Latest Posts
Designing for the iPhone
I've just started designing my first iPhone application and I'm having lots of fun. I've never been a great fan of Apple and will continue to obstinately refuse to use anything other than a PC but after 15 years in web design it's refreshing to try my hand at something new. Who knows, this could become a whole new career! 21 April 2010Presentation for IT Skills 4 Rural Kenya
I recently gave a seminar on how to build a good website to a group of volunteers for IT Skills 4 Rural Kenya. This was in association with the 'Brighton Youths Volunteer' project, a 3-6 month P/T volunteer opportunity for 16-25 year olds from Brighton and Hove that is funded by Southern FM and Global Charities' v Project partnership.
More » 19 June 2009 | No comments yetUbiquity and Wolfram Alpha Google
If you're currently using Firefox as your browser (and who isn't these days?) then I have a couple of new toys to recommend to you. The first is the Wolfram Alpha Google addon. You've probably heard all the hype about the Wolfram Alpha search engine but still love using Google. Well, now you can do both at the same time! Just do a search on Google and the Wolfram Alpha result for that search will appear to the right of your Google results.
More » 27 May 2009 | No comments yetThis post changed my life
Yep, you hear it all the time and you think it's a load of rubbish but this time it really happened. I've spent my LIFE being the biggest procrastinator out there. I have spent far too many hours than I care to think about on Facebook, Twitter, the BBC, popurls etc. I've spent every day stressed at an ever growing to-do list and gone to bed every night feeling guilty about all the things I've failed to get done. Well, not any more!
More » 14 May 2009Firefox add-ons for web developers
In the past I've often mentioned Firefox add-ons for web developers but I've never put together a list of the best. Well, now there's no need to as someone has beaten me to it! So here it is, the top 15 Firefox add-ons for Web Developers. 14 April 2009Marketing gimmicks that work
I love this article by Darren Barefoot about what to do if your product isn't the Purple Cow Seth Godin tells you it should be. It's a top ten list of things to do to get people talking about your good old brown cow. Everything from the traditional ideas of using sex or humour to targeting users of specific social media or making a crazy videos about back flipping into jeans... 14 April 2009Simple SEO advice
Having read and loved Seth Godin's Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
, I was interested to see his blog post on SEO turn up as one of the most tagged sites on Delicious today. I had a read and I think he's got a great piece of simple advice. In summary, Seth points out that your chances of making it to the first page in a Google search for any standard term are slim. Instead, he suggests, build your brand on a phrase or keyword that's unique to you.
13 April 2009
How to spot quality within web design
While perusing my popurls page today I stumbled upon this little gem of an article. As I'm about to embark on the redesign of the OfficeTime website I've been searching for inspiration as well as researching the latest design patterns and conventions. Touching on everything from 1px highlights and drop shadows to current trends in typography and spacing this article has given me plenty to think about. 13 April 2009The complicated world of Zen Cart
I have decided the best way to launch my new jewellery business is online. I've done my research and have chosen Zen Cart as the basis for my online shop. Unfortunately, unlike CMS Made Simple, working with Zen Cart isn't easy. In order to get the package to do what you want you need to do a combination of changes via the admin system and hard coded changes direct into the files. This just seems a bad idea. The admin system is also extremely complex. I've been working with it for months now and I still haven't got my head around it. I'm hoping once I do I can build a stable white label version that will enable me to extend my freelance capabilities into ecommerce sites.
17 February 2009 | No comments yetCharities and the WWW
Recently I have done a lot of research into all the new methods charities now use to engage with potential donors. With the demise of the effectiveness of the big “donate now” button, charities have had to become much more creative about how they fundraise online.
More » 12 August 2008 | No comments yet
