New Premium Series: Tumblr Theme Design – Start to Finish

Posted on 11. Mar, 2010 by Jeffrey Way.

Tumblr’s popularity over the last year has increased exponentially. The reason why is quite simple: Tumblr is flexible, powerful, and, most importantly, a pleasure to work with. Unfortunately, there aren’t many training resources available for the platform yet. In this video series, we’ll go through the process of taking a Tumblr theme, designed in Photoshop, and converting it into a fully working theme – in just a few hours.

To take advantage of this mammoth video series, become a Premium member!

Watch the Intro

The Full Series

• Chapter 1: Intro
• Chapter 2: Slicing the Design
• Chapter 3: Creating the Markup and Adding the Tumblr Template Tags
• Chapter 4: Adding the CSS
• Chapter 5: Configuration Options
• Chapter 6: @Font-Face and Custom Fonts
• Chapter 7: Slide-out Panel – HTML and CSS
• Chapter 8: Slide-out Panel – jQuery

Final Design

View the live demo.

Thanks to Kate Payton for submitting the design for this tutorial.

Join Net Premium

For those unfamiliar, the family of TUTS sites runs a premium membership service. For $9 per month, you gain access to exclusive premium tutorials, screencasts, and freebies from Nettuts+, Psdtuts+, Aetuts+, Audiotuts+, and Vectortuts+! For the price of a pizza, you’ll learn from some of the best minds in the business. If you’re curious about the other Premium tutorials that we have available, check here. Join today!

Article source: Nettuts+

Continue Reading

Inspiration: Awesome Book-Related Website Designs

Posted on 11. Mar, 2010 by Callum Chapman.

If you’re a book lover, you may have noticed that the vast majority of book-related websites out there leave a bit to be desired when it comes to design and information architecture. In fact, some author and publisher websites make me feel like my eyes might bleed!

But there are some gems out there, and we’ve collected some of the best. If you know of any other fantastic book-related websites, whether they’re for authors, individual books, publishing companies, or blogs, let us know in the comments.

Authors & Individual Book Sites

Author websites are some of the more challenging sites to design. If an author has a large backlist, it can be difficult to figure out how to showcase all of their work effectively. And if the author has only published one or two books, it can be hard to have an effective site that doesn’t feel empty.

And in reality, there are a lot of things an author’s site needs to accomplish. It needs to provide readers and potential readers with information about the books and why they might be interested in reading them. It needs to give booksellers information about the books, and why they should stock them. And it needs to act as a constant promotional tool that will help the author sell more books and gain more fans.

Dear Author has a great post on what many author websites are lacking. The list includes things like a printable book list, a link on the home page to contact the author, and a highly visible “coming soon” section. Check out the full list for more points to keep in mind if you’re designing an author’s website.

Here are a few great author and book websites you should be sure to check out for inspiration and ideas.

No One Belongs Here More Than You
Stories by Miranda July

This is one of the most creative books websites I’ve ever seen. While it’s not the most user-friendly of sites, it suits its purpose and does well to hold reader interest.

Justine Larbalestier

An excellent, clean-looking design that still has plenty of character. Her books are prominently displayed on the home page, along with links to her blog, about information, and other important parts. She also includes information about events, interviews, and specific book info on the home page, a big plus for readers and book sellers.

Stephen King

Stephen King’s presents its own challenges to a designer, mainly the sheer volume of information it needs to contain. King has written well over sixty books, has had a number of his books adapted for the screen, and has written numerous short stories. But his site manages to include all the pertinent information a visitor might be looking for while also showcasing his best and most recent works, all while maintaining a very streamlined and professional design.

Cherry Adair

Cherry Adair’s website fits well with the types of books she writes. The only downside to the site is that it’s entirely Flash-based, though the interface itself is slick and very responsive. She includes all of the information one would expect on an author site, including a printable, PDF booklist.

Jim Collins

Jim Collins’ site takes a much more minimalist design approach than many of the others on this list. The color scheme is limited and sophisticated, there’s plenty of white space, and only necessary content is included.

Jean Chatzky

Jean Chatzky’s website is well-suited to the types of books she writes and the brand she’s built for herself (you may recognize her from her regular appearances on the Today Show). It’s professional but unintimidating and has a friendly feel to it. It also provides all the necessary information you’d expect and is easy to navigate.

Hank Phillippi Ryan

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s website is bright and colorful, which matches the covers and style of her books. The layout is reminiscent of a grid layout and makes good use of negative space.

Caroline Tiger

Caroline Tiger’s site has some of the best use of color of any author site I’ve seen. Navigation is simple and straightforward, the emphasis is placed squarely on her books, and the overall impression is professional but relaxed.

Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks’ website makes great use of large background images and transparency. It’s easy to find the information you might be looking for, with prominent links to his books and movies, as well as appearances and biography information.

Publishers

Publisher websites have to be many things to many people; not always an easy task to do well. They have to showcase their books to potential readers. They have to appeal to booksellers and convince them to stock more of their books. They have to give information to prospective authors, either in the form of submission guidelines or guidelines that tell them they don’t accept unagented submissions. They have to provide information to the media and book reviewers. And sometimes, in the case of the larger publishing conglomerates, they also have to present a united front across multipe imprints.

The best publisher sites showcase recent books as well as best sellers. They make it easy for readers and booksellers to make decisions regarding book purchases. And they provide all the necessary information about the company, the books, and the authors for anyone looking.

Here are some of the best book publisher websites out there. They run the gamut from small publishers with only a handful of books to large publishing houses that publish hundreds of titles each year. What they all have in common is good information architecture, a clean style, and excellent user experience.

Dragon International Independent Arts

The DIIArts site packs a lot of information into a small space while maintaining an uncluttered and clean-looking layout. Their main nav includes nine tabs while still leaving some breathing room. The use of icons throughout the site helps to unify everything, as does the light color scheme.

Arcadia Publishing

Arcadia Publishing’s site fits its business perfectly. It has a vintage feel to it, which fits them since they’re publishers of historical nonfiction. The site is easy to navigate and effectively showcases important information (like the fact that they offer free shipping).

Melville House Publishing

The Melville House Publishing website has a simple blue and white theme throughout. It has a minimalist, grid-based layout nad a lot of white space. Information is easy to find and their books are displayed prominently.

Princeton Architectural Press

Princeton Architectural Press’s website is great because it’s design is a bit unexpected. The bright yellow background and grid-based layout are visually striking, which is entirely appropriate for a publishign company that focuses so heavily on design, but also a bit unexpected for a site in such a conservative industry.

Penguin Group USA

Among all of the big-name publishers out there, Penguin has one of the most attractive websites. Their layout is well-ordered, the color palette is refined, and they place emphasis where appropriate. There’s a ton of information on the site, and yet it feels uncluttered.

Timber Press

The Timber Press website makes great use of color and has a fantastic layout. The design is eye-catching and easy to navigate, with a well-implemented slideshow showcasing some of their books on the home page.

Llewellyn

Llewellyn’s website uses a muted color palette and three column layout that creates a sophisticated and professional feel to their site. They make it easy to browse their books, as well as to find other information about the company and their authors.

Storey Publishing

Storey Publishing is another company that opted for a muted color palette and simple layout. The green accents on the site fit well with the country-living and outdoor-themed books they publish, as do the graphics throughout the site.

Gibbs Smith

Gibbs Smith makes great use of Flash to showcase books on their home page, but otherwise keeps their layout fairly simple. They emphasize their best-sellers but make it easy to browse their entire catalog or find information about their authors. The red, burgundy and gray color scheme is sophisticated and feels very neutral.

Other Sites

Publisher and author websites aren’t the only sites out there that target book lovers. There are communities for readers (and writers), blogs and book review sites, and service sites for readers and writers alike.

The sites below target many different demographics, but each focuses on great user experience and simple architecture. Each has its own distinct style that adds to the user’s overall impression of the site and the company or people behind it. And each one has a clear purpose and mission that they accomplish well.

IndieBound

IndieBound is a community for independent bookstores and their customers. Their site is well-laid-out, has a great color scheme, and a unique design. They have a lot of information on the site, but it remains easy to navigate and find the information you need. They even manage to make the wide variety of graphics used on the site appear cohesive.

The Fiction Project

The Fiction Project at Art House Co-Op has a really awesome site design. The overall look represents the artistic sensibility of the project, but all information about the project is easily found and legible.

Lulu

Self-publishing company Lulu has a well-designed website that focuses on user experience. They keep graphics simple and use them specifically to highlight their services. The color scheme is consistent (white, blue and orange), and there’s plenty of negative space in the design. What sets Lulu’s site apart from many other self-publishing sites is that they’ve made it just as easy for book buyers to use the site as they have for authors.

Readerville

Readerville uses a simple two-column design with brownish-orange, burgundy, and muted blue accent colors. Readability is given the utmost importance in this design, with usability a very close second. While the site is no longer updated, it is still a great example of a book-related site design.

DailyLit

DailyLit, a service that delivers daily reading to your email inbox, has a fantastic website that uses a muted, cool color palette and grid-based layout. The site is easily navigated and showcases their services and the books available.

Blurb

Blurb is another self-publishing service that puts more emphasis on style than many other self-publishing sites. They offer good user experience for both authors and book buyers, and showcase “staff picks” on the home page (something many self-publishing companies don’t bother with).

The Millions

The Millions is a book review and culture site that uses a grid layout and mostly-black and white color scheme with bright orange accents. The layout of the site is fantastic, and the entire thing feels very modern and refreshing.

Guys Read

Guys Read is a literacy site for boys that places a heavy emphasis on typography. The site uses a red-white-and-blue color scheme and plenty of white space. It uses a mostly two-column layout and has a very masculine feel to it without feeling stuffy or staid.

Article source: Nettuts+

Continue Reading

Quick Tip: The Difference Between Live() and Delegate()

Posted on 10. Mar, 2010 by Jeffrey Way.

In jQuery 1.3, the team introduced the live() method, which allows us to bind event handlers to elements on the page, as well as any that might be created in the future dynamically. Though not perfect, it definitely proved to be helpful. Most notably, live() bubbles all the way up, and attaches the handler to the document. It also ceases to work well when chaining method calls, unfortunately. Delegate() was introduced in version 1.4, which almost does the same thing, but more efficiently.

We’ll examine the specific differences between the two methods in today’s video quick tip. Thanks to the FireQuery Firebug extension, we’ll have the tools to more easily understand how each method functions.

<ul id="items">
	<li> Click Me </li>
</ul>

// Bind attaches an event handler only to the elements
// that match a particular selector. This, expectedly,
// excludes any dynamically generated elements.
$("#items li").click(function() {
	$(this).parent().append("<li>New Element</li>");
});

// Live(), introduced in 1.3, allows for the binding
// of event handlers to all elements that match a
// selector, including those created in the future.
// It does this by attaching the handler to the document.
// Unfortunately, it doesn"t work well with chaining.
// Don"t expect to chain live() after calls like
// children().next()...etc.
$("li").live("click", function() {
	$(this).parent().append("<li>New Element</li>");
});	

// Delegate, new to version 1.4, perhaps should have been a complete
// replacement for Live(). However, that obviously
// would have broken a lot of code! Nonetheless,
// delegate remedies many of the short-comings
// found in live(). It attaches the event handler
// directly to the context, rather than the document.
// It also doesn"t suffer from the chaining issues
// that live does.
$('#items').delegate('li', 'click', function() {
	$(this).parent().append('<li>New Element</li>');
});	

// By passing a dom element as the context of our selector, we can make
// Live() behave (almost) the same was that delegate()
// does. It attaches the handler to the context, not
// the document - which is the default context.
// The code below is equivalent to the delegate() version
// shown above.
$("li", $("#items")[0]).live("click", function() {
	$(this).parent().append("<li>New Element</li>");
});

Conclusion

This can definitely be a confusing topic. Please feel free to ask questions, or discuss within the comments. Thanks so much to Elijah Manor for clarifying a few things for me on this topic!

Article source: Nettuts+

Continue Reading

28 New Great Magazine/Newspaper Style WordPress Themes

Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by Firat Demirel.

Article source: Graphic and Web Design Blog -Resources And Tutorials

Continue Reading

30 Powerful Wordpress Plugins For Blog Administrators

Posted on 04. Mar, 2010 by Cosmin Lupsan.

Article source: Graphic and Web Design Blog -Resources And Tutorials

Continue Reading

It’s coming! WordPress 3.0 – Pros and Cons

Posted on 04. Mar, 2010 by Edward.

Alright bloggers, web surfers and simple web enthusiasts, we’ve got some fascinating news for you all. Yes, Internet community can’t stop buzzing about the forthcoming release of the new version of #1 blogging software – WordPress 3.0.

TemplateMonster being the biggest provider of WordPress themes just couldn’t miss the chance to express its own vision of this great event – after all we love WordPress just as much as you do. The official release is scheduled for May 2010 but now we have opportunity to mark the major advantages that this release will bring.

So, WordPress 3.0 will include the following features:

• MU or Multi-User option now will be available to all WordPress 3.0 users. In case you still have no idea what it’s all about we can tell that this is one of the best features that will allow you to manage multiple blogs with different permissions – from a single admin panel. Alright, admit it – we all have at least a couple of blogs to work with, right? So MU is a very good – and anticipated – feature.
• Another great innovation is the improvement of support for custom post types. These are great news for bloggers because it simplifies their work in creating and managing content, but it doesn’t mean that categories will disappear.
• Menu management is one of the best improvements in 3.0 release because of the Custom Navigation menu system that will be included into the core – with drag and drop and other usability features brought to various types of menus. This menu enlightens widget management, submenus system and much more.
• WordPress 3.0 will have a new default design theme that will be called 2010 – you can see the live demo of this design on official WordPress website. As you understand according to the new name of default theme every year WordPress will hopefully get a new default theme.

This allegedly will be the WordPress 3.0 2010 default design theme

• Custom Background and Image support system will help you create new theme for your blog in a matter of minutes.
• WordPress 3.0 makes it possible to use the specific author templates. So, you can easily mark your own post or entry with your signature.
• Canonical Plugins will be available in WordPress 3.0. This means that from the moment it is launched you will be able to easily use your favorite plugins without being afraid that new release of WordPress will kill them.

Alright, these were the good news and now it is time to point out some disadvantages that WordPress still can’t get rid of (and most likely will not even in WordPress 3.0). It is not a secret that WordPress does have some peculiarities that are not quite comfortable for the users. So, here are some issues that were really irritating in older versions and that we wouldn’t want to see in further WordPress versions.

Security is one of the most important features for any platform and old WordPress versions’ minimal requirements of PHP4 and MySQL4 are quite insecure. But we know that now you can easily migrate to PHP5 though this fact only solves the problem partially.

• Chmod 777 command security risks that were one of the favorite topics to discuss for the at least several years now. Anyways according to the NerdGrind -
  

  This would make your WordPress installation vulnerable to a security attack. Some plugins might ask you to do this temporarily, and then ask you to change the permissions back to 755 after the plugin finishes its setup. This won’t fix your problem without adding more problems. The might allow the plugin upgrade to work, but it won’t fix the WordPress upgrade issue unless you chmod 777 the entire WordPress installation directory, which is a huge security risk, and should never be done.

• Autosave and revisions issues that sometimes expand your database 20 times from what it was just ten minutes ago. There are some plugins for this problem but we hope this feature can be fixed on a higher level.
• Re-installing WordPress database can cause WP database class bug. This may cause troubles for users especially considering Multi-User merging process. Hakre on WordPress states that this bug will remain in 3.0 version too.
  

  When a replacement class is in use, the original WPDB one will get re-created under certain circumstances instead of the replacement one. That breaks the modular DB replacement concept once introduced.

With all that being said, even though WordPress 3.0 may have some bugs (and we’re not saying it will, let’s just hope for the best) the new release is really an amazing event and we can’t wait until it is launched. There is no doubt that the new WordPress 3.0 will change web into a better place, at least a little bit better and safer.

What’s the best thing about it is that most of the Internet users will be a part of these changes. Let us know in the comments what you think the new WordPress 3.0 version will bring into your personal online experience, we’d love to discuss it all while waiting for the big launch!

Article source: Template Monster Blog

Continue Reading

7 Must Have WordPress Plugins For Every Blog

Posted on 02. Mar, 2010 by Anastasia.

Article source: Graphic and Web Design Blog -Resources And Tutorials

Continue Reading

45+ Latest Free Wordpress Themes (January – February 2010)

Posted on 26. Feb, 2010 by Wajid Khan.

In this showcase below, you’ll find a 45+ Latest Free Wordpress Themes (January – February 2010) Around because We all know that we’re going to use our blog as a tool to promote our business, so we need to have a clean, professional, corporate look.

Also, if you wish to suggest a theme please comment below and we will consider it!

Free Wordpress Themes (January – February 2010)

So, Let’s start with this compilation that every web developer, designer and freelancer should consider. Just make sure to read the license agreements and installation instruction carefully as they can change from time to time.

01. Argentpress

Live Demo Download

02. Obscorp

Live Demo Download

03. Structure Theme

Live Demo Download

04. Furvious

Live Demo Download

05. Bright Sky

Live Demo Download

06. Brave Zeenat

Live Demo Download

07. Color Range PSD

Live Demo Download

08. Liberation

Live Demo Download

09. Glory

Live Demo Download

10. Maamo

Live Demo Download

11. Matapat

Live Demo Download

12. Mayumi

Live Demo Download

13. Matino

Live Demo Download

14. Maimpok

Live Demo Download

15. Maparaan

Live Demo Download

16. DailyNote

Live Demo Download

17. Choco

Live Demo Download

18. LapOfLuxury

Live Demo Download

19. CelebrityHQ

Live Demo Download

20. Designpile

Live Demo Download

21. iEducation

Live Demo Download

22. Stunning Press

Live Demo Download

23. iMobile

Live Demo Download

24. Tribune Magazine

Live Demo Download

25. Solarpress

Live Demo Download

26. Kelontong e-Commerce

Live Demo Download

27. Farmville

Live Demo Download

28. Aparatus

Live Demo Download

29. WpLauncher

Live Demo Download

30. Dashboard

Live Demo Download

31. Slidette

Live Demo Download

32. Tempskin

Live Demo Download

33. Midtone Magazine

Live Demo Download

34. Extreme Magazine

Live Demo Download

35. Artistic

Live Demo Download

36. Satoshi

Live Demo Download

37. Zexee

Live Demo Download

38. CoolRetro

Live Demo Download

39. Sketch Ace

Live Demo Download

40. Sucha

Live Demo Download

41. SimpleCart(js)

Live Demo Download

42. UnderCon

Live Demo Download

43. Ready2Launch

Live Demo Download

44. FREE Coming Soon

Live Demo Download

45. Recipy

Live Demo Download

46. Grungie

Live Demo Download

47. MiniMag

Live Demo Download

Found something missing in this post?

While compiling this stuff on this post, it’s possible that we miss some other great free wordpress of ( Jan-Feb ). Do not hesitate to share it with us in Comments so that we can add instantly.

Related posts:

1. 30 Latest High-Quality Free (X)HTML/CSS Templates Must See Now Thanks to all designers and developers from all over the...
2. Beautifull Free Wordpress theme of 2009 High quality free Wordpress Themes have become harder and harder...
3. 15 Marketplace to Get Premium WordPress Themes WordPress is the Best blogging software on the Web Media....
4. 20 Latest Wordpress Theme to Start New Community Blog Wordpress is the most popular CMS not just because is...
5. The Best Premium WordPress Themes How do you find the best theme, that one theme...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Article source: Themeflash : One Stop For All Your Web Resources

Continue Reading

Social Networking Software: 12 Ways to Build the Next, Best Social Network

Posted on 16. Feb, 2010 by Barbara Holbrook.

Do you want to be the next YouTube, Flickr, Match.com or Facebook? Then, you need to find the right social networking software. Dating sites, friend networks, video sharing portals are all built on networking platforms that give members control over their personal profile and encourage user-generated content.

If you can get it right, Social Networking is the key to the kingdom. You will never have to worry about your next blog post, because users will post and manage their own content. You will be free to focus on the important stuff like marketing, partnerships and monetization.

Of course, great social networks need great software. No one wants to play on a slow network and users won’t create profiles if they think your software isn’t secure. When choosing a social networking platform, you need to make sure the software looks professional, is stable and will be around for the long haul.

Here are the programs and platforms you’ll encounter in your search for social networking software. (...)
Read the rest of Social Networking Software: 12 Ways to Build the Next, Best Social Network

© Tutorial Blog, 2010. | Permalink

Article source: Tutorial Blog

Continue Reading

Facebook Connect: Plugins to Integrate FB and Wordpress

Posted on 12. Feb, 2010 by Barbara Holbrook.

When I first decided it was time to add Facebook Connect to a website, I figured it would be no big deal. Facebook is a social media powerhouse, I figured, so they must have tools to simplify the process. Plus, I use Wordpress! So I was fairly confident that some enterprising developer had already created a plugin that would add Facebook Connect to the blog with a few clicks.

Boy was I naive. Adding Facebook to a Wordpress site is harder than it sounds. I spent days testing out plugins with varying degrees of success. Each plugin had it’s own set of quirks, Facebook features that worked or didn’t, one plugin even shut down the whole site!

Luckily, integrating Facebook was not a total FAIL. After much testing and tribulation, Facebook Connect is now humming along happily. Visitors can login and comment using their Facebook ID, post comments back to their main stream, join the fan page with a single click and a handful of other nifty Facebook features that encourage visitor loyalty and interaction.

Take the benefit of my experience, and read this article before you begin the process of adding Facebook Connect to your Wordpress website. Here are 3 different Wordpress plugins for installing Facebook Connect. (...)
Read the rest of Facebook Connect: Plugins to Integrate FB and Wordpress

© Tutorial Blog, 2010. | Permalink

Article source: Tutorial Blog

Continue Reading

12 Creative Color Schemes

Posted on 05. Feb, 2010 by SloDive Admin.

IndoFolio

Irvine Acosta

Bornintents

Vegas Uncork’d

Delibar

Notorious Design

Information Highwayman

Cooper Graphic Design

Giraffe

Tennessee Vacation

Fresh..not canned

Five years of Firefox

Related posts:

1. 13 Creative and Beautiful Blog Designs We love sites that break away from the norm and...
2. A Roundup of 22 Cutting Edge PSD to HTML Tutorials Designing a web layout in Photoshop or Fireworks is only...
3. 12 Unique 404 Error Page Designs Fortunately I don't end up on 404 pages very often...

Article source: slodive

Continue Reading

A Roundup of 22 Cutting Edge PSD to HTML Tutorials

Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by SloDive Admin.

1. Converting a Photoshop Mockup (part 1 of 3)

css-tricks.com

2. Minimal and Modern Layout: PSD to XHTML/CSS Conversion

sixrevisions.com

3. Slice and Dice that PSD

net.tutsplus.com

4. From PSD to CSS/HTML in Easy Steps – Part 1

csshowto.com

5. Coding: Design Lab TV Styled Layout

psdvibe.com

6. The Design Lab: PSD Conversion

hv-designs.co.uk

7. Build a Sleek Portfolio Site from Scratch

net.tutsplus.com

8. Encoding a Photoshop Mockup into XHTML & CSS

spoongraphics.co.uk

9. Converting a Design From PSD to HTML

net.tutsplus.com

10. How to Convert a Photoshop Mockup to XHTML/CSS

line25.com

11. Coding: Corporate WordPress Style Layout

psdvibe.com

12. How to Convert a PSD to XHTML

net.tutsplus.com

13. PSD – HTML/CSS

hv-designs.co.uk

14. Web Design Layout #9 SiteBuild

hv-designs.co.uk

15. How To Build Your Own Single Page Portfolio Website

spoongraphics.co.uk

16. Coding The Creative Design Layout

hv-designs.co.uk

17. Coding a Band Website Created in Photoshop

sixrevisions.com

18. From Photoshop to HTML

Bolducpress.com

19. Design and Code a Slick Website from Scratch – Part I

net.tutsplus.com

20. Coding a Clean Web 2.0 Style Web Design from Photoshop

sixrevisions.com

21. From PSD to HTML, Building a Set of Website Designs Step by Step

net.tutsplus.com

22. How to Code a Clean Portfolio Design (Plus Free Five-Page Template)

designm.ag

About The Author

Tom Walker has many passions in life, but the two main ones are writing and design. He spends a lot of his time working with a printer supplies company specializing in laser printer cartridges, inks and paper based in Manchester. His other creative writing about design and art is available at CreativeCloud.

Related posts:

1. 40 Free PSD Website Templates Starting from scratch on a new web-design project can be...
2. Breathe New Life Into Your Typography With These 22 Techniques It's easy to get caught up in using Helvetica as...
3. The Top Overlooked Photoshop Tutorials of 2009 The quality of Photoshop tutorials seems to increase year after...

Article source: slodive

Continue Reading

Awesome Customizations: 10 websites based on the Yamidoo Magazine Theme

Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by Barbara Holbrook.

Premium WordPress themes can be a designer’s best friend. But most websites worth visiting know better than to use a theme straight “out of the box.” Your site design is part of your branding and it’s the first impression visitors will have of your product. It only takes seconds for a new visitors to decide whether your site is “reputable.” And, like it or not, they will make that decision based on looks.

That’s why when you’re deciding which premium theme to buy the most important question you can ask is, “Can I make this theme look custom without reinventing the wheel?” To help you make this decision, TutorialBlog will begin showcasing a selection of sites all based on the same theme. Take a look and see for yourself some of the customized themes that started with a premium foundation.

Today, we’re taking a look at customization ideas for the Yamidoo Magazine Theme from wpzoom. (...)
Read the rest of Awesome Customizations: 10 websites based on the Yamidoo Magazine Theme

© Tutorial Blog, 2010. | Permalink

Article source: Tutorial Blog

Continue Reading

Happy Holidays from Designrfix!

Posted on 24. Dec, 2009 by Tony.

Article source: Designrfix

Continue Reading

How to Use Google Maps with WordPress Blogs: 5 Plugins to Get You Started

Posted on 15. Dec, 2009 by Barbara Holbrook.

It wasn’t long ago that Mapquest was the only quality mapping tool online. Then, the rise of Google Maps, possibly the best and most sophisticated mapping tool available online.

Google Maps inspired regular people to become cartographers — mapping our lives, mashing up old maps in new ways, and creating a new way to share our world. Even as the maps have become more sophisticated, the general tools have become simpler. In fact, if you’re using WordPress inserting a Google Map can be dead easy with the right plugin.

A note of caution, inserting Google maps into a WordPress website without a plugin can have unexpected results. Be sure to place the embed code in the HTML Editor, and never save your post or page while in the Visual Editor.

Better yet, forget about embedding maps with html! Use one of these handy Google Maps plugins for WordPress. You’ll thank us later. (...)
Read the rest of How to Use Google Maps with WordPress Blogs: 5 Plugins to Get You Started

© Tutorial Blog, 2009. | Permalink

Article source: Tutorial Blog

Continue Reading

Sync Your Life: Great Tools to Sync, Backup and Store your Files

Posted on 02. Dec, 2009 by Derek Walter.

You probably remember that one time when you really needed a copy of that spreadsheet for the meeting; only to realize it was sitting on your hard drive at home. Or the time you wrote up that great list of ideas and forgot to e-mail it to yourself.

If you use multiple devices for computing, the good news is these potential hazards can be avoided. There are now some great online tools to keep your files, notes, and other essential data synced between your desktop, laptop, and mobile phone.

Here are some suggestions for Getting your Digital Life in Sync.
(...)
Read the rest of Sync Your Life: Great Tools to Sync, Backup and Store your Files

© Tutorial Blog, 2009. | Permalink

Article source: Tutorial Blog

Continue Reading

Freelancers: Invoice your clients

Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by Oli.

Create invoices and manage account receivables online using one of these 9 web apps. You’ll save time and maybe even earn more money.

The ability to successfully run a freelance design business, requires more than just graphic skills. You’ll need to know how to drum up business, manage competing demands and perhaps most importantly how to get paid.

As a freelancer, choosing the right invoice software can make your job easier. These web apps can create invoices online, track payments, and more. Many offer a free trial, others are completely free. All you need now is determine which online invoice software works best for you.

(...)
Read the rest of Freelancers: Invoice your clients

© Tutorial Blog, 2009. | Permalink

Article source: Tutorial Blog

Continue Reading

Target Your Marketing Campaign with Facebook Ads

Posted on 04. Nov, 2009 by Barbara Holbrook.

Facebook ads are quickly becoming the top choice for targeted online ad campaigns. Whether your goal is lead generation, sales, or improving brand recognition, a targeted campaign will always have better results.

Google Adwords used to be the king of online ad campaigns because they can target users based on their current search priorities. Facebook ads are the next generation of targeted text ads.

Learn how to get started and why you should create a Facebook ad. (...)
Read the rest of Target Your Marketing Campaign with Facebook Ads

© Tutorial Blog, 2009. | Permalink

Article source: Tutorial Blog

Continue Reading

5 Photo Gallery Plugins for WordPress

Posted on 02. Nov, 2009 by Spencer Spellman.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If so, then these photo gallery plugins for WordPress must be worth volumes. Each plugin creates the photo gallery a bit differently — jquery slideshows, flash slideshows, automatically from  your flickr set — which you choose is purely a matter of preference.

Image galleries are one of those features that can help your website or blog rise above the rest. Quality photos can draw in your visitors and keep them on your site longer. Sure, you can still add eye candy to your blog using the default installation of WordPress. But if you really want to go for sugar-overload, then you need to include a photo gallery.

Here are five WordPress photo gallery plugins that can add some interactivity and pop to your blog. Now that’s sweet. (...)
Read the rest of 5 Photo Gallery Plugins for WordPress

© Tutorial Blog, 2009. | Permalink

Article source: Tutorial Blog

Continue Reading

Free Photoshop Shapes: Download Custom Shapes Sets

Posted on 22. Oct, 2009 by Barbara Holbrook.

Photoshop shapes are different than Photoshop brushes, although some people use the terms interchangeably, they refer to completely different tools. Both tools will allow you to easily add custom elements that be stamped out over and over again, used to create patterns, transferred from one design to another, and stored in your Photoshop library for use on your next project.

The big difference between custom brushes and custom shapes is that brushes create a bitmapped element that is permanently painted onto a layer. Custom Photoshop shapes will add an editable vector shape on it’s own layer. This is especially useful because it makes it easy to change the color or size of your custom item should you change your mind while working on the design.

Adding custom brushes and custom shapes to your Photoshop presets is an invaluable timesaver. Today, we’ll help you start your collection with this list of 10 Places to Download Free Custom Shape sets for Photoshop. (...)
Read the rest of Free Photoshop Shapes: Download Custom Shapes Sets

© Tutorial Blog, 2009. | Permalink

Article source: Tutorial Blog

Continue Reading