Library
Working notes on color, styles and trends, design systems, interfaces, prompts, AI and the stack — with codes, examples and checks, ready to use.
Articles · 75
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The Laravel framework: a complete overview
What the Laravel framework is for in 2026, where it is the best choice and where plain PHP or another stack wins: Laravel 13, pros and cons, Laravel or Symfony, a comparison with Django, Rails and NestJS, examples, limits and tips.
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The Python language: a complete overview
What the Python programming language is for in 2026, where it is the best choice and where another language wins: AI and data, Django, FastAPI or Flask, pros and cons, a comparison with PHP, Node.js, Go and Java, examples, limits and tips.
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CI/CD pipeline
How a pipeline runs in eight jobs, CI versus continuous delivery and deployment, a fast pipeline in 4 minutes instead of 15, six tools compared, four ways to release, two files of code, rules and mistakes.
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Online payments
How a payment goes in six steps, three ways to accept payments, eight popular services compared, the fee on small and large orders, the payment step, code for a payment and a webhook, rules and mistakes.
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How to build your own style
Four decisions that change everything, seven steps, from words to decisions, references with notes, this site’s style on one sheet and a test on three screens — with live examples and prompts for images.
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Glass and neumorphism
Glass where the blur decides, where it came from, neumorphism as soft plastic, how to make both readable and which one to choose — with live examples and prompts for images.
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Retro and Y2K
A 90s interface on a modern site, four branches of retro, why the past came back, Y2K techniques, retro as an accent and a retro portfolio — with live examples and prompts for images.
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Bento grid
One grid on three screens, where the bento came from, four cell sizes, one idea per card, where it fits and a bento for a portfolio — with live examples and prompts for images.
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Editorial style
One story in two treatments, where the style came from, the parts of a magazine page, six editorial elements, type pairs and the style for a brand — with live examples and prompts for images.
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Minimalism
Minimalism as subtraction, where it came from, what to remove and what to keep, white space as a material and why minimal is not invisible — with live examples and prompts for images.
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Swiss style
A poster on a modular grid, where the style came from, its seven tools in print and on the web, flush-left text and hierarchy without decoration — with live examples and prompts for images.
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Brutalism
One screen in three looks, six signs of the style, neo-brutalism in components, where it fits and where it breaks usability — with live examples and prompts for images.
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Image generation pipeline
Seven steps: the task, the prompt, a series, selection by criteria, editing by mask, upscaling and finishing — one master for every format and text in the layout, with live examples.
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Loading and empty states
What to show by the length of the wait, a skeleton instead of a spinner, space reserved in advance, four kinds of empty screens and a search with a way out — with live examples.
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Notifications and toasts
Five kinds of messages from quiet to loud, a toast with “Undo”, where it appears on a phone, words that help and one message instead of five — with live examples.
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Tables on a phone
Three ways to fit a table on a phone and how to choose, main columns first, numbers that can be compared and plans one per screen — with live examples.
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Modal windows
When a window is justified, what it consists of, a bottom sheet on a phone, the keyboard focus, pop-ups on entry and the native dialog element — with live examples.
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Navigation and the mobile menu
Section names in the visitor’s words, three ways to fit a menu on a phone, an open mobile menu, a header that steps aside and breadcrumbs — with live examples.
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Forms and fields
How many fields to ask for, a label above the field, a width that hints at the answer, the right phone keyboard, autofill and errors after sending — with live examples.
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Product cards
What a card consists of, an even row, the key attribute by category, a readable price, two columns on a phone and one badge instead of five — with live examples.
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Buttons
One main action per screen, labels that say what will happen, a button or a link, the tap area, the thumb zone and dangerous actions — with live examples.
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Design handoff
The path of a decision from the layout to the page, what a complete handoff contains, a card the way a developer sees it, tools, files and a checklist — with live examples.
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What is a design system
Five layers of a design system, what is inside it, one decision that changes everything at once, when it pays off, a site with and without a system and ready systems — with live examples.
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Components and states
The anatomy of a button, three kinds in six states, eight states and what they show, a field with errors and real states to try — with live examples.
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Design tokens
What design tokens are, three levels from palette to components, how to name them, one card in three themes, kinds of tokens and code — with live examples.
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Spacing and grid
A spacing scale on a 4 px base, a card by eye and by the scale, the law of proximity, a grid of 12, 8 and 4 columns and the rhythm of a page — with live examples.
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Type scale
What a type scale is, eight classic ratios, one page in three scales, fluid sizes with clamp(), line length and spacing — with live examples.
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Mistakes in image prompts
Ten common mistakes in prompts for image generation, three before-and-after examples and a checklist to run before every generation.
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Image generators
Nine image generators side by side, one prompt for a fair comparison, which generator for which task, how to compare and common mistakes.
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Product photo prompts
How to make product photos with AI without misleading buyers: eight kinds of shots, three prompts with a real product, seven rules and common mistakes.
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Light and camera
Twelve terms of light and twelve terms of the camera with their effect, one scene under three lights, a portrait, combinations that work and common mistakes.
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Image prompt structure
The ten parts of a prompt for an image, a formula and two prompts by it — a photograph and an illustration — seven principles of a predictable prompt and what spoils it.
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How AI search picks sources
How an AI answer is assembled in six steps, what decides whether a page is quoted, an answer-first page and robots.txt, how to measure presence in AI answers and why AI does not quote a site.
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Voice AI
Eight tasks for voice AI, a chain of models versus one voice model, tools for recognition and synthesis, seven rules of a good voice product and common mistakes.
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AI for an online shop
Ten tasks where AI pays off in a shop, search that understands buyers, six rules for product descriptions by AI and common mistakes.
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Data from documents
How a model turns invoices, contracts and forms into fields: the path from a letter to a record, eight kinds of documents with checks, a schema and a check by code, rules and mistakes.
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AI in support
Five stages of introducing an assistant into support, ten topics with a verdict, six metrics, seven rules of a good handover to a person and common mistakes.
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AI assistant security
Ten threats to an AI assistant in plain words, how prompt injection works, protection in code before and after the model, eight rules and common mistakes.
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Checking AI quality
What to measure for each kind of task, how to build a test set in six steps, an example set and rubric, what to watch after launch and common mistakes.
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Prompts for business
How to write prompts for a product: eight parts of a business prompt, a real prompt for sorting requests with a JSON schema and examples, eight rules and common mistakes.
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Why AI makes things up
Seven reasons why language models invent answers, seven kinds of fabrication with ways to catch them, eight ways to make it rare and an instruction with a check by code.
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AI agents
How an AI agent works, how it differs from a chatbot and automation, ten tasks with a verdict, seven rules of safety and common mistakes.
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Where AI is overkill
When a language model only gets in the way: the principle of rule or understanding, twelve tasks with an honest verdict, five questions before adding AI and how to combine a model with code.
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The cost of AI
What you pay for when a product uses a language model: tokens, what one request is made of, five scenarios of a monthly bill, how to calculate your own and eight ways to cut it.
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Claude, GPT or Gemini
How Claude, GPT and Gemini differ: twelve criteria, three tiers in every family, which model for which task, how to choose on your own examples and common mistakes.
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Docker
What Docker is: eight key terms, when it helps and when it does not, pros and cons, three files for a real project, mistakes and rules for production.
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Local models
Open language models on your own server: seven families, memory for each size, local versus cloud, three examples with Ollama, mistakes and rules for production.
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pgvector
What pgvector adds to PostgreSQL: distances, indexes and types, pgvector compared with vector databases, three SQL examples, settings for production and common mistakes.
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![RAG: documents with highlighted lines turning into an answer bubble with citations [1] [2]](/assets/img/library/rag-overview-og-en.png?v=1791073257)
RAG
How retrieval-augmented generation works: eight steps, RAG compared with fine-tuning and a long prompt, pros and cons, three steps in code, mistakes and rules of a reliable system.
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Core Web Vitals
What LCP, INP and CLS measure, the thresholds, twelve causes of poor metrics with fixes, field and lab data, four examples with numbers before and after, mistakes and rules.
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View Transitions API
How the View Transitions API works: transitions between pages with one CSS rule, shared elements, transitions within a page, browser support, three tested examples, mistakes and rules.
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Modern CSS
What modern CSS can do: sixteen features with their support, what used to need JavaScript or Sass, pros and cons, four examples checked in a browser, mistakes and rules.
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REST or GraphQL
How REST and GraphQL differ: fourteen criteria, which approach for which project, one product card through both APIs, what to set up in each and common mistakes.
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Tailwind or own CSS
How Tailwind and own CSS differ: twelve criteria, which approach for which project, one card built both ways with measured file sizes, six rules of order and common mistakes.
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SQLite or PostgreSQL
How SQLite and PostgreSQL differ: fourteen criteria, which database for which project, signs that SQLite is no longer enough, portable SQL, the move step by step and common mistakes.
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PHP, Node.js or Go
How PHP, Node.js and Go differ for the server side: thirteen criteria, which language for which project, how the difference shows in practice, one API written in all three and common mistakes.
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Go or Rust
How Go and Rust differ in practice: fourteen criteria, six differences you feel in work, which language for which task, the same tasks written in both and common mistakes.
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Telegram Mini Apps: a complete overview
How Telegram Mini Apps work: the bot, the page, signed user data and payments in Stars; 8 areas, pros and cons, a comparison with a bot, a site and a mobile app, security rules and code examples.
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Three.js and WebGL: a complete overview
What WebGL and Three.js are, when 3D on a site pays off and when it only adds weight: 8 areas, pros and cons, a comparison with Babylon.js, Spline and video, speed rules, WebGPU and code examples.
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Node.js and Vite: a complete overview
What Node.js and Vite are used for: 8 areas, pros and cons, what is built into Node.js today, Vite 8 with Rolldown, a comparison with Deno, Bun, PHP and Go, code examples, limits and tips.
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SQLite: a complete overview
What SQLite is used for, whether it is good for a website and where a server database wins: WAL mode, pros and cons, a comparison with PostgreSQL and MySQL, tools, SQL examples, limits and tips.
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MySQL: a complete overview
What MySQL is used for, where it is the best choice and where another database wins: pros and cons, versions 8.4 and 9, a comparison with PostgreSQL, MariaDB and SQLite, tools, SQL examples, limits and tips.
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React: a complete overview
What React is for and where it pays off: 8 areas, pros and cons, a comparison with Vue, Angular and Svelte, the ecosystem, React 19, code examples, limits and tips.
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MCP: a complete overview
What MCP is and why Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants support it: how the protocol works, 8 scenarios, a comparison with other ways to give AI access to data, security, limits and server code examples.
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React or no framework
When a site needs React and when a framework only adds weight: a measured bundle size, a comparison of three approaches, what the browser does by itself, islands, the same tasks written both ways and common mistakes.
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TypeScript: a complete overview
What TypeScript is for, how it differs from JavaScript, where it pays off and where it is overkill: pros and cons, TypeScript 7, a comparison with JavaScript, JSDoc, Python and Go, code examples, limits and tips.
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PostgreSQL or MySQL
How PostgreSQL and MySQL differ in practice: fourteen criteria, which database to take for which task, the same tasks in both dialects, moving from MySQL to PostgreSQL and common mistakes.
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The PHP language: a complete overview
What the PHP programming language is for in 2026, where it is the best choice and where another language wins: modern PHP 8.5, pros and cons, a comparison with Node.js, Python, Go and Ruby, frameworks or your own code, examples, limits and tips.
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PostgreSQL: a complete overview
What PostgreSQL is used for, where it is the best choice and where another database wins: pros and cons, a comparison with MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB and ClickHouse, extensions, SQL examples, limits and tips.
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The Rust language: a complete overview
What the Rust programming language is for, where it is the best choice and where another language wins: memory safety without a garbage collector, pros and cons, a comparison with C++, C, Go, Java and Python, code examples, the ecosystem, limits and tips.
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The Go language: a complete overview
What the Go programming language is for, where it is the best choice and where another language wins: pros and cons, a comparison with Python, Node.js, Java, Rust and PHP, code examples, the ecosystem, limits and tips.
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- Strict color combinations Navy and white, graphite and silver, black with red: 12 strict colors, a cool grey scale and 10 palettes for business sites — with codes and text contrast of 7:1 and higher. Read
- Premium website palettes Greige, taupe, café au lait, graphite and espresso: 12 noble neutrals, a warm grey scale and 10 palettes — five light, five dark — with codes and contrast checks. Read
- Trendy color combinations Burgundy and peach, night plum and tangerine, burgundy and mint — unexpected pairs that look expensive. Why they work, 8 pairings and 10 palettes with HEX / RGB / HSL / OKLCH codes and contrast checks. Read
- Blue color palettes What blue goes with, a ready shade scale and ten palettes with roles, HEX / RGB / HSL / OKLCH codes and contrast checks. Read
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Green palettes
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Dark theme palettes