Susie

All I did for that was to add a text widget to the footer "sidebar" (let me know if you'd like me to explain that further) and then I added my client's Constant Contact code to create the form. The email addresses that visitor input get stored in a database in my client's Constant Contact database.

It's magic!

Oops! I see that now. Thanks, Ben! Everything is looking great!

With the sidebar more narrow, the logo isn't fitting now.

Hi David, I think you've done the best thing by starting with hand coding your sites. I started that way and because of it, I understand what's going on "under the hood" of the websites I work on. That experience in invaluable. The reason I use a CMS for my client's websites now is because it puts them in control (somewhat) and lets them edit their own text, images, and products. Websites should constantly be revised, improved, edited, etc. and as a work-at-home mom with 3 kids and several clients, I simply don't have the time to edit everyone's websites. I wouldn't get anything else done! So, I develop client sites in WordPress or CMS Made Simple and it really is great to let my clients take care of daily updates while still depending upon me for major updates. While it's true that some templates out there don't have good code, that doesn't mean you have to settle for that. Both WordPress and CMS Made Simple (and others) allow you to code your own HTML template and CSS. I still hand code everything, but now I integrate my custom designed templates with a CMS to enhance them. I hope this makes sense. Edit to add: A lot of times, if you run across a WordPress powered website that has validation errors, those errors may not be caused by the HTML/CSS, rather they are caused by 3rd party add-ons (plugins, modules, etc). Sometimes those things just can't be helped.

The little box is hard to miss, in my opinion. It's right on top of the image. On mine, it actually covers up part of the image.

I found it. Go to My Gallery in the left sidebar menu. Then click on your album. Then put a check in the little box that is in the top right corner of your image and select delete in the drop down below.

Will the new skin be similar in layout to this one? I hope so - I really like it! Hi, John!

Thanks for the input, guys.

Can you scroll to the bottom of the page and select the Killersites skin? I was playing with that yesterday...

Can anyone recommend a good all in one security suite? My Mom & Dad just got their laptop back from the "doctor" and they are asking me to recommend a security suite. I use Norton 360 with no problems, but my computer is fairly large. I don't know if their laptop could handle it.

I use Microsoft Expression Web. I never use the wysiwyg editor either...only the code view. It offers everything you mentioned. It's not open source, but it's less expensive than Dreamweaver. If you decide to purchase, be sure to check out pricegrabber.com. Have you seen HTML Kit? It's open source.

I prefer WordPress for the reasons Andrea listed. I've also got a fair amount of experience with CMS Made Simple. It's a pretty good CMS and may be a tad easier to use when it comes to creating catalogs and managing pages without needing a bunch of extra plugins/modules. At least that's my opinion.

Wow, this is quite different from anything I've seen! I like it so far.

Thanks for your input, everyone. I just sent an email today that basically consisted of an intro paragraph, a bullet point list of what's included for the price, and a closing paragraph with the ballpark price. It didn't contain any details or explanations as to what everything is. I guess I could have put all that on letterhead and made it look more official. Maybe I'll just do that from here on out. Thanks again!

Just curious...how are you guy responding to quote requests these days? Do you take the time to draft a detailed proposal or are you simply replying via email with only the necessary details and price? I've been receiving several quote requests per week lately, and I wonder if it's okay (professional enough) to respond via email with details and price. For one, I'm finding that when I take the time (sometimes an hour or two!!!) to write out a detailed proposal, my potential clients are confused by all the information. They just want the facts. And for two, I'm getting a little tired of spending the time on the proposals just to hear nothing back from these potential clients. It becomes obvious that they are just putting their feelers out and getting quotes from several designers (totally understandable!). So, how are you guys handling it?

Ben is correct. The widgets have to be set for each individual theme.

Is the sidebar widgetized?

Welcome!

Another option is to do the design work yourself, but outsource the Joomla production part. And if you're lucky to have a friend who knows Joomla, maybe he or she can give you useful pointers while doing the major share of the work for you.

I personally would like some basic photoshop tutorials. For example, I have no idea how to make a seamless repeating background. I've googled for tutorials, but I haven't found one yet that helps me. I would love to do it myself rather than outsourcing it...

Well, that was quite a trip! lol I downloaded 3.6 (I never do it myself...just always let the auto updates take care of it) and everything crashed. But I'm back in business WITH firebug installed and working. Thanks!!

This is so strange! Has anyone else experienced Firebug just disappearing? It must have happened when I was automatically updated to 3.5.8 recently. I've been googling for a fix, but I'm not finding anything yet. It doesn't even show up in my add-on list, but when I try to (re)install it, it acts like it's doing it correctly.