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Web pages need to load fast

Fri, 17 May 2013 05:00:48 +0000

Speedy web pages is one of those things that seem to go in and out of fashion. But the reality is that good web designers are always conscious of how fast their pages load. Because customers will always notice when a page is slow. And sad to say, customers are not forgiving. If a page loads slowly most customers will leave even if the page has previously been fast.

Learn to speed up your pages: Speeding Up Your Web Pages

Learn More About Web Speed

Poll: Do you find it difficult to quote prices for design work?

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:14:38 +0000

Quoting prices is one of the things that many freelancers have trouble with. There's the fear that they aren't charging what they are worth. Then another fear that they are charging too much. Or just not knowing where to even start with prices. What do you think, is quoting prices hard?

More Help with Prices

Let’s Get Inspired — Minimal Monkey

Wed, 15 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Website of Minimal Monkey

Here is an example of a minimalist design that could be used in a similar way on blogs or article directories. This is a simple site, but it's got a bunch of fun features hidden under the surface.

Read More: Minimal Monkey

What inspires you? Do you have a favorite site you visit for inspiration? Or are there just designs that you think are particularly good? Are there people you like to read on social media for inspiration?

Screen shot by J Kyrnin courtesy Minimal Monkey

IDs and Classes Make CSS Extendible and Portable

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:00:54 +0000

One of the main reasons I value CSS so much (outside of all the things you can do with it) is because once I have a style that I like for some portion of my page, I can package that style up and put it on any other portion of my page or the entire site. While you can use many different CSS selectors to affect your pages, the CSS class and ID selectors let you move your styles almost anywhere.

For example, say I have a paragraph where the background color is red. I could set the style like this:

But then my style only applies to that paragraph. If I pull out the style and put it in a style sheet (either an external style sheet or an internal style sheet) I can then use it in any paragraph I want. I can even use it in DIV elements or any other place I want to have a red background. Learn more about how in the full article.

Read the full article: Using Style Classes and IDs

More Tricks with Classes and IDs

Is web design a dying industry for freelancers?

Mon, 13 May 2013 05:00:54 +0000

Freelance web design is one of those jobs that can be very tough. You need to be part sales person, part marketing expert, plus a great designer, developer, and people person. You have to compete with lots of other designers, design firms, and customers doing it themselves. Now there are companies that will help small businesses create their websites themselves as well as template companies that let site owners choose a look for their site and install it.

All this can be very disheartening to hear, especially if you’re considering moving into freelance web design. But I think that all this competition is good. It improves the quality of every site that is built from the free templates all the way through the giant sites created by professional design firms or in-house designers. Plus, just because there is competition doesn’t mean there isn’t room for freelancers. Find out what you can do as a freelance web designer even in the face of stiff competition.

Read the article: Is the Web Design Industry Dead?

More Help for Freelancers

XML is not dead

Fri, 10 May 2013 05:00:04 +0000

XML is a web language that many people don't really understand. But before you ask What is XML? or Should I learn XML? you should take a look at the language itself and see if it's something that might interest you. XML is a lot like HTML (in fact, XHTML is HTML written in XML format), but can still be confusing.

Read more: Examining XML

How to Learn XML

Image © J Kyrnin–Licensed to About.com

Poll: What is the MOST important thing to look for in a hosting provider?

Thu, 09 May 2013 05:00:32 +0000

Yesterday, I got asked “I want to know the best place to host my website.......” and honestly, I don't know the answer to that as there are so many different factors that can make a good host. Personally, when I'm looking for a good hosting provider I look for a couple of things:

Do they have good support options and respond in a timely fashion?
Pricing is Important, But Support is a Deal Breaker
Do they have a good uptime guarantee?
What is Uptime in Web Hosting
Do they provide enough space for my needs?
Do they cost a reasonable amount, but not too much?
How to Find Cheap Web Hosting

What do you look for first in web hosting? Why is that the most important thing for you? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Let�s Get Inspired � Dragonvale Wizards� Challenge

Wed, 08 May 2013 05:00:45 +0000

Dragonvale Wizards’ Challenge Main Page

Here’s an example of a web application for iPad (or Chrome) that is, at its heart, a simple multiple-choice quiz. But it’s set up with scoring, leader boards and other features of gaming applications.

Read More: Dragonvale Wizards’ Challenge

Screen shot by J Kyrnin courtesy Dragonvale Wizards’ Challenge

Online quizzes are both good and bad content

Tue, 07 May 2013 05:00:32 +0000

One of the most popular forms of content on some websites are online quizzes. You see them on Facebook all the time. Things like “What Game of Thrones character are you?” or “Find your favorite HTML tag.” But while these quizzes can be tempting, especially if you are paid for advertising page views. But even though quizzes can generate a ton of extra page views, they can end up hurting your site in the long run.

Learn the pros and cons of quizzes: Online Quizzes—Pros and Cons

Poll: Do you create quizzes for your readers? Will you continue to do so after you've read this article? Post your thoughts to the comments.

Image courtesy Stock Xchng lm913

Kids want to learn HTML too

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:52:10 +0000

One of the great things about HTML and web design is that it’s something almost anyone can do. And learning HTML can help kids (and adults) learn programming and other aspects of writing and development.

So this month, I teamed up with the About.com Kids’ Learning Activities Guide, Amanda Morin, to create a series of articles to help kids learn HTML. The articles are written by my guest author (and Amanda’s husband) Jon Morin. The three of us believe that these articles will be an excellent resource for kids who want to learn HTML, or who eventually want to understand how to program computers.

Let’s Get Started

Here are the first few articles in the series. I recommend you and your kids follow through them in order, reading through first Amanda’s information article and then the associated HTML article. Then your kids can sit down and start actually writing HTML to view in a web browser. If you have any questions as you go along, don’t hesitate to let me know. You can send me email to webdesign [at] aboutguide [dot] com or post your question to the comments below.