Have you ever wanted to design a beautiful website but just didn’t know how? To be honest, a few years ago, that happened to me too. While browsing the web, I saw so many nice looking websites and wished I had the skills to create such designs. Today I can and I’m going to teach you how to do so too! Essentially, it requires a few Photoshop skills and an eye for detail. Through this tutorial, I will point out these tiny details which make a website design look beautiful. Fire up Photoshop and let’s get going!
I’ve been doing some research online tonight for a FREE alternative for Photoshop – my Photoshop installation recently became corrupt (no clue how but it might have something to do with the fact it was cracked..um yeh) Call me evil, I just call me poor.
Anyway, I can’t seem to completly uninstall Photoshop and so it won’t allow me to re-install it… and since Photoshop cost about USD $649 per copy... I’ll most likely be using an alternative until I can format my hard drive.
Anyway, I can not work with out some type of imaging software. Period. I’ll let you know which one I decide on.
Artweaver isn’t just a Photoshop alternative like GIMP, but a fair clone of Photoshop itself. While Artweaver lacks the polish and advanced feature sets of Photoshop, the menus are laid out like they are in Photoshop and the tools function close enough that use is intuitive. The programs are so similar, in fact, that seasoned Photoshop users will find themselves wondering why a feature is suddenly missing from the menu. While it isn’t a true replacement for Photoshop, Artweaver’s feature set is robust; it includes layer management, image cloning, a history function, transparency, pen tablet support, and a host of the common filters in Photoshop. Artweaver is available as a full install or in a portable version. Artweaver is a free download for Windows only.
Fotografix is an amazing example of what creative developers can accomplish in less than one meg. The 680Kb portable application is a very capable image editor and provides nearly all the same functionality I utilize in Photoshop on a daily basis. It was a no-brainer to include in my list of 40 apps you can download in two seconds. Mirrored on Freeware Files.
GIMP stands for “GNU image manipulation program”, and it is one of the oldest and most well known alternatives to Photoshop in existence. Although it doesn’t quite have all of them, you’ll find most of the features included in Photoshop somewhere in GIMP. GIMP is cross platform and supported by a large community.
If just having the feature set isn’t enough for you, there is an alternative based on GIMP known as GIMPShop. It’s the same as GIMP, except the layout has been structured as close to Photoshop as possible, so anyone making the transition should still feel right at home.
Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor similar to Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Freehand, or Xara X. What sets Inkscape apart is its use of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), an open XML-based W3C standard, as the native format.
Krita has been lauded for ease of use and won the Akademy Award for Best Application in 2006. Part of the Koffice suite for [Linux only] , Krita is slightly less powerful than both Photoshop and GIMP, but does contain some unique features. It has become very popular recently due to its ease of use. While it is not as feature-rich as the Photoshop, or even GIMP, it does contains the necessary tools to create/edit a professional image from scratch. In fact, the latest version contains some features that are not found in both GIMP and Photoshop.
ChocoFlop is a design application designed exclusively for [Mac only] , optimized for Mac architecture. It’s quick and fairly well featured. This program won’t always be free, but until a stable version is released (it’s currently in beta) they are allowing free use. The program works pretty well as is, and if you’re the type who doesn’t mind an occasional bug it’s certainly worth a look.
Picnik is a web based photo editor that has recently taken off due to a partnership with Flickr. It has all the basic features plus a few advanced ones like layers and special effects. It is cross platform since you only need a browser.
Adobe actually has a free web based photo editor of their own.Adobe Photoshop Express has all the basic functionality you’d expect as well as a few advanced features (sadly though, no layers), and interfaces well with a number of photo sharing websites. Again, completely cross platform.
Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.
CinePaint is a deep paint image retouching tool that supports higher color fidelity than ordinary painting tools. One of the advantage that it has over GIMP is that it is able to support 32-bits image (GIMP only supports 8-bits image). Cinepaint is mainly used by developers in the flim industry for motion picture frame-by-frame retouching. The current version runs on Linux, BSD, Mac OSX. Stable version for Windows is not available at the moment.
PhotoPlus [Windows only] is the amazing photo editing software that enables you to fix and enhance digital photos, create stunning bitmap graphics and even web animations.
Links
There’s also free web services that allows you to perform basic image editing online.
Here’s few examples:
These are so damn cute! Which came first the Twitter bird or the egg? Enhance your blog or site with these fun Twitter eggs. Available in PNG format in two sizes: 256 x 256 px and 128 x 128 px.
I’m constantly looking for new social networking icon sets to post but they are few and far between. Good ones at least.
Here are 10 social networking icon sets. A few of them are new to me and a few are not.But all of them are cool.
Make sure to do a search for social networking icons on my website. I’ve posted a ton of them. Also if you know of any new sets that have not been posted here.. pleeze let me know!
Leave a comment, subscribe to my RSS Feed! Follow me on Twitter!
If your a webmaster or web designer I highly recommend you read the rest of this post at www.simonday.com
This is a great resource for anyone who does freelance design or builds websites.
Web design build questions to ask (yourself) or new clients
What do you want the web site to do for your company?
(is it to just promote brand awareness and for people who hear about them and then go to their site, will people be finding them through search engines, is it existing clients looking for support or news, are you selling online, are you offering downloads, company reports etc)
Who is your target audience (age / level of internet experience etc)?
(Do they require a modern, fast paced, highly graphical site to target the younger generation or a more user friendly site for the less experienced or older internet users. )
What image do you want to portray (Professional / Casual / cutting edge etc)?
(Some sites use white space and limited text to give a relaxed feel while others use lots of images and text to give the site a busy feel. Define the feel of the site)
If you have branding what colours, fonts, styles do you use? (See business cards, letterheads etc). More often that not the sole trader will have no graphics, no logo and no identity so in these cases you need to ask the client for colour schemes they think fit with the ideas but also do market research on the competition because the client may not be right.
CORE QUESTIONS:
What do you absolutely definitely want on the site?
(This list could include blog, shopping cart, members log in, private areas, RSS feeds. Gallery newsletter, contact forms, advertising space, different languages, search facility, etc)
What would you like if possible/within budget?
What absolutely must be on the homepage and what is the order of priority? (This is a core question and you should allow the client time to ponder and discuss this with you. Their answers here should define the position of the building blocks. The answers could be phone number, email, help icon, downloads, cart total, core product links etc.)
What must be visible at all times? (Every page has a fold. A fold is below the visual part of the page and requires you to scroll down to see it. I have a height I use but you should decide for yourself where it should be. The client must understand this and agree what can go above and below).
How many links will be needed and how many levels of navigation will there be? (You need to understand the journey paths and decide how far down the link structure will go (level one, level two, level three etc)
This icon set consists of 30 (16×16) finely crafted social media icons. They are free to use non-commercially. Put them on your blog or on your website to help users bookmark or share your site socially. I hear its all-the-rage these days. www.komodomedia.com
30 of the best tutorials on web for converting A PSD to a XHTML & CSS layout. These tutorials you will learn the process on how to create a Photoshop web layout and be able to convert it into a valid XHTML & CSS web page. The tutorials are a step by step process which are easy to follow and keep up with.
Managing web content has always been tricky, but with WordPress, any web designer can have a flexible, free and powerful CMS to use not just on blogging projects, but on all sorts of websites. In How To Be a Rockstar WordPress Designer you will learn step by step how to take a straight HTML site and power it with WordPress.During the course of the book you’ll build THREE WordPress themes, a blog, a portfolio site and a general site with menus and submenus. Each theme demonstrates different aspects of WordPress theming and all three are packaged with the book so you’ll have Photoshop, HTML, CSS and WordPress PHP files to refer to..
The book is aimed at anyone with a solid understanding of HTML/CSS. You don’t need to know PHP, you don’t need to have ever even touched WordPress before. The examples begin from scratch and build on each other, while basic PHP principles that are used are explained in an easy to understand manner.If you’ve ever wanted to get started with WordPress theming, or you’re looking to take your skills to the next level with advanced theming concepts, this is the book for you!
Price: 29.00 USD
You are buying this product directly from Rockable Press. Please contact Rockable Press for ANY questions related to this product or purchase.
212 Pages of Expert
Freelancing Advice
Covering everything from getting started to expanding your business, How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer is the official Freelance Switch book. Written by Collis & Cyan Ta’eed – the founders of the site – it’s packed with new information, advice and insights not covered on the blog.
If you want to start your freelance career the right way, then How to Be a Rockstar Freelancer will give you everything you need to become the best freelancer in town!
Here are some new icons sets for your enjoyment. I found these sets in a bigger list on Noupe.com which is a damn cool website that you absolutely must check out!
The more I get into your template and coding of WP Remix, the more I am amazed at the versatility. This is by far the most versatile theme for Wordpress on the planet.
Bundled with more than 50 strategically designed & coded custom static page templates, the theme enables everyone to publish a small sites in minutes saving weeks of time, maintaining top notch standards-compliant quality.
WP Remix a WordPress powered master theme, is completely customizable, quality coded & comes bundled with many layout options that helps everyone create custom websites in minutes saves weeks of time, maintaining top notch standards – compliant quality.
Ideal for EVERYONE!
Multi Purpose, hassle-free theme that covers almost every possible layout. Saves you weeks of time.
WordPress as CMS at its best.
Insert a page layout by a single click. Edit them in visual editor and publish!. What’s more you can set different sidebar and headers for different pages if you wish.
Multiple Options – Easily Customizable.
A Blog + 10 Homepage options + 20 Single page with different layout + 10 product/gallery page + 5 Miscellaneous page, Plugins compatibility, Ajax slider, Smart Drop menu, Tabs, Table…
Light-weight, Professional code and design
W3C Valid, Table less & Cross browser compatible, widget-ready, highly customizable…
Here you’ll find a list of 20 super nifty new Wordpress Themes for March 2009. Make sure to subscribe to my RSS feed so you can get notified when I post more useful resources for bloggers. (more…)
WP WooThemes Ultimate Icon Set and the idea is to expand and build on the set (which contains 79 icons at the moment) in the coming months. The free download contains all 79 icons, sized at 256×256 pixels and available in both PNG and GIF formats.
Free icon set – Quant
The set is available in gif format (filesize is smaller than png for two tone images). There are two sizes 36×36 pixels and 16×16 pixels. It is free for non commercial use and free for commercial use if you place a link back to this site.
Coquette Part 4 Icons
These free icons flirt with style! “Coquette” free icon set contains 50 high quality, free icons in these sizes: 16×16px, 32×32px, 48×48px, 64×64px and 128×128px and 32-bit transparency PNG file format. Check out Dryicons.com for the other 3 sets.
Grace Free Icon Set
80 High Quality Icons for Web and Application use!
Stylish iPhone & iPod Touch Icon Set
This set contains 29 icons to replace the iPhone/iPod default icons and selected third-party applications, and it’s available exclusively as transparent PNG files. A selection of Dock and Wallpaper images
are also included. Stylish web 2.0 icon style. Free to download
in zip file. Download Now !
Free Icons by Axialis software
Web development icons
Web development icons is a set with 60 free icons in web 2.0 style (24×24). These icons are free to use in any kind of project unlimited times.
Michael Flarup of PixelResort has released a developer icon set of 150 32×32 icons called Pixelicious in celebration of his new site.Download the icon set Pixelicious from their site.
Websiteoutlook.com - is the perfect place to evaluate any website. When choosing to buy or sell a website having the proper information about your investment can be crucial to your success. Websiteoutlook is dedicated to finding all pertinent information that may pertain to your personal interest. And it’s FREE!
Google Webmaster Tools - Probably one of the best free tool sites for webmaster. It is Google after all. Free website analytics and tutorials.
scrubtheweb.com – ScrubTheWeb.com™ has been helping Website owners and search engine optimization services worldwide achieve top search engine rankings since 1996! Offers FREE tools such as Meta Tag Builder, Meta Tag Analyzer, Easy Submit and SEO tips and tutorials.
Copyright Generator – free online tool will generate a copyright notice that will automatically update when the year changes! No more having to change the date manually.
Viewstep.com - offer thousands of webmaster resources and webmaster tools for webmasters and developers. Resources include articles, seo tools, design tools, domain tools and other webmaster resources and many more to improve your web site.
Search Engine Position Tool - will check your site’s position on Google, Yahoo, MSN and AltaVista. Just enter the search terms you would like to use, and the URL of the site you wish to check, and click “Submit.”
Wpdesigner – Has a nice collection of free WordPress themes, mostly designed by Small Potato himself. Occasionally he also announces quality WordPress themes designed by others.
WpSnap – Quality over quantity. Unlike a lot of other free WordPress theme showcases out there, Wpsnap has only features high-quality handpicked themes.
Design Disease – Not a huge selection, but what they have is high quality.
Free WP Themes – This site has all of the templates from freecsstemplates.org ported into WordPress.
WordPress.net – Can’t forget the official WordPress theme viewer.
Brian Gardner – A nice collection of very popular free WordPress themes. Also the designer of the popular Revolution Theme.
ThemeShaper – Home of the popular Thematic and Launchpad WordPress themes
plaintxt.org – If you’re into minimalistic design, this is the place to get WordPress themes.
WP Theme Designer – Some very nice magazine-style WordPress themes, designed by ChiQ Montes.
WordPress Galleries
We Love WP – A showcase of the best designed WordPress sites. This stuff really shows all the amazing possibilities one can accomplish with WordPress.
LoopPress – Another WordPress gallery. Maybe I’m a little biased, but they must have good taste.
Gallerific – Yet another web design gallery, with a category for WordPress powered sites.
Other WordPress Sites
How To Spot-Er – Has an amazing collection of WordPress guides and tutorials
JaypeeOnline – This isn’t specifically a WordPress-related blog, but it does feature lots of blogging news, WordPress theme reviews, and a lot of other useful information.
Weblog Tools Collection – One of the top WordPress-related blogs around. They announce any new noteworthy theme or plugin releases for WordPress, along with any other news regarding WordPress.
WP Themes Gallery – A great WordPress-related blog and home of the famous “Top 40″ WordPress blog list.
WordPress Modder – A useful resource with articles and videos on modding your WordPress blogs.
Hack WordPress – Lots of great tips on modifying your WordPress blogs along with other news about the latest WordPress themes and plugins.
WPThemesPlugin – Another great WordPress resource site featuring the latest themes, plugins, and WordPress news.
WPZOOM – A new WordPress blog featuring themes, plugins, tips, and more.
WP Candy – Another WordPress-related site, highlighting some of the best themes, plugins, and WordPress-powered sites.
WP Project – A site offering free WordPress tutorials and tips, along with other WordPress articles and news.
