Hot Web Design and Development – July 2021

Welcome to the July 2021 edition of web design and development. This month’s edition features all the latest news and going on in the web design and developer world. This month features a new kid on the SSG block. Schools are out for summer so there is a fresh load of learning resources.

Table of contents

Background
Prerequisites
Download
The Concept
Lets Get Coding
Demo & Screenshots
Conclusion
Sources

Coding Resources

If you are familiar with building websites you may have used a static site generator (SSG) to build one. There are many SSG’s around and two of the most popular ones are Jekyll and Hugo. Jekyll uses the Ruby programming language but you don’t need to have prior knowledge to use it. If you want to use one in your favourite programming language there is likely one available.

I have been hearing a lot about Astro which is an SSG written in JavaScript. It’s geared towards speed with its lightening fast performance. It has support for TypeScript, CSS, Tailwind, SASS, Markdown and many more. You can also use a JavaScript framework like Vue, React, Svelte or plain HTML.

The final build renders 100% static HTML. If you need JS, Astro can load components on demand when they become visible on the page.

Furthermore, Astro supports SEO out of the box alongside sitemaps, RSS Feeds and pagination. Astro is currently in beta so there may be bugs. These are likely to be fixed before the release of version 1.0 later in the year.

Web Design Resources

As always in the web design world every year new trends become fashionable. Here are some of the latest web design trends in 2021. Alongside trends, there are always new tools and resources being released every month. Here are some new tools for designers and developers this July 2021.

Schools Out – Learning Resources

Currently, in the UK, many of our schools are on their summer holidays. As I work in education I feature an emphasis on learning in the majority of my articles.

There is never a better opportunity to learn a new skill. Instead of playing video games, learn to code them. If you want to develop websites learn the basics. Start with HTML then CSS and go on to learn JavaScript. You could even learn to build a website using Astro as featured above.

Once you are familiar with JavaScript and the basics of web development you can create some beginner projects to practice with. One of my beginner projects was a JavaScript Guessing Game which started as a basic project and then I tweaked it further.

If you don’t fancy learning JavaScript try Python. Start with the basics and try out some beginner projects. Whilst you are learning learn the basics of pseudocode and markdown.

Security Concerns

During July there have been more vulnerabilities within Operating systems. Users with lower privileges can gain access to sensitive registry files in Windows 10 and 11. The Security Account Manager (SAM) files contain hashed passwords. With this vulnerability, a normal user can gain access to the files to get higher privileges.

Malware, which steals user passwords from Microsoft Windows OS has a new edition. The new version, called X-Loader, can steal passwords, capture screenshots and records keystrokes. Its new target is Mac OS and it has the ability to execute malicious files.

The spyware industry continues to grow strong and become more difficult to spot. Do not download or execute anything that you find in an email. If you need to install software always check that it’s a reputable website.