6 Best Serverless Plugins for Project-Specific Issues

Build, configure and deploy all necessary resources with just a few commands... The serverless framework empowers you to streamline your entire development workflow. But what if you need to tackle some project-specific issues? Then you extend its core functionality to suit your needs by implementing the best serverless plugins available.

For you might need to:

bundle a Lamba function with Webpack
empty your buckets before removing them
copy data from production to development table

So, what are your options?

to scan through the pile of already developed serverless plugins, looking for the one that addresses that specific issue
to write your own custom serverless plugin

This post here focuses on the first option. I'll reveal to you the 6 most useful community-driven plugins for the serverless framework.

1. But First: What's the Core Functionality of the Serverless Framework?

In other words:

What do you get out-of-the-box?

Here's a short list of tasks that go from being manually carried out to... automated when you go serverless:

creating, configuring, and deploying the needed resources (API Gateway and Lambda functions)
storing your code (and configuration) into a repository for later use
setting up database tables for your functions
configuring serverless templates for your subnets and VPC's

In other words: using a serverless framework streamlines all those tedious tasks of writing code on the console, configuring your resources, managing your team's workflow...

2. 6 Best Serverless Plugins to Consider for Your Next Project

And the serverless framework itself is an “ecosystem” of plugins.

Nevertheless, there are cases when its core functionality doesn't meet all your project's requirements and you need to... extend it.

Before you rush to write your own plugin, you might want to have a look at what's already been built. In this respect, here's a list of the most widely used ones:

2.1. Serverless Webpack

In a situation where you need to bundle your lambda functions with Webpack?

Let this serverless plugin here handle the job for you.

2.2. Serverless Dotenv

Here's a common scenario:

You need to load your variables, currently stored in an env file, into your serverless yaml config.

Then, this is the serverless framework plugin that comes to your rescue. It enables you to dynamically preload env files into serverless.

2.3. Serverless Offline

Need to run everything on your local machine before you deploy it?

Integrate this plugin here into your framework and it will emulate AWS Lambda and API Gateway on your PC, streamlining your whole development process.

2.4. Serverless Mocha Plugin

One of the best serverless plugins, a mocha-based one, that provides you support for your test-driven development flow.

2.5. Aliyun Function Compute

Is “injecting” Alibaba Cloud Function Compute support into your serverless app one of your project-specific needs?

Well, then this is the plugin you need! It's been built to enable support for this event-driven compute service into the serverless framework.

2.6. Serverless S3 Remover

What do you do with all those buckets that you will have been “joggling” with once you decide to delete your stack? The one you will have “overly exploited” by then, during your tests?

Well... you remove them. Along with the content that they store.

How? You let this plugin here handle the “decluttering task” for you.

The END!

These are the 6 best serverless plugins already available that you can implement into your projects.

Which one's the perfect fit for your current project-specific needs?

Photo from Unsplash

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Use meaningful link texts that clearly describe what the URL i about. Try to include specific keyword and avoid raw URLs. Clear website instructions that make your users' interactions with your site more straightforward and streamlined. What is accessible content? Maybe your website is an Ecommerce platform, or it might be a publishing site on various topics. Regardless of its scope, your website has to provide clear, meaningful, and concise content in order to be considered accessible. As a content editor, you need to pay attention to how you write your copy so that it is always: Perceivable. Website users should easily perceive any piece of content that is presented on the site. Operable. When structured, a site's content should focus on operability. Understandable. Accessible content is comprehensive, concise, and includes meaningful structural elements. Robust. A piece of content is considered robust when it can be easily scanned and interpreted by assistive technologies. 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Screen readers can't interpret non-text content elements, so images without ALT text are useless for screen reader users. Like headlines, alternate descriptions highly improve your SEO rankings and visibility. Make sure you use ALT text wisely by: Keeping your description short (under 125 characters) Avoiding images with text like graphs or diagrams 6. Write clear, to-the-point website instructions. Web accessibility is all about easier interactions with digital platforms. People want web experiences that require as few resources as possible on their part. And for online visitors with disabilities, this is more than a demand; it is a necessity. Therefore, web instructions, error messages, or data formats must be easy to understand, so they can be considered accessible. Part of creating accessible web content includes paying attention to how you write basic text like website instructions. Web accessibility is here to stay. 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Whether it is a decorative icon or a standard icon, if it can't be instantly perceivable to all users, it becomes inaccessible. This means that visitors shouldn't have to perform any extra action on your site in order to view the icon. 2. Insert text labels. This is a safety measure worth investing in to ensure your icons are accessible to the widest range of users. To prevent unclear situations from arising, add a text label near any type of graphical icons you use on your site. 3. Consider color contrast. If an icon's color contrast is too low, some users with vision loss might have trouble seeing it. Screen reader users need enough foreground-background color to easily notice your icons. 4. Don't forget about the size. To be properly sized, icons must have around 44x44 pixels. Icon links must be treated with care as, if they're smaller than 44x44 pixels, they may become inaccessible on smaller devices. 5. Make your icons are mouse, touchscreen, and keyboard accessible. If you're thinking of interactive icons, then you need to ensure that users can easily click on them, whether they use a mouse, keyboard, or touchscreen. Best practices for making icons accessible How can you turn a standard icon into an accessible icon? Here are some useful tips to consider on this journey: Use the most popular pixel measurements and square dimensions. The most frequently used sizes for web icons are: 128x128 16x16 512x512 64x64 256x256 Make linked icons accessible with ALT-text. For example, you can write 'Email us' as the ALT-text near your '@' email icon. Use more SVG or PNG file formats. It's easier to make icons accessible with SVG icon systems or PNGs, and, as most designers advise, icon fonts should be avoided. Adjust the icon-background color contrast properly. If you consider adding your web icon to the background, you need to adjust the color contrast accordingly. Use a visible-hidden class selector for the text accompanying the icon. If you've inserted an explanatory text within your link icon, and you want it to be visible to screen readers only, a visible-hidden class selector is a solution. However, be careful that, by doing so, the click/touch area will be smaller, and some screen reader users might not understand what the icon does. Insert visible text next to semantic icons. This is another safety measure to ensure that the meaning of your icons is 100% clear to all visitors. While semantic icons are standalone icons that have meaning, the safest way to make them visible to anyone is by accompanying them with visible explanatory text. Make icon fonts accessible. If you do decide to use icon fonts (try to avoid it as we discussed earlier), then add aria-hidden="true" to the element to ensure they are fully accessible. Don't use ALT-Text to text-based icons. It's easy to see why you should avoid using an ALT text near a text-based icon, as it becomes unnecessary and might even confuse screen reader users. How to use icons efficiently within apps and online The main goal of web icons is to quickly convey meaning for all types of users. However, if not used accordingly, icons can do more harm than good by being difficult to interpret. To avoid this, make sure you choose commonly used icons. For example, it is likely that most users will recognize the hamburger icon as the menu and the wheel icon as the settings. That's why, opting for popular, simple icons is more beneficial than using unusual ones. Another tip for efficiently using icons on your site is to be consistent in doing so. More exactly, give each icon on your website one meaning only. Using the same icon for different purposes will confuse your visitors and alter the user experience. Also, avoid using small icons as they can be challenging to understand, especially for users with visual impairments. A tiny decorative icon can also prevent users with limited fine motor skills from easily interacting with your site, and can also be hard to click on mobile device screens. After implementing all these tips and best practices, you need feedback to see whether you're going on the right track or not. To ensure that the icon sizes and icon types used on your site are as clear and meaningful as possible for your audience, you need to test them with real end-users. Remote testing is one approach that can help you easily gather data on whether your icons are accessible or not from a large number of users. Web accessibility as regulation and necessity The legal requirements around web accessibility have become more complex in recent years. More emphasis is being put on making websites accessible for individuals with disabilities, and the fines for not doing so can be considerable. Web accessibility is not only beneficial for users, but also for companies. What are the benefits of web accessibility for your business? From increased website traffic and online visibility to improved brand reputation and bigger customer base, the competitive advantages of making your website accessible are multiple. As the number of internet users is constantly on the rise, businesses need to develop and maintain innovative mindsets that promote inclusion and diversity. Proper access to all elements in a website for all users is no longer optional, but necessary. The rise of assistive technology usage requires optimized websites that take into consideration the needs of a wide range of internet users with various health conditions. Graphic icons can be a powerful way to enhance accessibility in apps and web pages if they are implemented with care. This means choosing which accessibility issues to prioritize based on the needs of your audience. Completing an accessibility remediation project requires a deep understanding of how your users interact with your website. When prioritizing, you also have to consider the direction of your business strategy, content, and website functionality. If you need help choosing the best approach to prioritization or making your website more accessible through optimized icons, drop us a line, and discover our Drupal Website Accessibility services. Photo credit: Harpal Singh on Unsplash. ... Read more

Raluca Olariu / Jul 19'2021

6 Best Serverless Plugins: How to Tailor the Serverless Framework to Your Project-Specific Needs

1. But First: What's the Core Functionality of the Serverless Framework?