Viewing Archive for: December 2008

Use Flickr to Find Images Free and Easy

Photo by Sidelong Dozens of Web sites offer royalty- and copyright-free photographs and other images. I can’t imagine having to buy stock photos and art these days, although I have many times before. I use stock.xchng and Big Stock Photo often. The photos are generic, one-size-fits-all but they get the job done with no money up or down. Lately, I’ve been using photos posted on Flickr Creative Commons. There’s an astounding variety of photos to choose from–many of them are... learn more

Here’s How to Use Blogging to Promote Your Business

When clients ask me if they should write a blog, I always respond: “Heck yeah.” I’m all about quality content and the more keywords you can get into your pages the better off you’ll be, at least I think so. Blogging is just another way to feed searchbots. After reading Josh Bernoff’s “Time to Rethink Your Corporate Blogging Ideas,” report, I’ll be more inclined to reply “That depends,” the next time the question comes up.  Bernoff is an... learn more

Web Development – Tools Of The Trade

With an ever growing number of browsers to make your code compatible with and higher demands placed on web designers and developers there is a requirement for more powerful tools to create and maintain your code. This tutorial will cover a number of methods and resources to help aid you in the escalating demands of your web projects. Many Developers and designers have their own personal favorite browser for developing and managing their websites. This tutorial will focus on  the use of Firefox.... learn more

Why Writing for the Web and for Print Differ and What to Do About It

Visitors to your Web site won’t read much of your content word-for-word. They’ll scan the text, cherry picking what to read. They’re in a hurry, easily distracted and have limited attention spans. If they don’t see right away what they’re looking for, they’ll bail out. You can look it up. Go to the Poynter Institute’s or Jakob Nielsen’s site. Those guys have done lots of studies on how people read on line. learn more  Read More →

The Web Designers Guide To Success

If you are a free lance web designer or developer you will know just how difficult it can be to earn a dime in the world of web design. I have learned a lot of lessons, most of them the hard way. Being great at web design and being great with clients, are two very different requirements. By setting yourself these basic rules, and sticking to them you will save yourself becoming victim to a number of pitfalls. That’s why I have put together this guide to help maximize your projects success.... learn more

Cross This Line and You’re Dead and Other Writing Tips

My first writing job was for a small small publishing company that published magazines for consumer electronics and major appliance retailers. Writing for trade magazines is not as glamorous as writing for consumer magazines but the pay is a heck of a lot better. It was one of those places where the writers did the work of two times as many people. We pounded copy like crazed monkeys including nights and Saturdays when deadlines were on top of us. I wrote my ass off and I learned a lot, thanks to... learn more

Today’s Pet Peeves

Does anyone know what notoriety means any more? Notoriety is a synonym for infamous (usually a bad thing). It does not mean famous (usually a good thing). John Wilkes Booth was notorious for assassinating President Lincoln. His notoriety was widespread. Brat Pitt is famous. His fame is widespread. He hasn’t done anything to make himself notorious, at least as far as I know. If something pisses you off, you’re irritated, not aggravated. If you pick at the scab on your elbow, you’re aggravating... learn more

Keeping Perspective

Remember the game where you had to spot the difference in two images? Take a look at the two images below. Can you spot the difference? Compare Images If you noticed a change in the number of windows on the 3rd floor to the left of the porch area, you are right! The critical factor in making such an edit to the image is…Keeping Perspective. That can sometimes become very difficult…unless we are familiar with the Vanishing Point Filter. learn more  Read More →

PHP includes – For Rapid Web Design

I was asked a while ago for some advice by a fellow web designer on how to save time when creating and updating web pages, it became apparent after talking to him for a few minutes that he was unaware of the possibilities that PHP could offer to rapidly improve site turnaround time. This tutorial is aimed at web designers with familiarity in HTML and CSS, no former PHP knowledge is required. I will show you just how easy it is to use PHP’s include method to clean up and speed up your web design... learn more

More Linking and Less Talking

Like most people, I need to practice more and preach less. For example, I need to verify that I’ve done all I can when I create internal and external links and spend more timing chasing inbound links to my sites. It’s hard for me to find the time. I have to visit my rich aunt every day at the nursing home to make sure she signs the will I drew up. She likes to talk a lot. Google reminded me not long ago that I should pay more attention to my links. The Big G ran on its Official Goggle... learn more

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