Below are links to sites that I found interesting, instructional, or just down right fun! The list will continue to grow as my knowledge grows and I hope that it will save you the time it took me to search the wide expanse of the World Wide Web to locate the information.
jump to: Networking, Cascading Style Sheets, PHP & MySQL Resources, Website Validation Links, Training & Education, Web Design Do's & Dont's
- Netrender [added February 22, 2010]
IE NetRenderer allows you to check how a website is rendered by Internet Explorer 7, 6 or 5.5, as seen from a high speed datacenter located in Germany. Just type in a URL in the field above and try it out - it's free!
- Navigation Menu Examples [added August 11, 2009]
http://www.noupe.com/css/multilevel-drop-down-navigation-menus-examples-and-tutorials.html http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/30-menu-creative-javascript-navigation-menu-examples/ http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/02/26/navigation-menus-trends-and-examples/
A couple sites with some interesting, creative and very functional examples of navigation menus. Navigation is one of the most important aspects of creating a Website. If an user feels lost or confused, it will immediately turn them away. I often visit these sites to get my creative juices flowing.
- Browser Statistics [added March 26, 2009]
List of Web Statistics and Trends, which is located on w3schools.com. This information is very useful for determining which browsers to test Webdesigns on.
- Mozilla Firefox Developer Add-on [added Jan. 23, 2009]
I realize that I may be behind the times a bit, but I just discovered the Web Developer Add-on from Mozilla Firefox. It adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools to your toolbar. I've just started using it and am already wondering how I got by without it.
- Smush.it [added Nov. 25, 2008]
Smushit.com is a service that goes beyond the limitations of Photoshop, Fireworks & Co. It uses image format specific non-lossy image optimization tools to squeeze the last bytes out of your images - without changing their look or visual quality. You'll get a report of how many bytes you can save by optimizing your images and all the changed images as a single zip for download.
- Google Adwords Keyword Tool [added Jan. 23, 2009]
Use the Keyword Tool to get new keyword ideas. I discovered several keyword selector tools on the Web, but when it came right down to it, why not just go to the source? Google also has a Search-based Keyword Tool, located at http://www.google.com/sktool/.
jump to: Web Design Tools, PHP & MySQL Resources, Website Validation Links, Training & Education, Web Design Do's & Dont's
- Twitter [added January 12, 2010]
Gotta add Twitter to the list of Networking tools. To date, it has been a surprisingly good source of information and discovering new things. Of course, you will always run across those who just ramble on about day to day events, but once locating those who provide a constant flow on valuable information, it can be very gratifying.
- RSS - Really Simple Syndication [added November 6, 2009]
This article, "Building and Using an RSS Feed" by Denis Sureau, really explained RSS Feeds and how to apply them to a Website.
jump to: Web Design Tools, Networking, PHP & MySQL Resources, Website Validation Links, Training & Education, Web Design Do's & Dont's
- 10 Useful Tactics To Create Showy CSS Buttons
[added November 12, 2009]
http://www.appsheriff.com/tutorials/10-useful-tactics-to-create-showy-css-buttons/
CSS button styling can be tricky and sometimes tedious. If you are looking for a simple and effective way of creating dynamic CSS buttons with cross browser compatibility, these tutorials are for you.
- Web Design Inspiration & Gallery [added September 2, 2009]
Wonderful site to locate resources and find inspiration.
jump to: Web Design Tools, Networking, Cascading Style Sheets, Website Validation Links, Training & Education, Web Design Do's & Dont's
- Enabling PHP and Apache in Leopard [added Feb. 18, 2009]
After installing Mac OS X Version 10.5.6, a.k.a. Leopard, on my new harddrive, I began the task of installing PHP and activating Apache on my system. Activating Apache was simple, but when I previously wanted to enable PHP, I would download the PHP Module and start from scratch. While searching the Web I discovered that PHP already comes installed on Leopard and all that is required is making a few minor changes. The tutorial on foundationphp.com provided perfect directions for completing this process.
- MySQL Downloads [added March 5, 2009]
Once I had PHP and Apache working on my computer, I turned my attention to MySQL. I hadn't considered, until recently, to download MySQL onto my own computer. I am continually working on expanding my PHP and MySQL knowledge and during my latest reasearch, the benefits of having it installed were explained. I will now be able to build a dynamic Website without having to upload the files constantly to verify that the pages are working correctly. Installation instructions can be found at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/mac-os-x-installation.html
jump to: Web Design Tools, Cascading Style Sheets, PHP & MySQL Resources, Training & Education, Web Design Do's & Dont's
- W3C Markup Validation Service [added Nov. 20, 2008]
This validator checks the markup validity of Web documents in HTML, XHTML, SMIL, MathML, etc. Not only does this tool assist in locating errors in the page markup, but it will help in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The better the code is written the better the search engines will be able to read the content of your site.
- W3C CSS Validation Service [added Nov. 20, 2008]
This validator checks Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and (X)HTML documents with style sheets. It is recommended that you fist check that the (X)HTML used is valid before using this service.
- W3C mobileOK Checker [added Feb. 6, 2010]
This checker performs various tests on a Web Page to determine its level of mobile-friendliness.
jump to: Web Design Tools, Networking, Cascading Style Sheets, PHP & MySQL Resources, Website Validation Links, Web Design Do's & Dont's
- Training with Lynda [added March 5, 2009]
While attending The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, many of my required textbooks were published by lynda.com. The textbooks were very helpful and are a continual source of information for me. It wasn't until recently though, that I utilized their online library to enhance my knowledge. Now that I have, I am kicking myself for taking so long to discover it.
- Web Standards Group (WSG) [added March 11, 2009]
The Web Standards Group is for web designers & developers who are interested in web standards (HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, XSLT etc.) and best practices (accessible sites using valid and semantically correct code). I have been a member for some time now, and even though I do not alway actively participate in the discussions, the information has been very interesting and helpful. Which is the reason that I have placed it under the "Training & Education" section. I joined the mail list, so whenever a topic is discussed, I can view and follow the discussion. There have been many occassions when I have learned valuable information.
jump to: Web Design Tools, Networking, Cascading Style Sheets, PHP & MySQL Resources, Website Validation Links, Training & Education
- Worst Website of 2009 [added Jan. 12, 2010]
I have always found it very interesting to learn what NOT to do. On this site, you will also find a page that provides a checklist to determine "Does Your Web Site Suck?"
- 40 Most Beautiful and Inspiration Website Designs of 2009 [added Jan. 12, 2010]
http://www.2expertsdesign.com/inspiration/40-beautiful-and-creative-typography-designs-to-inspire
After seeing what NOT to do, these beautiful sites are amazing and provide massive quantities of inspiration.
- The Do's & Don'ts of Web Design [added Nov. 24, 2008]
This list is very helpful. Items were pointed out that I originally would not have thought of. For example: "DO CREATE A CUSTOM 404 'PAGE NOT FOUND' PAGE. A good idea, but it hadn't occurred to me until I read this article.
