First of all, websites are a very important way of communication nowadays. A downed website means that a business can no longer communicate with those whom it needs to. Second of all, it provides no end of stress for both those who visit the website and those who maintain it.

But downtime is an unavoidable part of a website’s life, so we need some ways of dealing with it.

Get Notified Immediately

It’s much less stressful to find out that your site is down minutes after it goes down than to get a call from an enraged boss or to find out that it’s been down for the last eight hours.

The service Are My Sites Up? regularly pings your website to check if it’s up. If it’s down, it will send a notification. You can choose to have it email you, or if you so wish, it will send you a text message as well.

By using this or a similar service, you can be notified almost immediately and avoid the stress of finding out hours afterwards.

Inform Your Readers

If your website has a Twitter page, the quickest thing you can do is to post a status update saying that the website is down. If you don’t, here’s another option:

Find a server that can serve up static pages to the same amount of people that your main site services. Put a static page on there saying that your page is down. Then, when your site is actually down, set the DNS settings for your domain name to that page, and when your visitors visit your website, instead of seeing an undecipherable error message, they can be greeted by a nice page with perhaps a fitting image telling them that the problem is being fixed.

It can be risky to work as a freelancer. However, while the possibility of late payments, lack of work and other challenges can put you off from becoming a freelancer, there are also some great benefits to becoming your own boss. Here are seven tips to keep you successful in your freelance endeavors.

#1 – Make Clients Pay

The biggest risk of being freelance is not getting paid. You do not have a big firm backing up, thus making you more prone to delayed payments or no payments at all. To avoid this, it is critical to make a contract with the client at the very beginning outlining the services and what they will get for their money. Do not just give them the contract. Ask them to sign it and give you a copy before you can get started on their project.

#2 – Promote Yourself

Another good key for success is to put extra time and effort into marketing and promoting yourself as a freelance designer. Marketing and promotion is critical when you are a freelancer. You will need to be not only the designer but also the salesperson. There’s no work if you don’t reel in the clients.

#3 – Manage Equipment Issues

It may be hard to get work, especially if you are just starting out. You may need to take whatever work comes your way and you most likely will be working more hours since you are now wearing more hats. You will also now be responsible for your own equipment. It is wise to consider insurance on your equipment and keep it in a safe place.

#4 – Draw Up a Business Plan

One very wise thing to do is draw up a business plan. Really work to figure out how you are going to keep yourself afloat while you start your new venture. A business plan will force you to think through various scenarios and make a legitimate plan, it may help you see that there are some flaws in your plan to go freelance.

#5 – Choose Clients Wisely

Choose your client wisely. Do your best to get referrals. Referrals are always better than new clients. If your gut instinct says that the person is not good to work with, then you are probably right.

#6 – Communicate to Clarify Expectations

Communication is critical. Spend time with your clients to get a good understanding of their needs; this will certainly help you in the long run. Make sure you know why they came to you. Is there something specific you do that they are interested in? If there is something specialized in their needs identify it right from the beginning (they might even want you to register a domain name and get web hosting for them, so be sure to clarify these issues accordingly). Figure out where they intend to show the work you are going to do for them and make sure you can do a good job. No matter what you do, do not promise something that you cannot deliver. This will cause problems for any business.

#7 – Wear “Many Hats”

Lastly, keep in mind that this is a business and you will be wearing multiple hats. You are not just a designer anymore. You are your own sales department, finance department, quality control department and more. You need to be able to run every aspect of your business in order to be successful or at least hire other people to fill those roles.

Through python and perl, it:

• Queries Twitter for tweets about web design
• Processes each tweet and counts up the retweets
• Outputs the most popular retweeted posts in HTML format
• Repeats the whole process every 1 hour

Hopefully, everyone will stay up to date on the latest web design news! If you have some free time on your hands, please take a look at this section and post a comment with feedback. Thank you!

Here is a snippet for a page using an HTML 4.01 Strict Doctype:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<link href="css/styles.css" type="text/css">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<title></title>
</head>
<body>

</body>
</html>

Of course, most people like to use XHTML now, so here’s the equivalent using XHTML 1.0 Strict:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" dir="ltr" lang="en-US">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css" />
<title></title>
</head>
<body>

</body>
</html>

If you use jQuery a lot, you might want to consider having this handy:

<script type="text/javascript" src="/js/jquery.js"></script>
<script>
$(function() {

});
</script>

or if you want to import jQuery from Google AJAX Library, you can use this:

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3.2/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script>
$(function() {

});
</script>

Or, if you’re working on the CSS side of things, you might want to keep a copy of CSS Hard Reset handy:

* {
	margin:0;
	padding:0;
}

or if that’s too much for you, a copy of Eric Meyer Reset might do the trick instead:

html, body, div, span, applet, object, iframe, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, p, blockquote, pre, a, abbr, acronym, address, big, cite, code, del, dfn, em, font, img, ins, kbd, q, s, samp, small, strike, strong, sub, sup, tt, var, dl, dt, dd, ol, ul, li, fieldset, form, label, legend, table, caption, tbody, tfoot, thead, tr, th, td {
	margin: 0;
	padding: 0;
	border: 0;
	outline: 0;
	font-weight: inherit;
	font-style: inherit;
	font-size: 100%;
	font-family: inherit;
	vertical-align: baseline;
}
/* remember to define focus styles! */
:focus {
	outline: 0;
}
body {
	line-height: 1;
	color: black;
	background: white;
}
ol, ul {
	list-style: none;
}
/* tables still need 'cellspacing="0"' in the markup */
table {
	border-collapse: separate;
	border-spacing: 0;
}
caption, th, td {
	text-align: left;
	font-weight: normal;
}
blockquote:before, blockquote:after, q:before, q:after {
	content: "";
}
blockquote, q {
	quotes: "" "";
}

BONUS

Instead of keeping a text file of these snippets, you can use a little program called Texter (Windows only) to enter the code for you.

For example, you can define a Text called ‘xhtml’ and put in the following:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" dir="ltr" lang="en-US">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<link href="css/styles.css" type="text/css">
<title>%|</title>
</head>
<body>

</body>
</html>

The ‘%|’ places your cursor at that location, so you don’t need to waste any time moving the cursor up.

Adding XHTML template to Texter

so, when I press xhtml + TAB, it gives me the full template.

Post a comment to this post to make your ideas known!

1. What topics have you enjoyed reading on our site? We can create similar posts to satisfy your interests.
2. Do you have any ideas for future writings? This can spark new ideas in us!
3. Are any web-related questions baffling you? If so, give us a chance to answer them!
4. How do you feel about the current site? Is it up to your standards? We don’t mind making changes!

Answering these questions or just expressing feelings will help us better understand what you are looking for. Please drop us a comment with feedback. Thank you!

1. #E96AAE on #27AC1F
2. #934638 on #3426FE
3. #18A4C7 on #D97B9C
4. #E8171B on #7387F2
5. #D5ADBB on #09D881
6. #cb8601 on #0ca382
7. #059127 on #acf3e2
8. #3d3591 on #f2d30b
9. #70ad84 on #d5cfdd
10. #4ad952 on #819eac
11. #b85761 on #cadeba
12. #eada8e on #ea4936
13. #3823ba on #a8faa1
14. #b3f29b on #e2b748
15. #7a06fe on #6562fc
16. #a6f035 on #f4c724
17. #4bfd40 on #47dac1
18. #f4c142 on #5eeccf
19. #1780d4 on #e7aef7
20. #2b62e7 on #47f2a0
21. #65bf57 on #d7e4ea
22. #06b4cc on #c441a1
23. #3c1622 on #50bbac
24. #b582a6 on #22557a
25. #166d3b on #e9d00f
26. #9bcd65 on #b131ed
27. #0f7c13 on #5ddae2
28. #3980a4 on #4dcd5c
29. #8f3c36 on #8259d0
30. #a367ff on #cd7875

Post a comment with combinations you dislike!

So how can one grab people’s attention?

1. Write controversial posts

   The Linux virus post was very controversial. There are many who believe that there are no viruses for Linux, and as such, heads turned. If you write something controversial, it will spread. People, especially those that have nothing better to do, like to be perverse. You give them bait and they will pounce on it. Write something people will denounce and they will spread your words to the world (bit of irony, eh?).

2. Write responses to controversial post

   If you can’t create original controversy, piggyback on someone else’. If you find something that is controversial enough, any response you make will be treated as just as controversial as the original.

3. Use strong titles

   Before reading anything else, the user will probably read the title. Weak titles will be ignored, while strong, to-the-point topics will usually be acknowledged. Advertise something well and people will respond to you.

4. Write tutorials

   There are never enough tutorials in the world. For every subject, there will be people that figure it out easily and people that don’t. And the people that don’t figure it out right away will find something to help them figure it out.

5. Write about obscure (but interesting) subjects

   People also have a tendency to be curious. Give them something to stare at and they’ll stare for hours. For example, why write about jQuery, which is insanely popular, when you could write about YUI, which is much less seen in the wild?

6. Write about the same stuff as others, but better

   In contrast to writing about something obscure, you can try writing about something that’s been done to death, but maybe you have some new life to breathe into it. If someone has a tutorial up and you can provide a better tutorial, why shouldn’t people come to you?

7. Use images in your posts

   Let’s face it: pure text can get boring. Spice up your posts. Put a relating comic in there.

8. Start with a story

   People love gossip. Start with a story and people will be enticed, wondering what will come next. Tell an interesting enough story and they’ll hang onto your very word until the end. If they don’t, they probably have ADD.

9. Write list posts

   People love lists. Everything in life can be seen as a list. Your schedule is a list of things to do. Blogs are a list of posts or articles. People like lists because they are consistent and easy to follow. List posts are easy to read and easy to understand. Try a few out.

Of course, there are many other ways to grab peoples’ attention. This is just a short list of a few of them.

I’d never actually met these people before I got to work, and it turned out they were a bit advanced in their years, and their eyes weren’t what they used to be. Even though I’m nearsighted, I can see pretty well in low contrasts, so I didn’t take this into consideration.

Further complicating this problem is that colors my laptop look different from colors on most other monitors.

I had used a background of #8CCCFA, a light blue color, with #FFFFFF, full white text. This is what it looks like:

This is #FFFFFF on #8CCCFA.

Can you see the text? Yes? Go ahead and turn down the contrast on your monitor. Once you get down to maybe 50% of what you had before, can you still see it? Probably not.

This got me thinking. I’ve seen some pretty bad color choices in the past, some that should just be avoided. For example:

This is #0000FF on #FF0000.

This is #FF0000 on #00FF00.

This is #FFFFFF on #FFEF73.

This is #F53792 on #10BEAC.

Human eyes are used to dark colors on light backgrounds, or vice versa. However, pure white on pure black can get infuriating to read, especially in low light conditions. The point then is to try to find a happy medium – perhaps white on a very dark gray. Try it, you might be surprised:

This is #FFFFFF on #000000.

And this is #FFFFFF on #111111.

It may not look like much now, but let’s say you’re staring at a long article. Would you rather read the one at 100% contrast or the one at 93.3%? Try it out. Take a look at #FFFFFF on #000000 and at #FFFFFF on #111111. Imagine if you were reading that for extended amounts of time. Which one would you pick then? Remember that subtle differences in design can have a large impact.

There’s a site I discovered recently, called Color Scheme Designer, that gives you random color schemes. Best of all, it lets you preview what it would look like in a light design and in a dark design.

Another problem is colorblind visitors. What may look like good contrast to you may be completely unreadable by colorblinds. For example, the color combos shown above can look pretty different between you and a colorblind. Take a look:

Comparison of normal vs. Protan colorblindness

Test what your site looks like to different kinds of colorblind people using the Colorblind Web Page Filter.

Pay close attention to colors when you launch a site. If your people can’t read your content, they won’t stay. When you pick a color scheme, make sure all your text is easily readable.

NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has placed daily images depicting the vast universe from many standpoints. These images may be used for a variety of purposes, as stated in the NASA image guidelines.

Here are 15 images that “wow”ed us:

There is no wrong interpretation of a quote. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

1. Time is what we want most, but… what we use worst.  - William Penn
2. When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly. – Edward Teller
3. No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings. – William Blake
4. To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. – Anatole France
5. The healthy and strong individual is the one who asks for help when he needs it.  Whether he’s got an abscess on his knee or in his soul.  -Rona Barrett
6. When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.  -William James
7. A man’s dreams are an index to his greatness. – Zadok Rabinwitz
8. National borders aren’t even speed bumps on the information superhighway. -Tim May
9. Eighty percent of success is showing up.  -Woody Allen
10. Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.  -William Feather
11. If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.  -Benjamin Franklin
12. Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.  -Les Brown
13. The road leading to a goal does not separate you from the destination; it is essentially a part of it.  -Charles DeLint
14. The impossible is often the untried.  -Jim Goodwin
15. Fall seven times, stand up eight.  -Japanese Proverb
16. The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.  -Author Unknown
17. Five minutes of today are worth as much to me as five minutes in the next millennium. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
18. Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; its when you had everything to do, and you’ve done it. - Margaret Thatcher
19. Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten. – Gucci Slogan
20. Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives. – William A Foster
21. Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan. – Norman Vincent Peale
22. You always pass failure on the way to success. – Mickey Rooney
23. Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. – Confucius
24. In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on. – Robert Frost
25. Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world. – Joel A Barker
26. There is no such thing as a long piece of work, except one that you dare not start. – Charles Baudelaire
27. It’s always too soon to quit. – Norman Vincent Peale
28. Thinking will not overcome fear but action will. – W Clement Stone
29. Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. – Henry David Thoreau
30. We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden. – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
31. We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future. – George Bernard Shaw
32. Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences. – Norman Cousins
33. Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. – Albert Einstein
34. Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world. – Arthur Schopenhauer
35. If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right. – Henry Ford and Mary Kay Ash
36. You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity. – Thomas Wolfe
37. Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. – Albert Schweitzer
38. One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life. – Chinese Proverb
39. It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living. – Oliver Wendell Holmes
40. Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill

Sources:

http://www.quotegarden.com/
http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/
http://www.quoteland.com/
http://www.wisdomquotes.com/