Custom Website Design

Navigation is obviously one of the most critical aspects of usability. Developing effective navigation is a challenge for most websites, but it’s especially an issue for blogs because of the content that is continually being added.

Think about the typical blog. A few new posts are probably added each week, but navigation is almost never changed or updated, except by using internal links within the posts themselves. Finding posts is always possible by browsing through the archives, checking through some categories, or by doing a search, but the more content that is added, the harder it is to navigate.

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I constantly come across excellent designs that feature various elements of nature and I’ve been collecting samples for a while now. Some use photos and others use illustration. Some feature bright skies and clouds, and others feature mountains, water, or grass. Feel free to list your favorites in the comments.

Project Vino

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For a long time I used the Del.icio.us Tagometer Badge on this blog. If you’re not familiar with the Tagometer Badge (shown below), basically its purpose is to show visitors how many Del.icio.us users have bookmarked a particular page, what tags are commonly being used for that page, and it makes it easy for them to bookmark the page themselves.

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One of the things that I like about web design is that there’s always plenty to learn, regardless of how experienced you are. I know that my knowledge really only scratches the surface of web design and development, and I appreciate the fact that seemingly unlimited resources are available to allow me to become a better designer.

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Photoshop gives designers the ability to create some amazing effects that can accomplish just about anything you can image. Fortunately, there are plenty of Photoshop experts who are willing to write detailed tutorials to show off the potential. Here is a look at some of the best tutorials for using various lighting and abstract effects.

Adding Light Streaks to a Photo

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While sidebars aren’t the primary focal point of blogs, they still have an important role in usability and appearance. A well-designed sidebar can make it easier for visitors to find what they like, which will keep them at your site longer and improve your overall effectiveness. On the other hand, a poor sidebar can lead to lost and frustrated visitors.

Before the re-design of this site was started, the sidebar (or in this case sidebars) was a focal point of need. I felt that whatever direction the new design went, it needed to improve the usability of the site by making navigation easier and directing visitors to the appropriate parts of the site. The decision was made to use two sidebars in order to include everything that was needed without cluttering up the sidebar too much.

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This is a guest post written by David Brown.

What do nearly all high ranking websites have in common? As a search engine marketing consultant, I am confronted with the task of evaluating the inbound links of thousands of websites each month. In doing so, I have come to the realization that top ranking websites continue to pay for links despite Google’s public disapproval. Google’s minimalistic efforts to combat paid link building force ethical search engine marketing companies to buy links in order to compete. If done poorly, paid linkers run the risk of having short-lived benefits and potentially harmful consequences. The following tips will help you identify paid links that have positive and long-lasting results on search engine optimization efforts.

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For most designers pricing services is not something that is the highlight of the job. Still, it is something that you’ll have to deal with if you’re freelancing or working for a small firm. Here’s my take on pricing web design services.

1. There’s no exact formula.

Unfortunately, there’s no right or wrong way to price your services. Every designer needs to develop his or her own method for pricing, and even then, you probably won’t be able to follow the same formula on every project. Because each job will be different, it’s difficult to develop a method that will work well every time.

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A few months ago I published a collection of incredibly artistic websites that featured illustrations, creative headers, and detailed backgrounds. Since then I’ve been bookmarking a number of sites for the same reasons, so I decided to post a follow up for your design inspiration.

Basmati Tree

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Since it’s almost the end of June, here is a quick recap of 34 posts you shouldn’t miss, from a variety of design and development-related blogs.

Web Design and Development:

15 Tools to Help You Develop Faster Web Pages from Six Revisions.

CSS Editors Reviewed from Smashing Magazine.

Using CSS to Fix Anything: 20+ Common Bugs and Fixes from Noupe.

13+ Fantastic Tools for Knowing How They’re Doing It from Noupe.

Absolute Positioning Inside Relative Positioning from CSS Tricks.

Design and Code a Website in Gimp, HTML, and CSS from Help Developer.

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