Technically Easy

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  • The Basics of Creating a Progressive Web App Using React.js

    The Basics of Creating a Progressive Web App Using React.js

    Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) are a hybrid between a standard webpage and a mobile app. They allow users to access the PWA from their computers, but they offer the sleek, fluid design of a mobile application.

    As PWAs become more popular, the desire to build them has increased, as well. If you’re wondering how to build a progressive web app using React.js, you’re not alone. The basic steps to building a PWA in React.js are as follows.

    Setting up

    Before you begin setting up your PWA, you’ll want to decide on a server in which to build. Once you know where you want the PWA to be, generate a basic React application using create-react-app.

    When you’re ready, switch to the server you want to build in and run the following.

    npm install -g create-react-app
    create-react-app pwa-experiment

    After that, you’ll need to install something called React Router.

    cd pwa-experiment
    npm install --save react-router@3.0.5

    Now you need to run the standard gist in your App.js. You can easily find the gist by searching “PWA in React.js gist” or something similar. After you run the standard gist, you’ll have created a basic layout with a few navigation options.

    If this is sounding foreign to you already, you might want to consider React 16 training before going further as it may help you fully understand the process and can better ensure success.

    Lighthouse

    Lighthouse is a free tool that Google has created for developers who are building PWAs. Google has a PWA checklist against which it tests your PWA (using Lighthouse) for quality and completeness.

    It’s a simple Chrome extension that you can get from the Google Developers suite. Just search Lighthouse and you’ll find it. Once it’s installed, click Generate Report and you’ll get a comprehensive report on how your PWA is doing.

    Service worker setup

    Next, you need to set up a service worker. It’s basically a small piece of JavaScript that exists between the network and your application. When put into action, it will receive any network requests and deliver cached files.

    Basically, it’s what enables your PWA to work offline. The process is a bit lengthy and complex, but you can find all the code you need online. If you’re not good with code or you’re just starting out, you might seek training instead.

    Run Lighthouse after each step to see how you’re doing.

    Progressive Enhancement

    Progressive enhancement doesn’t just mean to start making things better bit by bit, although you want to do that, as well. Progressive enhancement is a term that basically means your app will be able to function without having to load JavaScript.

    Once you’ve added progressive enhancement, check your app with Lighthouse again. If your score is higher, you’ve done it correctly.

    Adding home screen capabilities

    One of the main “selling points” of a PWA is the ability to save it to your home screen and run it just like an app. To do that, you have to add home screen capabilities to your code.

    Doing this requires you to install a manifest.json file to the public directory on your server. You can find the lengthy code for this online. You’ll also need an icon.png to use.

    Once you’ve done all that, you’ll add a couple more lines of code to the PWA and run Lighthouse once more. Your score should be significantly higher at this point.

    Deploy

    At this point, the only things you should be missing are caching and https, both of which can be taken care of during deployment. To deploy your PWA, you’ll probably want to use Firebase.

    You’ll want to run a new pwa-experiment in the Firebase console and run the following code in your project folder.

    npm install -g firebase-tools
    firebase login
    firebase init

    Once you complete the rest of the deployment process, you’ll have a PWA. Sort of. At the very least, Lighthouse should rank you at 100 percent. But many enhancements and design elements will be missing, even if you follow basic tutorials.

    The beauty of PWAs is that you can make them whatever you want them to be. Whether your PWA is educational or for entertainment purposes, being able to create it in such a way that it can operate with the unique functional capabilities of a PWA can only enhance the end project.

    If you’re still confused as to how to build a progressive web app using React.js, you can obtain training from a variety of services to get a better handle on the process and develop more dynamic and impactful PWAs for your audience.

  • How to Make Money Online

    There has been much talk on how to make money on the Internet. There are many ways to make money, and I will discuss some of the ways in this post.

    Advertising on a Web Site

    If you have an existing Web site this is perhaps the easiest method to implement. There are many advertisers on the Internet that you can sign up with, and they will in turn provide you with code to add to any Web page. Once you add the code, advertisement will then start appearing on the page, usually specific to the topic discussed on the Web page. Many people choose Google’s AdSense for the advertisements, although there are many other companies that can also provide advertisments. After doing a search on the Internet you will find many people who have had great financial success with advertising on their Web site.

    See also

    Auction Selling

    I decided to name this point as “Auction Selling” and not “eBay Selling.” I did this because there are many other auction sites online that many people have chosen over eBay, most notably because the fees are lower. Regardless of the fees; however, online auction selling can be very profitable, any many people successfully run a home-based business just by selling on one of these sites.

    See also eBay.

    Online Store

    This is probably the most involved method of making money online, as it requires you to manage your inventory, setup merchant accounts, handle shipping, create a Web site storefront, and many other things that go along with a business. If you prefer to just create the Web site to sell the products, and have someone else do the inventory management and shipping you may want to look into dropshipping.

    See also Shopster.com.

    Summary

    As with any business venture, those listed in this post require hardwork and time. Making money online is not a “get rich quick” scheme, and you may find that you will be working as many hours as a regular 9 to 5 job.

  • Review: Weight Loss Weapons Blog

    I mentioned in my last post that I will post reviews of Web sites and blogs for free. This is my first review and I am very familiar with the parent Web site of the blog that I have reviewed. The blog is managed by someone I have conversed with on Website Babble and have witnessed the development of the Web site.

    The focus of the Weight Loss Weapons blog is simply the author sharing his experience about losing weight, but without the pills and the programs. Does the blog provide enough information to help you with losing weight that is easy to read and follow? Read the review to find out.

    Weight Loss Weapons Blog

    Design 4 stars

    The design of the Weight Loss Weapons blog is very similar to the parent Web site, although the blue colours seem to be a little darker on the blog. This may have been done to set the two apart. In general, the blues that the author chose are nice and are easy on the eyes. This allows you to read the content without being distracted.

    The navigational bar is to the right, but the list items are really close together. More spacing between the individual items would make it easier to read each item. As many blogs have, the author has chose to include a MyBlogLog recent readers list. Unfortunately, the placement of the widget is above the Blogroll and Archives lists. The blogroll and archives should be above this widget, with the Archives list appearing just below the Recent Posts.

    The blog does include a handy search option, which works nicely. The search, however, is in the upper-right hand corner and can be missed easily. It would be better if it were more prominent, such as beside the top menubar. I was happy with the speed and accuracy of the search and feel that it is a nice feature.

    Once aspect of the blog that I like was the nice, large and easy to read font. I have visited many Web sites and blogs where the font is small. I can read small text without any trouble, but others may find it difficult. They don’t have to worry about this blog as the author has chosen a nice size.

    In terms of the design of the blog, I found it neat and easy to read and navigate. The author has definitely spent a great deal of time in the design of the blog.

    Focus 4.5 stars

    I mentioned in the introduction that the focus of the blog is on weight loss. He has gone into detail on such things as exercising and meal planning. There are many comments on each post where people have also provided good advice, which just adds to the focus of the blog.

    Much of the advice that is given on the blog can be followed by anyone who just wants to get healthier, even if they don’t plan on losing weight.

    There are a few posts that are a little off topic in the blog. They usually provide updates about the blog itself. While they may be off topic, the author has nicely included them in a separate topic in the navigation on the right. This excludes them from other topics someone may use for weight-loss.

    Overall the main focus of the blog is clear and easy to determine by simply reading several posts. The author obviously has had experience with losing weight and it shows within his posts.

    Content 4.5 stars

    I like to use long posts in my blog, mostly because I have a lot to say. For most bloggers, short and concise posts are what they favour. The author of the Weight Loss Weapons blog has chosen to write smaller posts, but they are not short on information.

    The posts within the blog are well written and contain a lot of useful information. The author seems to publish several posts a week which is great for those looking for information. It also shows that the author spends the time and effort maintaining the blog, which adds to its quality.

    With the exception of a few posts that provide a blog update, the posts pertain to weight loss, which the focus of the Web site and blog. His posts are well written with very few spelling and grammatical errors, which I discuss in the next section.

    There were a few problems with some of the pages and links on the site. The About page link in the menu bar links to a standard WordPress template page that isn’t complete. A nice about page would add to the blog. The link to the parent site works correctly in the navigation bar on the right, but brings up a “Page Not Found” page from the link in the footer. If you do want to go to the parent Web site, simply remove the “/blog/” from the URL.

    Besides those to issues, the content within the posts are nice and short and easy to read. For those looking to lose weight, you will find a lot of useful advice without the fluff.

    Spelling and Grammar 4.5 stars

    The author has definitely taken the time to check for spelling and grammar on his blog, as it was difficult to find any mistakes. I did, however, find a few minor issues within some of the posts. There are a few times where the author includes a comment in parenthesis after a paragraph but doesn’t include an ending period. There are other times where words within a sentence are capitalized when they don’t need to be.

    Besides those two minor issues, the blog did not have many mistakes, which made it nice to read. The issues described above did not affect the readability of the posts in any way.

    Overall 4.5 stars

    As I mentioned, I know the author of the blog from Website Babble, and so I also know the amount of time and effort he has put into it, and it clearly shows. Overall I found the blog nicely organized, and easy to read and understand. With the exception of a few minor design and link issues, the Weight Loss Weapons blog is a great blog that anyone trying to lose weight should check out.

  • Review: Themes That Don’t Suck

    Since I started offering free reviews in November 2007, I have done mostly blog reviews. Blogs are easy to review since I always look for the same specific information. Web sites, on the other hand, are more complex as there is no ideal standard which I can follow.

    This week I will look at a web site that offers WordPress templates. I haven’t used WordPress myself, so I couldn’t have a closer look at the templates. According to the webmaster, though, these themes don’t suck. The next question is whether the web site can use the same tagline?

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  • Examples of Colour Management

    I have previously talked about colour management in the past, and those who are serious about digital photography will need to know about colour management. While it can get technical, colour management is simply the process of ensuring an image is display/printed properly from one device to another.

    It can be difficult to explain, but with some of the newer browsers, it is much easier to show how it can affect the look of an image. In this post I’ll show how colour management can change an image, and what you should do about images on your web site/blog.

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  • What Firefox Add-ons Do You Use?

    I don’t write many posts about Firefox, mainly because there are many posts written on other blogs that do. In my post titled Examples of Colour Management I provide examples of how colour management affects the displaying of images. For those examples I used the Firefox web browser.

    Also within that post I talked about a Firefox add-on called Colour Management. This is only one of possibly thousands of add-ons that you can install for the Firefox browser. In this post I will list the add-ons that I currently use, and have used in the past, and would like to hear which add-ons you currently have installed.

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  • Technically Easy Gets a New Theme

    I talked about some thoughts I had on Web design in a previous post title My Thoughts on Web Page Designs, and also mentioned that I was working on a new theme for Technically Easy. After several weeks of development and testing, I finally switched to the new theme this past weekend.

    While it isn’t the most exciting theme, it does contain all the elements and ideas that I had thought about. I have always preferred more simple designs than complex ones, which explains the look and layout of this theme. You’ll have to bear with me while I go over some of the points about this theme.

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  • Security Tips for Online Shopping

    I do a lot of shopping online. I enjoy the convenience, and the lack of crowds, but mostly I can find almost anything I want online. Many are wary of shopping online because of the security risk. Security is a huge issue when purchasing online, but there are many things you can do to ensure your security.

    I have been order online for about 10 years now, and have had no identity theft or financial issues. Others have not been so lucky, which is why it is important to know what you can do to keep yourself protected. In this post I outline many steps you can take to ensure your personal information stays safe when you shop online.

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