Web Design Firms on Facebook

Feb 4

ToddArticle, Design, Programming, Web , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments

I have seen more and more web design “firms” on Facebook advertising, which is refreshing because I was getting sick of the ads for the getting rich quick schemes, the guy that made $150,000 in 30 days schemes and the singles ads all in the sidebar.

I decided to check out these pages and came across some real horrors. I’m in the midst of wondering if they know what the hell they’re actually doing. Here’s my take on 6 companies that advertised.

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CSS Notes – Vol. 1

Feb 4

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I went back in time. Looking at some of the sites I have done and/or collaborated on and cringed a bit. It was all in the evolution of what I can do today I know now, but looking back, I still cringed. From the point in time I started to dabble solely in front-end development, I instantly got hooked and tried to find and do the best methods possible, while getting the job done quickly and efficiently.

My biggest thing back then, about 3 year ago plus, was this;

a {

    outline: none;

    }

* {

    margin: 0;

    padding: 0;

    }

Two of the biggest “no-no’s” in my book today. Again, it was all in the learning process. Especially the turning off of the outlining in the a href. A BIG accessibility mistake. The universal star “hack” (for lack of a better term) or Universal Child Selector isn’t really an accessibility no-no as much as some are calling it unnecessary. To me, it’s not really a big deal.

To each his own.

I have been referring myself to Eric Meyer’s Universal Child Replacement Technique.

There are numerous tips and tricks these days it seems. Many more than I can recall 2-3 years back when I was really immersing myself in (X)HTML/CSS. Alphabetizing everything in your style sheets (something that I don’t think really matters, especially when you have a rule that needs to come before others.), indenting a certain number of tab stops, one line style sheets (something I abhor), and more.

I often refer myself to Roger Johansson’s CSS Tips and Tricks, Part One and Part Two.

Trenton Moss has an article on 10 CSS Tricks You May Not Know over at Evolt and there are four years worth of tips, tricks, and helpful articles and advice over at 24 Ways by a bevy of authors.

I’ve taken bits and pieces and the words from these authors and put them to good use. You should too if you’re reading this. I even learned a little accessibility lesson from Bruce about using a link that says “here.” Thanks to Bruce for that. A more descriptive link like “Link to Article over at Opera” so that people know what they are clicking, or if they have a screen reader, etc.

I’ve been big on accessibility, usability and standards of late. Making a push for sites to change, providing only the best articles for those who have questions, learning myself along the way. I don’t think I will ever stop learning, and that’s not a bad thing to say.

The turning point for me was attending An Event Apart in Boston, in June of ‘07. Meeting the people I met and talking briefly to them (I was a little awestruck at the time) I had not only a great 3 days (got into Beantown a day early), but I had an experience of learning that I will never forget.

I’ve been meaning to contact those I had questions for, but life had gotten extremely hectic. Now that I have a little time, I think I may do so.

As far as what this post is about. It’s about learning. The desire to learn. The desire to read and arm oneself with the tools to make better websites. Something I hope to do by getting my name back out there and jumping back into the world of web design/development again.

I’ve provided what i think are the best articles to learn from to people on Twitter and try to provide helpful hints as to what I have learned and know already. I hope I’m doing a good job. I hope that everyone that makes websites wants to continually learn and provide users with the best experience possible with the newer, more improved ways of coding and making web sites.

Website Nightmares

Feb 4

ToddDesign, New Project, Programming, Web, Work , , , , , , No Comments

Do you ever watch the show Kitchen Nightmares (either US or UK) with Gordon Ramsay? I do. It’s a great show and no matter how much of an ass or jerk he comes off to be, he always does it in the best interest of the owner(s) he is trying to assist.

Bluntly, no sugar coating or dancing around in circles he tells these people what it is and what the facts are. They need to hear it that way or change will never come and they will be stuck in the same rut as they have been for X amount of years.

This got me thinking as I ventured around the net looking at internet nightmares like I have. It really got my gears turning when I saw some of the disgusting garbage I saw over the course of the past couple weeks. Especially from “designers” and “design firms” that reside in the same state I live in, New Hampshire. They however, seem to reside in the state of ignorant bliss and love to slap horrors together with Front Page or IMVU and call it a day, charging clients and customers with exorbitant amounts of money.

One even called themselves an “SEO expert” and made a seemingly busy and popular site with tables for layout. Something I thought “professionals” got out of the habit of doing many, many moons ago. The 90’s to be exact. Never mind the fact that i think “SEO expert” is a crock of garbage and it’s all about how you code a site and the structure, usability and accessibility of that site that makes it popular, not 7,000 keywords and a block of meta info the size of the New York City phone book.

So… onto what I was thinking. Well, I don’t know if I should give that away, but I will say, that I plan on doing something similar to the show Kitchen Nightmares. I’d get a separate domain, but feel like one is enough.

Look for the six03 version of “Website Nightmares” coming to a browser in front of you.