This is part 2 of a 3 part series called “The Whiteboard, where I walk you through the process of creating a website from start to finish. In the first part, I showed you how to take a concept or idea, and turn it into something that you can visualize. I created a brief list of features I’d like to have, then turned it into a sketch on paper, then very simple wire frames (or rough digital compositions). Before rea… Continue reading

The entire industry surrounding Search Engine Optimization is confusing, outdated, and filled with cyber con artists. I should stress, that legitimate SEO is a serious profession, as with any job it has the opportunity to be filled with corruption that forever decays the title. However, since this is my blog, I’ll be posting about my experiences which of course is subjective and opin… Continue reading

Today I will be starting a new series of blog posts called “The Whiteboard“, where I walk you through the process of creating a website from scratch. I’m often asked in meetings what my work process is, so I thought it might be interesting to give a real world example of something that I’ve been working on, and tell you exactly what I’m doing and the reason behind it.

I should explain at th… Continue reading

There is no doubt about it; America is the land of opportunity. Since our countries birth our entire society has revolved around the philosophy that if you can dream it, you can do it, and if you can build it, they will come. With heavy competition, a harsh economic climate, and increasing operational costs, traditional businesses are crumbling by the wayside. The most challenging problem facing entrepreneurs and s… Continue reading

If the movie “The Social Network” is correct, Facebook was started because Mark Zuckerberg was frustrated that Harvard never took the time to develop a consolidated network for the various undergraduate houses and students. He seized the idea, and with that opportunity he was able to create a multi-billion dollar company.

Fast forward a few years, more and more web and mobile application develope… Continue reading

The smartphone and tablet computer market has exploded over the past year, ushering in a new standard for how we view and digest content on the web. According to a recent study, 25% of Americans use their phones as their primary access to the internet. Thanks to high speed mobile networks, and increasingly mind blowing hardware performance, it’s no surprise that this market shift is being called the post PC era. But … Continue reading

If you’ve worked with me in the past or follow me on twitter, you know that I’m beyond passionate about the web. Although I don’t consider myself the best, or even a great web designer – I thought it would be a good idea to openly propose my thoughts on the current stage of the world wide web, and what we (the designers and developers) need to do to get ready for the future.

A well designed site is 25% aesthetic des… Continue reading

The real-time option in Google Analytics has been around since September, but unfortunately its magical embrace has been overlooked by me, until now. If you haven’t used it, it’s like sitting directly behind someone as they navigate through your website. It displays the total number of people currently on the site, and what specific page they are viewing. If they move to another section of the site, the analyti… Continue reading

Do you wan’t it fast, cheap, or good? I say, why choose. I just finished a website for a non-profit a few hours ago, on schedule and under budget. The extra time allowed me to integrate WordPress as a content management system and allow the organization to update their website without touching code. What was the secret behind this project? Well, it was the first site I made using the rapid prototyping library from Zurb … Continue reading

Let me start by saying that I am by no means a twitter expert. I’ve been using this micro-blogging service for nearly four years now, and tried almost every strategy I could find with limited results. I used to track down, so called “social media experts” in Seattle and pick their brain over coffee. I always asked the same question: “Woah, you have a lot of followers, HOW?”.

During these meetings, one of my con… Continue reading

I’ve been using the Orbit image slider that Zurb developed for a lot of projects recently. It boasts a simple interface, image captions, several transitions, and solid browser support. After seeing yet another PSD designed by Orman Clark, I decided to code it and theme it around the Orbit framework.

Most of the websites I’ve been developing lately have been built on the WordPress platform, so that clie… Continue reading

Siri is a great way to find out selective information using your phone, but the use is limited to finding and reading information, or inputing text. Voice recognition is nothing new, but the accuracy of Siri is unparalleled on a consumer level. Wouldn’t it be great if developers could make their own, non iPhone related projects interact with Siri’s voice control?

On Saturday, Pete (plamoni) uploaded t… Continue reading

Last week, Orman Clark released this beautiful modal window dialog box in PSD form. Every couple of days he releases a new PSD and I thought it would be fun to code one in HTML/CSS and to put up as a free download.

I took it one step further and added some Javascript to open and close the dialog window when you click a button. No images were harmed in the creation of this project (except for the background image and icons). Beau… Continue reading

What is responsive design?

In the past designing a website was easy because there was only one platform to develop for, the desktop browser. Today, the computer isn’t the only device capable of browsing the internet. With smartphones prone to outpace desktop computer use within the next couple of years, and tablet and television use on the rise – the web is becoming increasingly difficult to develop seamle… Continue reading

A lot goes into building a website, and if this is you’re first rodeo then it might seem confusing and backwards. I compiled a few of my most commonly used HTML and CSS code snippets to help shift your next project into gear. These are simple solutions to sometimes frustrating effects.

CSS3 Drop Cap:
If done properly, a drop cap can be a great way to open the first paragraph on a page. This method uses CSS3 which means … Continue reading