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Table to Tableless

27. July 2009

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Table to Tableless Migration
This tutorial requires intermediate knowledge of HTML/XHTML. It only requires basic knowledge of CSS. All of the properties I am using are being added to an embedded page style sheet, which is between the <head> tags in the document. You must use this to define header CSS: <style type=”text/css”> and </style>. Alternately, [...]

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The Universal Principles and the Business of Web Design

8. June 2009

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It has been a while since I’ve posted on this subject – I’ve been busy working on upgrading the clarity of my videos. You should see the results of that work soon enough.
What are the ‘Universal Principles’ … and how do they apply to the business of web design?
These are some of the principles that [...]

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How To Properly Use Web 2.0

4. June 2009

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Using Web 2.0 for the Right Reasons
The term, Web 2.0, has become so common that it’s now almost one of those labels that everyone knows, but nobody knows the definition of. In fact, clients often ask me—with complete seriousness—if I can provide “Web 2.0 ” for their site. My reply is typically along the lines [...]

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iPhoto ‘09 Review

22. May 2009

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iPhoto ‘09 Review
Part of Apple’s “iLife” package, and bundled with every Mac, iPhoto is more photo-management than photo editing.  iPhoto’s been around for some years now, but it’s not usually regarded as a powerful editing tool although Apple has improved its editing capabilities in this release.  Definitely a winner for those of you who are [...]

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The Journey of a Thousand Miles

22. May 2009

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There’s a pretty tired cliché used all the time that goes something like this:

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Like all clichés it’s true while at the same time a bit trivial. In the case of building websites, this particular cliché can help teach one of the most important lessons to learn. Let me try to put it in terms of what we do: it’s not how you end a project that gives you success as a web designer/developer; it’s how you begin it.

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GIMP 2.6.5 Review

11. April 2009

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An acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program, GIMP is another word for “free, powerful image retouching software”.  Emphasis on the word free.  You may ask, “how well does a free, volunteer-managed photo editing app stand up to the pricier software options?”  Quite well.  Unlike most of the other freeware photo-editing applications, GIMP has the more [...]

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Don’t Be Afraid of the Third Party Solutions

18. March 2009

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“I make everything in-house!”

As the owner of a web-design business, hearing this exclamation from competitors puts a smile on my face. As a web design instructor, however, I admonish my students for the same declaration.

I don’t know why so many web designers feel the need to try to make everything themselves. Maybe it’s the innate creativity flowing through their veins, or the fact that web design is a very artistic enterprise. Whatever the case, the philosophy that everything on a website should be proprietary costs designers time and money.

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Web Design in a Recession

10. November 2008

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Web Design in a Recession

I wrote a quick article today on what to expect in the web design business because of the recession we are now in.

I’ve seen this before (in the last recession) and I also see what’s going on now … so I got some answers! I also give you some clues as to how to position yourself so you can actually profit in this environment.

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How to Manage your Money

2. October 2008

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How to Manage your Money

A key part about having a successful web designed business is properly managing your money. This may seem like a boring topic, but it still crucial.

In the following podcast, I walk you through some of my basic rules of money management.

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Dreamweaver CS4 Video – CSS properties options.

29. September 2008

3 Comments

Dreamweaver CS4 Video – CSS properties options.

Hi,

I just released a new video tutorial that introduces the new CSS option in the properties panel.

In a nutshell, Dreamweaver CS4 has made it even easier to add and modify CSS code in your web pages.

You can view my growing collection of Dreamweaver CS4 in the Dreamweaver section of killersites.com.

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Judging a Person’s Character

12. September 2008

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Judging a Person’s Character

In this session of the Business of Web Design, I teach you a few tricks that you can use to get an glimpse into the character of people you deal with.

This may seem like a strange thing to talk about in a business course, but it is actually very important because who you deal with, will have a huge impact on the success or failure of your web design business.

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