Nickbits.co.uk

Not sure why I have not noted before, the open source Drupal Content Management System (CMS). This is a full CMS that allows you to add and customise all elements. Themes can easily be created as well as add-ins, known as modules. It can be difficult to get used to, however it is getting better with each new version and there is help and tutorials available on the Drupal.org website. There is a mature API in place and is well documented. This is, as far as I am concerned, the best CMS out there.

Most of us would welcome generating a little extra cash from our websites, especially if it involved little work. That is where the online advertising comes in. Most of us have heard of Google Adsense, which generates money on a pay-per-click system. One that I am trying out is BuySellAds.com, which has various options.

For those of you who know me I am an excellent web developer, can work well with XHTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, etc. However, when it comes to designing a layout, especially anything with artistic touches ir when I have little time, I use other sources. One of these is ThemeForest. A fantastic website with templates for sale that can be used in your site(s).

There are many HTML (and associated technologies) websites available. For the beginer they all look good and valid.  Some of these though are written by people who really do not have a clue, have not proof-read, have not their work or simply do not understand the language.

If you are in to photography, in a big or small way, then why not take a look at ePhotoZine. This website has many tutorials for photographers of all levels, a forum where you can discuss various topics and get help as well as an online gallery where you can have your work critiqued.

NetBeans is a free, open source Integrated Development Environment (IDE). It supports a wide range of languages including PHP, JavaScript, Java, C, C++, Ruby and Groovy. The software will run on Linux, Windows, Mac and Solaris. So this can give you one common, easy to use interface  on all of your machines for every language you use. There are plenty of add-ons for the IDE and good support on the website.

Many website designers need to take a little inspiration from time to time. Got a client that has said they want a blue theme or a portal site and stuck for ideas, then take a look at Design Melt Down. They have catalogued a huge range of websites that can easily be browsed. These are some of the finest sites around and can be very inspirational. Well worth a look and a bookmark.

Like many people I use several computers, both for personal use and work. I often book mark a website thinking that is a good tutorial or resource. Go to load it up a day later to find I bookmarked it on a different computer. To solve this issue, I am now using FoxMarks, which synchronises bookmarks between computers using Firefox. There are many options, you can have different profiles, work and home for example, and even access your bookmarks via their website for when you are using someone else’s computer. A fantastic utility that I would not be without.

I converted to the Semantic style of coding a long time ago. For those of you who need your memory refreshing, the principle is to separate Content (XHTML), Behaviour (JavaScript) and Layout (CSS). The benefits should be obvious but just to gloss over them, let's say you create a large website with over 100 pages and you did not use this separation. Now someone comes along and wants the layout changing; well now you have to go to each individual page. A lot of work. If you use this separation, all you have to do is to get each XHTML page to link to the layout (CSS) and just alter that CSS file.

Okay, I have mentioned this one before but I find this one so useful, both personally and for business that I could not eresist one more plug for it.  Remember The Milk (RTM) is a site/service that allows you to create a task list.  The difference here is you can prioritise the tasks, add files to the tasks, set deadlines, add reminders (email and SMS), repeat events, you can even send tasks in by email.  The tasks can be made public or kept private and tasks are available as an iCal feed.  You can even have multiple people on a single list, which is good for people shari