Sheelah Brennan https://sheelahb.com Thu, 27 Dec 2018 18:13:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1 Favorite Web Development Podcasts of 2018 https://sheelahb.com/blog/favorite-web-development-podcasts-2018/ Thu, 27 Dec 2018 18:13:04 +0000 https://sheelahb.com/?p=613 It’s been 2 years since my previous podcast favorites post, so it’s time for an updated list of web development podcasts. This time around I’m also throwing in a bonus non-development pick as well.   Here’s my short list of top web development podcasts for 2018! Syntax: This is a newer podcast that covers a wide […]

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]]> How to Use the styled-components Babel Plugin with Create React App https://sheelahb.com/blog/styled-components-with-create-react-app/ Wed, 05 Dec 2018 19:24:35 +0000 https://sheelahb.com/?p=591 When kicking off a new project last week, I decided to give styled-components a try.  Some of the benefits of CSS-in-JS libraries like styled-components are the co-location of component styles with their respective components and the ability to leverage JavaScript in writing style rules. I noticed the styled-components documentation recommended using their babel plugin to […]

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]]> How to Send Email from React Without a Backend https://sheelahb.com/blog/how-to-send-email-from-react-without-a-backend/ https://sheelahb.com/blog/how-to-send-email-from-react-without-a-backend/#disqus_thread Mon, 07 May 2018 12:25:21 +0000 https://sheelahb.com/?p=530 I recently worked on a project where I needed to be able to let users submit feedback via a web form. The goal was to have submitted feedback sent as email to a designated email address. This project was going to be a static site built using React, however, without any backend to handle email. […]

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]]> https://sheelahb.com/blog/how-to-send-email-from-react-without-a-backend/feed/ 18 How to Set up Pug File Linting with Gulp https://sheelahb.com/blog/how-to-set-up-pug-linting-with-gulp/ https://sheelahb.com/blog/how-to-set-up-pug-linting-with-gulp/#disqus_thread Fri, 17 Nov 2017 04:27:43 +0000 https://sheelahb.com/?p=509 Update (11/12/18): The Pug file linting tool mentioned below, gulp-pug-linter, now supports a “fail on exit” mode and custom reporting options, which makes the custom Gulp lint reporter strategy below unneeded. See the gulp-pug-linter documentation for more details. I recently set up Pug file linting for a Node.js/Express project at work that was already using […]

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]]> https://sheelahb.com/blog/how-to-set-up-pug-linting-with-gulp/feed/ 4 How to Automate Pulling in Random Images from Unsplash for Prototypes https://sheelahb.com/blog/unsplash-random-image-how-to/ Mon, 26 Jun 2017 00:02:21 +0000 https://sheelahb.com/?p=485 Just because something is a quick prototype for a web application doesn’t mean we don’t want it to look good, right?  I often use Unsplash images in prototypes and CodePen pens since I’m never disappointed by the image quality.  I even have some of my own images up there just for fun.  I always want each […]

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]]> Favorite Web Development Podcasts of 2016 https://sheelahb.com/blog/favorite-web-development-podcasts-2016/ Fri, 30 Dec 2016 20:34:38 +0000 https://sheelahb.com/?p=477 Looking back on 2016, I’ve realized that I’ve continued to lean on podcasts to help stay up to date on web development trends and best practices.  Here are my favorites for 2016! Shop Talk Show: This one also was in my previous podcast faves list.  I like the varying aspects of front end development and […]

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]]> Ten Reasons I Use CodePen for Prototyping https://sheelahb.com/blog/ten-reasons-i-use-codepen-for-prototyping/ Wed, 29 Jun 2016 16:45:53 +0000 https://sheelahb.com/?p=459 I have really been loving CodePen lately for prototyping.  Whether I’m working on a unique page layout for a client project or trying out something in React, there is something great about being able to dig in and get started right away on a project without having to worry about build tools, dependencies, deployment strategies, and […]

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]]> How to Create an Art-Directed Responsive SVG Hero Image https://sheelahb.com/blog/create-art-directed-responsive-svg-hero-image/ Fri, 15 Apr 2016 20:58:38 +0000 https://sheelahb.com/?p=386 It’s a well-known fact that websites that use images and graphics convert better. One of the pitfalls of using large images as hero images on a homepage is that the file size can be quite large, introducing a potential bottleneck in efficient page load. Another pitfall is that your competitors are probably also using an […]

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]]> Website Performance: 3 Tips for Optimizing Images https://sheelahb.com/blog/3-tips-for-optimizing-images/ Wed, 27 Jan 2016 23:09:41 +0000 https://sheelahb.com/?p=374 I recently finished reading Lara Hogan’s Designing for Performance book (now free to read online but definitely worth purchasing), and I definitely got some great tips from the book on how to increase website performance even more on the sites I build.  One of the easiest wins is to make sure to optimize images for the […]

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]]> On Conquering Fear: How to Give a Successful Technical Presentation https://sheelahb.com/blog/how-to-give-a-successful-technical-presentation/ Sat, 14 Nov 2015 03:56:31 +0000 https://sheelahb.com/?p=313 I have a confession to make: I’ve always had a strong fear of public speaking. Despite taking a public speaking class in college and a workshop or two in the corporate world, it’s always been something I’ve dreaded. It probably has something to do with being an introvert and not one that loves the spotlight. […]

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