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A Closer Look at WordPress 6.7: “Rollins”

November 20th, 2024 No comments

Zoom Out Mode

Zoom Out Mode is a revolutionary addition to the site editing experience. It allows users to view and edit their website from a broader perspective, making it easier to arrange and modify entire sections and patterns. This feature is especially useful for managing complex layouts, giving users a clear overview of their site’s structure and design while streamlining the process of making adjustments.

Dynamic Content Integration

WordPress 6.7 introduces the ability to connect blocks directly to dynamic content sources, such as custom fields, from within the editor.

This new functionality simplifies the creation of dynamic websites, such as portfolios, blogs, and ecommerce stores, without requiring extensive coding knowledge. It also enhances compatibility with popular tools like Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), making it easier to create and manage dynamic content.

Advanced Typography Control

The advanced typography settings in WordPress 6.7 give users greater control over text design. With the ability to create and manage custom font size presets, as well as utilize fluid typography for responsive text scaling, users can ensure that their websites look polished and consistent across all devices. This update also enhances the overall design flexibility and user experience.

Performance Enhancements

Performance improvements are a highlight of WordPress 6.7, focusing on speed and stability. Block patterns and templates now load faster, and previews in data views have been optimized for efficiency. Compatibility with PHP 8 and higher versions has been improved, and the HTML processing engine has been refined for faster rendering and better performance overall.

Accessibility Improvements

Accessibility has been a major focus in this release, with over 65 fixes and enhancements aimed at making WordPress more inclusive. These updates include improved keyboard navigation in the editor, better labeling and instructions for various interface components, and fixes to ensure that assistive technologies can interact with WordPress more effectively.

HEIC Image Support

WordPress 6.7 adds native support for HEIC image files, a format widely used by iPhone cameras. This update makes it easier to upload and use high-quality, space-efficient images across all blocks, expanding the platform’s media capabilities and providing more options for visual content creation.

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Query Loop Block Refinements

The Query Loop block, a powerful tool for displaying dynamic content, has been refined for ease of use. Automated default settings simplify the setup process, while key customization options have been consolidated for greater clarity. These improvements make the Query Loop block more accessible to beginners while retaining its flexibility for advanced users.

Preview Dropdown Extensions

Developers now have the ability to extend the preview dropdown menu with custom preview options. This feature enables users to test and view content in new contexts, such as specific device sizes or custom configurations, providing greater flexibility and control over the content preview process.

Background Customization

Enhanced background customization tools allow for the application of consistent styles across a site. These global settings ensure a unified design aesthetic while offering greater creative control over the appearance of pages and individual blocks. This feature simplifies the process of maintaining cohesive site-wide designs.

Site Editor Page View Enhancements

The Site Editor’s page view has been enhanced to include advanced filtering options, enabling users to display specific categories such as Published, Draft, or Scheduled pages. This update improves navigation and organization within the editor, making it easier to manage content effectively.

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Template Registration API

The new Template Registration API simplifies the process of creating and managing custom templates. It allows plugins to introduce custom templates independent of themes, supports theme overrides, and enables the creation of templates tailored to specific categories or content types.

Expanded Design Tools

WordPress 6.7 expands the range of design tools available for individual blocks. New options, such as shadows and borders, give users more creative control over block appearance. These tools enable the creation of visually distinct and professional-looking websites without the need for external design software.

Interactivity API Improvements

The Interactivity API has been updated with new capabilities for robust state management and improved integration with JavaScript. These enhancements make it easier for developers to build dynamic, interactive web experiences while addressing previous bugs to ensure smoother operation.

WordPress 6.7 is a testament to the platform’s commitment to continuous improvement and innovation. It provides tools and features that cater to a diverse range of users, enabling them to build more functional, visually appealing, and high-performing websites.

The WordPress 6.7 release, named “Rollins” honors jazz legend Sonny Rollins, renowned for his improvisational mastery and innovative contributions to jazz.

His iconic compositions, like “St. Thomas” and “Oleo,” reflect his bold, exploratory style, paralleling WordPress’ mission to empower creativity and innovation. This update embodies Rollins’ spirit of pushing boundaries, offering new features and enhancements to inspire digital expression.

Twenty Twenty-Five Theme

The new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Five, is built to offer unparalleled flexibility for various website types. Whether you are creating a personal blog, a portfolio, or a professional business site, this theme provides robust design tools that leverage the full power of the block editor.

It includes multiple pre-designed block patterns, diverse style variations, and rich color palettes, allowing users to create visually stunning and functional websites quickly and easily.

Zoom Out Mode

Zoom Out Mode is a revolutionary addition to the site editing experience. It allows users to view and edit their website from a broader perspective, making it easier to arrange and modify entire sections and patterns. This feature is especially useful for managing complex layouts, giving users a clear overview of their site’s structure and design while streamlining the process of making adjustments.

Dynamic Content Integration

WordPress 6.7 introduces the ability to connect blocks directly to dynamic content sources, such as custom fields, from within the editor.

This new functionality simplifies the creation of dynamic websites, such as portfolios, blogs, and ecommerce stores, without requiring extensive coding knowledge. It also enhances compatibility with popular tools like Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), making it easier to create and manage dynamic content.

Advanced Typography Control

The advanced typography settings in WordPress 6.7 give users greater control over text design. With the ability to create and manage custom font size presets, as well as utilize fluid typography for responsive text scaling, users can ensure that their websites look polished and consistent across all devices. This update also enhances the overall design flexibility and user experience.

Performance Enhancements

Performance improvements are a highlight of WordPress 6.7, focusing on speed and stability. Block patterns and templates now load faster, and previews in data views have been optimized for efficiency. Compatibility with PHP 8 and higher versions has been improved, and the HTML processing engine has been refined for faster rendering and better performance overall.

Accessibility Improvements

Accessibility has been a major focus in this release, with over 65 fixes and enhancements aimed at making WordPress more inclusive. These updates include improved keyboard navigation in the editor, better labeling and instructions for various interface components, and fixes to ensure that assistive technologies can interact with WordPress more effectively.

HEIC Image Support

WordPress 6.7 adds native support for HEIC image files, a format widely used by iPhone cameras. This update makes it easier to upload and use high-quality, space-efficient images across all blocks, expanding the platform’s media capabilities and providing more options for visual content creation.

tempImagewzocua

Query Loop Block Refinements

The Query Loop block, a powerful tool for displaying dynamic content, has been refined for ease of use. Automated default settings simplify the setup process, while key customization options have been consolidated for greater clarity. These improvements make the Query Loop block more accessible to beginners while retaining its flexibility for advanced users.

Preview Dropdown Extensions

Developers now have the ability to extend the preview dropdown menu with custom preview options. This feature enables users to test and view content in new contexts, such as specific device sizes or custom configurations, providing greater flexibility and control over the content preview process.

Background Customization

Enhanced background customization tools allow for the application of consistent styles across a site. These global settings ensure a unified design aesthetic while offering greater creative control over the appearance of pages and individual blocks. This feature simplifies the process of maintaining cohesive site-wide designs.

Site Editor Page View Enhancements

The Site Editor’s page view has been enhanced to include advanced filtering options, enabling users to display specific categories such as Published, Draft, or Scheduled pages. This update improves navigation and organization within the editor, making it easier to manage content effectively.

tempImageB3z7rH

Template Registration API

The new Template Registration API simplifies the process of creating and managing custom templates. It allows plugins to introduce custom templates independent of themes, supports theme overrides, and enables the creation of templates tailored to specific categories or content types.

Expanded Design Tools

WordPress 6.7 expands the range of design tools available for individual blocks. New options, such as shadows and borders, give users more creative control over block appearance. These tools enable the creation of visually distinct and professional-looking websites without the need for external design software.

Interactivity API Improvements

The Interactivity API has been updated with new capabilities for robust state management and improved integration with JavaScript. These enhancements make it easier for developers to build dynamic, interactive web experiences while addressing previous bugs to ensure smoother operation.

WordPress 6.7 is a testament to the platform’s commitment to continuous improvement and innovation. It provides tools and features that cater to a diverse range of users, enabling them to build more functional, visually appealing, and high-performing websites.

Download WordPress 6.7 “Rollins” here

Categories: Designing, Others Tags:

[INFOGRAPHIC] 98% of Designers Use AI Daily; Only 65% Say It’s Ethical

November 19th, 2024 No comments
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A recent survey by Santa Cruz Software reveals that artificial intelligence (AI) is significantly transforming the design sector.

Among over 400 U.S.-based graphic designers surveyed, 98% report AI has altered their workflows, and 91% note a positive return on investment (ROI) from adopting AI tools. Creative directors (72%) view AI as a collaborative assistant that enhances creativity without replacing human input.

To stay competitive, 93% of designers have pursued AI training. Designers commonly use AI tools for image and video generation (67%), content creation (51%), and AI-powered design software (45%), showcasing AI’s role in boosting efficiency and innovation.

However, ethical concerns remain. While 65% view AI as ethical, 24% disagree, and concerns about copyright (55%), originality (46%), bias (34%), and privacy (41%) persist. Most designers (81%) are restricted to employer-approved AI tools, reflecting companies’ recognition of the need for ethical standards.

Designers favor AI for specific tasks like generating ideas (74%), client communications (51%), and repetitive tasks (43%), but 68% prefer human oversight for final design decisions.

Preferences for human vs. AI-generated designs are evenly split (46% each), with junior designers more inclined toward AI. Regarding attribution, 59% are comfortable taking credit for AI-assisted designs, though 38% express discomfort.

See the full infographic below…

Categories: Designing, Others Tags:

Complete CSS Course

November 19th, 2024 No comments

Do you subscribe to Piccalilli? You should. If you’re reading that name for the first time, that would be none other than Andy Bell running the ship and he’s reimagined the site from the ground-up after coming out of hibernation this year. You’re likely familiar with Andy’s great writing here on CSS-Tricks.

Andy is more than a great writer — he’s a teacher, too. And you’ll get to see that in spades next week when his brand-new course Andy is more than a great writer — he’s a teacher, too. And you’ll see that in spades next week when his brand-new course Complete CSS is released one week from today on November 26.

As someone who also runs a front-end course, I can tell you it takes a non-trivial amount of time and effort to put something like Complete CSS together. I’ve been able to sneak peek at the course and like love how it’s made for many CSS-Tricks readers — you know CSS and use it regularly but need to ratchet it up from good to great. If my course is for those just getting into CSS, Andy will graduate you from hobbyist to practitioner in Complete CSS. It’s the perfect next step for narrowing the ever-growing learning gaps in this industry.

Early bird price is £189 (~$240) which is a steep cut from the full £249 (~$325) price tag.


Complete CSS Course originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.

Categories: Designing, Others Tags:

5 Signs Your Translation Strategy Needs an AI Upgrade

November 19th, 2024 No comments

What’s Wrong With Your Translation Strategy?

For businesses to reach international audiences in today’s global marketplace, having an efficient, updated, and scalable translation strategy is important. However, many companies still rely on outdated methods that may no longer meet modern demands. Whether you’re a translation company, localization project manager, or a business with frequent multilingual content needs, it’s important to recognize the signs that indicate it’s time for an AI upgrade. This article explores 5 key indicators that your translation strategy might need some help from AI technology—and how utilizing it can simplify your operations.

1. Slow Turnaround Times

If your translation projects consistently miss deadlines or take too long to finish, it’s a clear sign that your strategy might be outdated. Traditional methods that rely solely on human translators can be very slow, especially when handling large volumes of content or scaling operations.

AI-powered tools can significantly quicken this process. William Spalding, Localization Senior Project Manager at Spotify, highlights the need for efficiency in translation workflows, stating, “The buyer lacks understanding, oversight, and control of their quality while the seller struggles to meet quality expectations because the buyer is too hands-off, and the linguists don’t have the support or feedback they need.” 

2. Quality Consistency Issues

Inconsistent quality is also a common problem when human translators work without the support of advanced tools. If you find that the quality of translations varies across projects or languages, it’s another strong indication that your current strategy may benefit from an AI upgrade. It can be challenging to maintain a consistent tone and accuracy, especially when multiple translators are involved or when the volume of content is too large to be handled manually.

AI tools help maintain consistency by using translation memories and glossaries, making sure that linguists and translators have the support they need to maintain quality across different and multiple projects. Chris Fetner, director of the Entertainment Globalization Association, points out that achieving perfection in translation can be expensive, but having high standards is necessary: “You want it to be very good, but when you try to go to perfection, the return on investment becomes uninteresting.” AI provides a solution to this problem by ensuring a consistent and high level of quality while simultaneously reducing the burden on human resources.

3. Difficulty Scaling Operations

It’s also a sign to upgrade your translation strategy if you continue to struggle with handling increasing volumes of content or adapting to new languages. Outdated methodologies often fail to offer the scalability needed for expanding businesses, making it difficult to meet the growing demand efficiently.

Neil Patel, founder of Neil Patel Digital, notes that “there is already a lot of content in English but not enough in other languages, even though the majority of the people in this world don’t speak English.” AI-powered solutions are essential for businesses looking to expand globally, as they can automate large-scale processes and manage multiple languages simultaneously, allowing companies to scale operations without significantly increasing costs or compromising quality.

4. High Costs Without a Proportionate Return on Investment (ROI)

It’s also important to examine if your increasing translation costs are bringing any improvement in your ROI. Because if not, that’s another clear sign that your current approach might not be that sustainable for the long run. It can be very difficult to manage multiple languages and complex content without the support of AI, which could make businesses find themselves investing heavily without seeing significant gains in efficiency or quality.

Robert Casten Carlberg, CEO of Nuanxed, emphasizes the importance of evolving methodologies: “[While translators are] essential in maintaining high-quality literature in translation, [their] methodologies will need to evolve alongside technological advancements. Integrating AI into the translators’ toolbox [will enhance productivity] without sacrificing creativity or quality.” AI not only helps reduce costs by automating repetitive tasks but also improves the productivity of human translators, thus improving overall ROI.

5. Limited Language Capabilities

Now, if your strategy is still limited to a few languages or struggles with specialized content, it’s another clear sign that an AI upgrade is necessary. As companies expand into new regions and countries, the demand for diverse language capabilities and specialized expertise increases. Relying solely on human translators without the support of AI can make it difficult to meet these demands.

Ofer Tirosh, CEO of Tomedes, a translation company, notes that “AI isn’t just the future—it’s already reshaping how translation companies deliver exceptional services today.” By incorporating AI, businesses can easily handle a broader range of languages and specialized content, such as legal or technical documents.

It’s Time To Upgrade Now

If you recognize any of these signs in your current translation strategy, it may be time to consider integrating AI into your workflow. Whether it’s improving turnaround times, maintaining consistency, scaling up operations, managing costs, or expanding language capabilities, AI provides a solution to the challenges faced by today’s translation companies.

The integration of AI is becoming essential for businesses looking to stay competitive in the global market. The industry will just continue to evolve and change, which is why combining human expertise with advanced technology will ensure that companies can meet the demands of a diverse, multilingual world without any problems. If you are considering modernizing your translation processes, exploring AI tools such as Google Translate, MachineTranslation.com, DeepL, Reverso, and AITranslator.com may be the next major step in optimizing your strategy.

Featured image by Andrew Stutesman on Unsplash

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AI’s Transformative Impact On Web Design: Supercharging Productivity Across The Industry

November 19th, 2024 No comments

As I sit down to write this article, I can’t help but marvel at the incredible changes sweeping through our industry. For the first time in my career, I feel like we’re no longer limited by our technology but by our imagination. Well, almost. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the web design landscape in ways we could only dream of a few years ago, and I’m excited to share with you how it’s supercharging our productivity across various aspects of our work.

AI Is A Partner, Not A Competitor

Now, before we dive in, let me assure you: AI isn’t here to replace us. At least, not for a while yet. There are still crucial areas where human expertise reigns supreme. AI struggles with strategic planning that considers the nuances of human behavior and market trends. It can’t match our emotional intelligence when navigating client relationships and team dynamics. And when it comes to creative thinking that pushes boundaries and creates truly innovative solutions, we humans still have the upper hand.

But here’s the exciting part: AI is becoming an invaluable tool that’s supercharging our productivity. Think of it as having a highly capable intern at your disposal. As the Nielsen Norman Group aptly put it in their article “AI as an Intern,” we need to approach AI tools with the right mindset. Double-check their work, use them for initial drafts rather than final products, and provide specific instructions and relevant context.

The key to harnessing AI’s power lies in working with it collaboratively.

Don’t expect perfect results on the first try. Instead, engage in a back-and-forth conversation, refining the AI output through iteration. This process of continuous improvement is where AI truly shines, dramatically speeding up our workflow.

Let’s explore how AI is reshaping different areas of our industry, looking at some of the many tools available to us.

AI In Design: Unleashing Creativity And Efficiency

In the realm of design, AI is proving to be a game-changer. It’s particularly adept at:

  • Collaborating on layout;
  • Generating the perfect image;
  • Refining and adapting existing imagery.

Take AI in Figma, for instance. It’s become my go-to for generating dummy content and tidying up my layers. The time saved on these mundane tasks allows me to focus more on the creative aspects of design.

Generative imagery tools like Krea, which uses Flux, have revolutionized how we source visuals. Gone are the days of endlessly scrolling through stock libraries. Now, we can describe exactly what we need, and AI will create it for us. This level of customization and specificity is a game changer for creating unique, on-brand visuals.

Relume is another tool I’ve found incredibly useful. It’s great for a collaborative back-and-forth over designs or for quickly putting together designs for smaller sites. The ability to iterate rapidly with AI assistance has significantly sped up my design process.

And let’s not forget about Adobe. Their upcoming tools, such as lighting matching for composite images, are set to take our design capabilities to new heights. If you want to see more of what’s on the horizon, I highly recommend checking out the latest Adobe Max presentations.

AI In Coding: Boosting Developer Productivity

The impact of AI on coding is nothing short of revolutionary. According to a McKinsey study, developers using AI tools performed coding tasks like code generation, refactoring, and documentation 20%-50% faster on average compared to those not using AI tools. That’s a significant productivity boost!

AI is helping developers in several key areas:

  • Coding faster;
  • Debugging more efficiently;
  • Automatically generating code comments;
  • Writing basic code.

To put this into perspective, AI now writes 25% of the code at Google. That’s a staggering figure from one of the world’s leading tech companies.

Tools like Cursor AI and GitHub Copilot are at the forefront of this revolution, offering features such as:

  • AI pair programming with predictive code edits;
  • Natural language code editing;
  • Chat interfaces for asking questions and getting help.

I’ve personally been amazed by what ChatGPT 01-Preview can do. I’ve used it to build simple WordPress plugins in minutes, tasks that would have taken me significantly longer in the past.

AI In UX: Enhancing User Research And Analysis

In the field of User Experience (UX), AI is opening up new possibilities for research and analysis. It’s allowing us to:

  • Conduct user research at scale;
  • Analyze open-ended qualitative feedback;
  • Query analytic data using natural language;
  • Predict user behavior.

I’ve found ChatGPT to be an invaluable tool for data analysis, particularly when it comes to making sense of analytics and survey responses. It can quickly identify patterns and insights that might take us hours to uncover manually.

Tools like Strella are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in user research. AI can now perform user interviews at scale, allowing us to gather insights from a much larger pool of users than ever before.

Attention Insight is another fascinating tool. It uses AI to predict where people will look on a page, providing valuable data for optimizing layouts and user interfaces.

Microsoft Clarity has also upped its game, allowing us to ask questions about our analytic insights, heatmaps, and session recordings. This natural language interface makes it easier than ever to extract meaningful insights from our data.

AI In Copywriting: Elevating Content Quality And Efficiency

When it comes to copywriting, AI is proving to be a powerful ally. It’s helping us:

  • Transform poor-quality stakeholder content into web-optimized copy;
  • Brainstorm value propositions and create high-converting copy;
  • Craft compelling business cases and strategy documentation;
  • Write standard operating procedures.

Notion AI has become one of my go-to tools for content creation. It combines the best of ChatGPT and Claude, allowing it to draw upon a wide range of provided source material to write detailed documentation, articles, and reports.

ChatGPT has been a game-changer for improving the quality of website copy. It can take user questions and bullet-point answers from subject specialists and transform them into web-optimized content. I’ve found it particularly useful for defining value propositions and writing high-converting copy.

For refining existing content, the Hemingway Editor is invaluable. It can take the existing copy and make it clearer, more concise, and easier to scan — essential qualities for effective web content.

AI In Administration: Streamlining Mundane Tasks

AI isn’t just transforming the technical aspects of our work; it’s also making a significant impact on those mundane administrative tasks that often eat up our time. By leveraging AI, we can streamline various aspects of our daily workflow, allowing us to focus more on high-value activities.

Here are some ways AI is helping us tackle administrative tasks more efficiently:

  • Getting our thoughts down faster;
  • Writing better emails;
  • Summarizing long emails or Slack threads;
  • Speeding up research;
  • Backing up arguments with relevant data.

Let me share some personal experiences with AI tools that have transformed my administrative workflow:

I’ve dramatically increased my writing speed using Flow. This tool has taken me from typing at 49 words per minute to dictating at over 95 words per minute. Not only does it allow me to dictate, but it also tidies up my words to ensure they read well and are grammatically correct.

For email writing, I’ve found Fixkey to be invaluable. It helps me rewrite or reformat copy quickly. I’ve even set up a prompt that tones down my emails when I’m feeling particularly irritable, ensuring they sound reasonable and professional.

Dealing with long email threads or Slack conversations can be time-consuming. That’s where Spark comes in handy. It summarizes lengthy threads, saving me valuable time. Interestingly, this feature is now built into iOS for all notifications, making it even more accessible.

When it comes to research, Google Notebook LLM has been a game-changer. I can feed it large amounts of data on a subject and quickly extract valuable insights. This tool has significantly sped up my research process.

Lastly, if I need to back up an argument with a statistic or quote, Perplexity has become my go-to resource. It quickly finds relevant sources I can quote, adding credibility to my work without the need for extensive manual searches.

Conclusion: Embracing AI For A More Productive Future

As I wrap up this article, I realize I’ve only scratched the surface of what AI can do for our industry. The real challenge isn’t in the technology itself but in breaking out of our established routines and taking the time to experiment with what’s possible.

I believe we need to cultivate a new habit: pausing before each new task to consider how AI could help us approach it differently. The winners in this new reality will be those who can best integrate this technology into their workflow.

AI isn’t replacing us — it’s empowering us to work smarter and more efficiently. By embracing these tools and learning to collaborate effectively with AI, we can focus more on the aspects of our work that truly require human creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the rapid pace of change, don’t worry. We’re all learning and adapting together. Remember, the goal isn’t to become an AI expert overnight but to gradually incorporate these tools into your work in ways that make sense for you and your projects.

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Why Responsive Design is Failing Modern Users

November 18th, 2024 No comments

Yet, despite its widespread adoption, modern users are increasingly frustrated. Why? Because the once-revolutionary approach is failing to keep up with the evolving demands of today’s digital landscape.

In this article, we’ll dive into the limitations of responsive design, explore why it often falls short for modern users, and discuss how developers and designers can adapt to address these challenges.

The Promise of Responsive Design

When Ethan Marcotte introduced the concept of responsive web design (RWD) in 2010, it was groundbreaking. The methodology relied on flexible grids, fluid images, and media queries to ensure that a website could gracefully adapt to different screen sizes.

At its core, responsive design sought to enhance usability across devices, eliminate the need for maintaining separate mobile and desktop websites, and future-proof websites against new screen resolutions and device types. The approach was a perfect solution for its time, addressing the fragmented device market and providing a unified codebase for developers. However, as technology and user behavior evolved, cracks began to show.

Where Responsive Design Falls Short

Device Diversity is Outpacing RWD Frameworks

In 2010, developers primarily worried about three types of screens: desktop, tablet, and mobile. Today, the landscape is far more complex. Foldable phones with dual screens, smartwatches with minuscule displays, large-format monitors and ultrawide screens, and smart TVs with built-in browsers have all entered the market.

Responsive design frameworks often rely on breakpoints—predefined screen widths where the layout shifts. But how do you define breakpoints for devices with vastly unique form factors? This rigidity makes many responsive websites feel awkward or unoptimized on newer devices.

Performance Issues

Responsive design is frequently implemented with the philosophy of “designing for the smallest screen first and scaling up.” While this approach (mobile-first design) has its merits, it can lead to performance issues on larger devices.

Many websites load unnecessary assets, scripts, and styles meant for high-resolution screens, even when accessed on mobile devices. The result is websites that are bloated and slow, particularly in regions with limited internet bandwidth.

Modern users demand speed, and when responsive sites fail to deliver, frustration sets in.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Responsive design’s primary goal is to create a consistent experience across devices, but consistency can sometimes come at the cost of usability.

Navigation menus designed for desktop often become cumbersome on mobile. Call-to-action buttons that look great on a phone may appear oversized or intrusive on a tablet. Typography scaling can render text too small to read comfortably on certain devices.

Instead of creating truly optimized experiences for each device, responsive design tends to settle for mediocrity across all platforms.

Lack of Context Awareness

Modern users’ needs extend beyond screen size. They’re influenced by device capabilities (e.g., touchscreens vs. keyboard and mouse), connection speeds, and bandwidth limits, as well as user intentions (e.g., quick information lookup vs. in-depth reading).

Responsive design doesn’t account for these nuances. For instance, a user on a mobile device might prefer simplified content or fewer images to save data, but a responsive site often delivers the same content as its desktop counterpart.

Accessibility Challenges

Accessibility is a crucial part of modern web design, yet many responsive websites fail to meet basic accessibility standards. Issues such as poorly scaling elements that break screen reader compatibility, over-reliance on hover states for navigation, and improper contrast ratios that become unreadable on certain screens are common.

While these problems aren’t exclusive to responsive design, they’re exacerbated by the “one-size-fits-all” mentality that responsive frameworks encourage.

The Rise of New User Expectations

Modern users are not just browsing the web; they’re living digitally integrated lives. Their expectations have evolved, shaped by experiences with intuitive apps, fast-loading progressive web applications (PWAs), and AI-driven interfaces.

Users now expect personalized experiences that cater to their preferences, location, and behavior. Responsive design, by focusing solely on screen size, doesn’t inherently support personalization. A generic layout fails to address users’ individual needs.

Websites are no longer static pages; they’re dynamic, interactive experiences. Parallax scrolling, 3D animations, and complex interactions often break or degrade on responsive sites because these elements weren’t designed with device-specific capabilities in mind.

Additionally, the rise of voice assistants and gesture-based navigation (e.g., swiping on phones) means users interact with devices in ways that traditional responsive design doesn’t consider.

Moving Beyond Responsive Design

To meet the demands of modern users, web design must evolve beyond the limitations of traditional responsive frameworks. Adaptive design offers a way forward by creating multiple fixed layouts tailored to specific device types. Instead of relying on fluid grids, adaptive sites detect the user’s device and serve the most appropriate version.

This approach offers more control over the user experience on each device and reduces unnecessary elements, optimizing performance. However, it requires more design and development effort and can increase maintenance complexity.

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) blur the lines between websites and native apps by offering offline functionality, lightning-fast performance, and a more app-like experience. By focusing on the capabilities of the device rather than its screen size, PWAs can deliver a more tailored experience.

Another approach involves prioritizing content. Instead of cramming all desktop content into a smaller screen, designers should focus on delivering only the most relevant information based on context. Techniques such as progressive disclosure, which shows essential content first and hides secondary elements behind expandable sections, and conditional loading, which serves lightweight versions of content for users on slower connections, can enhance usability.

Context-aware design, which uses data like location, device type, and user behavior to adapt the experience dynamically, is another promising direction. For example, displaying a map when a user accesses a site near a physical store or offering larger touch targets for devices without a keyboard or mouse can greatly improve the user experience.

Accessibility-first design ensures that all users, regardless of their abilities or devices, can navigate and interact with the site effectively. This includes testing designs with screen readers and keyboard navigation as well as implementing scalable typography and flexible layouts.

Finally, component-based design systems like React or Vue allow developers to create reusable, modular elements that adapt dynamically. Components can respond to both device size and capabilities and load selectively to optimize performance.

A Call to Action for Designers and Developers

It’s clear that the future of web design requires more than just “making things fit.” Designers and developers must embrace a mindset of adaptability rather than rigid frameworks. They must prioritize user-first thinking that considers context, behavior, and preferences, while leveraging new tools and technologies to address the limitations of responsive design.

Responsive design isn’t dead, but it’s no longer enough. By acknowledging its shortcomings and building on its foundations, we can create experiences that truly resonate with modern users.

Responsive design has served us well, but the digital world has changed. It’s time for web professionals to look forward and design for the future, not just for the screen.

Categories: Designing, Others Tags:

AI Chatbot Industry Evolving the World

November 18th, 2024 No comments

AI chatbots are creating a new way of transforming the customers’ experience. It is all about intelligent assistants, who are capable of transforming business operations, improving user experiences, and can bring innovation. 

The AI technology is taking the world by storm. These chatbots have all to offer from assisting individuals with their content requirements to availing the admiring solutions to customized issues. 

Let’s learn more about the benefits of AI chatbots with this blog. 

What are the Top Advantages of AI Chatbots?

Depending on the diversified industry and its project-oriented tasks, the AI chatbot has much to offer. 

Here is the series of benefits that AI Chatbots can avail. 

  • Quick Responses

In the fast-paced world, customers look for solutions that match their needs and can be found quickly. With AI Chatbot, users can find more fast responses that deal with their customized issues. 

Customers want fast and easy service, even during the peak hours. Thus, with instant support, the AI Chatbots eliminate the waiting time. 

Additionally, there are plenty of options available in front of them to get information from any source, thus avoiding AI chatbots at your service or any industry can be a task not to be ignored. 

  • Anytime, Anywhere Service

AI Chatbots solve the issues of the users anytime and anywhere. They interact with the customers according to their preferences. 

The users may interact with these AI Chatbots anywhere, whether over the webpages, via mobile, telephone, in-store kiosks, and diversified other tools. 

Based on six out of ten U.S. customer’s responses, 61% stated that the platform can be operated 24/7. With the help of the omnichannel approach, the AI Chatbot offers anytime service to the users.

  • Offers Personalized Responses

AI chatbots are designed in a way to provide customized services to users based on their issues and challenges. Here one of the only priorities is to provide the right prompt and users can get an effective answer that matches their vibe, Woohoo!

With the help of advanced algorithms, AI Chatbots can analyze the user’s data to provide personalized recommendations that will be valuable to the users’ needs. 

They are designed in a way to provide suggestions based on the customers’ browsing history and their changing purchasing behavior. 

  • Decreases Bounce Rates

The AI chatbots are far better to retain users. These chatbots with advanced technologies help to drive interaction by engaging the audiences and addressing the issues for which they have come over brand’s app or websites. 

This benefit completely favors the industries and companies offering diversified services in order to take the users on board. 

Such kind of engagement can assist the users over the website to stay longer and to improve customer care. Here AI chatbot assists in retaining the users by popping up when they are about to leave. 

  • Multilingual Conversation Support

With the assistance of an AI Chatbot, the users can have multiple language support. Bots are widely available in different languages that encourage the users to get responses and support to meet customer expectations. 

This feature of AI Chatbot is valuable for the customers along with the companies to provide the users with the type of assistance that they prefer to get and assist the brands to retain the users, effectively. 

With this feature, the users can explain the issue in their language more transparently and clearly. 

  • Reduces Operational Cost

AI Chatbots provide a much wider benefit in favor of industries and companies. Here they need not hire a customer service executive or can have it only for a more complicated procedure. 

Here being a brand or company, brands can optimize the processes that require human resources. Thus, it is a more effective step towards overcoming the operational expenses with a simple shift to AI Chatbots. 

Additionally, it will provide benefits to company’s staff and enhance the user experience by managing employee turnover. 

  • Improves Customer Satisfaction

AI Chabots provides fast and accurate services based on the users’ needs and demands. This benefit can be considered for installing or implementing this technology in the business. 

This technology is built to provide quick responses to customer queries, through offering personalized solutions that meet their needs. 

It is designed in a way to automate tasks such as lead scoring, follow-up reminders, and data entry. 

  • Lead Generation

It is a suitable benefit for industries, where they can get effective leads by responding to the customers on time with the personalized responses that they require. 

Here the users can identify potential customers, collect their detailed contact information along provide a boost to the products as well as services offered by the brand. 

Apart from these, AI Chatbots are developed for gathering valuable information for nurturing prospects via marketing. This will assist the brand to target the users and address their needs. 

  • Boost Sales

Through lead generation and connecting with prospective customers, the AI Chatbots are determined to boost sales and provide responsive services catering to users’ needs. 

Additionally, the chatbots are designed to boost responsive times by guiding the users to make a purchase and assisting them in addressing all their queries in the best possible manner. 

For developing complex purchases with the help of a multi-step sales funnel, the AI Chatbot is advanced enough to directly connect the users with the trained sales agent based on their diversified preferences. 

  • Eligible to Gather New Insights

With the assistance of AI Chatbots, the brands can collect valuable user insights about what kind of products or services, the users are interested in and how far they have come to take it from your company. 

Along with this, the AI Chatbots are developed in a way to deliver responsive recommendations based on these insights. 

Such Insights can further be useful in enhancing the customer experience and boosting brand connections with them. 

Conclusion

AI Chatbots have come a long way to provide customized user services, by offering the users personalized results that they seek. With this technology, the users can get a service anytime, anywhere. 

Additionally, this technology helps to gather valuable users’ data, analyze it, and then produce recommendations in their favor. It will provide effective leads, boost sales, and reduce bounce rates. Hence, implementing and using AI Chatbots can assist in driving a long way to success for the brands and customers.

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Top WordPress Migration Tools You Should Consider in 2025

November 15th, 2024 No comments

Are you looking to migrate your existing WordPress website?

Perhaps your current hosting solution is outdated. Or, you’re planning to scale and want to switch to a larger hosting provider. Regardless of the reason, migrating a WordPress website with all its data can be hard.

Without the right strategy or tools, WordPress website migrations can result in issues like slow performance, incomplete data transfer, or even bugs such as JavaScript errors that affect functionality. 

To prevent these issues and ensure a seamless migration, it’s important to use tools designed specifically for the task. Let’s take a look at them, along with their features and benefits.

Best WordPress Migration Tools in 2025

1. BlogVault

Source

BlogVault is a versatile migration tool that offers premium incremental backups, secure cloud storage, one-click restore, and much more. As of 2024, over 1,974 sites have used it. 

Features:

  • Incremental backups: The tool provides failproof incremental backups that create data copies every time there’s a change.  
  • Enterprise-grade data security: BlogVault ensures complete security for data backups, with encryption and authentication.
  • Reliable restores: This feature ensures seamless restores of up to 100 GB of data. 
  • Integrated staging environment: You can effortlessly create a staging site using BlogVault to test migrations and website changes. 
  • WordPress security: BlogVault gives you access to WordPress security features using the site’s plugin, so security is not compromised even when migrating.
  • Cross-platform support: Not just for WordPress, Blogvault can assist users migrating from other content management systems. For example, it offers Drupal to WordPress migration service, making the switch smoother while retaining all your site’s data and structure.

Pricing: BlogVault is available for free with limited features. However, it also offers a wide range of premium features starting at $199/year. 

2.  Duplicator Migration Plugin

Source

If you’re looking for a tool that offers secure backups, quick restores, and migration assistance, the Duplicator Migrator Plugin is a great option. 

Features: 

  • Solid backup options: This migration plugin tool allows an automatic backup schedule, ensuring timely storage of data. 
  • Large site support: It allows you to back up even larger WordPress Sites. 
  • Multi-site migrations: The tool extends support to multi-site migrations, so you can easily move all your WordPress sites at once.
  • Custom-search and replace: It replaces old URLs with new ones for your site post-migration. 
  • Server-to-server import: It supports transfers by utilizing the cloud servers, saving time.
  • SEO-friendly migrations: Using Duplicator alongside an SEO analyzer helps ensure your site’s SEO performance remains strong after the migration.

Pricing: The Duplicator Migration Plugin offers access to several features depending on its subscription plans, starting at $49/year

3. All-in-one WP Migration

Source

All-in-one WP Migration is the perfect tool for beginners and is entirely user-friendly. It’s known for its simplified migration process and efficient backup services. Plus, with reliability as its major advantage, this is one of the best migration tools you can choose. 

Features: 

  • One-Click Transfer: The feature eliminates the need to switch between multiple tools and offers single-click export. 
  • Fast and Personal Support: The team provides quick and fast support in case of any issues. 
  • Mobile Migrations: You can also carry out mobile website migrations easily. 
  • Secure and Reliable: The tool continuously updates the security features to ensure data safety.
  • Free of Code: This tool doesn’t require any coding for migration. You can migrate your website even with little to no technical knowledge. 

Pricing: The All-in-one WP Migration tool is available free of cost. However, it costs $69 if you need the unlimited extension to remove import size restrictions. 

4. WP Migrate DB

Source

WP Migrate DB primarily focuses on transferring WordPress databases between installations. If you want to test out migrations in multiple stages, this tool might be right for you.

Features: 

  • Push and pull databases: This tool makes performing varied tasks, such as pulling the live database from your older website, easier. 
  • Easy find & replace: It offers the option of finding and replacing URLs and datasets without corrupting any data. 
  • Bulletproof backup: WP Migrate DB specializes in providing solid backup services that are secure and easily accessible. 
  • Large site migrations: It primarily focuses on offering support to large site migrations. 

Pricing: This tool’s subscription starts at $49. It also offers a media and file migration add-on that costs $189 and exclusively requires a developer license. 

5. WPBackItUp

Source

If you’re on a budget, check out WPBackItUp. It’s a migration tool with over 30,000 users specializing in solid backup services, restoration, cloning, and site migration. This tool offers robust features at affordable prices. 

Features: 

  • Unlimited backups: This tool allows unlimited backups, eliminating any data loss concerns.
  • Safe and secure storage: It allows data to be stored safely in cloud providers such as Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. 
  • Backup compressions: This helps optimize storage by reducing the size of data backups, which in turn lowers storage costs. This way, you can significantly save space and make your storage strategy more efficient and cost-effective.

Pricing: This WordPress Migration tool offers access to premium features starting at $79/year.

6. Solid Backups 

Source

Solid Backups is one of the oldest and most reliable WordPress migration tools. It offers complete WordPress backups including external files, databases, and more. This tool boasts a solid customer base and has been around since 2010.

Features: 

  • Automated backup and restore: This migration tool offers automated backups and restore services. 
  • Malware scanning option: BackupBuddy grants access to a built-in malware scanner, to prevent any malicious activity during website migration. 
  • Deployment feature: This feature allows you to set up a WordPress staging site and connect it to your existing site with a few clicks. 

Pricing: SolidWP offers premium Solid Backup plans starting at $99/year.

7. UpDraftPlus

Source

UpDraftPlus is one of the premium migration tools, that allows quick and easier migration and cloning options. If you want a simpler option, this tool also offers an extension, UpDraftPlus Migrator, for website cloning. 

Features: 

  • Clone sites quickly: Using this tool, you can clone your sites within minutes without hassle. 
  • Remote storage: It provides cloud storage options, so you can store website backups remotely. 
  • Multisite backups: You can back up all your WordPress sites simultaneously, even if you have large data files.
  • Incremental backups: With UpDraftPlus, you can choose to back up only the data that has been changed to save server resources.

Pricing: The UpDraftPlus Migrator Premium starts at $49/year. 

Choose the Right WordPress Migration Tool for a Smooth Transition

Migrating your WordPress site doesn’t have to be a stressful, time-consuming process. With the right tools, you can seamlessly move your website, protect your data, and avoid downtime. An expert WordPress development company understands the importance of a hassle-free migration.

Whether you’re looking for a free, beginner-friendly option or a feature-packed solution for large-scale migrations, these seven tools offer everything you need to get the job done. So, pick the one that suits your needs, and make your WordPress migration as smooth as possible.

Featured image by Fikret tozak on Unsplash

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Drive Traffic and Sales: Why You Need to Hire PPC Experts

November 14th, 2024 No comments

PPC can be a brilliant strategy to boost your website traffic. However, it’s a complex endeavor, and you may lose money if you don’t have a precise plan. Many businesses choose to work with PPC experts to maximize their spending and conversions.

Once you choose to work with experts, they will manage your Pay-Per-Click campaign for you and suggest changes to maximize the effectiveness of your ad. Managing a successful PPC campaign requires a level of expertise and time that many ecommerce brands simply don’t have. That’s where hiring a PPC expert comes in.

Why Should You Use Pay-Per-Click Advertising?

You may be curious whether pay-per-click advertising is right for your business. Like any kind of digital marketing services, PPC comes with its advantages and disadvantages. Where consumer behavior shifts rapidly, the PPC advertising benefits extend beyond mere traffic generation; they include enhanced brand visibility, improved conversion rates, and a measurable return on investment. Ideally, PPC should only be a part of a much larger digital marketing campaign, allowing you to use it to its full potential. Here are the benefits of PPC advertising.

1. Improve Traffic and Sales

PPC improves traffic and sales significantly, boosting website visits and generating immediate engagement. This strategy directly translates to increased sales opportunities, helping businesses achieve their revenue goals quickly and efficiently.

2. Helps Analyze Customer Behavior

PPC campaigns provide valuable insights into customer behavior, enabling businesses to track interactions and preferences. This data helps refine marketing strategies, leading to more effective targeting and increased conversions.

3. Targeted Reach

With PPC advertising, you can precisely target specific demographics and geographic locations. This targeted reach ensures your ads connect with the right audience, maximizing the chances of engagement and conversion.

4. Enhanced Brand Awareness

Regularly appearing in search results and across various platforms boosts brand visibility. PPC advertising enhances brand awareness, making potential customers more familiar with your offerings and increasing overall market presence.

5. Performance Measurement

PPC allows for detailed performance measurement through analytics tools. By tracking key metrics, businesses can assess campaign effectiveness, make data-driven adjustments, and optimize their marketing efforts for better results.

Key Benefits of Working with a Professional PPC Expert

A PPC expert is crucial to maximizing the success of any digital marketing campaign. They ensure you have the maximum ROI on your investment, take care of your bid management, budget tracking, keyword insight, and analytics necessary to generate traffic and sales.

Their deep understanding of complex algorithms allows them to make the right decisions and make real-time adjustments. Partnering with a PPC expert results in a successful online presence.

PPC Marketing Strategy

Pay-per-click experts craft PPC marketing strategies by conducting thorough market research and analyzing competitor activities. They leverage real-time data to create campaigns that adapt to market trends, ensuring ads are timely and relevant to potential customers.

Immediate Results

PPC campaigns are designed to deliver immediate results by driving traffic to websites as soon as they are activated. This swift influx of visitors allows businesses to start generating leads and sales almost instantly, providing a rapid return on investment.

Targeted Reach

PPC allows for a highly targeted reach by enabling advertisers to define specific demographics, interests, and locations for their campaigns. This precision is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of PPC for traffic and sales, ensuring that ads are shown to users who are most likely to convert.

Budget Control

PPC provides excellent budget control, allowing businesses to set daily or monthly spending limits. This flexibility means advertisers can allocate their budgets strategically and make adjustments based on performance, ensuring cost-effectiveness.

Measurable Outcomes

PPC offers measurable outcomes through robust tracking and analytics tools. Businesses can monitor key metrics such as click-through rates and conversion rates, allowing them to assess campaign effectiveness and refine strategies based on data-driven insights.

Brand Visibility

PPC significantly improves brand visibility by placing ads prominently in search results and across various platforms. This consistent exposure enhances brand awareness, making it easier for potential customers to recognize and trust the brand, ultimately driving future sales.

How to Choose the Right PPC Expert

You may easily find professional PPC services, but the real quest is which one you should consider. Before you connect with any service provider, be clear with your question, it will help you get answers and help you make a wise decision.

Other than this, there are several factors to consider when selecting a PPC agency.

1. Services

Find out whether the company can handle everything you need for a PPC marketing strategy. Their expertise and experience will help you decide whether they are the right choice for your paid campaign. Additionally, you can see what other services they offer to their clients. Digital marketing agencies offer comprehensive services, including SEO and SMO.

For example, an agency that offers both PPC and content marketing can create more cohesive campaigns that drive better results.

2. Location

Do you want to work with a local PPC agency, or does any location work for you? A local service provider or agency would be best if you would like a one-on-one session. Sometimes, it also holds you back. Email, video meetings, and phone calls are more transparent, and you will have records of your conversations. Also, video calls are great for connecting anytime.

For instance, partnering with a local agency can facilitate face-to-face brainstorming sessions, while a remote agency might offer more flexible scheduling options.

3. Transparency

Choosing one with a good market reputation will provide complete transparency. What will be the budget, how often will they post, and what will be the strategy? A complete breakdown gives precise answers from whoever you talk to from the agencies.

Additionally, agencies that use transparent reporting tools allow you to monitor campaign performance in real-time, ensuring you’re always informed about where your money is going.

4. Industry expertise

Expertise goes beyond knowing how to use different ad platforms, although that’s still pretty important. Unlike an inexperienced person, a professional has a strategy to make your brand’s digital presence. They understand the target audience, PPC strategy and specific phrasing to use.

For example, an agency with experience in the e-commerce sector will know how to optimize product listings and leverage seasonal trends effectively.

5. Cost

Be precise with the payment method of the agency, PPC agency rates might come as a flat fee or as a percentage of your ad spend. It’s not always the case that you get ROI on your PPC campaign. Think before you hire PPC professionals.

For instance, some agencies offer performance-based pricing, where you pay based on the results they deliver, which can align their incentives with your business goals.

Choosing the right PPC expert involves carefully evaluating these factors to ensure a good fit for your business needs and goals. By considering services, location, transparency, industry expertise, and cost, you can make an informed decision that will drive successful PPC campaigns.

Conclusion

Leveraging PPC advertising benefits, you can drive traffic and sales to your business. Hiring a PPC expert ensures your campaigns are strategically created and optimally customized for your business goals.

Choosing a professional will save time and resources that can be better spent on core business activities. Consider complementing your marketing efforts by choosing a comprehensive service provider offering SEO and SMO expertise.

Find the best agency and hire digital marketing experts to create a strategic approach that drives growth. Take the next step toward success and contact a pay-per-click expert today to unlock your business’s full potential!

Featured image by Austin Distel on Unsplash

The post Drive Traffic and Sales: Why You Need to Hire PPC Experts appeared first on noupe.

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Open-Source Meets Design Tooling With Penpot

November 14th, 2024 No comments

This article is a sponsored by Penpot

Penpot is a free, open-source design tool that allows true collaboration between designers and developers. Designers can create interactive prototypes and design systems at scale, while developers enjoy ready-to-use code and make their workflow easy and fast because it’s built with web technologies, works in the browser, and has already passed 33K starts on GitHub.

The UI feels intuitive and makes it easy to get things done, even for someone who’s not a designer (guilty as charged!). You can get things done in the same way and with the same quality as with other more popular and closed-source tools like Figma.

Why Open-Source Is Important

As someone who works with commercial open-source on my day-to-day, I strongly believe in it as a way to be closer to your users and unlock the next level of delivery. Being open-source creates a whole new level of accountability and flexibility for a tool.

Developers are a different breed of user. When we hit a quirk or a gap in the UX, our first instinct is to play detective and figure out why that pattern stuck out as a sore thumb to what we’ve been doing. When the code is open-source, it’s not unusual for us to jump into the source and create an issue with a proposal on how to solve it already. At least, that’s the dream.

On top of that, being open-source allows you and your team to self-host, giving you that extra layer of privacy and control, or at least a more cost-effective solution if you have the time and skills to DYI it all.

When the cards are played right, and the team is able to afford the long-term benefits, commercial open-source is a win-win strategy.

Introducing: Penpot Plugin System

Talking about the extensibility of open-source, Penpot has the PenpotHub the home for open-source templates and the newly released plugin gallery. So now, if there’s a functionality missing, you don’t need to jump into the code-base straightaway — you can create a plugin to achieve what you need. And you can even serve it from localhost!

Creating Penpot Plugins

When it comes to the plugins, creating one is extremely ergonomic. First, there are already set templates for a few frameworks, and I created one for SolidJS in this PR — the power of open-source!

When using Vite, plugins are Single-Page Applications; if you have ever built a Hello World app with Vite, you have what it takes to create a plugin. On top of that, the Penpot team has a few packages that can give you a headstart in the process:

npm install @penpot/plugin-styles

That will allow you to import with a CSS loader or a CSS import from @penpot/plugin-styles/styles.css. The JavaScript API is available through the window object, but if your plugin is in TypeScript, you need to teach it:

npm add -D @penpot/plugin-types

With those types in your node_modules, you can pop-up the tsconfig.json and add the types to the compilerOptions.

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "types": ["@penpot/plugin-types"]
  }
}

And there you are, now, the Language Service Provider in your editor and the TypeScript Compiler will accept that penpot is a valid namespace, and you’ll have auto-completion for the Penpot APIs throughout your entire project. For example, defining your plugin will look like the following:

penpot.ui.open("Your Plugin Name", "", {
  width: 500,
  height: 600
})

The last step is to define a plugin manifest in a manifest.json file and make sure it’s in the outpot directory from Vite. The manifest will indicate where each asset is and what permissions your plugin requires to work:

{
  "name": "Your Plugin Name",
  "description": "A Super plugin that will win Penpot Plugin Contest",
  "code": "/plugin.js",
  "icon": "/icon.png",
  "permissions": [
    "content:read",
    "content:write",
    "library:read",
    "library:write",
    "user:read",
    "comment:read",
    "comment:write",
    "allow:downloads"
  ]
}

Once the initial setup is done, the communication between the Penpot API and the plugin interface is done with a bidirectional messaging system, not so different than what you’d do with a Web-Worker.

So, to send a message from your plugin to the Penpot API, you can do the following:

penpot.ui.sendMessage("Hello from my Plugin");

And to receive it back, you need to add an event listener to the window object (the top-level scope) of your plugin:

window.addEventListener("message", event => {
  console.log("Received from Pendpot::: ", event.data);
})

A quick performance tip: If you’re creating a more complex plugin with different views and perhaps even routes, you need to have a cleanup logic. Most frameworks provide decent ergonomics to do that; for example, React does it via their return statements.

useEffect(() => {
  function handleMessage(e) {
    console.log("Received from Pendpot::: ", event.data);
  }
  window.addEventListener('message', handleMessage);

  return () => window.removeEventListener('message', handleMessage);
}, []);

And Solid has onMount and onCleanup helpers for it:

onMount(() => {
  function handleMessage(e) {
    console.log("Received from Penpot::: ", event.data);
  }
  window.addEventListener('message', handleMessage);
})

onCleanup(() => {
  window.removeEventListener('message', handleMessage);
})

Or with the @solid-primitive/event-listener helper library, so it will be automatically disposed:

import { makeEventListener } from "@solid-primitives/event-listener";

function Component() {

  const clear = makeEventListener(window, "message", handleMessage);

  // ...
  return (<span>Hello!</span>)
}

In the official documentation, there’s a step-by-step guide that will walk you through the process of creating, testing, and publishing your plugin. It will even help you out.

So, what are you waiting for?

Plugin Contest: Imagine, Build, Win

Well, maybe you’re waiting for a push of motivation. The Penpot team thought of that, which is why they’re starting a Plugin Contest!

For this contest, they want a fully functional plugin; it must be open-source and include comprehensive documentation. Detailing its features, installation, and usage. The first prize is US$ 1000, and the criteria are innovation, functionality, usability, performance, and code quality. The contest will run from November 15th to December 15th.

Final Thoughts

If you decide to build a plugin, I’d love to know what you’re building and what stack you chose. Please let me know in the comments below or on BlueSky!

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