Writing life long codes can only be interesting when you are doing it rarely or trying something new. But what for those fellow designers and developers who keep on writing CSS codes for every new project they work on. Using some quickly used and time saving CSS reference which can help you understand CSS in a really easy understandable format can be a help for designers and developers community. So find your favorite cheat sheet below and register your interest by making a comment:
Archive for October, 2009
I frequent the LinkedIn.com’s Q&A section on a regular basis and last week, I found an intriguing question:
Are social networks key to improving customer relations and product development?
This prompts an interesting discussion into whether companies should use social tools to promote their business online, and if so, how exactly they should do it.
In short, I believe that yes, companies should be making use of these tools. Nearly everybody has Internet access now, and the social platforms that exist are sophisticated enough to segment user groups for targeted advertising. In effect, we’re now being fed information based on our interests which leads to less annoying adverts and higher conversions for businesses. This is social networking at its base level.
To truly harness its power, you need to delve deeper. Tools such as Twitter can be used to interact with prospects/customers, websites like Digg can be used to share information and Facebook is the place where everybody talks.
And talk people do. Your online reputation and, ultimately, your company’s reputation rests on how you use these tools. You have a platform on which to deliver information directly to your customers – great! Just make sure you don’t hit them with the hard-sell all the time; engage with the community on an almost personal level, dropping your opinion in from time to time and sharing links to informative websites and blogs. Essentially, give them a reason to listen to you.
In turn, you will receive their feedback and reviews of your business. The results will be far better than any questionnaire you could send out. Social platforms allow you to gander much more feedback than you would probably expect, because it allows you to “spy” on what people are talking about. I’d be surprised if any medium-large organisation doesn’t search its company name daily on Twitter to see what people are saying about them. They can then act on this.
I attended a talk by Julian Sambles from the Telegraph a few months back and he was tasked with boosting the online presence of the traditional newspaper. This meant a massive shift in thinking, at every level in the company, was required to be successful. He talked of how they utilised social bookmarking links, and how they explained to the readers what they were; he said how microsites have been used to promote specific offers and how article headlines differ from online to the paper publication (think SEO keywords).
This, as far as I am concerned, is proof that not only is the Internet crucial for business success, but utilizing its many social assets can help boost your growth by interacting with your customers on a more than seller/buyer basis.
This article was written by Matt Saunders, owner of Leeds web design agency Northern Web which specialises in intelligent and responsible web design and marketing solutions.
Note:- This review is unlike other paid service reviews. We were approached by the company to review the quality provided by them and we accepted their proposal on one condition.
The condition was writing a service review only after actually reviewing their coding skills. This was necessary to bring out a true and unbiased service review which is worth reading to our readers.
After explaining the conditions and the stake involved in getting a service review PSDStoHTML.com very brightly took up the challenge. They were very well aware that if they leave a slightest of the margin of error in their coding it could be fatal to their brand image. But they took it up from the front and this showed their confidence in the quality they promise to offer.
The Procedure was quite simple. We sent them a PSD and they had to convert it into seo-semantic, cross browser compatible, W3C validated XHTML file. After they delivered the PSD into XHTML we sent it to our QA(Quality Analysis) team who is responsible for checking all the validation markup, browser test, and proper use of tags.
*Here we would like to mention that the moment we sent them the PSD we were counting on their turn around time and they delivered their project in around 8 business hours which is quite a standard delivery time.

Service Review
The analysis report submitted by our QA team has reported few issues in it. Though the issues do not change the appearance of the design but when we talk about quality it must be error free. The code we got from them turned out to be quite good and actually closer to the standard followed by the industry.
Technical Issues:-
There are issues like the banner has been used as background whereas it should have been used as an image instead to avoid future inconvenience. The logo of the website misses the Trade Mark sign to match its PSD.
The use of ‘ul’ and ‘li’ tag has been missed at couple of places. At footer the heading is given in ‘p’ tag whereas the appropriate tag is ‘Heading’. As per standard the H2 tag can be used only twice in a single page but it exceeds its limit in the code.
The links at footer with heading ‘Nexgen Biofules’ shall start from a bit right as in PSD.
Compatibility Test:-
The major concern of any PSD after its conversion into valid HTML or its further extension is its compatibility with multiple browsers. The HTML file converted by the service provider fairly shows its compatibility with most of the popular browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.
Order Process
The website is certainly new and it is apparent from its presentation and usability. While browsing through the website the color used in the entire website would give you the sweet essence of some strawberry candy. If you want to hire them and looking for an ORDER NOW button on the navigation bar you certainly won’t get it. The prospect can reach to the order page by the ORDER NOW button which is on the right hand corner of every page, except offer page. The apt way of including of this link could have been adding the button into navigation bar.
After reaching to the order page the visitor has to fill his order details like Name, Email, phone no, number of pages, turnaround time, add notes if wan to comment on something, server link to obtain the PSDs if it exceeds the upload limit and most importantly the service you want to avail. The order form comes with 3 service options i.e. PSD to CSS/XHTML, Joomla Template and Wordpress Template.
PSDStoHTML.com also gives the choice to customize the order by giving variety of choices in Layout Option and Advance Option. To find these options might need your extra attention on the order now page as the font color used is white and it is slightly difficult to differentiate.
Pricing
The pricing of the website is unlike other websites. It does not offer its service in packages but certainly give plenty of options. You can customize your service package by paying little extra and according to need as well. Most of the options provided under Layout Option and Advanced Option are free and the remaining can be opted at a price of $9.
The basic price of 1 page PSD conversion in 3 Business Day turnaround time is $79 and an additional page would cost you $39 more. The less is the turnaround time the more would be the fee and more quickly you will get the delivery of your project.
Conclusion
Comparing PSDStoHTML.com with other established players of the industry, their appearance would certainly give you a feeling of novice. But when we considered their work it was timely, competent, inexpensive (depends upon the budget of the individual) and without much error. PSDStoHTML.com can be given a try, considered if you are short of time and can afford their service.
The Web is officially coming of age. The design industry is starting to take web design seriously, and it’s no longer being confined to enthusiasts. Web design is now a lucrative and exciting career path to follow, with lots of opportunity and high potential earning power.
With the Internet developing so rapidly over the past 10 years, those that are just dipping their toes into the industry may well feel that they’ve missed the boat. The truth is, you don’t need to have been there when flashing GIF animations were cool, and the best form of promotion was through a web ring. In fact, in some ways it’s better if you didn’t see these dark days so that your perception of web design isn’t muddied by these frankly horrific things.
If you are looking to design for the web, welcome, and prepare for a bumpy ride…
Chances are you’ve already started reading and doing, which is ultimately the best way to learn. Here are a few invaluable tips that I can happily pass on from my experiences of designing for the web:
- Socialise - Don’t just read books because this is fundamentally one-way. Join Twitter and follow professionals who voice their thoughts and opinions – question it. Attend local networking events for some peer-to-peer geek conversations and you’ll be surprised at how much you pick up.
- Push web standards - So many web designers neglect the importance of valid XHTML/CSS. Read about W3C standards and you will realise that web design is about more than just looking pretty – you need sound technical design also. This is easily achievable as long as you practice it from the off. Don’t slip into using tables for layout and inline CSS styles – do things properly and it will become natural.
- If you have a client – talk to them. The single best way to design successful websites is by getting your clients views on their business/customers. Once understand their model, you can produce a more effective website than doing it blindly.
- Print design is NOT web design – Contrary to what many seem to think, web and print are not the same, and the skills do not necessarily cross-over.
- Drink tea. I’m not joking here – if you are stuck for inspiration, take a 10 minute tea break and when you come back you’ll more than likely have a solution.
I’ve been designing for the web for 10 years and I’ve made plenty of mistakes. The web was a simpler place when I began, with fewer standards and hardly any resources. What I’ve learnt is that you constantly need to be looking forward; be adaptable to change, and you will succeed.
This post was written and submitted by one of our contributors, Matt Saunders. Matt Saunders is owner of digital agency Northern Web which specialises in intelligent and responsible web design and marketing solutions.
A quick website setup is what everybody loves these days. The level of competition has been raised so much that no webmaster can afford to let their prospects wait for his website to stand and run. An immediate solution to this requirement is Wordpress or WP. The flexibility and ease of content management has made WP the most usable and one of the favorite CMS(Content Management System).
The most important factor for a website is its theme and WP gives you the choice to customize it according to your requirement. A PSD of your choice and a professional PSD to wordpress conversion service provider are the only two things which you need to stand and run your website.
This post collects the name of 20 best PSD to Wordpress service providers who convert any PSD to Wordpress:

















































