Back in July I finally decided to sign up to twitter, since then I’ve tweeted 486 times, followed 44 people and have 31 followers. For Twitter these figures aren’t much but this is one social network I’m glad I signed up to. Below I’ve highlighted some of the benefits and limitations I’ve come across since using twitter:

Benefits

1. Knowledge Base

Twitter is full of bright minded people with more specialist knowledge than can be easily accessed via Google. When asking a question on Twitter you can expect a near instant reply. This is best observed with a large number of followers, but for the right answer all you need is one. Continue reading “Twitter: Is 140 characters enough?” »

As a Web Designer living in North Yorkshire I’ve been caught in the fantastic disruption caused by the overnight snow. After spending well over an hour trying to get to work, I finally gave up and headed home after travelling only a mile. I now have a day free, and have to find something to fill it.

Below are the things I thought I could do and thought I’d share: Continue reading “A Web Designer’s Snow Day” »

This October (2008) saw the SitePoint publication of ‘Everything You Know About CSS Is Wrong’ written by Rachel Andrew and Kevin Yank. Though I’ve yet to read the book its contents have been making there way onto an array of web development sites such as thinkvitamin.com. What the book essentially aims to promote is a way of building web layouts using a techniques known as CSS Tables. Without getting into too much depth the techniques allows you to use CSS to define layouts in the same way you’d expect to code a HTML table but using CSS attributes such as display:table-row and display:table-cell.

It is hoped this technique will make it easier for those people still building websites in tables to move to CSS but it’s also seen as an alternative to using float. Floats in CSS were primarily for wrapping text around images, and not for layout. As such this led to issues such as the IE6 double margin issue and the clearfix problem when people started using them for layout. Continue reading “Why is all I know about CSS Wrong?” »

I use CSS on a daily basis and am always looking for new ideas and techniques to improve my work. Below are some of the techniques I have come across that I utilise in almost all my websites. Not all these will suit every person or project, but they certainly help me:

1. Basic Stylesheet

What this method does is reference CSS in different ways so that older browsers ignore the bulk of the CSS. By using the @import we can ensure that only newer browsers (IE6 and above) will run the main CSS, the basic.css file then contains minimal style ensuring all content is displayed as well as a prompt to upgrade their browser to view the website properly. Continue reading “Optimise your CSS” »

Last week Google launched their SearchWiki technology, which allows its users to edit their personal search listings as well as add comments that other users can see. But how useful is this technology really and will it change the way people use search engines?

Personal Listings

Excellent I can now go to Google and make myself rank number one for all my favourite keywords. And what a warm fuzzy feeling that would give me, except it’s a lie as no one else will see the same listings I do. But my fantastic comment about my website will be available for all to see. Continue reading “How to change your Google Rankings the easy way” »

I recently read a post at Superawesome where they were adding their views to the ongoing discussion of why Web Designers are better if they know xHTML and CSS. As one such Web Designer I would tend to agree, but it doesn’t just stop at xHTML and CSS, what about dynamic languages such as JavaScript, PHP or ASP. Continue reading “Designer, Developer, Programmer” »

Recently I posted about my intention to create a personal project, but I was undecided in what form this would take. After some thought I decided to create a WordPress theme. Of course this is nothing original; there are thousands of themes available with almost as many designers creating them.

Usually I would hope to undertake work where I felt I could add value, but releasing yet another WordPress theme to a saturated market would add little value to the mass population. Instead the projects main value comes in me learning more about how to design and implement themes that provide more flexibility to a range of users than the themes I build for a single client at Bronco. Continue reading “Premium WordPress Theme: The Personal Project” »

Last month the new Bronco website was launched but the previous version was not even two years old, so why the change?

Why?

There are various reasons why a website is redeveloped, in this case some were personal and some were company focused:

Personal

When designing the previous website I was fairly new to the company and learning my trade, and since that point I have learnt a lot. I felt the time was right to redesign the website as our current website was no longer indicative of my own or the companies’ skills. By redesigning the website we could present a better image of ourselves as a company to prospective clients.

Initially it was my own wish to redesign the website and as I manage the project solely I anticipated no issues in gaining approval for rebuilding the website. Continue reading “Portfolio Website: Bronco” »

A few weeks ago it came time to upgrade my contract phone and I bought an iPhone. At the time I was aware of some people’s issues with the phone as well as my own such as a lack of internal FM radio and basic camera. However when looking for a new phone that would allow me more use of the mobile Internet the iPhone with its free data and wi-fi package seemed the best option.

Almost instantly the iPhone has become an invaluable gadget. On a recent trip to London the phone not only helped me stay connected while in London but helped me navigate traffic when rushing for the train. Using the internet through the iPhone is superb with its PC like rendering of web pages. However a lack of the ability to open links in a new tab results in a lot of navigation back and forth. Continue reading “Another iPhone sold” »

Recently I’ve been thinking about creating a personal project; to create something to help promote myself and my blog as well as have real world value to its potential users. The problem with this is the lack of idea, time and at times ability.

After redesigning my blog it was suggested that I create a WordPress theme. I’ve steered away from this previously as the bloated nature of designing for a blog is in conflict with my almost obsessive need to have full control over my code, which I usually attempt to keep as clean, and simple as possible. In creating my own blog or those for clients I have a certain level of control that allows me to implement my design to pixel perfection. In the case of creating a theme for external use you must consider all the possibilities, with little opportunity to go back and fix them later.
Continue reading “Would creating a personal project just be a headache?” »