Stefan Mischook
November 29, 2007
The WordPress text editor comes with a set of buttons that allows you to easily format your post by quickly inserting things like links, images and html list.
Though very useful, I found that I needed a few more buttons … and so I figured out how to do it.
I just released a new video tutorial on how to edit the WordPress text editor:
The Video: Customizing the WordPress Text Editor
I hope you find it useful!
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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November 23, 2007
Hi,
For the last couple of years I have been preaching that web designers should learn at least one blog or CMS (content management systems) software so that they can then offer blog/CMS installations and customizations to their clients.
The use of blogs/cms’ is also one of the reasons why I think web designers should learn PHP, given that most blogs are created with PHP these days.
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November 21, 2007
Hi,
I’ve just posted an article related to object oriented PHP:
An introduction to the Zend Framework: writing object oriented PHP with ease.
The article covers concepts that are a little more advanced, but I think John (the author,) has done a good job making things understandable.
… I think anyone with just a little PHP knowledge, will find the article a worthwhile read.
Let me know what you think and if you have questions … you know what to do!
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
read more
November 13, 2007
Someone recently wrote to me where they were concerned about the future of web design as a profession. I’ve summarized the question as follows:
Given the rampant spread of website templates and point-and-click site builder tools (that more and more web hosts are offering) can web designers realistically expect to continue to make a good living building web sites for small business using traditional (from scratch) web design methods?
The answer to this question (and to find out clues on how to move forward) all we need to do is to look to web design’s past.
But before we go on, there is also something else to consider:
Web designers also have to deal with the reality that there are lots of kids out there willing to use pirated copies of Dreamweaver and Photoshop, to build a website for a fraction of what professionals have to charge.
Since (I’m guessing) most web design professionals don’t live with their parents anymore, it’s hard for them to compete with teenage nerds who just need XBox money.
How about the quality of the web design work – doesn’t that have an affect on who people will choose to build their website?
… Unfortunately, sometimes quality (for short sighted business owners) doesn’t fit into the equation. That said, there is good news for professional web designers. Read on …
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November 10, 2007
Every once and a while I use a question put to me, as the basis for an article. This time, we have Richard asking whether web design (as a profession,) will have bright future.
The email:
Thank you for having courses that make it easier for the average laymen to comprehend the basics which will allow the complex material to sink in. I have a question though.
I am in my fifties, have done many different things in my life, and I am looking for something as a career change to take me into my second half of life and into retirement. What do you think the opportunities are going to be in the future in this type of industry taking into consideration the advancements in technology?
In other words, where do you see a web page developer or designer 5, 10, 15 years from now. Thank you for your time and consideration in my attempts to make an educated decision about my future.
Sincerely,
Richard Sherban
Hi Richard,
I think the future is good for web design and development. That said, I would like point out a few things:
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November 7, 2007
Firefox is the Web browser of choice for most web designer’s, because it is fast and it sticks to the Web standards better than say IE6 or IE7.
That said, Firefox has a bunch of other features that makes it attractive to Web professionals. One of the big ones for me, is the ability for anyone to add to Firefox’s core functionality by way of plugins.
Add-ons/Extensions
My only complaint about Firefox plugins is that the Firefox nerds don’t call them ‘plugins’! Instead they use the terms ‘add-ons’ and ‘extensions’. Besides that little issue, Firefox plug-ins turn this nimble Web browser into an important tool for Web designers.
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November 7, 2007
I’ve been asked many times (by web designers) about what programming language they should learn so that they can build database driven websites. My short answer is of course: PHP.
That said, I felt a little more detail was required: why do the competing technologies (ASP, ASP.NET, Ruby etc …) suck compared to PHP … in that regard?
From the article:
The article’s title (I admit,) will get some people little miffed at me. But, what can I say, the truth hurts!
Seriously, this statement is valid and is worth talking about because there are a lot of web designers out there who are considering the leap into building dynamic (database driven) web applications. And with so many choices (ASP, ASP.NET, Ruby etc …) it can be very frustrating when trying to make that choice.
Of course, I believe (and know) that PHP is the choice language/technology for web designers. But why are the other technologies not a good choice for web designers?
You can read the rest at killerphp.com:
Why ASP, JSP and Ruby suck for web designers
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
read more
November 3, 2007
Back in about 1906, Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the not so equal distribution of wealth in his country; he figured out that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth.
I’m sure Pareto thought that sucked pretty bad, needless to say, he had no idea how good they had it back then!
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November 2, 2007
Many of my best articles come from email questions put to me by readers.
In this case, we have someone asking what to charge for private web design training.
The email:
i’ve been a member of your newsletter for years .. BIG FAN!
i recently met a guy that owns/founded an SEO company here in New York that works from home and is VERY successful/wealthy… he asked that i teach him photoshop and flash cs3.
i have NO IDEA what to quote him.
He wants to learn basic image manipulation in photoshop and then learn buttons, headers, and small PowerPoint like presentations in flash.
So minimal actionscript, tweening, and movie clip galore!
I assume i would charge him hourly….
i have an associates degree from WEA in interactive media about 5 years web design experience, and have been a flash developer for a fortune 500 company for just over 2 years now…
Can you help me come up with a good price to quote…keep in mind he may outsource work to me in the future so i need a strong price now so i can make real money later on, but not scare him away..
PLEASE!
THANK YOU!
Tina
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October 31, 2007
Recently someone asked me a bunch of questions related to getting their first web design job as an independent contractor – and so I figured an article was a good idea.
Tim asked:
Stefan,
With me being a newbie in the web design business, I have some questions. Long story short, I was talking with my friends wife one day and mentioned to her that I had thought about doing some web design on the side to make some extra money.
I live in a small town, with a lot of small businesses and I figure these businesses would have a use for a simple web site to help promote their business.
… So I’m thinking this would be something I could start within the next year or so, … two days ago I receive a call from my friends wife and she asks if I’m interested in doing a web site for her brother, who is a dentist in our town.
So, I say sure and she tells me that he will probably contact me soon to set up a meeting to discuss.
Now, this is great but I haven’t got a clue where to start. Hers’s my thought:
1. Meet with the client to discuss the site. How many pages, the content, etc. Maybe show some of my work.
2. Take the info from the meeting and come up with a quote.
3. Present my idea’s and the quote.
4. If he agree’s and accepts the quote, draw up a contract for him to sign.
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