Ask a Web Nerd – Killersites Web Design Magazine

Do Web Designers Need Drawing Skills?

Stefan Mischook — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:51:03 +0000

Most of the ideas for this series come from actual email questions put to me. Some of the questions delve into the basics of web design, while others may go into more advanced topics.

This time around, I’m answering a question from someone just looking to learn web design, that wanted to know if they needed traditional pen-and-paper drawing skills in web design.

Along the way, I explore a few other similar questions about web design related design skills.

The podcast: Web Design and Drawing (MP3 running time: 4:40)

Thanks,

Stefan Mischook

www.killersites.com

Ajax vs Flash

Stefan Mischook — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:08:59 +0000

In this podcast I talk about the differences between Flash and Ajax.

… I get into things like when to use one technology over an other, the pro’s and cons of each and I also give you hints with regards to how to choose which one to learn – based on who you are.

Ajax vs Flash Podcast

Download the MP3 (Running time: 16 minutes): ajax-vs-flash

Quick note: let me know what you think of the style of my presentation. I’m thinking that I may be a bit … shall I say, underwhelming? Anyway, any comments good or bad are welcome!

Thanks,

Stefan Mischook

www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com

Database Basics – a little non nerd theory

Stefan Mischook — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:54:21 +0000

Databases are backbone of so much these days (on the Web and in business in general) and as such, any self-respecting nerd should know at least a little bit about them.

In a nutshell:

A database is typically just a piece of software that acts like a virtual filing cabinet. Depending on the TYPE of database, they can come equipped with all kinds of extra features that make managing a lot of data easier.

As I just mentioned, there are different types of databases. The most common being:

Relational databases
Object databases
Flat file systems

To learn more about databases, listen to the podcast.

Database Basics:

Thanks,

Stefan Mischook

www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com

What is an organic website?

Stefan Mischook — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:17:48 +0000

The inspiration for many of the ‘Ask a Web Nerd’ episodes comes from email questions sent to me. This time around, someone contacted me to find out what an organic website was.

In a nutshell:

An organic website is a website that derives most of it’s traffic organically. OK, so what is ‘organic’ traffic?

Organic traffic is traffic that comes to you by why of direct type-ins, natural search engine results and links coming in from other websites.

… Basically, it is traffic that does not come in from ads/links you have paid for. Check out the podcast for details and tips on creating organic websites.

Organic websites explained:

Thanks,

Stefan Mischook

www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com

Do you need web design school?

Stefan Mischook — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:43:42 +0000

This is the first of a new series of podcast that I am creating called: ‘Ask a web nerd.’

Not the greatest title, but I hope it tells something about this series; I will be answering common questions put to me by people everyday. Questions about anything regarding web design, web programming, getting into the web design game etc …

In this podcast, I will answer a common question put to me every so often:

Do you need to go to web design school, or college, to become a professional web designer?

The podcast:

Thanks,

Stefan Mischook