Toptal Blog

The Toptal Blog is the top hub for developers, designers, management consultants, executives, and entrepreneurs, featuring key technology updates, tutorials, freelancer resources, and management insights.

Toptal core team members share their experience, expertise, and perspectives on the Toptal Edge Blog

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Work As We Knew It Is Ending. The Remote, Freelance Revolution Has Begun

Toptal’s Chief Economist believes now is the time for top talent to go freelance and for even more businesses to embrace contingent work. Thought leaders from the Fortune 500 consultancy JLL, BMO Financial Group, and more agree. Here’s why.

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Michael J. McDonald

Michael J. McDonald is an award-winning journalist who has worked at Bloomberg News and Thomson Financial. He is a Senior Writer at Toptal.

Leveraging Fitts’ Law: User Interface Design Principles for E-commerce

Apply this midcentury mathematical law to e-commerce UI design and convert visitors into customers.

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Alexandre Brito

Alexandre is a UX/UI designer and strategist with more than a dozen years of experience designing standout e-commerce experiences. He has worked with such companies as Asics, Deutsche Bank, Intel, KLM, Pernod Ricard, Philips, Toyota, and Vodafone.

8 Automated Testing Best Practices for a Positive Testing Experience

Testing doesn’t have to be tedious. With these automated testing best practices and tips, software engineers can leverage automated tests to boost their productivity and make their work more enjoyable.

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Lev Yastrebov

Lev is an accomplished C# and .NET developer who leverages test-driven development, static analysis, and in-depth knowledge of technologies to solve tasks with robust, clean code. At leading smart marine technology company Wärtsilä, he created an algorithm for 3D seafloor mapping that resolves conflicting data from thousands of nautical charts.

Retain Users With These Mobile App Onboarding Inspirations

Mobile app onboarding is fraught with frustration and friction, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Learn from these exquisit onboarding examples specifically designed to engage and retain users.

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Michael Abehsera

Michael is an experienced UI/UX designer whose background in marketing and data analysis helps him make well-informed design decisions.

The Danger of Dark Patterns (With Infographic)

Are manipulative design techniques undermining your product and leading users to make bad decisions? Here’s how to avoid dark patterns and create ethical products that enhance customer trust.

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Michael Craig

Michael is a UX expert who has researched, designed, tested, and shipped products for multiple startups and companies, including Mitel Networks and international beauty brand OPI.

Stay on Track With These Proven Agile Project Estimation Techniques

Estimation is an important part of Agile project delivery, and there are many ways to weigh and rank the items in a backlog. This comprehensive guide can help you decide which method is best suited to your team and project.

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Jonathan Donado

With more than 15 years of experience as a project leader, Jonathan has led projects for Fortune 100 clients as well as FEMA, the US Army, and the US Department of State. As an Agile professional, he has worked across many industries, including technology, IoT, and BPO.

What Every Executive Needs to Know About the Day Facebook Disappeared From the Internet

Leading Toptal engineering and management consultants analyze the social network’s epic outage and distill key takeaways for business leaders. Find out what you can do to protect your company from a costly service interruption.

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Peter Matuszak

Peter Matuszak is Toptal’s Senior Writer for Business. A former investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune and policy advisor to multiple governmental agencies and officials, he now writes about tech, finance, and the future of work for Toptal Insights.

Understanding Cognitive Bias in Product Design, the Good and Bad (With Infographic)

Knowing the psychology of how and why we make certain decisions can help in creating more user-centric sites and apps.

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Nataliia Pylypchuk

Nataliia is a product design expert who specializes in conversion-rate optimization and holds the Nielsen Norman Group certification in UX design. She has a particular focus on research and analytics-based decision making. Her recent clients include education technology company Carnegie Learning; British National Health Service health app Now Patient; and business services company Office Automated.

Agile Transformations: Why Leaders Resist and How to Bring Them on Board

Agile transformations require significant organizational change, which can be unsettling for the C-suite. These tips can help Agile coaches address leaders’ uncertainty and create sustainable agility.

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Andy Deighton

Andy is an Agile expert and Professional Scrum Master who has introduced and implemented Agile practices at Lloyds Bank, National Grid, and others. A former Java web developer for BMW, Andy brings his deep understanding of software development teams to his work as a coach for both startups and multinational companies.