Blogs have become the next generation of social media in the past several years. While they used to be a minor part of sharing content and were vastly overshadowed by official sites, they now provide more than anyone ever thought possible. Not only are they an affordable and efficient way of gaining readers but being fully customizable and made for updating makes them simpler to run than the old website standards.

While they have stayed the same but with expanding popularity and features, there is a third-party that creates a larger impact. That would be the creation and wide acceptance of personal devices with Internet capabilities. The most recent releases in the world of tablets are especially pressing, such as with the ever-loved iPad still selling like hotcakes.

Because of this, it is wise to make sure your own blog is made to be iPad (or any alternative) friendly. You would be surprised at the number of people who use an iPad to browse blogs, such as on train rides, flights, office waits, on breaks and during lunch. These tips can help you make sure your blog is prepared for tablet users:

Use Application Onswipe

With tablets becoming so popular, there have been companies that have teamed up to create applications that are designed to automatically adjust certain display settings and functions. Onswipe is one of those companies.

This plug-in works by adjusting things like screen size, position and other factors to allow for viewing on a touchscreen. It is coded within the blog itself so that tablet users won’t have to install anything to enjoy your content. But if you have WordPress, it is already included in the blog itself and fully activated.

Beyond making adjustments, Onswipe also makes it easier to save blogs; creates a gorgeous, full-page, magazine-like cover from the latest article; and makes sharing on social media sites a breeze.

Turn Your Blog Into an eBook

If your website is niche-specific it might be worth it to look into turning it into an electronic. The iPad and other tablets work as e-readers, which makes them perfect for PDFs and other files that work as ebooks. There are several ways that you can do this, such as just backing up files and then fixing them into the correct order yourself. But some programs will make it much easier.

Anthologize

If you are a WordPress user you will be able to take advantage of Anthologize, the most popular and extensive conversion tool on the web. It works as a plug-in, which is why it is unusable by anyone who goes through any other blog program or hosts independently. The format is easy to use: Just pull the content from your blogs through the plug-in, drag and drop it into the right order and then convert.

Zinepal

If you don’t have WordPress then you should check out Zinepal. It works by letting you connect through your blog and then select what stories you want to include in your file. All it requires is the URL of your blog, and it will let you easily sift through posts to find the ones you want, without having to cut and paste. You can then convert it into Kindle, PDS or ePub formats.

Use a Mobile-Friendly Theme

If you have WordPress you will be given several options for themes that have been made to make it easier for those who are using devices to browse. If you are through another source you can find others for your particular setup easily enough. But for WP users, here are three of the best:

WordPress Mobile Pack

This is a complete toolkit rather than just a theme, with a collection of plug-ins meant to properly customize your blog to be mobile compatible. It comes with a switcher that will suggest either computer or mobile settings, both standard and advanced themes, a mobile ad widget, a mobile admin panel, device adaption, custom colors, a barcode widget, auto listing and more. It’s also recently been updated to an improved person.

Wptouch

This plug-in was created for seamless blog adaption from a standard WP site to an iPhone or iPad application. It allows for a switch between the mobile theme or the standard computer theme based on the choice of the user while providing Ajax loading for all content. A paid version has a ton more features, colors and customizable options for the theme.

News Press

For those who are looking to create a news portal, this plug-in creates a news-specific theme for devices. It is incredible professional looking and clean, with easy-to-navigate sections that are just the right size for tablet users. The loading time is great for information-heavy blogs, and it is customizable. It supports threaded comments and is completely widget ready.

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Facebook Insights is an excellent Social Analytical tool. You can get detailed information of your site by configuring it. It provides you site engagement information, how your site is distributed on facebook and your users demographics too.

Just follow the below steps to configure Facebook Insights for your WordPress Blog.

1. Visit Facebook Insights page and login to your Facebook account.

2. Click the green button on top right corner, which says “Insights for your Website”.

3. A window will pop-up, enter the domain name you want to get insights of and copy the meta tag information.

4. Now login to your WordPress blog and copy that meta tag information in the header file of your theme.

5. After you are done with copying meta tag, just hit the "Get Insights" button on pop-up window.

Now you will be able to see your site listed on Facebook insights page under websites.

To see the insights now, click on your site and all sort sights will be available. Check the image below for an example.

Enjoy the insights of your WordPress site and if you like this article please share it and follow us on Facebook.

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Sometimes it happens that all your plans go down because of a major client who wants to have a magnificent website right here and right now. Most likely, every web developer knows the feelings that take over you after such unexpected but money-promising order. In most cases, orders of this sort end up as a lot of troubles for a developer, that’s the simple truth that everybody will agree with. On one hand, you feel like you want to throw all your efforts to complete the task as soon as you can, but on the other hand, you understand that it will be rather hard to create a website by the deadline. But business is business, and you have to do the job you get paid for, because as a business person, you have to take care of permanent profits and reputation.

So, being in such conditions, I couldn’t refuse an offer from one of my permanent clients who needed to make Flash website for his company in a matter of a couple of days. Frankly speaking, I didn’t hope to much for the extensive functionality of the website we were to build, but still why not to take a chance?!

I had to create a corporate website for the distributor of art paintings. According to the target audience interests, there was a need to mention the info about the firm and its existing partners, as well as to deliver the info proving the company’s credibility on the market. The task was more than clear, but the time was not on my side and all I had left to do was to ask Google: "What should I do?" And the reply came over: "MotoCMS is an advanced Flash CMS aimed at Flash developers, design studios or freelancers, which allows them to create professional Flash websites." (this is an actual quote from the Google search). It sounded promisingly, so I didn’t want to lose another minute.

Among the variety of Flash templates in the MotoCMS store, I chose a business template designed in minimalist style with original bubbled menu buttons moving randomly at the Splash page. That was exactly what I needed, there was no doubt.

This Flash template is designed in a calm color scheme, but it’s ok, because, as it is said, I can change all the settings into whatever I want.

First of all, I registered the demo version of MotoCMS to try it free in action for 30 days. In order to do it I just needed to type my email at the proper field and to click on the theme I’d like to test.

As soon as the registration was successfully completed, I’ve got an e-mail with my permanent demo URL plus login and password for entering the control panel. The template with all changes is available for 30 days and is saved on the MotoCMS hosting. Due to this feature, you can show your work to the customer from wherever you want, and then buy the template with all customizations already in it. That’s why I didn’t pay for the template before the client approved the results of my work.

So, I started the customization…

The first thing I’ve seen after entering my demo account was the Splash Page with a toolbar.

This Flash CMS is equipped with WYSIWYG editor, which helps you to edit the layout elements without any specific software and complex programming knowledge. So, even an end-user with no experience in Flash can build a website on this CMS. Just double click on the element you’d like to correct and do what you have to do. For example, I tried to edit the company name and its slogan.

And the thing I’d recommend you to pay attention at is the toolbar at the right side of the window – there are all functions you may need while formatting the text.

Next I changed the menu colors. The double click on one of the "navigation bubbles" opens the Main Menu window which allows me to add or delete menu labels, edit titles, colors and click actions. In addition, I changed one of menu titles from Solutions to Testimonials. It didn’t take me too long and my customer was glad.

But it’s not enough to make my small changes work correctly. This Flash CMS template contains 2 types of menu: the main one located on the Splash Page and the page menu which is displayed on every page through the website. Both of these components had to be edited. And of course, it was necessary to rename the page itself. It can be easily done through the Content settings section. On the same screenshot you can see some results of my work.

After all, I was ready to start managing the content. For that, I had to choose the page I wanted to work with. (if you don’t know how to do it, the previous screenshot will help you). Let’s test the new Testimonials page.

Ok, it’s a big moment! Fanciful designs with any images, videos and colors are entirely at your disposal! Just note: while adding new content to the web pages, don’t forget to select the placement of your element. Otherwise you’ll observe them on every page. You must admit that it’s not the best way to decorate your website.

After all, I was really glad to know that every page of the Flash template is separately indexed by search engines. To customize these settings I opened Preferences – Website – SEO & Analytics.

There are Site Map, Google Analytics and Web Master tools. Frankly speaking, it was the first time I saw that each Flash page has its own unique URL.

There is one thing that should be pointed out: after saving your precious customized template, please take a minute to compress the website – it will speed up its loading by compressing XML files.

After browsing through the web for a while I’ve found a company which already uses this particular Flash CMS template. For me as a developer, it was interesting to see other design solutions of the same initial materials.

Google says that this website is really well indexed. For me, Google is an incontestable authority, so I’m inclined to believe it. Here is the confirmation of this statement:

Well, the website is ready. Surely, it needs to be filled with the company info, but due to the MotoCMS control panel, the client doesn’t need me for this.And now I can proudly offer you to look at my Flash website created in two hours only! Don’t judge me strictly, and thank you for the attention and patience!

At the very end, I’d like to thank the MotoCMS team for their feature-rich Flash CMS. For quite a reasonable price, you get almost unlimited opportunities. As for me, it is a good chance to try your best in quick and quality Flash website creation.

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Well, that is the question, isn’t it?

Many photographers talk of being prepared for that perfect photo shoot, but in truth, one never really knows when the most magnificent of sunsets is going to appear.

The smart thing is to:

1. Always have your camera with you.
2. Always be prepared to take the time necessary for that perfect shot.

Beautiful sunsets can appear anywhere but one can usually count on great sunsets in the mountains or by the ocean.

Watch the Weather

Observing the weather and its patterns is always a factor. Some of the most majestic sunsets are when bad or inclement weather has just calmed down a bit, at the end of the day.

If you are actually going to try setting aside a day to shoot the perfect sunset, then there are a few things to be mindful of so you do not waste your time.

• Watch the weather; if the sky is going to be black with clouds and not hope of a sunbeam bursting through, then you might want to choose a different day.
• Then again, there may be a chance of that beam bursting through for a once-in-a-lifetime shot, so, watch the weather.

Details

Remember, success is in the details; be sure to know what you want and what/when/where your equipment is before venturing out for the perfect shot. Besides your trusty camera, it’s a good idea to have a tripod for sunset shots – that makes getting that perfect still at just the right time a little easier.

Time is of the utmost importance for nature photography; be sure you know the time of the desired sunset and be prepared well in advance.

Photography is Art

As a photographer, you have a sure knowledge that photography is an art medium. Approach your shot like a painting. Make sure that you:

• Obey the Law of Thirds. Never let your sunset be smack dab in the middle of the shot; this will give it a very amateur and juvenile look.
• Allow shadows and contrasting color to enhance your shot.
• Look for possible silhouettes to enhance your picture; they will make the sunset seem even more dramatic.
• Use the surrounding areas as focal points. Things like sculptured clouds, mountain ranges, trees or ocean, can really bring the dramatic into your shot.

Over Do It

Make sure to take many more shots than you think you may need. Once you feel you have a master shot, don’t stop. Take your photos from different angles and perspectives while the sun is still in sight. Take as much as possible until the last light fades. And also take your shots with different exposures.

Why?

First of all, the "perfect exposure" might just give your sunset photo a ho-hum look. Experiment! Live dangerously!

Also, one never knows when that one unexpected shot turns out to be the masterpiece. It is better to overdo than to let a perfect shot escape. Learning to take many good shots quickly and efficiently can only make you a better photographer.

So, get out there and, above all, have fun!

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Google is our modern day collection of the highest technological advancements humanity has ever achieved. We are able to connect into the same information from any point on the Earth, almost instantaneously! We live in a truly magical time. The pioneers shifting us into this new age of modern web design.

There are many resources online to reference when beginning website design. Novice and expert alike can find plenty of new information using Google’s powerful resources. Trends have been developing over time and we are finally starting to see the huge explosion of design talent in our current-day Internet.

Why Google?

The reason behind Google’s major success lies in their business strategy. Initially launched as a search engine the company was able to attract some of the brightest engineers who were very passionate about their job. Google has since broken into application development, analytics, maps data, business and social networking tools.

Though privacy has been a concern to many in the past, the company still stands today as the #1 trafficked website. Since their purchase of YouTube the company has been able to expand into Google Video, Picasa Photos, and more recently Google Docs.

Innovation is the key to success for larger Internet-based software companies. Google has seriously stepped things up and shown us just how futuristic our current society is.

Checking for Blog Articles

One of the best resources Google can offer is refined search results. There are hundreds of web design blogs on the Internet and it would take weeks to sort through them all. Google offers results based on page rank, which basically means most of the articles you’ll get are from high-quality domains.

One of the newer features Google offers is a blog directory search. Instead of going through Google’s main search function you are able to pull results from a large database of blogs. Most of these are running through WordPress or Blogger and ping Google with updates on their latest posts.

In order to save time you may consider keeping a blog feed which can be checked daily. Google Reader offers this functionality for free – all you need is a Google Account (also free).

The most popular web design blogs will offer RSS feeds. These can be collected and fed into Google Reader which will update your dashboard with the latest posts. You can save hours of time every week by removing the constant distraction of checking 10-20 different blogs. With feed readers you have all of the latest content organized and listed neatly, updated automatically!

Google for Web Developers

One of the greatest additions to Google’s apps is their code database. Located at Code’s Homepage you can see dozens of open-source projects available to work on. Among the most common is Android development and Google’s App Engine.

However you do not only need to work on open source projects. With your Google Account you are able to set up code repositories to house bits of your code. Each account is allocated a small amount of server space which Google is constantly increasing.

There are also chat forums, tools and plenty of APIs to mess around in. One of the best examples is the code playground where you can find demos for each Google product API. These include YouTube, Blogger, Google Friend Connect, and so many more.

Google Webmaster’s Tools

Located at Webmaster’s Central are all the tools any web designer/developer would need. You can gather analytics data and compare graphs with many of your own websites. This also applies to services tied into Google’s roster such as AdSense and Feedburner.

More interesting is the help section and discussion boards for members. Webmasters from all over the world gather to use Google’s powerful tools. There is a lot of information to learn from professionals, and there’s no easier way to connect!

You may also consider researching into some Blogger accounts. Many web developers will share code snippits and tutorials on their blogs. Google has a detailed search for Blogger profiles and posts related to keywords. Check out this webmaster essentials FAQ for more details.

Communication and Beyond

GMail is the most well-known e-mail application, and for good reason. In comparison to Yahoo! Mail and AOL it seems like webmail has reached an entirely new plateau. Google has added a lot of ideas into Google Mail which have pushed the boundaries in digital communication.

Now Google offers so much more that it could be considered a communication medium. Along with your GMail account you are also granted a GTalk username. This allows you to invite others using GTalk to hold IM chats, audio VoIP and even video conferences!

Most recently Google has updated the GMail interface to include all of these features naturally. This provides huge benefits to Mac OSX and Linux users who are unable to run Google Talk’s client software (though there are alternatives).

Combine this with Google Voice and you’ve got an entire medium to connect with your contacts, all tied into a single account. With any current mobile or land-line telephone you can tether a second phone number through Google Voice. This means you can give others your GV number and whenever they call it will ring whatever phone is tied in – truly an unbelievably useful service.

Google has only just begun to show it’s true agenda. With the development of Google Docs we are now seeing mockups and wireframes uploaded and shared around the world, hosted courteously via Google. As these tools become more detailed the advances in modern web design culture will follow.

The one true supporting fact for web designers is to stay passionate. There is plenty of time to practice the trade and learn modern web design trends. And with so many resources available, there’s never been a better time in history to learn. Attempt reaching out to other graphics designers as well. Many will be happy to serve as a resource and can provide constructive criticism during the learning process.

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CSS3 is rocking the web design and web development life. You can get amazing and awesome effects and style using it. CSS3 selectors provides you a variety of functions and features. Here on Pelfusion I’ve created a simple tool which will be used to make an element corners rounded. In this simple tool just pass your value and CSS3 code will be generated. This is done using jQuery and CSS3. I have used border property of CSS3 to get this simple effect. To develop this tool you will need only two files, one PHP file and other JS file, CSS code is added internally in PHP file. You can download source code by clicking download link at the bottom of post.

You may also be interested in:

Newest Design Trends with Popular CSS3 Techniques
Everything You Need to Know about CSS3 Color Techniques
7 Useful CSS3 Code Generators
Best Examples of CSS3 Navigations and Menu Tutorials

CSS3 Border Radius Tool

Here is the CSS which I used in PHP file:

.outPut {
	-moz-border-radius:10px 10px 10px 10px;
	background-color:rgba(166, 167, 244, 0.8);
	display:table-cell;
	font-size:2em;
	height:200px;
	margin:0 auto;
	min-height:200px;
	text-align:center;
	vertical-align:middle;
	width:320px;
}

.Code {
	-moz-border-radius:10px 10px 10px 10px;
	background:none repeat scroll 0 0 rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2);
	margin:60px 0 20px;
	padding:10px;
	position:relative;
}

input{-moz-border-radius:5px 5px 5px 5px;
	background-color:rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5);
	border:1px solid #D4CFBD;
	font-size:1.1em;
	padding:2px 5px 2px 2px;
}

label {
	font-size:1.1em;
	margin:4px 10px 0 0;
}

Here is jQuery code:

$(document).ready(function(){
    $(".radiusInput").keyup(function()
    {$(".code-border-radius-equal").text(function(b){
    var c=$(".radiusInput").val();return(c+"px")});
    var a=$(".radiusInput").val()+"px";
    $(".outPut").css({"-webkit-border-radius":a,"-moz-border-radius":a,"border-radius":a})
    });

DEMO Download

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If you try searching for web hosting services, the results from any major search engine can baffle and leave you confused so as to how to trust and choose the one just right for you. Apart from the most popular big names, which may not necessarily suit your needs, it’s hard to know which ones should be chosen when faced with a huge number of options. The answer is www.webhostingrating.com.

Webhostingrating.com is the largest independent directory for web hosting services on the net which is updated very regularly and is sure to solve all your web hosting related problems and queries. It also has a monthly best hosting awards, best hosting offers and offers limited discount coupons. The site provides the list of Top 10 best web hosting companies worldwide and its reviews come directly from users and real customers which are never edited or deleted to provide cent percent honest feedback. For each company reviewed, you will find their rank in the global hierarchy, as well as the provider name, the price of the hosting package, the amount of hard drive space offered, the bandwidth allocation and a ranking for the company.

Screenshot of Best 10 Web Hosts 2010 on WebHostingRating.com

Search Using the Catalog

The Search Host Catalogue option lets users search for web hosts employing different criteria like location, price and hosting type (Linux, windows etc) to find a comprehensive list of providers within your budget, geographical location and preferred hosting type. For the very same purpose, the site also allows visitors to organise and search for ratings other than the top 10 featured. For example, you can choose to search for top 10 hosts dealing in reseller hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated server hosting and whatever else that you may require.

Compare CMS Web Hosts

Webhostingrating.com also provides the option to compare CMS web hosts by hosting type, such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and vBulletin. It comes in really handy if you’re searching for a specific CMS. The ratings in these categories are based on whether the web hosts support the CMS in question and what the users who have used the provider for that particular CMS think. Customer feedback plays a major role in these ratings.

The impressive knowledge centre of the site provides very useful information in the form of latest articles, web hosting related news and updates, basic answers to all how-to and what-is questions and video tutorials.

All in all, webhostingrating.com is an impressive endeavour to address all web hosting related needs and meet customers’ requirements to the fullest. It’s up to date data ensures safety and trust and users can avoid all confusion in deciding which web host to choose by the detailed search options provided for all pockets and types of web hosts.

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PHP does not have an internal debugging facility. You can use only external tools to debug PHP code. Here i tried to list down PHP debugging tools, which are extremely useful, but listing down these tools was not enough because you don’t know how to use them so i have compiled those tutorials too.

Here is the list of tools:

PHP Debugging Tools

1. Gubed PHP Debugger

Gubed is a cross platform program to debug PHP scripts.

2. PHP Debug

The basic purpose of PHP_Debug is to provide assistance in debugging PHP code, by “debug” i don’t mean “step by step debug” but program trace, variables display, process time, included files, queries executed, watch variables.

3. DBG

DBG is a a full-featured php debugger, an interactive tool that helps you debugging php scripts.

4. PHP Dyn

PHP Dyn is PHP Extension to help debugging a PHP script.You can get execution trace of scripts not to need change them.HTTP request parameter can be printed.Argument value of the function call and return value can be printed.

5. Xdebug

The Xdebug extension helps you debugging your script by providing a lot of valuable debug information.

5. Webgrind

Webgrind is an Xdebug profiling web frontend in PHP5. It implements a subset of the features of kcachegrind and installs in seconds and works on all platforms.

6. MacGDBp

Debugging a live, running PHP application has never been so easy. It’s a live PHP debugger application for the Mac OS.

7. Advanced PHP Debugger

APD is a full-featured profiler/debugger that is loaded as a zend_extension. It aims to be an analog of C’s gprof or Perl’s Devel::DProf.

How To Debug PHP Code

How to Debug PHP Using Firefox with FirePHP

This article shares an elegant, simple, and more maintainable way of debugging Ajax apps via the web browser (more specifically for the Mozilla Firefox browser). You’ll learn the basics of leveraging Firefox in conjunction with Firebug and FirePHP to implement FirePHP libraries on web apps and logging messages in the Firebug console.

How to Debug in PHP

This article breaks down the fundamentals of debugging in PHP, helps you understand PHP’s error messages and introduces you to some useful tools to help make the process a little less painful.

Debugging PHP using Eclipse and PDT

Use XDebug or Zend Debugger to boost your productivity when fixing bugs in PHP applications.

Debugging PHP with Xdebug

The Xdebug is the extension for PHP that helps debugging PHP scripts by providing a lot of valuable debug information. The debug information includes stack traces and function traces in error messages, memory allocation and protection for infinite recursions.

Debug PHP with DBG Wizard

You can easily debug PHP with PhpED’s PHP Debugger. Setting up your system to debug php scripts can be tricky but PhpED’s Settings Wizard can take care of the majority of the debugging configurations.

You have to make sure you opt for the best php hosting for your website.

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Whether you are just starting out in the design business, or you have been around awhile but few people have ever heard of you, there are potentially great benefits to growing your reputation and establishing yourself as an authority in your field. The global design community is an amazing network that is becoming increasingly accessible thanks to modern technology and social media. It behooves every designer, no matter what specific focus or skills they have, to plant both feet as firmly as possible in the midst of this community, for reasons that include learning and sharing among peers, client referrals, and more. In this post I will share some of the things I have done that have helped me to transition from an unknown freelance web and graphic designer to a relatively respected and known member of the design community in less than a year.

Before we start, here are the disclaimers:

• I am no expert, nor am I claiming to have discovered any secrets, but my experience over the past year has changed my life for the better and I believe it can change yours. Your results, however, will definitely vary because each of us is a unique individual with a variety of strengths and weaknesses.
• Establishing your reputation and authority does not make you a better designer. I will be the first to admit that there are plenty of designers with more talent, more authority and stronger reputations than mine. Still, growing my own reputation and authority has helped me improve as a designer while simultaneously expanding my business. I believe it can do the same for anyone.
• It is important to remember that this is a process. It takes time, a bit of work and patience. It also may stretch you outside of your comfort zone. But if you make the investment and your results are anything like mine, you will be glad you did.

Webster’s defines an authority as “an individual cited or appealed to as an expert”. While there are an abundance of people claiming to be experts in various fields, one of the surefire ways you can drive other designers and potential clients away rather than toward you is to start calling yourself an expert. I once heard someone say, “If you have to walk around telling everyone you’re ‘the man’, you’re probably not ‘the man’!” I believe a far better approach to building your authority is to establish credibility and relationships among your peers and in your circle of influence, allowing their word of mouth to form the foundation and expansion of your reputation.

Begin With Blogging

If you don’t already have one, why not? Sure there is an overabundance of design blogs, but there is a reason: they are successful in many different ways, from advertising revenue to the purpose we’re discussing. A blog is an excellent way for others to get to know more about you, your skills, your interests, your experience and more, and it can provide much more of a vehicle for this than the status updates and brief interactions of social media channels.

I started my blog specifically because I enjoy writing as a creative expression, and I’ve found that it is an excellent way to share more about who I am, my professional and personal insights, and to strengthen my authority as a designer, writer and social media explorer.

The key to creating and filling a blog with content that will build your authority is to identify those topics that will demonstrate your unique strengths. What are your passions, skills and interests that you can share with others? Rather than creating another design blog and filling it with roundups of the latest fonts or top designers to follow on Twitter, find your own unique contribution and build your blog around it. In my case, my blog has evolved into a place where I talk about my experiences in social media, my thoughts on certain hot topics, my personal inquiries and examinations of design philosophies, and things of that nature. This has connected me with other designers and social media personalities that I quite possibly would have never otherwise communicated with. It has also provided another forum that I can share and learn from others as they comment and discuss these topics with me. The benefits have been immeasurable!

Cultivate With Comments

This is another easy way to get yourself, your brand, your personality and your input out there as much as possible. The more others see your name, face, icon, logo, etc. the more you will become a familiar and even expected part of the design community landscape. Take some time each day to go through design blogs and comment on those that speak to you, inspire you, challenge you, or spark some other type of response. This will allow others to hear and see your thoughts about various issues as well as potentially get them to check out your own blog or social media channels.

I’m not suggesting randomly commenting on every design post you can find. I’m just saying that you should contribute to discussions where your own experience, skills and insight could be valuable to others. The more you can do this, the more others will begin to recognize you and your strengths, building upon your reputation as an authority in your niche.

Saturate With Social Media

One of the primary resources you can and should use in your quest to build your authority is social media. Whatever your favorite tool or network(s), there is a design community on it. I started using Twitter and quickly found it to be a fantastic tool to connect with other designers. Even more interesting was how I learned to use it to establish my reputation as a resource for the latest news. This may not be your bag, and that’s okay. But use whatever social network(s) you’re comfortable with to begin getting your name, thoughts, ideas, latest work, blog posts, portfolio and whatever else you can think of out there. Be sure not to simply become a broadcast channel, the equivalent of standing in the middle of a mall with a sandwich board and a megaphone telling everyone to pay attention to what you have to say. Instead use social media to find and form relationships with other designers, share and discover resources, and make other valuable connections. One thing I’ve learned is to be open and accepting to any and all possibilities and people – you never know how that connection may benefit you in the future, or how you may be of assistance to them.

I highly recommend utilizing Facebook and Twitter, at the very least. Set up your accounts and get busy finding other designers to follow and friend. There are tools to make this easier, such as WeFollow.com and Mr. Tweet for Twitter, where directories of members of the design community are ready and waiting for you to sift through and befriend your peers. Visit your favorite design blogs and connect with their social network accounts – most will have links to theirs easily accessible on the front page specifically for this purpose. Don’t be afraid that you’re not worthy or that these better known designers will laugh when they receive your friend request. The truth is that most are extremely friendly, down to earth people just like you and I, and they would balk at the thought that they are anything ‘special’. Social media has somewhat leveled the playing field and made it much easier for the unknown to strike up a conversation with the most popular. The distance between the two is diminishing every day, which makes social media a primary tool for building and growing your reputation and authority.

Tend With Time

No matter what you do to build your authority and reputation as a designer, it will take time. There is no way around this, and the more time you invest, it stands to reason the less time will have to pass before you see results. Looking for shortcuts or quitting before waiting long enough will usually end up in lesser results than just doing what needs to be done in the time allotted. Start out knowing that you will have to be patient, and rather than anxiously looking for immediate results, enjoy the journey. The contacts, relationships, education and other benefits of the process may even become more valuable to you than the end result, so don’t make the mistake of missing out on them by looking too far ahead.

What are some ways that you have built you reputation and authority as a designer? Have you had successes or failed attempts with some of the ideas presented here? Please be sure to share your comments, thoughts, questions and experiences. Most of all, for those of you who are just getting started or in the early stages, I wish you the best of luck. Please let me know if I can assist you in any way. And don’t forget to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook or anywhere else you can find me!

Image Source: ShuterStock

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Now a days more and more people are using smart phones to access the internet, because of this growing demand web developers and designers must focus on mobile format websites too. Don’t worry, you don’t have to learn any programming language to do that. There are few online services available that will help you to create or convert websites into mobile format.

Here i have mentioned few tools and tutorials that will help you out. If your web site or blog is running on WordPress you can easily setup a rich mobile theme for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Palm OS and Samsung touch mobile using WPTouch plugin.

Online Services

Google’s Conversion Utility

This is as simple as it gets. Enter the URL of the website and check whether or not you want to include images. Click Go and you now have a mobile-optimized version of the site!

mobiSiteGalore

mobiSiteGalore is a FREE mobile website builder that allows you to easily build, publish & share a full-fledged mobile website that is guaranteed to work fine on any mobile phone.

Zinadoo

Easily build your very own fully-customised mobile website for FREE with Zinadoo’s site creation services.

FreeMobiz

FreeMobiz allows you to create a mobile compatible website of your own and make your presence felt on the new web – the mobile web.

Winksite

Winksite makes it easy to create a mobile website and community that can be shared worldwide.

Mobify

Mobify is a web service that provides a quick way to optimize a site for mobile access. Publishers, web designers and bloggers use Mobify to design visually engaging and usable mobile layouts for their existing sites.

Mippin

Using Mippin Maker you can convert your web site or blog into a Mippsite.

MoFuse

Create, layout and launch a complete mobile sites in minutes. Build it yourself, or they can build it for you. The basic version is free and the Pro version costs $3 per month.

WordPress Mobile themes Plugin

WPtouch Pro is a WordPress plugin which adds powerful, easy-to-use features to WordPress for mobile + tablet theme support.
Check out more WordPress mobile plugins to setup mobile theme for iPhone and other mobile devices.

Few Helpful Tutorials

How to Convert a Website for a Mobile Browser

Mobile websites are generally scaled-down versions of an existing dynamic website. Large graphics, flash elements and banner ads are stripped from mobile websites to display only the most important information from the main website.

Convert your site to a friendly mobile viewer

Easy steps to convert your website to a friendly mobile viewer.

How to convert or view any website on a mobile phone or device

Wish your favorite websites had a mobile friendly version that you could use on your mobile phone or device?

Preparing Your Website For Mobile Devices

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