Stefano Mallozzi Sviluppo web professionale

The similarities between an artist and a designer are quite easy to see, in fact those unaware of the distinctive differences might even assume that they are the same occupation. However for those that understand the functions of both creative endeavors, they know that is far from the case. An artist is a creative who creates to satisfy their own aesthetic pleasure, unconcerned with the wants and needs of others. A designer is a creative who creates in hopes of satisfying the wants and needs of others with their art, casting aside their own individual creative desires.

With that understanding in mind, it is clear that both creative paths differ by one being a creative for the people and the other for oneself. As designers, there is always some level of artistic input that must be imputed into a design for it to be affective. The problem many designers have is trying to incorporate the desires of their inner artist into their work as a designer. There can’t be too much artistic perspective used because then it will lean away from the intended audience, however too little and the design will likely look very generic and uninspired. That is why we are going to go over how a designer can find that inner balance between artist and designer.

What is Your Favorite Style of Art?

Image Credit: jiruan

In the design world it is the popular choice to renounce ones own true favorite artistic style and to design according to whatever style is currently trendy. An current example of this would be the universal fascination over minimalism. This is a great artistic style, with a really engaging philosophy behind it. However it is still not a perfect mesh for everyone.

So with that in mind, let’s go over a couple of questions that can lead anyone to the art style that best represents them.

What Does Your Personality Say About You?

Art is nothing more than an outward manifestation of the current mental state, and personal qualities, of the artist creating the work.. This makes artwork personal, and the need for a personal connection from a viewer of the work and the artist must be able to be formed from the art. Understanding this about art puts better perspective onto how and why some artwork appeals more so to some than it would to others.

So before anyone can go around looking at artwork to find what suits their creative palettes, there must be an understanding of oneself. That way when passing by and viewing artwork, the true connection with the work and yourself can be established.

Can You See Yourself  in the Artwork?

As already mentioned, art is very personal and allows for the inner workings of an artist to come out onto their canvas. It is important to be able to sense a connection with the artist  through looking at their work alone, however it is more so important when aiming for inner balance between artist and designer to be able to see oneself in the work.

This isn’t so much literally seeing yourself of course. It’s about looking at something and being able to see the inner workings of your mind, person, past, future, and/or soul in the work you are looking at.

How to Incorporate Your Taste into Your Work

Image Credit: Fifth World Art 

As designers, it is our predetermined thought that our craft has no real room for personal creative interpretation, surrendering our individual tastes for that of the masses at large. It is quite easy to see how this thought process came to be when considering how community driven we are. From creation to final product, our main goal is to create something that is liked by a vast amount of people. If that happens to lead to something that we like, then that is just a little extra bonus in the project.

Now with that ideology thriving in anything designers create, it is quite hard to see ways in which any true personal artistic preference can be placed. Here are a few tips on how to awaken your inner artist in your designs.

Look for that “One Thing” when Finding Inspiration

Everyone takes that walk, or surfs the internet, trip, etc., to find inspiration for what they are working on. However, often the case is that instead of looking for that one thing in particular that stands out, the object of attention is the environment at large. That is of course fine for any other instance, but specifying your hunt for inspiration will lead to better results. This result should then lead you to an ample amount of creative thoughts that will easily lend themselves to your design project.

Ignore Best Practices…to an Extent

There is no such thing as a proven theory for success in the art world, so there shouldn’t be any perceived one anywhere near your mind when trying to bring out the artist in yourself. With so many proven success methods, guides, tutorials, and things of that nature, it’s hard for anyone to actually want to be adventurous. We design for financial gain after all, so this really isn’t such a bad thing. It’s just from the artistic standpoint, the only thing you’re doing by blindly adhering to these is suffocating your artistic expression. Understand the ones that make sense for what YOU are trying to do, and just leave the rest alone.

Lessen the Community Input

It is quite tempting to want to post what you’re working on to a social network full of creatives eager to see what everyone is doing, but it is not necessarily the best move. The vision for what you are to create can’t be translated to anyone perfectly, no matter how hard anyone tries. So of course there is no way that anyone elses input can actually lead to a better way of bringing out your inner artistic vision. Just leave this aspect for down the line when the project is close to completion, and needs that designer touch.

Don’t be Afraid

We all are afraid of creating something that is not well received, or easily understood by anyone else. This is so because art is not mean to be understood, only to express the thoughts of the artist. Don’t worry about the fear of rejection and just create, you could end up with something that the rest of us will be personally interpreting for years.

In Conclusion

Image Credit: fiveforefun

The work of an artist and designer is nothing alike, only the means they go about in creating their work. A designer can learn many things from art and artist like personal expression, relieving oneself of the fear of rejection, and the drive to fulfill one’s creative vision among other things. Just make sure as a designer you don’t let your inner artist consume your work too much, your job description still says that you create for the community at large.

Now a day a new course is offered in many part of the country this new course is for hibernate.In this topic i disscuss some of the fact of hibernate.

Contributor: chandan kumar
Published: Feb 06, 2012

Titles such as Anomaly Warzone Earth and Elf Defense continue to revitalize the tower defense genre on the iOS!

Contributor: Phillip Chan
Published: Feb 06, 2012

Several companies are seeking to meld baby monitor technology with cell phone and iPad technology to make the monitor more personal.

Contributor: s.e. Jones
Published: Feb 06, 2012

How many forms are filled out each day across the web? Billions of them, for sure. From small household blogs to government portals, it’s hard to imagine a website not having at least one form. And this comes naturally, since forms are the quickest way of having users:

• subscribe for a newsletter
• add comments to an article, pose questions or ask for support
• fill out applications (e.g. job applications)
• answer surveys
• perform purchases
• join clubs and forums

Styling web forms for both usability and aesthetics is a usual practice for any web designer working on a project. However, at the very beginning of the Internet forms were so dreadful that no modern user would have had the slightest desire to fill in one of them – no customized design, no smart capabilities, scarce consideration towards user experience.

Let’s see the evolution web forms over the past 10 years. It’s simply a lot of fun!

1. Pre-web era forms – the prints that we all despise

Yes, yes, these ones do bring bad childhood memories of endless queues at public administration desks. Perhaps this is the reason most of us don’t enjoy filling out any kind of forms. Hopefully, those prints will become out of fashion before we run out of wood.

2. The early days of WWW: 1991 – 1998

The first years of the Internet (1991-1996) remain obscure as far as web forms are concerned. Since we don’t have NeXT software on hand anymore, there’s no possibility of taking screenshots from back then to see how forms looked (if they existed at all).

As we all know, in a short time WWW became a mass medium and electronic forms made their way in. However, they were awfully rudimentary. Customer feedback was processed through executable files running on the hard disk. It was hard to find  anything like an online contact form. For subscribing to a service, you most likely had to download a form, fill in a hard copy and send it to the webmasters via postal services.

The existent web forms at that time mainly performed search and submission tasks. The interface was dead simple and dull, HTML based with no CSS of course.

BACK THEN:

NOW:

3. Form use in online sales: 1994 – present

1994 brought two major enhancements in the web arena: e-banking and online ordering (pizza, as you may guess). Shortly after, Amazon launched its online shopping service in 1995 and eBay the next year. Naturally, all of them were using web forms.

Those days, e-commerce was hindered by the limitations of credit cards that didn’t support online transactions. The issue was solved around 2000, once online payment processors appeared. Web forms could then exhibit products for sale and then direct submitters right to the payment gateway where they could complete the transaction. This was a major leap for the internet making its entrance in the day-to-day life of regular people.

BACK THEN:

NOW:

4. Web forms in the days of social media: 2004 – present

Two major landmarks for social media are 2004 (the launch of Facebook) and 2006 (the birth of Twitter). Facebook had the most interesting evolution in regards to web forms.

From the very beginning Facebook provided its own tools for creating simple polls and for planning events. However, the original Facebook forms were simple ones, they had security issues and as for styling they used to hold the blueish standard skin of FB. Things got better though. In August 2006, Facebook launched the free Developers API, which led to a burst of applications, widgets and tools. Around 2010 came the first form management apps for Facebook. Users could now have their own signup forms for fan pages, reuse personalized forms brought from outside and build specific mailing lists. Since then, Facebook forms and surveys are among the most popular tools for businesses that perform social media marketing.

BACK THEN:

NOW:

5. Web forms and security

SSL protocol for data encryption was released by Netscape in 1994. Anti-spam tools for web forms such as CAPTCHA and password protection have only been available since 2000. In the dark ages before, there were knight battles with hackers and spam.

How could you prevent bots from signing up countless times? Using IP validation methods that aren’t by far infallible. One famous hijack of a web form occurred in November 1999, when slashdot.org had the idea to run an online poll asking what was the top graduate school in computer science. Even if the IPs were stored in order to prevent duplicate entries, the students of Carnegie Mellon managed to create a program that voted thousands of times for their university. The next day, the competitors (students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) put up their own program and the two rival bots took over the poll, leaving the valid submissions in shadow. Fortunately, security options we have today are by far more efficient.

6. Contemporary profile of web forms

An important improvement came around 2007 when the first WYSIWYG form builders made their way in. Any internet user could then create forms. HTML knowledge is not mandatory anymore, since the remotely hosted form generators provide wizards with intuitive interfaces.

The portrait of a form that stands at the top of the evolution chain includes, by case:

• slick design, CSS customizable
• various publishing options: on blogging and social media platforms, on regular websites
• e-mail submissions received, secure data transfer and storage
• capacity to draw reports over data
• payment processing
• integration with 3rd party apps to extend its functionality.

Today’s websites are bursting with creative web forms. Contact pages aim to be both visually appealing and efficient as lead generation tools. Forms are successful in performing a wide variety of tasks: online ordering, event registration, research across the web, feedback. With CSS and HTML 5 at hand, forms can be successfully styled so that they blend in with the overall look and feel of any website.

Some Creative Contact Forms Aterlier Detour

Camping ilfrutteto

Red Bull Soapbox Racer

More amazing contact forms:

40+ Creative Contact Forms That Will Inspire You

91 Trendy Contact And Web Forms For Creative Inspiration

The thought of redesigning and revamping a website can be scary for most web designers. The thought of all the work and effort to design their website all over again can be frightening, more so are the countless review cycles, opinions from numerous stakeholders, comments from site visitors, and other factors to consider and this is enough to drive them crazy.

Revamping your site is a mega-headache, redesign is necessary at one point in the web site’s life cycle. You will need to revamp your site at some point in time, and the sooner, the better. You need to know when it is high time to revamp your site by looking into a few signs.

Sign number 1: The Metrics are Down

Have your metrics gone down over the past few months? Then it may be high time to revamp your site. Metrics are the number one indication that you should redesign your web site. Metrics give you an immediate indication that something needs improvement. To better understand your visitors, you need to speak to them using surveys and usability testing. A face to face conversation with your customers allows you to learn more than simple surveys and questionnaires. Conversations will reveal attitudes towards your website, brand, and overall company image.

Sure, there may be other reasons as to why your metrics are down. Be sure to look into them first and fix any problems you can see. Converse with your users, as only through dynamic conversation will you be able to know if your site needs redesigning, and to what extent. But if the sales, traffic and general user participation of the site are still down, it may be that your web design has ‘disconnected’ with your users.

Image by iamwahid

Sign number 2: Change of Brand Image

Changes in your brand image or company image may require changes to be implemented and reflected on your website. Update your logos as soon as possible, to be in tune with the shift of image or branding. Remember that the website is like the face of the company, where people get their first impressions and make assumptions.

Even if you’re not, establish yourself as the industry leader and adopt new technology and introduce innovative aesthetics to the site. Always provide relevant content to your audience.

Sign number 3: Your web site just looks tired.

Websites are like fashion trends–they can get old. What was really cool a few years ago can now look cliché and old. For example, 3D buttons and interfaces were so cool a while back, then beveled and embossed styles were all the rage. Flash intro pages were popular at one time, and most users enjoyed it. But soon web users got tired of it and wanted to skip and go straight to the content. Flash introductions were great then, but now they look old and pointless.

George RR Martin sure writes good books, but his website looks like something from 1995.

Thing is, what was new and innovative a few years ago will start to look tired soon enough. Nowadays,  the shelf life of the site’s aesthetic is only one year. If it has been more than a year since your last revamping, it’s time to do it now.

So if your website looks old and tired, it’s time for a makeover. Aesthetics eventually evolve, and an old design can destroy a company’s whole image. A fresh and new design will refresh your loyal users’ experience, and at the same time attract new ones. Your focus on revamping the site is to keep your brand image fresh.

Other Questions to Ask

From the perspective of the web user or customer, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does the website give me a favorable user experience?
• Is the website entertaining and interactive?
• Can I navigate through most of the web content within three clicks?
• Can the web users get an idea of the company’s branding and image through the web design aesthetic?
• What are the drawbacks and weaknesses of the site?
• Would you return to the website often–and for what reasons?

Provide relevant content on your website. Be sure that when people come to your website, they get what they’ve come for–information, education, and maybe some entertainment and interaction. Avoid unnecessary elements such as flash intros and annoying banner ads. The web site should be easy to navigate with a user-friendly interface.

Educate and entertain to keep your visitors coming back again and again. Always have new and fresh content on your web site. And, provide information with blogs, articles and pictures. Be sure your web site is searchable by increasing your SEO. Nowadays, content is king, so build on relevant content related to the company’s product and industry.

Content is King

Image by enimal

In the end, the web site you made should be something that you’re proud of. It is the online storefront to the company or business. It is where your current and potential customers go to seek information, and engage in a relationship with your business. For you to survive, you must constantly adapt and go with the flow of the most recent technological and aesthetic trends. Invest in being up-to-date rather than being safe all the time. Ride the wave!

There are many ways you can manage you Facebook privacy settings, given new Facebook features and controls. Here's a rundown of the options.

Contributor: Vince Dixon
Published: Feb 04, 2012

Para un diseñador es imprescindible tener unas bases sobre los efectos que crea el color en el público, es muy distinto aplicar un colorido u otro en un mismo diseño, indirectamente una tonalidad nos hace llegar un mensaje determinado ya sea porque se ha establecido así socialmente o porque psicológicamente estamos predispuestos a recibir una sensación determinada.

También existe diferencia entre utilizar gamas de colores cálidos o sus opuestos, los colores fríos.

Amarillo: Representa la calidez y la felicidad, y es altamente estimulante, se suele asociar con el lado intelectual. Hay que utilizarlo para crear un efecto alegre y feliz.

Rojo: Es un color de fuerza, estimulante y muy dinámico. Se asocia con el optimismo y el liderazgo.

Naranja: Es energético y a la vez agradable. Se sitúa entre el amarillo y el naranja, y como tal sirve para crear disños dinámicos pero con menos fuerza que con los tonos rojos.

Azul: Reprezenta la seriedad, y la seguridad. Prodeuce calma y sosiego y da sensación de confianza.

Verde: Representa la estabilidad, el equilibrio y es tranquilizante. Aporta armonía en el diseño.

Morado: Se asocia con la creatividad y el lujo. También es un color que se asocia con la empatía y la afectividad.

Negro: El máximo representante de la elegancia, es también un granrepresentante del misterio y el terror.

Blanco: Representa la sencilles, la limpieza y la tranquilidad.

imágenes: testking, mikewarez

Una de las cosas que implica ser diseñador es tener que lidiar con el cliente en cada encargo, en algunas ocasiones nos mordemos la lengua porque dicen “ que el cliente siempre tiene la razón“, pero la verdad es que es difícil trabajar en ocasiones con ciertas personas que creen saber más que nosotros.

Para darle un pequeño toque de humor os dejo una lista de cosas que a todos los creativos nos gustaría decir a nuestros clientes en más de una ocasión o casos reales con los que nos hemos encontrado y no podremos olvidar en la vida.

1.- Lo que se ve en la pantalla no tiene las mismas medidas que lo que se imprime, no se puede saber cuanto mide una tarjeta midiendo con una regla de plástico sobre la pantalla del ordenador.

2.- El Photoshop no hace todo solo como dicen en la tele, dejar a alguien feo como si fuera un bellezón es imposible, no hay una tecla mágica para eso.

3.- Quitar un fondo de una fotografía y dejar solo la figura no se hace solo, son varias horas de trabajo, tampoco existe una tecla mágica que ponga “eliminar fondo”.

4.- Es imposible hacer un diseño original, novedoso y perfecto de hoy para mañana, entre medias los diseñadores también comemos dormimos y tenemos vida social.

5.- No se puede utilizar cualquier foto de internet para hacer un diseño, las cosas de internet tienen copyright.

6.- Las fotografías e imágenes tienen un tamaño determinado y no pueden estirarse para adaptarlas al tamaño que queramos sin que pierdan calidad. No, no existe un botón mágico en Photoshop que convierte una imagen de 3 x 2 cm en una valla publicitaria de carretera sin que se pixele.

7.-  NO SOY MAGO, solo soy un buen creativo y un diseñador excepcional, pero de momento no me han enseñado a hacer milagros.

 

imágenes: jorix

A continuación quiero dar una pequeña lista de definiciones básicas que debe conocer cualquier diseñador o creativo por si alguna vez necesita saber que significa un término o incluso recordar una palabra que había olvidado. Siempre viene bien tener a mano un pequeño diccionario de términos especializado por si hay que consultarlo.

Definiciones:

A

Acabado

Término que se utiliza en artes gráficas e imprenta para definir aquellos procesos que se realizan tras la impresión. Por ejemplo se denominan así el encuadernado, el barnizado, el plastificado o el plegado.

Acordeón, en

Tipo de plegado que se usa en el diseño de folletos, dípticos, trípticos o polípticos impresos. Se caracteriza por plegarse a imitación del instrumento musical que lleva el mismo nombre.

Acrónimo

Palabra que está formada por las letras de las iniciales de un término compuesto y que sirve para hacer el nombre más corto. Por ejemplo: DNI ( Documento, Nacional de Identidad)

Adenda

En diseño editorial se denomina así a las notas adicionales que se añaden al final del libro.

Afiche

En publicidad se denomina así al “cartel”, se trata de una palabra proveniente del francés que se adaptado al castellano, lo que también se denomina galicismo.

Aire

En diseño editorial es denominado así el espacio blanco que se deja en una página.

Es también un término utilizado en dibujo y pintura para aquellas zona del lienzo o papel donde no se sitúa ningún objeto y por lo tanto queda como parte del fondo de la obra.

Álbum

Tipo de libro en el que las ilustraciones van por separado al cuerpo de la obra.

Allo

En artes gráficas se usa este término para denominar al color amarillo.

Alzado

En artes gráficas, se trata de la comprobación del orden correcto de los pliegos o de las publicaciones antes de su encuadernado.

American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
Sigla del Instituto Americano de Artes Gráficas (American Institute of Graphic Arts). Institución norteamericana sin ánimo de lucro que nació en 1914 para ayudar y estar al servicio de los intereses de los profesionales del diseño gráfico.

imágenes: sssit, cgpartnersllc

 

face

Son muchos los diseñadores o creativos que han pasado por nuestras mismas situaciones en el pasado y que están en ellas en el presente.  Para ejemplificarlo quiero hacer una pequeña lista de frases célebres que han efectuado en sus discursos distintos especialistas de nuestra rama, ya sean diseñadores, artistas, arquitectos o creativos en general. Sus palabras pueden abrirnos los ojos en situaciones conflictivas o estresadas en las que nuestra cabeza esté saturada y duda.

La gran mayoría de ellas resumen lo que muchos pensamos pero no somos capaces de decir en palabras:

 

El hombre inteligente no es el que tiene muchas ideas, sino el que sabe sacar provecho de las pocas que tiene.

- Anónimo

 

Es realmente duro diseñar productos por los grupos principales. Muchas veces, la gente no sabe lo que quiere hasta que usted se lo demuestre.
- Steve Jobs

 

El primer problema del ingeniero en cualquier situación del diseño es descubrir cuáles es el problema realmente.
- Anónimo

 

El buen diseño es diseño tan pequeño como sea posible.
- Espolones de Dieter

 

El diseñador, a diferencia del artista,
no es normalmente la fuente de los mensajes que comunica,
sino su intérprete.
–Jorge Frascara
El diseño es el método de juntar la forma y el contenido.
El diseño es simple, por eso es tan complicado.
–Paul Rand
Cuando estoy trabajando en un problema, nunca pienso sobre su belleza. Solo
pienso en como resolver el problema.
Pero cuando lo termino, si la solución no es bella,
se que está equivocada.
–Richard Buckminster Fuller

 

Accidentes de la captura. La respuesta incorrecta es la respuesta correcta en busca de una diversa pregunta. Recoja mal las respuestas como parte del proceso. Haga diversas preguntas.
- Bruce Mau

 

Espacio, luz y orden. Ésas son las cosas que los hombres necesitan apenas tanto como necesitan el pan o un lugar dormir.
- Le Corbusier

 

Muchos creen que el talento es cuestión de suerte, pero pocos saben que la suerte es cuestión de talento.

- Anónimo

 

imágenes: ivoserrano

Lately there have been a lot of people trying to hire us to create a website for them, others even ask for quotes and present a short plan that they have made. The problem is we’re not a company that will design and develop websites for clients, we’re an internet publisher focused on writing guides, inspirational articles, reviews, and the lot.

My friends, it has come to this. Many have asked for help and now I will walk you through it all, even without knowledge of coding you will be able to create a website in just one hour after reading this.

Say you have already grown tired of your Tumblr, Blogger, and WordPress.com blogs and you want to move up the scale. What do you do next? Yes, you read this guide!

Remember, you can start your own blog/website now for as low as $10!

Things to know:

Before anything else, there are some small details that you will need to think about. Do you want to have a totally free website that has a fixed set of features? You probably want more power and the option tp tweak things, but are you willing to pay for these options?

First you need to decide whether to create a self-hosted website or not.

Free websites are hosted under a parent domain. For example, there are a lot of websites, or in this case blogs, out there that are used by people for their private ramblings like sampyourname.wordpress.com or testwebsite.blogger.com. These blogs are totally free, but the irony is you really do not have the freedom of bending it to your will. There are limitations involved. But the good thing here is that they are totally reliable and free, also you won’t need any technical knowledge of HTML and CSS, everything is already designed for you.

If your goal is to keep an online diary for your personal life or craft, just the basic things, then using free website/blog services like WordPress.com and Blogger.com, or even Tumblr.com, is highly suggested. You can keep your files safe, no worrying about down time, and most of all they’re totally free. But since they’re free, your site will always have the service’s name (site.blogger.com) attached to your domain and it doesn’t look very professional.

If your goal is to appear strong and professional, and have more control over most things, then your best option is to host a website yourself. Unlike a free website, a self-hosted website requires some technical knowledge, and that is the point of this whole guide.

When should you self-host a website? As mentioned, when you want to have a professional look and feel to your site. Most likely they will know that you are serious about running that website and updating it, since you’re paying for it. Most self-hosted websites are owned by people who are using it for their business, either to promote their skill and services or to make money with it. Just like 1stwebdesigner.com. This is exactly the reason why I decided to write this guide, because people with WordPress.com and Blogger.com blogs have contacted us about shifting to a .com blog. Admittedly, I only replied to a couple of them briefly pointing them to the correct services and websites to read. But now it is different, to avoid further confusing our first time readers I have written a guide to solve this problem!

If you’re still serious about creating a self-hosted website and spending some money, then continue reading.

Before Purchasing Anything

Before you purchase anything, please be sure that you have already decided on what to do. I know that many of the people that will read this are considering it and are not entirely sure about spending money. I know some students both here in the Philippines and elsewhere who are considering spending money to get a website, some have failed and regretted their decision.

Ask yourself, do you need a premium website design?

Choose a Content Management System (CMS)

As the name implies, CMS is software that manages a website’s content. This is actually one of the best inventions of all time. I daresay that 90% of websites in existence today are built over a CMS. Websites like 1stwebdesigner, TheNextWeb, TechCrunch, and a lot more.

I won’t delve too much into what a CMS is, since you’ll more than likely end up using WordPress. 1stwebdesigner is using WordPress to manage all of the photos, articles, and plugins used in this website. Without WordPress it would actually be hard to grow it as big as it is now. But this is just my opinion.

You can, however, choose a different CMS depending on your preferences.

Check out:

• 17 Free Content Management Systems For Better Content Handling
• Showcase of Small But Useful Content Management Systems

Choose a Domain Name and Web Host

Technically, you should be looking for a Domain Registrar to register a Domain name of your choosing. Usually domain names and hosting are purchased together, but in case you want to find cheaper solutions you can buy them separately.

Suggested Web Hosts

These are web hosting companies that I have firsthand experience with. No matter what you do, do not go to GoDaddy.

Below are three of my recommended web hosts. The process is linear. First you will be prompted to select a domain name of your choosing (the name of your website), then the package type, some add-ons, and finally the checkout process where you will pay.

HostGator –  cheap and has a one-click-install for WordPress and other CMS’s. The cheapest plan boasts unlimited bandwidth and unlimited disk space, and hosts one domain. The main take-away for HostGator is that you can actually host your website here for only $0.01 for one month! Provided you have already purchased a domain name which can cost from $8 to $10. Succeeding monthly bills would be around $8. But you can host your website here for one year for only $75.

Use coupon code: “1stwebdesigner” without the “” to get a $9.94 off of your bill!

Currently hosting 1 website here, no problems so far.

WPWebHost – priced just a little higher than HostGator, but the service is absolutely stunning. Their customer support can solve just about anything you can throw at them related to WordPress. One-click-install for WordPress is also available.

Hosting 1 website here too, still happy with it.

ASmallOrange –  for as low as $25 a year you can host a website. For $25 you will get 150MB of disk space and 4.5GB monthly bandwidth. Not bad if you’re planning on a text-based website with few images.

Use coupon code: “1stwebdesigner” without the “” to get a 15% discount!

Also happy with ASmallOrange.

After choosing your web host it’s time to wait. Yes, you need to wait for some time, at best your account is activated within 10 minutes, at worst it will be available after 48 hours (but trust me, I haven’t experienced this yet).

After your account has been activated, an email from the service should be sent to you with the account information with all of the login details for FTP, MySQL, cPanel, and some links to your dashboard. For now just focus on the cPanel.

Setting Up WordPress First Step: Login onto your Control Panel

HostGator Control Panel

This is what HostGator’s control panel looks like. Do not worry, if you think this is too much to handle and there’s too many icons to click, you only need to worry about one..wait, no, you don’t need to worry at all.

That one icon you need to find? It’s the QuickInstall, just scroll down until you can see this:

After clicking QuickInstall you should see the image below. To the left is a list of software you can install, but our main goal now is to install WordPress. It’s the third item to the left. Just click on it and it will prompt you to continue, simply click on “Continue”.

After this you will receive an email with your login details for your WordPress dashboard. In order to login, go to www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin. You will then be prompted with a login form. Just fill in the form and you’re good to go.

WPWebHost Control Panel

This is how WPWebHost’s control panel looks like.

In order to install WordPress, find Softaculous:

Click on it and a page similar to the screenshot below will load.

Click Blogs and the following will appear. Click on where the red arrow is pointing at.

Then the following page will load, and all you need to do is click the blue button saying “Install”.

Everything onwards is pretty easy to understand. A form will appear, asking for some information. I will no longer post a screenshot of it here because you will not need to change anything. Just change the Admin Account details for your user name and password, and an email address so that the system can send your details.

After this you will receive an email with your login details for your WordPress dashboard. In order to login, go to www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin. You will then be prompted with a login form. Just fill in the form and you’re good to go.

ASmallOrange Control Panel

If you notice, most of the control panels look the same with only minor changes on the software/services available.

Once you can see the image above, scroll down until you find Fantastico De Luxe.

Click Fantastico De Luxe and you’ll be redirected to the page below. Click on WordPress, pointed by the amazing red arrow.

Click on “New Installation”.

Then you will be redirected to this page. Just fill in the user name and password, an email address and choose the domain you want to install WordPress to. Don’t forget to read!

After this you will receive an email with your login details for your WordPress dashboard. In order to login, go to www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin. You will then be prompted with a login form. Just fill in the form and you’re good to go.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed WordPress by navigating through your web host’s control panel!

At this point everything is pretty much finished. But you will need to install a theme and some plugins to get your blog rolling!

Second Step: Configuring Themes

Why do you need to install themes? What are themes? Themes are like clothing for your website, each having their own design and features that you can use. There are hundreds of free themes out there that you can use for free, but don’t expect many features from them. Most likely if you are willing to spend more for the best themes you’ll go for premium themes.

Choose and download Free Themes here:

• Hot WordPress Themes For Freelancers For Personal Branding
• Graph Paper Press
• WordPress Free Themes Directory
• Fresheezy
• See more here (this is no longer updated, but most of the links shown here are still working)

For Premium Themes:

• 20 Premium WordPress eCommerce Themes
• 40 Premium Magazine WordPRess Themes
• The World’s Best Corporate WordPress Themes You Can Actually Afford to Buy
• 50+ WordPress Themes for Video BLoggers (contains Free and Preimum themes)
• ElegantThemes
• ThemeForest

Installing Themes

First login to your WordPress dashboard by going to www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin. You will be greeted by this sweetheart, which you should familiarize yourself with because you’ll be seeing it often. Hover on Appearance and click on Themes.

It is important to note that all the themes that you will be downloading are zipped/rar-ed files. Just keep them that way. When the page loads, click on Install Themes and then click on Upload. Happily navigate through your folders to find the theme you downloaded, select it then upload it. After activating it, check your website and it should have a new design.

Congratulations! You have just installed a new theme! Now, what comes next is also crucial to your website’s success: installing plugins.

Third Step: Setting up Plugins

First let’s talk about the necessary plugins that you need to download and install. Note that this is only based on my preference. You can find your own plugins to install, but I’m just giving you an idea as to what kind of plugins to use. So, let’s begin!

Needed Plugins:

• Digg Digg or SharebBar for the social media buttons.
• All in One SEO Pack for SEO purposes. In the most simplest of all explanations, it enhances your visibility on Google.
• Quick Cache to speed up your page loads.
• Google Analycticator to easily install your Google Analytics to your website. Don’t have an account yet? Simply go to Google Analytics and sign up for one! By using this service you will know how many people are visitng your website, from where, and which content is visited by the readers.
• Search 1stwebdesigner for more plugins.

How to Install a Plugin

It’s very easy to install a plugin, either by uploading or searching the WordPress.org plugin directory. First go to the Plugins page by clicking on Plugins.

If you have downloaded a plugin, then you will need to click on Upload and upload the zipped file. If you want to search for the plugin, simply input the name on the search bar and search for the plugin. If you will use the search function, you will be greeted by this:

Simply click “Install Now” and the plugin will be installed. Don’t forget to check the Details to see if the plugin is compatible with your current WordPress version. Talking about that, be sure to always keep your WordPress updated! After installing, just activate the plugin and if settings are available, adjust the settings to your preference.

Congratulations! You have just installed your first plugin! Next and final step would be to add your content!

It’s not a website if it doesn’t have content. Be sure to write valuable information that people can actually use. Never steal content from other websites!

What do you think about this guide?

As always, don’t forget to share this with your friends who are in need, instead of telling them to “Google it!” And also share tips and techniques. Did I make an error somewhere? Please feel free to point them out!

If you are having trouble just write a comment below and I will be glad to help you. :)

For the majority of non-profit organizations, online fund-raising has become one of the most important sources of income, especially the last 10 years. Designing an inspiring and appealing donation page can certainly make a big difference in converting large numbers of visitors into donors. But, unfortunately many non-profit organizations simply overlook this much more mundane aspect of online appeal while paying loads of attention and time in developing innovative and inspirational online content. In this round-up, we are showcasing some exceptionally designed donation pages for your inspiration.

1. Save the Children

This website has a very sleek design with beautifully designated avenues intended for assistance. There are plenty of courses of action for users that could have made it a cluttered mess, but the design keeps it all very well-organized.

2. Keep a Child Alive

This sleek design makes use of large buttons with a variety of ways to contribute to the mission. A slight grungy effect is used in order to highlight areas of the page. Overall the design is simple and impressive.

3. Manna FoodBank

In this website, you can see the use of a natural color scheme that fits with their mission. The call to action button with the slightest change in color definitely stands apart.

4. Red Nose Day

The Red Nose Day site makes use of a simple two-tone color scheme that symbolizes the passion for the mission. The red colors spreading through the donation page drive people to take action.

5. Oxfam

Here the design of the donation page focuses the entire attention on the obligatory mission and calls to the readers.

6. Habitat For Humanity

The design of this website’s donation page is simple and clutter free; and focuses only on the mission.

7. Witness

The Witness donation page is mainly covered with the text and relevant information with a nicely designed call to action button that is placed right at the upper right corner.

8. Make-A-Wish

In this web design, although it is constructed well, there is a lack of distinction for its calls. The blue turns out to be rather awe-inspiring with the amount of information it contains.

9. American Heart Association

This stylish donation page mainly draws the attention of their users towards the calls. They picked their color scheme quite smartly and the subtle uses of white with the blue definitely look great.

10. Giving to Johns

Giving to Johns Hopkins pushes their cause with a very stylish and appealing donation page that stands out mainly because of its alluring contrast in colors on the header and call to action button.

11. Doctors without Borders

This design of a donation page stands out in our collection as it utilized tabbed windows in order to separate the different paths that users can take to dig in.

12. ASPCA

Here is another example of a subtle donation page. ASPCA uses purple for their calls that truly stands out from the overall orange design colors. With such a soft coloring, ASPCA imparts a sense of comfort that in turn eases the readers into the cause and taking action.

13. Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Susan G. Komen for the Cure website uses a brilliant color scheme that symbolizes their true passion for the mission.

14. Natural Resources Defense Council

The Natural Resources Defense Council uses a very simple approach. They bring overly large and bold call to action buttons into play that make their donation page stands out from the rest. This no frills approach puts pure focus on the mission.

15. Invisible Children

The Invisible Children donation page is as inspiring and touching as their mission is. In order to connect with their mission effectively, they utilize large images of the children the world tends to overlook.

16. Donate Life California

This is a somewhat unusual design for a donation page but this one really stands out from the rest of the site because of its pink calls to action buttons.

17. Charity: Water‘s

With the help of this understated design, Charity: Water‘s keeps their donation page extremely simple and focuses only on the mission.

18. Humane Society‘s

Large images and bold buttons are used to draw the users’ attention towards the main cause and convince them to take action.

19. Action for Children

This website has an attention-grabbing, large and appealing call to action area. This call to action area offsets the donation area satisfactorily and efficiently pulls the reader to it.

20. MJFF

MJFF brings warm and inviting colors into play in order to engage their readers. The color scheme works well and the gradient on the actual donate button makes it stand out.

21. The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy uses a quite unusual approach for their donation page. They placed two subtle calls under the header where users are likely to expect the navigation to be.

22. Kiva

Kiva has a very simple, sleek donation page that focuses on several routes to help users. The boldly colored call to action buttons are truly attention grabbing.

23. Operation Warm

Here you will notice a nice, friendly color scheme that varies throughout the page. Though the main calls to action mix together with a majority of the site because they are the same color while the secondary calls are a bit more obvious because they break from the blue.

24. Mozilla

Mozilla features a delicate donation page design with an innovative header that accompanies their website. Their fans and users can donate to keep their mission active.

25. Network for Good

Network for Good has got a fantastic design that possesses three courses of action that their readers may pursue. Each of them holds a large, attention-grabbing call to action button.

26. Virgin Money Giving

Here is a unique donation page that is divided into categories in order for users to find the kind of charitable organization they are seeking to support.

27. Planned Parenthood‘s

Here a form is used for the main appeal with more subtle calls placed in the upper right corner. Overall the design is simple and effective leading the reader into the ‘action center’.

28. World Food Programme

World Food Programme uses a very subtle design for their website with an online form to help their users donate for their cause to keep it alive.

29. Red

In this web design, you will see minimalism in a new style as this donation page features overly large typographical elements that truly work well to draw the users’ attention to the action areas.

30. Amnesty International

Amnesty International design of the donation page focuses the entire attention on the obligatory mission and calls to the readers.

31. Dalit Freedom Network

Dalit Freedom Network uses a very natural and earthy color scheme that works well with their mission along with eye catching and appealing call to action buttons.

32. Take The Walk

The boldly colored call to action buttons in this design truly stand out from the other donation page designs. The color scheme is also very appealing.

33. Practical Family Living

Another excellent example of a subtle donation page design that works very well for the mission. All the design elements are in perfect balance making this design stand out.

34. Housing Works

What makes this design stand out is its excellent color contrast as well as call to action button. Housing Works pushes their cause with an extremely trendy and tempting donation page.

35. Children’s Rights

Children’s Rights donation page is designed by keeping the overall design simple and clutter free. The call to action button is moderately sized and positioned at the center of the page.

37. Project Rescue Foundation

In this web design, you will see a unique approach for designing donation pages. An online form is also there to help you donate to their cause.

38. Custodial Abuse

Here they use a large image to connect with their cause in a simple but effective way as they are working for a very sensitive cause.

38. Memphis Zoo

This rather remarkable design for a donation page truly stands out from the rest of the site due to its excellent and vividly colored calls to action button.

MS Chat 2.5 Not MS Chat 2.1a

Contributor: Casper Sky
Published: Feb 03, 2012

Ya queda menos para la llegada de San Valentín, el mítico día de los enamorados que tanto juego da en el diseño con artworks conmemorativos y muchos otros trabajos realizados en todo el mundo.

Si tu te quieres sumar a la fiesta en esta entrada te vamos a dejar algo de material que te vendrá de lujo, y no será lo último que pongamos ya que hasta el día 14 vamos a seguir llenando el blog de esta temática.

Van todos los vectores tras el salto, listos para que los reviséis a ver si os gustan.

Fuente | Graphic Fetish

Dinner for Two http://vector4free.com/vectors/id/197

Rose Heart-Shaped http://www.hdvector.com/Holidays/Rose-Heart-shaped-vector.html

Couple Necklace http://www.hdvector.com/Holidays/Couple-necklace-vector.html

Happy Valentine’s Day http://dryicons.com/free-graphics/preview/happy-valentines-day/

Abstract Valentine’s Day http://www.thevectorart.com/abstract-valentines-day-vector-art-807.html

Heart Valentine’s Day http://www.freevectorsdaily.com/heart-valentines-day-vector/

20 Heart/Valentine Brushes http://www.brushking.eu/474/20-heart-valentine-brushes.html

Couples Love http://filevector.com/couples-love-valentine-vector.html

Winged Heart http://www.freevector.com/winged-heart-vector/

Valentine’s Vector Heart http://www.vectorpile.com/vector/free-valentines-vector-heart/

Valentine’s Day Couple http://www.vectoropenstock.com/3000-Valentines-Day-Couple-vector

Abstract Red Tulips http://www.flowervector.com/abstract-red-tulips-vector-illustration-639.html

Free Vector Flowers http://www.nerdtreasure.com/vector-flower-free-vector-flowers-for-valentine-designs/

Happy Valentine’s Day Greeting Card Vector http://www.webdesignhot.com/free-vector-graphics/happy-valentines-day-greeting-card-vector/

Valentine’s Day Floral on Red Background http://www.webdesignhot.com/free-vector-graphics/valentines-day-floral-on-red-background/

Valentine’s Day Vector Collage http://www.vector-eps.com/index.php/2012/01/valentines-day-vector-collage/

Love Heart http://dryicons.com/free-graphics/preview/love-heart/

Breaking Heart with the Dart http://vector4free.com/vectors/id/563

Valentine http://vector4free.com/vectors/id/194

Valentine Hearts http://vector4free.com/vectors/id/473

Love Hearts Vector http://vectorgraphicsblog.com/free-vector-graphics/love-hearts-vector/

Romantic love elements vector http://vectorgraphicsblog.com/free-vector-graphics/romantic-love-elements-vector/

Tango Dancing http://free-vectors.com/tango-dancing/

Valentine’s Day Full of Love http://www.florographics.com/2012/01/25/valentines-day-full-of-love-vector-pack/

 

With this free Windows clipboard extension, you can keep a list of copied items for quick pasting as you work. Ditto is easy to use and unobtrusive. Select your item and paste. It really is that simple.

Contributor: C.D. Crowder
Published: Feb 03, 2012

Have you ever thought that the reason behind you not getting any design jobs is not the amount of skills you have, but the résumé you send to companies? Think that when companies post job openings hundreds of applications come in day by day and the HR manager needs to sort the bad ones out first. What if your résumé, even if you are a great designer, fails to make the second round?

The goal of the companies is to determine if you really are the person on your résumé, and they do this by first looking at your basic skills. Most of the hiring staff only want to contact applicants on the phone, because this is easier for them and more effective, so they will try to get you on the phone soon after your CV passes the initial basic requirements.

They also look at how dynamic a person is and try and determine a bit about their personality – previously working in groups is an advantage, as graphic and web designers have to do this every day at their jobs. If your personality and the basic skills get the OK, then the HR manager will probably ask technical employees more about your coding skills. Although it is a very quick process, it all starts with your résumé and if the one you submit is not good enough, you will never get a phone or direct interview.

1. Tell them where to find you

I do not mean your home address – this is something you should have in your CV anyway. I’m talking about your portfolio. If I want to hire somebody, I definitely do not want to spend time searching for him on Google. I am not hired to do this, if you are not smart enough to provide it yourself, your CV goes to the shredder. List your web page in the header of your résumé, so it is the first thing the hiring staff notices.

Keep in mind you also need to show your work. If you say you are good in HTML5, the company needs to be able to be convinced before you will be called for an interview.

2. Follow people to stay in touch

An important asset of a job candidate in the design field is to be in touch. It is important to use websites for inspiration, to follow other fellow designers on Twitter and exchange opinions with developers. Many companies ask during the interview who you follow in the design industry, either on Twitter, Dribble, Facebook or other media. I am not saying you should prepare an answer only for the sake of it, I am saying you should actually follow people in the industry.

Another question you might get asked is what did you do in the last year to become a better designer. This is a key one because it will show your potential employer you are really interested in what you do and are passionate about it. Moreover, it will show you continuously work to improve yourself and this is something managers like to hear. You can take different courses on the internet or pay for subscriptions on Lynda.com. Code School and A Book Apart are some other great resources you can use.

Image by Lifetracks volunteer group.

Your résumé should show that you are interested and look to grow as a designer or developer. You should be able to adapt to new techniques and show that you always have a hand on what is new in the industry.

3. Notice the job description

When applying for a graphic designer job, knowing ASP.net doesn’t help too much. It is an advantage, but it is not what you will be evaluated on. It is a good idea to write a personalized cover letter for each job you apply for; make sure it is unique and reflects why you wish to work for that company in that specific opening. Although you think they will not, I assure you HR managers notice when people send mass e-mails, so as said before, avoid doing it. You can create a good, strong impression if you write a unique e-mail to each job posting – as a matter of fact, as all of them are different, it would be stupid to send the same application to all of them.

4. No signs of experience

How do you expect to get a job if you have no experience in the field you apply for? I am sure there are job openings for inexperienced people, but they do not mean newbies. If the work you did before is not something you are entirely proud of, you can always create your own project. Use your skills to create a template and sell it on ThemeForest or any other similar website. Do you have a lot of client work that doesn’t show your creativity? It’s never impossible to make something on your own – a hiring manager will appreciate the fact that you design in your free time as well. If you think your portfolio can be improved, do it before sending out your résumé.

Image by Susanne13.

5. Show you are a designer

When you send out a CV for an engineer job, it can be a basic word format with no template. But when you apply for a design job, why not put your creativity skills to work and make a great template for your résumé? If you are able to design a stunning template for your CVs, this will scream creativity, care and attention to details and will move you to the top of the list right away. If you don’t have time for this, use a digital tool such as Zerply. The templates they offer look great and the portfolios uploaded there are very easy to maintain. Another tip is to send PDFs instead of Word documents and sending out your whole website (if it works as a classic résumé) can be effective as well.

Conclusion

These were only a few basic tips to improve your CV. Remember that while there is no direct contact between you and the company, the résumé is the only piece of work that will bind the two of you. It is always worth spending two hours on building a stunning CV than using two hours for sending out default templated résumé.

Keep in mind you need to show creativity and willingness to improve and your résumé will pass into the second round. Now if you are a good designer and have the necessary skills, you will pass through the third round and will be able to meet the hiring manager in person. But tips for a face-to-face interview another time…

Until next time, let’s stir up a discussion here. Do you have some other tips to give all of us for improving our CV?

You don’t like working for others and wish others worked for you? Are you also attracted to the idea of working with lots of people and multiple personalities? Then going for your own design company is something you might want to look into.

Starting a web design business might seem something anybody can do, but is definitely a difficult task. Note that this discussion is purely theoretical, if you wish to read a real opinion, then find someone who owns such a company and ask him how it was in the beginning.

The difficult part about starting your own company is that you need to be patient – the good stuff comes to those who wait. It is a long-term commitment and results might not come right away. Actually, it might be a bumpy ride up until the results come; or worse, they might not come at all and you will fail miserably.

Image by kristja.

In the beginning it sounds nice. You are your own boss, make lots of money and do pretty much nothing besides sign papers. This might be the life of huge company owners (although I would like the right to disagree), but it will not be yours. You might have to work even more than your own employees, you will not really make that much money and yes, you will be your own boss, but the clients you work with will still decide whether or not to hire you – they have the money, right?

Statistics say 80% of new businesses disappear within their first year. It takes a lot of determination and it is not the path to take for people without drive and stamina. If you’re still reading and think you have a fairly good chance of being one of the 20%, then continue reading, this is for you.

Owning a company

Great, are you ready to embark on this journey? Then you need to know things will change for you. Your career will not be a 9-5 job and won’t even be similar to the bits of freelancing you experienced before. Expect to get a feeling of accomplishment when things happen as you wish them to – expect to put your head down and be disappointed when things don’t turn out the way you want. Now you are on the other side of a business. You control what is happening and you give jobs, order people around and decide on wages. Landing a big project will mean much more for you now than if you were working in an agency, where you just get assignments and, when you deliver them, you get new ones. Your life has changed!

Now you can also employ people and let them do your work, while you spend time with your family or doing whatever else you wish to. However, most designers or developers who start their own businesses have no, or a limited, amount of money in the beginning and choose to do some of the work themselves, to save up until they have a bigger budget. You will most definitely have to do this in the beginning, unless you find a partner who is willing to contribute to the finances.

Advantages of owning your business are many. You are able to schedule your own time and have more freedom to experiment; even more freedom to hang out with your friends. You get total control, price up jobs as you think and have a different feeling knowing this time everything you do is for your own purpose. You are in charge of everything. But challenges arise at any minute too…

Get ready for problems

The first part of the article was about the nice stuff. Now it comes the ugly. Just because you are a great web designer doesn’t mean you are a great entrepreneur. There is a whole new path for you to learn and there is not much free time for you after you throw yourself out there. As in freelancing, you need to be able to motivate yourself and the ones you work with and be the boss, not just a friend or co-worker.

Unlike in a company, there is no one who takes care of other things for you. Unless you hire people for it, you will need to do the bookkeeping, taxes, client meetings, project presentations, project management and so on. This doesn’t allow too much time for hanging out with your friends.

Image by iprole.

Working on your time and whenever you want is an advantage – like in freelancing. But in both careers you need to be able to motivate yourself and start working right away instead of doing laundry or walking your dog. Also, you need to be good at following a schedule. If you slack off a day, the second day you will find yourself in a lot of trouble. Distractions are also something difficult to deal with, from social media to e-mails and, if you work from home, to kids and family members.

Maybe the most time-consuming task is email. This time you need to create them yourself; from scratch! There are no short answers to your project manager anymore. Now you are also in charge of communicating with the client and there is a reason why every company hires specialized people to do this – because it requires special skills. Now go and ask yourself, will you spend the necessary time to learn them or will you hire someone to handle the external communication? If you prefer to do it alone, get ready for some difficult challenges. Not every client is a joy to work with and you need to learn how to get the best out of them. Your job will be even more stressful if most of the clients are difficult to work with – and you probably already know most of them are difficult to work with.

Some good tips I can give you for when you decide to start your own design company is getting an accountant and focus on smaller tasks. Having an expert to keep control of all the stuff you have no idea about will pay off because it will allow you more time for the things you know how to do. It is not really possible to keep track of everything and doing both administrative and technical tasks will only give you sleepless nights.

If you are out there always looking for clients and you do it well, keep doing it and hire somebody at the office to actually turn the ideas into projects. Chasing clients and doing the work is quite impossible to do at the same time. It is possible for freelancers, as they have more free time than you do, but don’t forget – there is no real free time for you in the following months or even years. On the other hand, if you’re really good at completing the design briefs, then do that and hire someone else on commission to land projects. All big companies have several departments for a reason: keep sales, finance, design and technology apart from each other.

What’s in for you later?

Now we talk about the future. What are your opportunities in the future? Well, there are actually only two: success and failure, but we all know failure is never an option. Forcing yourself to be successful is the only way to actually reach your goals. If in the beginning you only run a business, in the future you have the opportunity to own it and hire people to run it – this is the dream, I would say. It is as far as it will go for you.

Image by cobrasoft.

You will pick up business skills along the road that might help you get back in with another agency. If at some point in time you wish to start working again, nobody will reject you – with the experience of leading a small project to running a company everybody will be delighted to have you around.

If you fail, however, the only thing you can do is go back to an agency or freelance. You can still have the company on your CV, but is it really worth? How likely are you to get a job if you state your small business failed? If you disagree with this, you are more than welcome to share your opinion with us; I would love to hear them.

Bottom line

Well, now you’ve heard it all. You know what is good about owning your own business and you know what challenges to expect. I would be glad to hear that some of you still want to pursue your dream or maybe start or continue on this path. I can’t wait to hear about your results.

Until next time, let’s hear your opinions on the topic…

Context Search is a fantastic extension that adds an extra option when searching for a word or phrase on a website using Firefox's contextual menu.

Contributor: Eric Fleming
Published: Feb 02, 2012

Creo que uno de los grandes errores que cometen algunos desarrolladores es no usar las texturas más para darle un toque distinto a sus diseños, y es que el uso de la textura apropiada en el contexto correcto puede ser mucho más útil de lo que os imagináis.

Lógicamente tampoco es bueno abusar de esto, pero sin duda se trata de un elemento que yo recomiendo que utilicéis, o que al menos experimentéis para que vuestros diseños sean mucho más completos.

Tras el salto van nada menos que 23 geniales texturas.

Fuente | WebDesignLedger