myths Archives - Foreign policy

7 Web Layout Myths You Should Bust Right Now

Published on April 9, 2019

If you have seen the web evolve, then you might be familiar with what the web looked like when it was first launched. Take the trip down the memory lane and visualize what web pages looked like three decades ago. If you can not remember it, just Google what different websites looked like 20 years ago and you will be surprised by the results. Back in the day, there was nothing like web layout. Every web page has a single column of text filling the space from one side to another.

Fast forward to today, we now have all the bells and whistles attached to websites. The web has evolved significantly over the last couple of decades. One thing that stayed constant is myths. There are many web layout myths that are still prevalent in web design circles. If you want to know what these myths are then you are at the right place. In this article, we will bust those myths, so you don’t believe in them anymore.

1. Use Rectangles Only

If you break down a web page to its components, you will see that everything on the web page is a box. The tools web designers use to try to keep it that way. Thankfully, this is not true anymore as we now have tools that let you cut those rectangular boxes to any shape you want. Now, you can fit your content into a diamond shape or fit it into a triangle. You can draw a diagonal across a rectangle and cut it into two different triangles. Designers can even float a photo that has been cut into a circle and then make the text flow and fit into that circular shape. CSS Shapes adds a new dimension by letting designers play around with different shapes and content in a more creative way. The possibilities are endless.

2. Everything Should Float

You might have seen web pages with lots and lots of different bars floating beside one another. From the navigation bar, sidebar, hero bar and a bar for the header, the list goes on and on. The problem with such a web layout is that the moment you try to resize the viewport and apply different media queries, all these bars start to rearrange themselves, giving your web page a cluttered look. If you want to create a minimalistic web layout with lots of white spaces, you should ditch this floating philosophy.

Moreover, these floating bars force you to create content of the same aspect ratio and length, which makes life very difficult. CSS Grid tries to resolve this issue by adding rows. By using rows, you can arrange different website elements both horizontally and vertically.

3. Use Simple Navigation

I have come across dozens of articles on web design that tells you to use simple navigation. There is no doubt that simple navigation works well in most cases but not every time. Let me explain it with an example. Let’s say you want to create an e-commerce website that could give some tough competition to the likes of Amazon and eBay. You might be selling millions of products in thousands of different categories. Can you choose simple navigation for such a large project? No, right. Yes, your website might not look great and might even look a bit cluttered but it will function and function well. That is why Miami web Design Company chooses navigation based on project needs.

4. We Have No Control over The Fold

There is a common misconception amongst web designers that they don’t have any control over the bottom edge of the screen where it cuts itself from the layout. That is no longer true any more thanks to the viewport. Now, you can place different website elements in position to the viewport. Designers can also resize according to the need, which was not possible a few decades ago. Using Viewport and Flexbox side by side, you can enjoy more control over the fold and every other part of your web page.

5. Responsive Web Design Minimizes Room For Customization

If you have been working in the web design industry for the past two decades, you might be familiar with the ordeal you have to go through when the responsive web design first burst on to the scene. Every web designer has to learn what responsive web design is and master all the tools to launch their website quickly on the new standard. Despite all the efforts, there are many web designers who still believe that responsive web design limits their options, which is not the case. If that is what you believe, then you should change your tools, which is limiting what you can do with responsive web design instead of blaming responsive web design. By using CSS efficiently along with CSS grid, web designers can create anything they want.

6. Using a Layout Framework is a Must

With so many web design and website layout framework, web designers tend to think that using a framework makes their lives easier. Believe it or not, it is the other way around. The latest grid syntax of CSS makes it much easier to write code than using a framework. It is highly recommended that you write your CSS instead of trying to get your hands on the latest and greatest web framework out there.

7. Minimalism Works Well Every Time

If you have been following the latest web design trends lately, you might have noticed this trend make its way on to every web design trends list. Many sites were quick to jump on this trend and others followed suit and suddenly the web starts to look cleaner and less cluttered. Similar to simple navigation, the minimalistic design might work in most cases, but it is not the ideal choice for every web design project.

For instance, if you are creating a website for a business who wants its users to pay attention to multiple website elements, a minimalistic design might not be a good option in such a scenario. Only take the minimalistic design approach when you are sure that it is the right fit for the project; otherwise, avoid it.

Which web design myth do you still believe in? Feel free to share it with us in the comments section below.

Hot Water Myths Debunked

Published on February 9, 2019

Education/Entertainment

Water doesn’t boil quicker if you throw salt in it and other myths about cooking are debunked. The microwave is bad, you have to put salt in the water to boil before and other great beliefs between stoves that you should stop doing when you cook because they are lying.

When it comes to the kitchen, everyone has their own beliefs! Some people take their eggs out of the fridge for a while before frying them because they are convinced that at room temperature, the oil jumps less. Some people salt their meat before cooking it, while others view this practice as sacrilegious.

Customs and habits in the kitchen come from family heritage friends, TV shows and even coworkers.

We can’t address all of the myths, but here are a few of the more popular ones that we hope to debunk.

Myth: Microwaving food sucks up all of its nutrients

Cooking in the microwave is fast, comfortable and yes, despite what some people say, quite healthy. Any method of reheating food will destroy a certain amount of vitamins and nutrients, but surprise! The microwave is one of the systems in which less of them are lost thanks to the fact that the heating is done quickly and with less intensity.

Per this Harvard Medical School Study:

“The cooking method that best retains nutrients is one that cooks quickly, heats food for the shortest amount of time and uses as little liquid as possible. Microwaving meets those criteria.”

Myth: Cool before putting anything in the fridge

Let’s see if your mother has also thrown this piece of advice your way: “Don’t put your stew in Tupperware and place it in the fridge until it cools down or you’ll ruin it!”

Why, do you ask, would people say this? Well, it seems that they believe that if you put a hot container in the fridge we make the appliance have to provide more energy to keep it at the same temperature as other foods, but if we let the food cool first, it could also grow stale and go bad too soon.

We’re split. Look, your refrigerator is using up electricity as it does its thing, so having a few more items to cool is really not going to make a difference. The alternative of having food go bad more quickly is worse.

Myth: Pouring cold water over a burn

When we accidentally burn ourselves with a pot or with the oven, we tend to run to the tap and plug in a good jet of water to relieve the pain. Well, as long as it’s not too cold. A radical shock in the change of temperature can make the damage in the skin even greater. Needless to say, you should never apply ice immediately to a burn. Again, cool water only. Alternatively, use cool wet cloth.

Myth: Salt makes water boil faster

Do you add a handful of salt to cold water before you boil it? Your trick does not work. Experts explain it from a molecular point of view: “When water temperature rises, molecules move faster, collide more frequently and release more gas molecules of steam. The chemical salt ions take up a bit of space, causing fewer collisions between water molecules, so they do not release as many vapor molecules as pure water would. Therefore, more energy (a higher temperature) is required for the salt water to start boiling. ”

To raise the boiling point of a liter of water one degree would require approximately 58 grams of salt. It is true that salt causes the boiling point to rise, but in such minute amounts that it does not make a significant difference in the fact that the water boils more or less quickly. If you want to boil water more quickly, just use a water boiler or an electric kettle.

These are just a few of the myths around water that we have heard repeated the most. And they refuse to die! For some reason, despite evidence to the contrary, something tells me these myths will still be around for many years to come.