Archive for Web Tools
Tiled Backgrounds Designer
Posted by: | CommentsI love finding cool new tools!! I literally Stumbled across this really neat tool for creating custom tiled backgrounds that you can use for just about anything! The site is Bgpatterns.com.
Using the web-based designer, you select a combination of colors, canvas texture, images, rotate them, scale them and test them. Then you can download the background tile to use how ever you see fit. There is also the social aspect of the site which allows you to share your creations using the major social bookmarking/sharing sites, save your backgrounds and vote on others’ creations.
Bgpatterns is definitely one of the coolest tools I have discovered recently and it is another staple in my designer toolbox – along with the 13 sites for great patterns and backgrounds and 13 sites for unique textures I shared in previous posts.
13 Top Notch Web Hosting Companies
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As a web designer, I get asked daily for web hosting recommendations. While there are literally thousands of web hosting companies that provide excellent service, great uptime and have knowledgeable tech support, I have compiled a list of 13 hosting companies that either I use personally, have clients using or trusted associates recommend. These are companies I recommend if you are looking for hosting for your blog, small to medium size business site, online store or community.
Most of these sites feature two things – cPanel and Fantastico – both of which are requirements for ease of use in my book. cPanel is easy to navigate and loaded with features allowing you to easily check stats, set up email, create database, password protect directories, and more. Fantastico offers the fastest and most straight forward installs for more than 20 of our favorite Open Source programs and scripts like WordPress, phpBB, ZenCart, Galleries, and other utilities. For the average website owner or blogger, these features cut down on a lot of tech support/webmaster support time.
In alphabetical order the web hosting companies I recommend are:
1 & 1 Web Hosting is a very well known web hosting option for many bloggers. A lot of associates use it and while they don’t have cPanel they have a reasonable substitute. For a limited time you can get the first 6 months of Business Hosting Package FREE!
Based out of Atlanta, GA, A Small Orange provides both shared hosting and virtual private servers. They advertise no limit hosting, cPanel, multiple stats packages, Fantastico and advanced email options.
GoDaddy is my personal choice for domain name purchasing/registration but I do have clients who love GoDaddy’s web hosting, too. They don’t have Fantastico, but do have their own version of it called Hosting Connection which gives site owners access to a variety of one click script installations. They provide shared hosting, virtual dedicated servers and dedicated server plans.
HostGator is my personal choice for web hosting. They have been doing a great job of hosting 30+ web sites for myself and my clients for the past two years. HostGator is very affordable, offers cPanel and Fantastico, and has had amazing uptime! HostGator has tech support that is second to none! Anytime I have had issues with my sites they have been able to help me identify the problem and resolve it immediately. You can read a review of them here.
HostMonster is another popular choice for affordable web hosting. They allow you to host unlimited domains on one account which is great for owners of multiple web sites. Fantastico and cPanel are included, and you can get $50 of PPC credit for both Yahoo and Google with your account.
HostRocket offers unlimited bandwidth, 1,000+ GB of RAID protected storage space, cPanel and Fantastico, 10 websites per account plus add a new site every month, and $50 Yahoo search credit.
I have been a customer of Jumpline since their first year in business – 1997 to be exact – and currently have about 15 client websites hosted with them (some of them have been hosted there since 1997). Jumpline’s uptime has been close to FLAWLESS, the tech support is knowledgeable and helpful, and they have been very stable. They do offer ValueApps – their own library of scripts – but it is not as intuitive as Fantastico.
Lunarpages.com offers enterprise level redundancy and security in their Tier 4 data centers with a dedicated staff of over 120 support professionals.
Do you have a high-traffic site that needs scalable, high end web hosting solutions? If so, MediaTemple is my first choice! Powerful grid service replaces shared hosting and the dedicated physical virtual servers in their Nitro program run on quad core processors.
Mosso is another service for sites that need instant scalability like a popular blog (that regularly gets Digg front page traffic), a large e-commerce site or 20 medium sites under one account. Mosso uses cloud technology which is basically instant, easy access to large scale computing.
NetworkSolutions.com
is probably what I would consider to be the most credible and most likely to be around forever web hosting company there is. I registered my very first domain name with them in 1997 and have never once questioned the quality of their services. They have a more options and plans than most providers – in other words, you will be able to find a solution to fit your needs.
Site5, a great solution for eCommerce, Blogs or Ruby on Rails sites, is co-located with The Planet. Site5 uses extremely high-end servers and doesn’t crowd them. Additionally, they handle their own tech support and offer a 60-day money back guarantee.
I hope this is a helpful resource. Finding a good web host is not easy, because many hosts offer sub-par support. I’ve tried my best to list only the best web hosts there are. Or you may find you need to sign up for dedicated hosting services from a trusted provider.
4 Great Tools to Help You Organize Your Business and Projects from 37Signals
Posted by: | CommentsHow do you keep track of your contacts, project notes, files, status updates, emails you send, and sign-offs? For many years I relied on a combination of tools such as an Excel spreadsheet, my email, an address book, folders and sticky notes. As my business has grown and become more mobile (meaning some days I work from Panera Bread, some days from the patio, and others in my main office) I have found these tools just aren’t working for me anymore.
I have looked high and low for a solution that would fit my needs (here are some I tested) and after talking with Leah from Working Solo, I have finally found my answer – Highrise and BackPack from 37 Signals.
The team at 37Signals has created a series of web-based products that help you and your organization stay, well, organized! Each of their products serves a slightly different purpose and a slightly different audience, allowing you to get only the functionality you need in a lightweight, web-based application.
I use Basecamp with some clients when managing a large project that requires input, file sharing and deadlines with more than one person. Basecamp is perfect because all the communication is done in one place, thus eliminating the lost emails, constant forwarding and CC-ing that frequently happen with larger projects. You don’t have to worry about missing anything – Basecamp emails you when someone adds anything to the project.
The product I am hooked on that really works for me as a freelance designer is Highrise. Highrise works as a contact management package with a kick. Not only can I keep track of my client contact information, but I can add notes for each one, create my to do list (and get email updates on what is due or past due), and use the dropbox as a back up feature too. When you pull up a client’s name, you get all of their information and notes all at once which is such a nice feature.
BackPack is a great way for your organization to stay on the same page or for you to keep all your notes and files organized. It is a beefed up calendar, file cabinet and white board all in one place. Use it for one person or the whole organization. Get your reminders sent to your phone or email – so you have no excuses.
Campfire is a great way for organizations to stay on the same page even when you are working from multiple locations. Think of it as your own private group IM. The look and feel is no nonsense, elegant and easy to use.
37 Signals has other products that make collaboration and organization work for you – it is just a matter of checking each of them out and seeing which one fits you best. For me, the answer is Highrise with a bit of BackPack on the side. Each of the 37 Signals products comes with a free trial and depending on the size of your organization and project needs, some of the solutions are free. You just have to give them a try.
Do you use any of these products? Which one(s) do you use the most?
