This morning, after reading the news of the day, and of course stumbling several of the news items of import, I also started stumbling (using StumbleUpon of course) one of my favorite categories, Web Design.

Immediately, I came across two that I would like to draw your attention to:

o CSS Basics
o Nice and Free CSS Templates

The first is a lesson-by-lesson, 18 “chapters” leading you by the hand so you can create your own website stylesheet. You can also choose to download all the chapters, or even print them all out (put in a binder, sometimes it’s easier to reference points via print).

The second web site actually gives you 11 pre-made stylesheets. From a single box on a page to a full four-column layout, all your css stylesheet components are right there! Of course this would be the easy route to take, however, I urge you to also visit and study the principles behind doing anything online.

Sure there are WordPress, Blogger, Moveable Type, and other blog frame works from which you can work. There are also numerous html editors one can use to create web sites themselves. I, personally, believe that everyone needs to know the underlying reason and/or methods used that make the magic of a blog or website happen.

Ten years (plus) ago, I knew absolutely nothing about web page creation. In fact, my first “web site” consisted of nothing but banners centered down a page. At the time, I was thrilled to have accomplished even that much. But, as we all should know, that’s just not going to cut it out online. Visitors need a sense of uniformity and the means to navigate a website or blog. Knowing how to do this yourself, independent of the program you use, really understanding the coding involved in linking up, inserting images, creating the framework page, and navigation are but a few of the “I really need to learn this” strategies I would recommend you learn.

Then, you are no longer confined to a web site given to you (or one you pay for or use for free). You have learned a new, and highly valuable skill. In fact, for job seekers or those looking to add to their present skills, learning and implementing coding can be a good job skill enhancement.

Coding by hand is an art. Coding an entire website of say over 100 pages without understanding how it all comes together is insane. After visiting the above, you might also like to check out an article I wrote quite a while back titled, How to Learn HTML Without Even Trying.

Go for it! You can do this – it’s fun and you will never be at the whim and mercy of others. I’ve seen people pay exorbitant prices for web pages (websites) not worth a fraction of what they spent. When you learn a new skill, duh, you grow. Today is your day to do just that

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Mavenlink. All opinions are 100% mine.

There are many stages when it comes to client and business interfacing. There also are many strategies one can use to efficiently run one’s business. However, the folks over at Mavenlink have refined client/business interaction to a fine art.

In a nutshell, Mavenlink is ideal for:

o Businesses
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o Non-Profit Organizations.

Let’s take a quick look at what I’m attempting to express. There is you (the business), your team (if you have employees and/or additional consultants), and the vital part of this equation… your client. (more…)

If you read my “Boy What a Week” and the updated version, you already know that I’ve spent the past oh two weeks now transitioning multiple wordpress blogs (with and without websites) to a new hosting service. This move has been a real eye opener in many ways. And, in all honesty, I can say that it was worth every long night and the sleep deprivation

The reason I’m bringing this up again is, of course, to let you know the answer to that burning question… “Am I happy I made the move?” The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” I’d also like to make a few suggestions that just might help you make the right selection when you go looking to change hosting or find hosting for the first time.

When you are selecting a place to host your domain there is much more to consider than just checking out the price.

You MUST make sure that: (more…)

Okay, so maybe I’m a tad behind the times (I’ve been really busy, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it), but it wasn’t until today while reading Mighty Oak Marketing‘s latest ezine issue that I heard about the upcoming “Google Wave.”

It’s not available, yet, but according to the preview site (which says very little but has this cool video shown below), they are looking to pull together a massive amount of social media marketing and collaboration tools. Just the thing for Google fans in particular, and (perhaps?) marketers.

Here’s an excerpt from Google (also compliments of Mighty Oak Marketing so I didn’t have to dig around myself), that may or may not explain what you have to look forward to: (more…)