The last few days, i’ve spent a lot of time finding usefull information and resources about web design and development on Woork and on WebAppers, so i thought of sharing them with you.

no comments | belongs to: bookmarks

Hemingway template

Although i once did it for a living (after a short ..MSc break, i’m doing it again), i initially decided not to build a custom template for my blog, but to use a pre-made wordpress template. My choice for now is was the minimalistic Hemingway. But is this the ‘right’ thing to do? Let me rephrase that: is there a ‘right’ thing to do?

In my case, i just wanted to start writting without many concerns about the website’s look and so i did. Now it’s the right time to build my very own (without any rush though). Although i knew it from the beginning that someday i was going to build my own template, i placed myself into the position of someone who had to pay for one.

From the developer’s point of view, the only disadvantage is the personal effort he has to put in. On the other hand, the buyer’s only concern is the price. The three main advantages of the custom over the pre-made templates are:

• Customization. You can place whatever you what, wherever you want and alter things easily.

• Maintenance. You’ve made it (or the person you paid to make it and possibly maintain it too), so you know where everything is and what to change when needed.

• Uniqueness is the key-word that is associated with branding, being memorable etc. How can someone remember your website when it’s the same like someone else’s?

Honestly, i couldn’t find any advantage other than the price to the pre-made templates, but bear in mind that “the more you pay, the better you get” is not true every time.

So, i advice you to spend some time/money to build/buy your own website template. Here and here, you can read other people’s thoughts on the subject. I’d be pleased to read your thoughts (especially those who disagree with me).

no comments | belongs to: urban legends, web design

While wandering into the more ..labyrinthine areas of my hard drive, i found an SMF theme i’ve made a couple of months ago and i decited to give it away.

Clear Mind is a clear and modern SMF theme. It is based on the default SMF theme and it’s XHTML 1.0 and CSS 2.1 valid. It is designed for SMF 1.1.x, so it won’t work with any other version of SMF.

Update – 21/01/2010: Fixed an error so the theme can pass the XHTML 1.0 Validation when using SMF 1.1.11.
Update – 23/2/2009: A non-visible but important error has been fixed.

Try it out! (live demo – opens in a new tab/window)

You can download it from the SMF Theme Site.

If you decide to try it, please provide feedback.

6 comments | belongs to: freebies