An introduction to building a Discord bot using the Discord.js module. The bot will share random jokes, assign or revoke user roles, and post tweets of a specific account to a Discord channel.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/building-discord-bot-discordjs/

Where to put the label in a web form? In the early days, we talked about left-aligned labels versus top-aligned labels. These days we talk about floating labels. Let’s explore why they aren’t a very good idea, and what to use instead.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/material-design-text-fields/

A classic problem in CSS is maintaining the aspect ratio of images across related components, such as cards. The newly supported `aspect-ratio` property in combination with `object-fit` provides a remedy to this headache of the past! Let’s learn to use these properties, in addition to creating a responsive gradient image effect for extra flair.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/responsive-image-effects-css-gradients-aspect-ratio/

As digital practitioners, GDPR has impacted every facet of our professional and personal lives. Whether you’re addicted to Instagram, message your family on WhatsApp, buy products from Etsy or Google information, no one has escaped the rules that were introduced in 2018.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/state-gdpr-2021-key-updates/

As developers, we’re constantly learning new languages and frameworks. But how can you structure this learning to ensure maximum benefit while still progressing? Here’s how you can devise your own curriculum to keep moving in the right direction.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/building-personal-learning-curriculum/

In this article, we take a look at the topic of context and variables in Hugo, a popular static site generator. You’ll understand concepts such as the global context, flow control, and variables in Hugo templates, as well as data flow from content files through templates to partials and base templates.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/context-variables-hugo-static-site-generator/

DevTools is very advanced and helpful, but can also be very intimidating and overwhelming. Let’s fix that. In this article, Vitaly reviews useful features and shortcuts for debugging in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/useful-chrome-firefox-devtools-tips-shortcuts/

Adding video to your application can increase customer engagement and satisfaction. But the exact opposite can occur when there are issues with the video playback: video stalls are frustrating and drive customers away. In this article, we’ll walk through the steps to optimize the video on your website to ensure fast playback and reduce stalls.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/optimizing-video-size-quality/

A couple of weeks ago, we organized a [Form Design Masterclass](https://smashingconf.com/online-workshops/workshops/adam-silver), an online workshop with Adam Silver alongside 81 friendly and smart people. Today, Adam shares his experience and details by highlighting what you as an attendee can expect from a Smashing Workshop, and things to keep in mind when running one.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/smashing-workshop-form-design-masterclass/

Film credits, brand logos, posters… Saul Bass did it all, and the principles that informed his work are just as valuable now as they were 50 years ago.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/saul-bass-teach-web-design/

Headless CMS is a powerful and easy way to manage content and access API. Built on React, Sanity.io is a seamless tool for flexible content management. It can be used to build simple to complex applications from the ground up. In this article, Ifeanyi explains how to build a simple listing app with Sanity.io and React. The global states will be managed with Redux and the application will be styled with styled-components.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/web-app-react-redux-sanity-io/

In this article, Tobias explores some of the less known but very useful features in Git. You’ll learn how to recover deleted commits, clean up your commit history, use submodules to manage third-party code and compose commits with precision — along with a friendly Git cheat sheet.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/getting-the-most-out-of-git/

In this episode, we’re talking about HTML controls. Why are they so hard to style, and how might that change in the future? Drew McLellan talks to Microsoft’s Stephanie Stimac and Melanie Richards to find out.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/smashing-podcast-episode-35/

Wrangling z-index values is a difficult task for many developers. Here is an easy-to-implement mini-framework based on existing conventions that brings clarity and confidence to working with z-index.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/css-z-index-large-projects/

Remote work is taking over the world, and the biggest obstacle remote teams face is emulating the natural communication that happens at the office. In this article, Obed Parlapiano shares his advice and tips on how to improve your team’s communication and productivity by creating habits and processes focused on improving collaboration.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/improve-team-communication-age-remote-work/

Tooltips are powerful design patterns implemented to enhance the design experience by providing additional information precisely when users need it. Sometimes, however, tooltips are obtrusive, especially on mobile devices where available space is at a premium.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/designing-tooltips-mobile-user-interfaces/

On your list of places where people might access your web app, Teams is probably number “not-on-the-list”. But it turns out that making your app accessible where your users are already working has some profound benefits. In this article, we’ll look at how Teams makes web apps a first-class citizen, and how it enables you to interact with those apps in completely new ways. 

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/port-web-app-microsoft-teams/

The present and future of CSS are very bright indeed and if you take a pragmatic, progressive approach to your CSS, then things will continue to get better and better on your projects, too.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/02/things-you-can-do-with-css-today/

Let’s make this February more colorful! Apart from a new collection of wallpapers, we also have a little creativity challenge waiting for you this month. It’s the perfect occasion to share your ideas with the world — and win a smashing prize along the way.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/01/desktop-wallpaper-calendars-february-2021/

In this article, we look at some of the more advanced features of TypeScript, like union types, conditional types, template literal types, and generics. We want to formalize the most dynamic JavaScript behavior in a way that we can catch most bugs before they happen.

https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/01/dynamic-static-typing-typescript/