the answer you were looking for.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/monetize-open-source-software-gatsby-functions-stripe/

Twenty years ago, Elie Slo"im chose to dedicate his professional life to web quality assurance. He started asking, ”What does quality mean for a web user?” Well, this article explains everything he has learned along the way.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/journey-into-web-quality-assurance/

Integrating a CRM with your business website has numerous benefits. In this article, Zara Cooper explains what these benefits are and why websites should be integrated with a CRM platform.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/reasons-build-crm-powered-website-business/

For years, pseudo-elements have faithfully helped front-end developers implement creative designs. While they still have an important place, we can now leave pseudo-elements behind in some scenarios, thanks to newer CSS properties.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/reducing-need-pseudo-elements/

When designing for digital spaces, it’s natural to default to digital mockup tools, but doing so cuts out a world of possibilities. Analog drawing can unleash your imagination and allow you to focus on what’s most important at the start: the ideas.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/power-pen-paper-sketching/

There are way too many options in Web Animations API to pick them up that easily. Learning how timing works and how to control the playback of several animations at once makes for a solid foundation on which to base your projects on.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/orchestrating-complexity-web-animations-api/

They say content is king, and they’re right. The web has unlocked untold possibilities for storytellers — provided the story is right, of course. Here are some of our favorite examples of editorial content thriving in the digital realm.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/web-design-done-well-excellent-editorial/

When paired with ISR and Next.js’ API routes, SWR can be used to create a responsive user experience. In this article, Sam Poder explains what SWR is, where to use it (and where not), and how to build a website by using Incremental Static Regeneration.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/useswr-react-hook-library-incremental-static-regeneration-nextjs/

In this article, we’ll walk through the process of taking a seemingly simple design for a text-and-media component and deciding how best to translate it into code, keeping in mind the needs of both users and content authors.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/developer-decisions-building-flexible-components/

What’s the state of HTML Email, Vue.js and Next.js? What are new, smart interface design patterns we could use? Let’s figure it out. With our brand new online workshops on front-end & design. Now with **free workshops** for you to test the waters.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/09/new-smashing-online-workshops-sep-2021/