styling tables

table styling
a different site with designs for tables

some are a bit ropey but others are ok

layout generator

I am never all that keen on using a predetermined layout but they are very helpful for people learning css or to use them as a start point.

layout gala has some nice and robust layouts with plenty to pick from.

Alternatively use the csscreator to automatically generate the layout that is desired.

Pop up window

greybox is a nice little javascript apllication that creates a neat pop-up window. Reminds me of the lightbox but obviously has a very different application

Javascript Scrollbars

Javascript scrollbar

A really nice way to do a scrollbar with style instead of using css overflow:auto, especailly as you can only style the bars in IE.

photo books

I was recently show a really lovely photo book that looked like it had been purchased in a shop. It was actuallly their photos developed by my publisher

Prices start from a reasonable £7 for a softback going up to about £40 for the linen hardcover, although the posting costs are pretty steep.

Very nice for holiday snaps or a wedding gift

Google Introduces Four New Products

seochat

The interesting one is Google trends :-



The new product that’s most likely to cause a major stir among SEOs and advertisers, though, is Google Trends (http://www.google.com/trends). One observer described it as rather like being given the keys to Google Zeitgeist. Mayer explained that “For the first time ever, Google is making it possible to sift through billions of search queries from around the world to see what people are thinking about.”

So what exactly does it do? A user can type in a search term, or several search terms separated by commas. Hit “enter,” and you get a page with several charts. The top chart shows how many searches were conducted for that particular term, and how frequently it was mentioned in the news, over a period of time. Drop-down menus let you adjust both the time period and the region of the world focused on, while if you use multiple terms they show up in different colors. Several clickable news items are highlighted to the right; letter-coded flags on the chart indicate when they were published, so you can match up certain spikes.

That’s not all. Below the chart I just described is another one, with tabs for cities, regions, and languages. This is a bar graph that allows you to compare how frequently terms are searched for.

chart

seo keyword suggestion tool

I am probably a little late in finding it but am now using SEO Book to find keywords for sites instead of the rather cumbersome overture

Design Brief

Overview
Is this a new site or redesign? If the site is a redesign how does it integrate with your other activities? Is this a complete overhaul or just a cosmetic makeover?


Aims and Objectives
What do you want to achieve by the website, e.g. is it a shop front, e-commerce site, information site etc.


Audience
Who is your intended audience – resist the temptation to say everyone as this leads to a website that satisfies nobody’s requirements.

Design Specifications
Are there any design requirements such as colours, fonts, images etc. How much text will appear on each page – maybe give example of websites you like?
List any assets that need to be supplied.


Functionality Specifications
How will your website work – maybe include a flow chart detailing how the pages interact. Are there any interactive elements, databases, specific functions: print page, email a friend, contact form etc.

Deliverables
Specify exactly what the designer must provide e.g. whole website or just templates, logos, a level of accessibility

Timetable
Specify a realistic timetable for the variable to be delivered, including time for checking and evaluation prior to launch.