6 Critical WordPress Plugins You Should Have Installed from Six Revisions

May 12, 2010

If you develop for the web you likely already know about 6 Revisions. Here’s their list of 6 essential WordPress plugins:

  1. WP SuperCache
  2. Akismet
  3. WP-SpamFree
  4. Google XML Sitemaps Generator
  5. All in One SEO  (Search Engine Optimization)
  6. WP-PageNavi

To learn about their functionality and why you should install them NOW, go to the complete article here.

131 FREE Web 2.0 Photoshop Layer Styles from Dezinerfolio

May 10, 2010

Photoshop is an essential part of every web designers tool kit. And if you’re proficient in PS, you know that layer styles are akin to Paragraph and Character styles in InDesign and QuarkXPress: the fast way to apply consistent effects.

Now Deziner Folio has made it even easier for you (and what’s better than easy, right?). They’ve put together 131 free PS Layer Styles that install in a snap. You read that right: 131 FREE layer styles. Free and Easy. Two of my favorite things. Grab them here.

20 Resources for Website Templates from Smashing Downloads

April 26, 2010

Smashing Downloads offers these 20 sites for downloading  a great variety of website templates, here. These are all free and can be adapted and changed to suit your needs, depending upon your knowledge of HTML and CSS.

For 13 collections of premium-quality WordPress themes selected by Smashing Downloads, go here.

20,800 FREE Online Training Videos from VTC

April 20, 2010

By now Lynda.com has established itself as one of the premiere online sites for video training and tutorials. But they are not alone in this space. VTC Online & CD Computer Software Tutorials offers training in everything from Animation & 3D to Game Design & Development to Networking & Security.

The great thing about VTC is that they have over 20,000 FREE tutorials for you to check out. So if you’re looking to brush up on your skills or want to explore some new software prior to purchase, this a great site to explore.

55 High Resolution Photoshop Brushes from Colorburned

April 14, 2010

I love getting new brushes, layer styles and actions for Photoshop. The good folks over at Colorburned offer a selection of 15 high resolution PS brushes for creating moldy paper effects, here. Then, in a burst of generosity they throw in 40 high resolution ‘streak of light’ effect brushes here.

Readability – Make Reading Content on the Web Better, Easier

March 30, 2010

The web is a great place for gathering information and doing research. I find though, that reading big chunks of content on screen leads quickly to eye fatigue. So often I’ll copy and paste the text of say, a New York Times article into a Word document and then print it out to read away from my computer. This isn’t a very ‘green’ way of consuming prose.

Now there’s another option: Readability from arc90 Labs. You just drag the icon from their web page on to the top of your web browser and it installs a bookmarklet. Then when you come across an article or post you want to read, just click on the Readability bookmark and it places your text on a white background with several configurable options.

You can change the style of presentation (newspaper, novel, eBook and more); the size of the text (extra small, small, medium, large, extra large) and the margins (extra narrow, narrow, medium, wide and extra wide).

Once you start using it you wonder how you ever did without it. And I think you’ll find that, like me, you’re printing out less and reading more — comfortably — online, on screen.

Neil Patel, a Technorati Top 100 Blooger: What I Learned Through 4 Site Redesigns

March 23, 2010

Neil Patel, founder of two Internet companies, Crazy Egg and KISSMetrics writes about what he’s learned through 4 redesigns of his site Quicksprout.

He’s intelligent and articulate and what he says has broad application for anyone presenting themselves or their business online. Read the Top Ten things he’s learned here.

21 Hi-Res Smoke Brushes for Photoshop

March 15, 2010

If only there was a site that specialized in offering high quality, high resolution brushes for Photoshop that were totally free. . .If only it was just a click away. . . that would be so cool. If there was such a great resource like that, I’d probably link to it right here.

Creating an Elegant Web Layout in Photoshop Tutorial from [Re]Encoded.com

February 27, 2010

That ain’t workin’
That’s the way you do it
You make your website
With the Photoshop
with apologies to Dire Straits

There are a lot of sources for information on using your Photoshop skills to create an impressive website. Here’s one that I think combines a great design sense with a patient, intelligent, step-by-step approach.

But this is just a small sample of the great material you find on the [Re]Eencoded.com site. Sections on Search Engine Optimization, Aesthetics, Graphics, Inspiration and many more Tutorials are available. Go there to learn or to be inspired. Highly recommended site!


Great Group of FREE high-quality WordPress themes

February 20, 2010

From the good folks at Smashing Downloads
13 Awesome Collections of Free WordPress Themes

And check out their selection of free web site templates
20 Useful resources to Download Free Website Templates

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