16 Free, Online Resources for Web Designers or Developers

Web design or development can be frustrating or repetitive at times. The need to come up with creative content for your site alone is exhausting! Luckily these wonderful free, online resources  have been a great help to me while creating websites for myself or clients and I am happy to share them with you! Here is my list of FREE, online resources that I find useful when creating websites:

1. Color scheme designer- As you may have guessed from the name, this site is dedicated to coming up with a color scheme for your website (or whatever your project may be!). The site and the color wheel are free to use but for those of you that have no idea which colors go together well and find yourself using it often, you may want to consider donating a little "somethin', somethin'" to the creator to show your appreciation. (http://colorschemedesigner.com/)

2. Kompozer-  A Free WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) HTML editing program that is very useful for creating simple sites or HTML based newsletters to Email to your site subscribers. (http://kompozer.net/download.php)

3.HTML5up - If it is an HTML template that you desire, HTML5up will help you acquire! Currently they have 14 templates to choose from but with beautiful, responsive designs that are super customizable and 100% free to use under creative commons, they are definitely worth checking out! (http://html5up.net/)

4.Greg Tutor's Kompozer and GIMP Tutorials -This site has a great introduction and tutorial on how to create a basic website using Kompozer, as well as covering internal and external style sheets. It is very easy to understand and great for beginners! (http://www.gregtutor.plus.com)

5. The Site Wizard - Website Design, Promotion, Revenue and Scripting Tips - Lots of free tips, tutorials and articles on every aspect of your website. It's a one-stop comprehensive guide to managing your site. (http://www.thesitewizard.com/)

6. Browser Shots - Great site to check how your web page will look on many different browsers, operating systems and browser versions. Just type in the url and within minutes you will see numerous screenshots of your page. Very helpful! (http://browsershots.org/)

7. Find Icons - The name of this site pretty much sums it up...it's a site where you can find great free icons to use on your page. (http://findicons.com/)

8. Favicon.ico - A free, web-based favicon creator. It also allows you to import an image to turn it into your favicon and download it once you are done. (http://favicon.ico) 

9. Paste HTML - Offers Free anonymous HTML Hosting. All you need to do is sign in to your facebook then cope and paste your code into the appropriate area and click preview and publish and it will be hosted online for free without having to register a Domain! This site also has a bookmarklet that will take a snapshot of any website and store it online for you. (http://pastehtml.com/)

 

10. Pixabay- In need of free images to use on your site or blog? Try searching for photos at Pixabay, where they have over 100,000 free vector images, photos, and clip art that are in the public domain and free for you to use! (http://pixabay.com/en/)

11. GO Articles - If it is content that you are in need of then look no further than Go Articles for some decent material for your website or blog. It is Free to republish any of the articles on the site just as you publish the Author information along with it and as long as you don't alter the material in the article. Make sure you read the publisher guidelines for specific information on how many articles you are allowed to post on your site within a certain time frame (it's usually about 25 articles in 1 year). (http://goarticles.com/)

12. Viewport Resizer -  Test the responsiveness of any web page to see how it looks with different screen resolution by using this FREE handy bookmarklet! (http://lab.maltewassermann.com/viewport-resizer/)

13. Tiny PNG - Drag and drop any of your PNG images into the area in this site and it will resize your image into a smaller, more compressed version without losing much of the picture quality! (http://tinypng.org/)

14. The Web Standards checklist - This is a very handy tool for any web designer or developer! (http://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/checklist/)

15. The Client Questionnaire for Web Developers- (by Dino) is a very helpful questionnaire for the website developer because it forces the them to examine things like their audience and helps with the preparation before the actual web design process begins. (http://www.scribd.com/doc/426427/Client-Questionnaire-for-Web-Developers)

16.  Uptime Robot - Will check your website every 5 minutes and notify you when it is down...and did I mention that it is FREE?! (http://uptimerobot.com/)

That just about wraps up today's list of helpful, free resources for web designers or developers. Are there any resources or websites that I forgot to mention? Please let me know, I'm always happy to learn about new resources for web development!

Which resources do you find most helpful when designing a website? What kind of web design resources would you like to see more of available for free, online? Let me know in the comments below.

*Thank you to all of the sites mentioned in this post!

7 Blogging Tips and Tricks

7 Blogging Tips and Tricks

1. Take notes- Lots of them! They will probably come in handy later.

2. Carry a notebook with you everywhere you go- this not only makes it easy to jot down a great blog topic if you think of one but it also helps get your creative juices flowing.

3. Don't make promises to yourself that you can't keep- If you work 3 jobs and take care of a family of four then the chances of you blogging everyday are slim to none. Make a small, attainable goal for how often you plan on blogging. This will keep you from getting discouraged when you realize that it's been a week since your last post.

4. Listen to your audience- If you want your blog to be successful you need to make sure that you are blogging about what your readers want to read. Listen for trends in what your friends or family are interested in, then blog about it!

5. Switch it up- Sometimes doing the same old thing can get boring so I suggest switching things up from time to time. For example, if you are used to blogging from your desktop at home maybe you should try it from your laptop at a coffee shop or instead of blogging in the mornings, you could try to blog at night. Little changes can sometimes make old actions feel completely new, so give it a try!

6. Step away from the computer screen- When you feel like you are stuck and can't seem to put any words onto your virtual paper, it maybe time for you to step away from the computer for 20-30 minutes and get outside. there's nothing like fresh, clean air to clear your mind and start the creative process in your brain.

7. Break a sweat- Blogging usually goes hand in hand with sitting, so it's not a bad idea to try to keep active. One great tip to maintaining a healthy lifestyle while blogging is to start a blog about fitness and health. Since you'll be blogging about your new diet or exercise schedule your readers can be a great source of inspiration or motivation to help you achieve your health and fitness goals!

To Feng Shui or not to Feng Shui?

Today I'm moving all of my earthly possessions from storage into a new house and like every other time I've moved I want to try to start new with this home. For example, get rid of any clutter I have before it makes its way into the house or to actually decorate this house instead of just throwing my old furniture into it. I also want to Feng Shui each room but after doing tons of research on how to properly Feng Shui each room, I can honestly say...I'm confused!

Almost every source on how to feng shui your home has contradicting advice or tips! Even something as simple as the color is different depending on where you get the information from. Don't get me wrong, there are some tips that seem to be universal but for the most part they all vary in one way or another. Feng shui is amazingly difficult and somewhat complex. With all of the rules involved and it seems like certain elements will clash with others. One instance of this would be in the living room where the World of feng shui suggests to activate the elements in the living room by decorating or placing certain objects in specific areas of the room (ie: southwest corner or in the east) but after reading over each direction and the objects that go in it, i think if i actually decorated like that I'm not sure I'd have enough room in the house for my personal belongings! Not to mention, i don't think red curtains in the south are going to match blue curtains in the southeast or the grey curtains in the northwest area. It's obvious that if you are trying to feng shui your home then the thought of a color scheme for each room has gone out the window.
Feng shui seems to not only take a lot of time and energy but it also requires quite a bit of research or knowledge. Take the dining room, for example, on the www.wofs.com site it says to arrange family members at the table according to their "respective kua numbers" but nowhere on this page was there any information about where these numbers could be found or what they even mean!
After all this time spent researching how to decorate the home, I've become increasingly tired and decided it's easiest to throw my old furniture in the house and call it a day. I don't think the way you arrange furniture in your home will change the vibe that you put out in the world and if you rely on couch placement to make your energy positive or bring good luck then what happens to your energy when you leave the house? Feng shui is wonderful for many reasons but after all the research I've done I've come to the conclusion that it's main purpose is to distract us from the stress of everyday life. Can't argue with that! There's one thing I'm sure of, the next time I move I'm hiring someone else to Feng shui for me!

Have you ever Feng shui-ed your home, office, apartment, etc? Where did you learn how to do it? Could you feel a change in the energy after you did? Share your Feng shui experience below and make me feel like a quitter for giving up on doing it!

Top 5 Excuses Why Some People Do Not Blog

Let's face it, the big bad world of Blogging is kinda scary when you know nothing about it. Sometimes it seems like the world is split between two types of people, Bloggers and Non-Bloggers. So it's no wonder why so many people are often afraid to start blogging and come up with some fantastic excuses not to. Here are some of the excuses people give to keep from starting a Blog:

Afraid of criticism- Believe it or not, we cannot all be as self assured and self confident as you and although it seems like most people don't really care what others think about them it is only natural for us to want to be accepted by others. The fear of criticism from others is a main reason why many people continue to write in their journals at home and not on their macbook online. One way to get over the fear of being criticized by others is to Blog under an alias or to hide your identity. Another way would be to block those that overly critical or to not mention your blog to them at all. You never know, a huge blog fan base in foreign countries might be just what you need to raise your low self confidence levels sky high.

Poor writing skills- Honestly, I can say that this was definitely one of my fears when I started blogging but I thought, "How am I supposed to get any better at writing if I don't write?" Once you stop caring what others might think about your writing skills or the topics you choose and start caring about you, it won't matter how many misspelled words your last post had, just as long as you felt good while writing it. Blogging should be a very personal thing that helps relieve you from the stress of your day.

Don't know what to Blog about- Choosing a Blog topic can sometimes be as easy as ranting and raving about a business you just visited or talking about a trip you recently took. Other times it can be as hard as writing a 2000 page novel about a subject you know nothing about. When you catch a case of "bloggers-block" the best thing to do is to step away from your computer and go live life. Usually i feel if I can't come up with a topic to blog about then I am not living life enough to have anything interesting to write about. Go outside and make some experiences happen then when you are done, you should have plenty to blog about! (Tip- Take your camera so you can include a slide show of your experience on your blog)

Horrible typing skills- This excuse goes hand in hand with Poor writing skills. How are you ever going to improve your typing skills if you barely type? Blogging not only gives you something to type about but the information you type is usually coming straight from your brain to your fingers so it is rare for you to have to look away from the screen. I know I enjoy typing something that I make up as I go along much more than something that is already written out.

Not enough time- The way I see it, blogging is like writing in a journal. It is a wonderful way to look back on the experiences you had in life and to reflect on them. If you have to use the excuse that you do not have enough time to reflect on your day or you life then you may need to get your priorities straight. Blogging can bring great insight to the things you do in life and how you react in certain situations. It can teach us how to communicate effectively with others and helps to expand our horizons and teach us new things. If you can't take 5 minutes out of your busy schedule of back to back corporate meetings and TPS reports to sit and focus on yourself then I suggest you purchase some good health insurance because living a life neglecting your needs, mental or physical, will only lead to poor health or depression. Try meditating for 5 minutes each day to see if your stress levels go down at all. Life isn't about working 9-5 for someone else, you need to stop and smell the roses every once in a while. 

No matter what excuse you give to keep yourself from starting a blog, remember this- the benefits of blogging outweigh the possible risks (if there are any) and blogging has become one of the number one ways for people to earn an income from home so turn off the TV set and sit down in front of your monitor....it's blogging time!