Websites I wake up to

We all start our days differently: some lazily rolling out of bed after several 5-minute snoozes, others energizing with a quick jog around the block. One thing is unanimous, though. We all browse. To find the hottest news, to explore our interests, to boost creativity... This time four of our team members decided to share their morning browsing / reading rituals – each named three websites they "wake up to".

A List Apart positions itself as meant for people who build websites. That's exactly who I am. Moreover, that's exactly what ImpressPages is about. So there couldn't be a better source for news than this. It was once published as a mailing list for web designers, later on it transformed into a web magazine about development, design, web content, web standards and best practices.

Good CSS tips and tricks with a pinch of witty humor (the footer alone says “may or may not include any actual CSS or tricks”). The website is run by Chris Coyier, web designer and developer who’s unselfish enough to share all of his knowledge with the less enlightened. Not a day without a CSS trick!

All work and no play...yeah, you know the ending to that. So apart from checking work related stuff on the web, I sometimes drift to the world of Dilbert, a stereotypical tech minded single male working as an engineer in one of those cubicle offices. His sarcastic take on life is so accurate I cannot help but love this fictional little guy!

Like the bigger part of the world, I consider Mashable to be a great source for all kinds of news. As a designer, I always check the Dev&Design column but often my attention drifts to other stories as well. I like the variety, I like the quality and I like the relevance of each story. I believe that looking at beautiful and innovative things boosts your own passion to build something alike.

I believe for most members of the design world Smashing Magazine is like the Bible. It’s the ultimate source to look for answers! I discovered it when looking for some information on web typography and stayed over since. Not only do they offer good tips on how to do things, they also include useful links and freebies.

Yup, I don’t start without my daily dose of inspiration from these two websites. I love Yatzer because of its wide spectrum – you can get stories on interior design, book graphics, travel, music, gastronomy, whatever. And Design Collector is a very selective showcase of the most interesting design ideas and projects. I always browse through their daily feed to feast my eyes. 

Ok, it’s more insights than news. Still, I find Paul Graham a very useful source for information on programming and startups. He is a known writer, investor and programmer himself who co-founded Viaweb (the first software as a service company) and as of 2005 runs a startup incubator called 
Y Combinator. His articles are thoughtfully and thoroughly written with strong arguments and examples, thus when I read them I get that feeling of reliability.

And again, it’s tips and insights. I guess I like insights :) Coding Horror is a spring of articles about coding, Internet, work and human error related issues. The blog is easily read as all of the information is presented through a quirky writing style. I strongly agree with Jeff’s take on the human side of web software: studying code isn’t enough; you have to study the people behind the software, too.

So everybody loves a good gif these days. I’m no exception and working in the web development field I especially love the collection of DevOps Reactions. As developers are not the famous types of feeling expression, this Tumblr board is the perfect way to show our everyday emotions about sysadmin interactions. All of that in one tiny sharp moving image. Gets me laughing to tears sometimes! 

The goal of The Latest is hot, "freshly baked" news. And the source for it – Twitter. This app automatically collects links posted by a bunch of the most interesting and influential people on Twitter. They compile the links into a real-time updated list with the 10 top stories at the time. News range from buzzing articles on Medium and interesting blog posts to new Apps and compelling websites. The content is very selective and it feels super good to be among the first ones going “hey, have you heard about this awesome new tool…”

As the title gently puts it, User Onboarding is related to successfully getting new users on board with your product. The website is run by Samuel Hulick, an insightful UX designer who takes popular web apps like Pinterest, Gmail or Evernote and explores their cases of user onboarding. He tears down the whole new user experience to minuscule details and adds comments to every single one of it. Though concentrated on UX, reading these walkthroughs help me to build logical story structures.

Boredpanda is my go-to resource when in need of a good mood lifter. It’s a web magazine sharing news on a myriad of themes – from photography, art and design projects to Tumblr memes, new technology and DIY ideas. You will laugh, marvel, sometimes even cry. It’s extremely visual with good quality photos and videos. What’s more they have an .org version for user submitted stories (used to ride that train some time ago… ). 

Thank you all for reading.
Now share your favorite websites with us!