https://ironeko.com Ironeko is a weekly design and tech blog. We specialise in writing about User Experience, Interfaces, React and the internet. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-run-typescript-scripts-in-your-next-js-project https://ironeko.com/posts/the-gamification-of-supermarket-rewards-apps-a-fun-way-to-save-or-more-manipulation With the success of ASDA Rewards, the age of traditional loyalty cards is coming to an end, and the age of interactive rewards experiences is well and truly here. https://ironeko.com/posts/the-dos-and-donts-of-skeleton-loading-in-react Skeleton components in React are an extremely common pattern, however there seem to be very few tips on how to implement them in a real world scenario. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-blurred-images-on-load-in-next-js A guide to implement blur placeholders with Next.js' image component in Node.js, Mardkwon and MDX. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-asynchronous-buttons-with-loading-state-in-react Buttons are the cornerstone of every application. This is a 5 minute improvement that will revolutionise how you create your button components and improve their UX. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-create-an-api-from-markdown-files-with-next-js Markdown can be an incredibly powerful tool, but a lot of content can start slowing down your site. This is a quick guide on how you can mitigate these issues with a static API and ISR. https://ironeko.com/posts/next-js-vs-create-react-app-your-choice-going-into-2023 Should you use Next.js or Create React App for your next project? While both have their strengths there's a lot more to consider than just preference. https://ironeko.com/posts/github-highlight-planner-app-by-brian-vaughn Brian Vaughn's open source planner app is one of the ongoing projects worth keeping an eye on in 2022. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-set-up-a-modern-terminal-for-developers https://ironeko.com/posts/react-atomic-design-a-first-year-retrospective A reflection of the past year of working with Atomic Design in React, what worked, what didn't work and what confused me. https://ironeko.com/posts/creating-a-local-backup-of-a-supabase-database A simple guide on how to create a backup of your Supabase database from both Windows and Linux. https://ironeko.com/posts/f-ck-it-use-react-for-your-personal-site-if-you-want-to You shouldn't use React for small website projects... Or should you? Here's why I don't think you should follow the internet's advice. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-install-netlify-cms-on-vercel Netlify CMS is one of the best options when working with Statically Generated sites and Markdown. The only major downside is that it can be quite difficult to install outside of Netlify. So today we'll go over exactly how to set up Netlify CMS on Vercel with Next.js. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-use-apollo-server-with-next-js https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-use-next-js-image-with-markdown-or-mdx Using Next.js Image with markdown is notoriously difficult so here's a simple trick to use the awesome Next.js Image component in your markdown blog. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-store-access-tokens-localstorage-cookies-or-httponly This article goes through the do's - and *don't*s - of how to store Access Tokens, with easy, **beginner friendly examples**. https://ironeko.com/posts/an-easier-way-to-use-reacts-usecontext-hook https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-read-markdown-files-from-next-js-api-routes Next.js' API routes are handy, but they're limited. Here's a quick guide on how to read markdown files in a Next.js API route. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-get-a-job-in-web-development-101 How do you get a job in web development in 2021? Here's 5 simple tips on how to land your first developer position. https://ironeko.com/posts/is-dispo-good-will-it-survive-the-hype-a-look-at-dispos-future Will users be willing to wait until the next day for their photos after the novelty wears off? And is Dispo good enough to rival Instagram? https://ironeko.com/posts/modern-branding-done-right-a-look-at-octopus-energy From their signature colour scheme to their email domain, Octopus Energy's modern branding never fails to come across as effortlessly cool. https://ironeko.com/posts/setting-safe-areas-in-react-with-css-variables Learn to programmatically set safe areas in React with CSS variables, a useEffect and some vanilla JavaScript tricks to keep your code clean. https://ironeko.com/posts/the-basics-of-typography-a-10-minute-gem-from-maxime-rabot Get to grips with Typography for Beginners with this fantastic Figma Community resource from visual designer Maxime Rabot https://ironeko.com/posts/serverless-api-with-prisma-on-vercel Today we'll be going through how you can set up a serverless API with Prisma and host it on Vercel for free. (Backend Rookie friendly!) https://ironeko.com/posts/animating-page-transitions-in-nextjs-for-capacitor A guide with examples on how to implement page transitions in Next.js to make your Capacitor app feel as native as possible. https://ironeko.com/posts/the-one-font-pairing-tool-you-need-why-we-love-fontjoy-com Powered by deep learning AI, slick design and human ingenuity, fontjoy.com is the font pairing tool we've been waiting for. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-add-emojis-to-git-commits-with-this-handy-tool Commit messages can easily look like a wall of text and be hard to follow. Enter Gitmoji, a style guide for adding emojis to your commit. https://ironeko.com/posts/do-you-need-redux-i-didnt-and-you-probably-dont-either Do you need Redux as much as people say you do? After removing it from most of my codebases, I've gotta tell you: you probably don't! https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-structure-a-blog-post-for-seo-and-readability Learning how to structure a blog post can be a tricky business. Here are some digestible, and easy to apply tips to get you started. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-return-a-404-error-in-getserversideprops-with-next-js Ever wondered how to redirect to a 404 error in getServerSideProps with Next.js? Follow our guide for the simples solution we've found! https://ironeko.com/posts/getting-started-with-capacitor-using-next-js-on-ios A quick guide getting started, finding and resolving problems related to running a Next.js app on iOS using capacitor. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-name-an-app-or-brand-a-writers-advice Today we go through how to name an app with poetic precision, to help you land on a name for your brand that feels just right. https://ironeko.com/posts/three-sites-for-ui-patterns-design-inspiration My three top websites for when I need to find design inspiration for UI patterns without checking my bookmarks or downloading apps. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-deploy-node-js-apps-to-apache Deploying modern Node.js apps to old web servers running Apache can be challenging. This article will tell you how to deploy Node to Apache. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-set-up-a-ci-cd-pipeline-to-an-ubuntu-server-with-github CI/CD pipelines are not exclusive to Azure and AWS, here's how you can easily set up a CI/CD pipeline with Ubuntu and Github. https://ironeko.com/posts/find-element-size-in-react-with-the-usedimensions-hook Finding an element's size in React can be a hard concept to grasp. The custom useDimensions hook makes this process easy and painless. https://ironeko.com/posts/jquery-alternatives-in-2020-do-you-really-need-it jQuery is one of the most used Javascript libraries on the web, but does it need to be? Today we explore whether you really need it and how to replace it. https://ironeko.com/posts/joy-dread-in-the-wildness-of-words-scottish-writer-ophelia-po-talks-about-her-first-comic-book-blood-ties Drawing on her background in classic literature, and striking self-taught illustration skills, Ophelia Po finally released her first comic book 'Blood Ties'. https://ironeko.com/posts/on-the-benefits-and-pitfalls-of-being-a-unicorn-designer What is a Unicorn Designer? Is it something you should strive to be during your career or is it just a waste of time? Here's the good and the bad. https://ironeko.com/posts/getting-started-with-capacitor-using-next-js Ever wondered how to run a Next.js app natively on a mobile device? It requires some setup but it's very easy thanks to Ionic's Capacitor! https://ironeko.com/posts/why-you-should-care-about-apples-new-silicon-macbooks-arm-tech Apple has announced a two year plan to switch from Intel processors to their own, tailor-made ARM tech. Here's why ARM laptops might just be the future. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-add-an-rss-feed-to-your-next-js-site A couple of weeks ago I struggled with figuring out how to add an RSS feed to my Next.js site, so I thought I'd write up a short guide on how I achieved it. https://ironeko.com/posts/google-docs-3-reasons-why-its-the-best Google Docs has a lot up against it. But with 'working' and 'online' more synonymous than ever, free online word processors are challenging the status quo. https://ironeko.com/posts/the-small-business-website-scam-what-it-is-and-how-to-avoid-it There's more to buying your first small business website than you'd think. You need to be smart about it. Here's how to make sure you get your money's worth https://ironeko.com/posts/tailwind-ui-a-great-new-library-of-bite-size-components Tailwind UI is a huge library of beautifully designed components built with Tailwind CSS. It's still being built, but their current offerings are stellar. https://ironeko.com/posts/figma-exciting-new-upcoming-changes-in-2020 Figma has had great success as a slick (and free) Adobe XD and Sketch alternative. And in 2020, it promises to become bigger and better than ever before! https://ironeko.com/posts/the-material-icons-alternative-to-watch-in-2020-css-gg Setting up a mail server on your own is well known to be more hassle than it's worth. Here's why the free mail server Mailgun is the best alternative. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-pick-the-perfect-website-colours Picking website colours is hard, for amateurs and professional designers alike. Here's a curated list of tools to make that process much easier. https://ironeko.com/posts/mailgun-the-best-free-mail-server-alternative https://ironeko.com/posts/writing-tips-for-non-writers-2-how-to-write-an-about-me-page Wether it's for your business, portfolio or blog, this article will teach you how to write an 'About Me' page without being corny. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-connect-to-a-remote-mysql-database-with-ssh Developing with MySQL databases can be a pain if you can't run them locally. Here's how to connect to your remote MySQL database without any extra setup. https://ironeko.com/posts/how-to-write-a-professional-email Want to know how to write a professional and personable email that your staff will actually read? This is the article for you. https://ironeko.com/posts/creating-an-alert-popup-with-jquery A quick guide on creating an easy to implement and highly reusable alert popup with jQuery. https://ironeko.com/posts/what-are-variable-fonts-and-why-should-you-be-using-them Variable fonts are the latest big typography development on the web, but what are they? Here's a quick rundown on everything you should know. https://ironeko.com/posts/why-every-business-should-be-hiring-a-writer If we know llustrations need illustrators, designs need designers, and code needs coders, why don't we acknowledge the importance of hiring a writer? https://ironeko.com/posts/gaijin-entertainment-gruzdev-game-design Student and professional designer Dmitrii gives some practical advice for aspiring designers, and tells us how he sealed a job with Gaijin Entertainment. https://ironeko.com/posts/next-js-vs-express-which-one-should-you-choose Is Next.js better than Express? Which one is faster? In this article we pit the two best Node.js server solutions against each other and compare the results https://ironeko.com/posts/is-the-mimo-app-worth-it The Mimo app is full of potential to make learning to code accessible for all. However, with many users complaining about its steep paywall, is it worth it? https://ironeko.com/posts/is-manychat-worth-it-the-big-benefits-bigger-pitfalls-of-this-newsletter-replacer Manychat and Facebook Messenger marketing are all the rage nowadays. In this article we'll try to answer the question: Is Manychat worth it? https://ironeko.com/posts/the-woes-of-bad-period-tracker-apps-how-ios-solves-them People will put up with all manner of design sins when settling on a mobile period tracker. But Apple's beautifully designed tracker is a game-changer. https://ironeko.com/posts/an-in-depth-look-into-facebook-new-design The good, the bad and the ugly of the new design recently unveiled by Facebook currently in beta. Is it an improvement or a downgrade? https://ironeko.com/posts/ininite-carousel-with-react-spring-how-to An easy-to-follow lowdown on how to create an infinite react spring carousel, with examples, focusing on how to implement this on mobile. https://ironeko.com/posts/what-happened-to-the-modern-smartphone-market It's so hard now (especially for developers) to find a mid-range device on the smartphone market that can cover all bases. Why is this? And is there hope? https://ironeko.com/posts/google-analytics-tips-for-beginners Google Analytics is a very complex tool that is incredibly hard to master. These are Google Analytics beginners tips that will put you on the right track. https://ironeko.com/posts/a-chat-with-experimental-hip-hop-artist-elliot-stradling Dundee-based musicial artist Elliot Stradling talks the importance of vulnerability, honesty and evolving your artistic voice. https://ironeko.com/posts/web-design-inspiration-2-pulling-in-clients A curated list of beautiful design agency websites for web design inspiration to help you come up with your next amazing design. https://ironeko.com/posts/node-js-tutorial-2-how-to-install-node-js In this tutorial I go over how to install Node.js on both Windows and Linux and explain some of the most important commands you'll use. https://ironeko.com/posts/duolingo-and-the-art-of-engagement How world-leading language app Duolingo app uses the tricky art of push notifications (and smooth, simple UX) to keep its users hooked. https://ironeko.com/posts/two-design-podcasts-every-creative-should-listen-to Among a sea of repetitive content, these two design podcasts from Gimlet Media and Adobe break the mold, aiming to teach you design through storytelling. https://ironeko.com/posts/good-designs-applying-for-settled-status-in-the-uk Thanks to sincere investment in great design, the UK has managed to transform what could have been a complicated process into a breeze. https://ironeko.com/posts/optimize-tailwindcss-by-removing-unused-css-classes How can we optimize TailwindCSS by removing unused classes? With to PurgeCSS optimization is now an automatic and plainless process. https://ironeko.com/posts/wechat-why-is-it-failing-to-compete-in-the-west WeChat is having a tough time finding an audience in the west. This article explores why that is and how Tencent can fix it. https://ironeko.com/posts/dark-mode-ux-study-facebook-messenger Dark Mode UX can be hard to do. This article covers how to avoid common pitfalls of dark mode using the Facebook Messenger as an example. https://ironeko.com/posts/achieving-your-big-hairy-audacious-goal-with-edel-harris A talk with entrepreneur Edel Harris at Dundee's 'Societay' on empowerment in business and the community to achieve your ideal goal. https://ironeko.com/posts/parallax-effect-with-react-spring-how-to Creating parallax effects with react spring is needlessly complex. In this article I will show you how to achieve this effect in the easiest way possible. https://ironeko.com/posts/node-js-tutorial-what-is-nodejs What is Node.js? It's easy to get confused since Node is and can be a lot of things. In this article I will explain what NodeJS can be used for. https://ironeko.com/posts/free-ssl-certificate-how-to Many providers have you pay for SSL. In reality you can receive the same benefits you would by paying with a free SSL certificate. Here's how. https://ironeko.com/posts/unordered-lists-with-icons-a-better-solution Unordered lists display information quickly and efficiently. Learn how to make these look more interesting by creating unordered lists with icons. https://ironeko.com/posts/web-design-inspiration-1-functional-and-beautiful A curated list of beautiful portfolios for Web Design Inspiration to help you come up with ideas for your next portfolio. https://ironeko.com/posts/an-alternative-to-bootstrap-tailwind An introduction to the best alternative to Bootstrap available: TailwindCSS, a light and customiseable framework that will change how you code. https://ironeko.com/posts/ironeko-headless-wordpress-and-react ironeko runs a headless Wordpress installation built with React and NextJS. It's incredibly fast, lightweight and uses cutting edge technology.