Good Design Roundup Good design doesn’t just mean pretty, it means functional too. Sometimes a website is born that combines those two things seamlessly. It’s like a miracle. Or more likely, people worked hard and communicated with one another, allowing design, functionality, and content to come together and deliver a clear and helpful message. A [...]

Introducing the Facebook Custom Tab Generator
Custom tabs on Facebook Pages allow us to display our own HTML content inside Facebook Pages by embedding code in iframes. This is done by creating a Facebook app and providing a few parameters (like the URL where our custom HTML page is located). Here’s an example of a custom tab: Add a Custom Tab [...]

GIFs, JPGs and PNGs, Oh My!
Every time I receive a logo in JPG format, a little part of me dies inside. Actually, it’s a big part of me, because choosing the right file type for images is an essential part of good web design. Did you know that JPG images lose quality every time you re-save them? PNG and GIF [...]
Facebook’s Timeline “Like Gate” Bug Solution (For Now)
UPDATE: Facebook has fixed the bug! Here’s the deal – Facebook released their new Timeline for business pages along with a bug that broke our ability to redirect users to a hidden page after clicking “like.” They’ve fixed the bug now, but in the meantime we put together a template that uses an in-frame like [...]

Basic Guide to Email Design
Though not as popular as it used to be, email remains a viable component of a good marketing strategy. When designing email templates, it’s important to consider the wide array of devices and email clients available. Follow these simple tips to make sure your message is coming across clearly on every platform and not making [...]

Six Basic Web Design Mistakes
Whether you are designing a website, a banner, or a flyer for a magician, you’ve probably thought this to yourself at some point: “Why isn’t this design working? Is it because nobody likes magicians?” The answer to that question is yes, but chances are, you are also making one of these six common design mistakes. [...]

Server response survey results: Now, with more pepper spray!
Over the last three months, a bunch of folks have used my server response code tester to check whether their web sites correctly respond to broken links, correct links, etc. Per my first post about the tool, I’ve been storing the results—don’t worry, no personal data, just web site, response codes, and a grade—for a [...]

10 tips for minimal-mayhem agency site redesign
If you run an internet marketing agency, you have one client you dread more than any other: Yourself. We launched a revamped Portent site several months back, then rebuilt this site a bit later. In 16 years, I think we’ve rebuilt our company site 8 or 9 times. Some lessons I’ve learned: You’re a frakking [...]
New SEO tool: Server response code tester
AKA: The Responsinator Lee Odden, Todd Malicoat, Jonathan Allen and I did a site clinic/lab at SES San Francisco last week. Of 5 sites we reviewed, 4 delivered the wrong response codes if I: Visited a broken link on the site. A server should respond with a ‘404’ error code. Most of these servers instead [...]

UK & European Cookie Law Solution (Free Script)
A European cookie law that regulates the use of web browser cookies is now in effect in the UK. That cookie law is based on guidelines set by the European Union. In a nutshell, the law states that websites must get a user’s consent before storing cookies on their device (computer, mobile phone, iPad, etc). [...]


