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

I’m doing something I’ve got to grab moments to do, stumbling my way through random posts at Stumbleupon. If you don’t do this, you are missing out on some extremely spectular webpages, posts, pictures, humor and more. And if you do click the link above, be sure to send me a friend request!

But that’s not my reason for this post… not by a long shot.

Just now The Cab Ride I’ll Never Forget had me riveted. If you’re wondering if compassion is a lost art, look no further than this post (or afterward, keep looking compassion is alive and well).

This is my short post for Saturday (where I take the liberty over the weekend to find items of interest outside the realm of advertising and marketing), but if you read nothing else at all for the rest of the weekend, this will have been worth your trip!

If you’re out today shopping and facing the “black Friday” crowd, all the best to you; however, if you wait, apparently come Monday you’ll be able to find a ton of even better bargains online. (more…)

I’ll be the first to admit it, when it comes to graphics I absolutely… am horrible. Being extremely partial to the written word, my banners and buttons tend to be more than a tad amateurish.

However, today while stumbling through Stumbleupon, I came across the most amazing list of font types sure to please anyone during their creation process. (more…)