Major Networks of Websites: Trends and Showcase
Published May 28th, 2009 in Galleries - 19 Comments
Networks of websites owned by the same company are obviously very common. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the trends of major networks as well as to provide a showcase of the various sites that make up the network, so in this post we’ll do just that. We’ll look at 7 major networks and make some observations about common practices and trends.
Trends in Network Sites:
1. Common Identity
Part of the reason a network of sites may be stronger than the individual sites would be collectively is that visitors are able to associate the sites as being connected. If a visitor is new to a particular site in the network, the site may still have a familiar feel because he or she has already been to other sites in the network.
Branding and identity are important for any website or business, but a network of sites is able to capitalize on this more so than an individual site. The identity may be established by displaying the logo of the network, by stating that it is part of the network, or just by having a familiar look and feel that indicates it is part of the network.
Showcase of Testimonials in Web Design
Published May 26th, 2009 in Galleries - 32 Comments
Testimonials from customers and clients are used on a lot of websites to demonstrate credibility and build trust. In response to a reader request, I put together this post to showcase testimonials in action on a variety of websites. Here you’ll see more than 25 sites using testimonials, many with different approaches. Hopefully these will give you some ideas for use in your own design work.
9 Things to Understand About a Client When Starting a Design Project
Published May 21st, 2009 in Design Process - 48 Comments
As a designer, each of your clients and projects is unique. However, there are certain things that you will need to know or understand about all of your clients in order to produce your best work for them. An effective website will be built to address the specific needs of the business, which will require the designer to accurately understand a lot of details about the business.
In this article we’ll look at nine things that should be discussed between the designer and the client at the start of the project to improve the likelihood of success. These topics focus on getting to know the business and their needs, rather than contractual issues like payment and deadlines.
25 of the Best Websites for Educational Institutions
Published May 19th, 2009 in Galleries - 81 Comments
The need for schools, universities and other educational institutions to have a quality website is constantly increasing as online technologies become a bigger part of the educational process, and as students and prospective students turn to the internet for information.
In this post we’ll feature 25 well-designed educational websites.
20+ Tutorials and Resources for Working with Custom Fields in WordPress
Published May 13th, 2009 in WordPress - 55 Comments
One of the keys to WordPress’s flexibility and endless possibilities is the use of custom fields. With custom fields you can do all kinds of things, but most designers and developers who are new to WordPress are not familiar with how to put custom fields into practice. In this post we’ll look at a number of tutorials that will show you some potential uses of custom fields, as well as a handful of plugins that make it easier or more productive to use custom fields.
Using WordPress Custom Fields: Introduction
This article from Justin Tadlock gives an overview of custom fields, and it’s actually the introductory post to a series on the subject of custom fields (other posts in the series are included in the list). If you’re not familiar with custom fields or if you just want to make sure you get the basics before moving further, this article is a great starting point.
Photoshop Tutorial Hall of Fame
Published May 11th, 2009 in Design, Photoshop Tutorials - 70 Comments
Many of the most popular posts on this blog are collections of Photoshop tutorials in specific categories. I thought it would be helpful to also do a post that features the best tutorials of all kinds. This post links to more than 60 excellent tutorials and they are categorized by type. Some of these have been featured here at various points, and others are new.
Lighting Effects
Get Free Beta Access to FlashEff2
Published in Reviews - 147 Comments
Jumpeye Components is working on a new version of their popular FlashEff, and they’re giving away beta acces to FlashEff2 (Premium Plus pacakage) to readers of Vandelay Design. FlashEff is a Flash component that makes it easier and quick to create high-quality Flash effects (compatible with both Flash CS3 and Flash CS4).
How to Set Up Your First Site with LightCMS
Published May 6th, 2009 in Web Development - 37 Comments
Choosing the right content management system for a particular project can be a critical decision that has long-lasting impact on the client and the success of their website. Unfortunately, with so many options out there it is difficult to get to know more than just those that you use on a regular basis.
In this post I’d like to present some basic information about LightCMS and provide a tutorial for getting a simple website working with the basic features of LightCMS. This is a very simple tutorial that only covers the basics of the system, but hopefully it will be helpful to learn a little bit more about LightCMS in case it can be of use to you and your clients.
25 Websites with Lighting Effects – Part 2
Published May 4th, 2009 in Galleries - 21 Comments
Lighting effects can be fun to experiment with in Photoshop, and a number of websites use this approach for creating a dramatic look. Several months ago I posted a collection of 25 websites with lighting effects, and today we’ll follow up with another 25 sites.
