Bookmarks:

As a Web designer we are always looking for inspirations, icons, backgrounds, textures etc online. When it comes to such things as listed before then it is very important that you keep those items organized. You might say that you’re already organize by having those items bookmarked but are they organize by group or just saved into your favorites? I organize all of my favorite sites by group and when the time comes to start a new project I then look back at my bookmark group and go to a site that best suites me. Saving websites to your bookmark and organizing your bookmarks is very time efficient because you’re not spending 1-2 hours searching for the right item. If you’re one of those unorganized designers then I recommend you start adding sites to your bookmark.

Frameworks:

Frameworks are very time efficient when it comes to starting a new project. Since this area is so broad I am going to break down all the important frameworks you can use to save time on your next project.

Photoshop Document(PSD)

Almost every website is design in photoshop before actually being turned into a live site. Many designers just get to work and other designer like me like to do mockups before actual designing is begun. To save yourself more time when creating a mockup or design in photoshop then you might like to design multiple layout frameworks. Multiple Layout Frameworks? By multiple layout frameworks I mean create many frameworks that best suites you. For example I have a photoshop folder just for mockup layout’s. Inside that folder are 2 column PSD’s, 3 column PSD’s, and etc. Having PSD frameworks are very good because when you design a website you are most likely going to use your most common settings. So for example I design most of my websites at 960px. So I would create mutiple PSD layouts with the width of 960px. If you use this PSD method then it will save yourself a great amount of time.

Html/Css/Javascript

Every website is created using some form of html/css. As a web designer we often slice our PSD then get ready for coding. Coding may be one of the most intense part of a web designer’s day. When actually coding a website many designers most of the time start out the same every time. By every time I mean that you’re constantly creating 2 column websites or etc. If you aware that you’re doing the exact same thing as before then why not create a framework for your html files. Creating and html framework will save you a ton of time considering most of your presets and basic codes are all ready to go. If you are wondering what to create
then I will explain below.

What to create:

• Site folder
• Javascript folder
• IE folder
• Images folder
• HTML File
• CSS File

Site folder – Contains all website files
Javascript folder – Contains Javascript files such as Jquery, Mootools, etc.
IE folder – Contains IE only stylesheets
Image folder – Contains images for website
HTML file – Basic HTML code
CSS file - Basic CSS markup and reset

Creating and setting up a HTML framework takes a bit of time but is very worth it in my opinion. There are some pretty cool frameworks out there that you can use. Check out this post via Noupe. Gives you a list of popular HTML, CSS, and Javascript Frameworks.

Keeping up with latest trend:

Keeping up with latest trend is very important if you would like to make a name for yourself or you work. By keeping up with latest trend I do not mean copy some else design or work. What I am trying to say is if everyone is creating wordpress themes because they see the potential in that market then why not start creating wordpress themes. Or if everyone is using table-less CSS layouts then why not use table-less css layouts. If you’re one of those designers that says “I like to be different” I do understand where you’re coming from. It’s great being different from everybody else and if you have great unique designs then people will know you different from everybody else. Just because you create a wordpress theme or a table-less layout doesn’t mean they all will look the same. Keeping up with the latest trends will save you a ton of time from trying to learn something months or years later.

Invoice systems:

Invoice systems are very good when you’re a freelancer or own a business. If you take your profession seriously and often find yourself getting work left and right then I recommend using an invoice system to keep track of payments and income. Yes you could used a spreadsheet if you have the time(free) but sometimes its better to invest in something that will later help you out in the long run. Also when the time comes around for you to file taxes then you will be ready since all of your work and payments are saved into an online invoice system. This will save you a big headache. Check out Freshbooks to learn more about invoice system.

Messenger, Email, Skype

Always being available or being available most of the time is very important when you are a web designer. Often I’m outside when I have no work to do but I always keep in contact with any potential clients I may have. As a web designer I recommend you always keep some form of contact up and available for clients to contact you. Whether it’s skype, phone call, email, aim or etc you are able to talk to your client. Many cell phones today have the ability to go on instant messenger chat, check email, and of course make phone calls. Often I am outside hanging with friends and most clients write me via email. I usually stay out but respond to their email via cell phone or give them a call if that was requested. If you are available most of the time this will help out your business or freelance career and will also help you build a strong relationship with that client.

Conclusion

There are probably hundreds of steps to helping you become a more efficient web designer. In the article above I’ve listed the main ones that I’ve struggle with over the last 4 years of doing web design. Many of us web designers face problems like not having a project ready or can’t find inspiration etc. I think if you follow steps and tips giving in this article you will become a more efficient designer. It might take a while to get going but once you’re going and moving you will be hard to stop. So what are you doing to becoming a more efficient web designer?

Can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?

I’m Chris Spooner, a designer and blogger who runs Blog.SpoonGraphics and Line25. I write random design related articles for inspiration, as well as plenty of tutorials covering Illustrator, Photoshop and website design.

Many people know you run multiple design blogs, how do you manage keep up with all of them?

Unlike many design blogs who publish daily, I only post one main topic per week (along with a quick/small news roundup), so this does help free up time to cover the management of two blogs. However these topics can often take a couple of days each to put together, so running my blogs has become a full-time job. Planning post ideas in advance and scheduling up topics according to my monthly calendar definitely helps my productivity.

When first starting your blog how long did it take for you to actually start getting a good amount of visitors, and did you ever feel the need to give up at anytime while working with your start up blogs?

I never felt like giving up because the main purpose of blogging was to give myself a playground to experiment. Visitors didn’t matter so much because I was enjoying what I was doing. My first blog over at Blog.SpoonGraphics has steadily grown since day one, with a decent level of traffic being present after around 6 months. Line25 on the other hand, has the advantage of being able to capture the interest of an already establishing reader base, so it has really shot up to almost the same subscriber level in just one year.

When did you first take interest in design, and what steps did you take to learn it?

I’ve always been an artistic type person, and followed the Art and Design topics right through school, college and university. I’ve basically kept an eye out for inspiration and experimented through my own passion for the subject. I’m still checking out new design subjects to grow my knowledge and experiment with new techniques after being influenced by the great work of others.

Considering there are hundreds or even thousands of ways to promote your website, what advice would you give to someone trying to promote a website of their
own?

First you need to take the time to produce great content that will entice people to view it, then it’s a case of casually networking and getting to know people in your industry. The more you appear across the net the more you’ll be associated with your work. Publish your work on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Behance etc and get to know the other users with a similar passion to yours.

Have you had any regrets in the past dealing with design or running your design blogs, and if so what would you have done differently to get to the point you’re at now?

Everything I’ve done so far seems to have worked out well, so there’s nothing I’d do too differently. Any mistakes have been an opportunity to learn. When I launched Line25, I was armed with the experience I had gained from growing my first blog, so it was great to be able to put all the new ideas into practice.

Many people are wanting to become designers each day and want to start up a blog of their own someday, do you have any advice for new comers who might like to run a design blog?

I always advise not to setup a design blog simply for the exposure or the cash, this way you’ll never succeed because it takes a long time and a lot of work before any results are seen. Instead, blog because you have a passion for the subject and want to learn through experimentation etc.

What do you think you would be doing if you had no interest in design?

That’s always a hard one because I’ve always been creative right from childhood. I don’t really have any passion in my life that’s as strong as the one I have for design, so I’d probably be in an average every day office job!

Thanks Chris for deciding to do this interview. The Webdevtuts community really appreciates it. Thanks for your time!

Website Designer

Many of you designers out there probably consider yourself as a web designer. A web designer can live up to more than just designing and often work with familiar web languages to create dynamic web pages.

What does it mean to be a Web designer

a person or business that designs and prepares content for the World Wide Web, including text, images, site architecture and multimedia.
Source

Web designers are mainly the ones who design the whole look and aspects of a website. As a web designer your job would be to stay up to date with the latest trends and produce great designs that you or a developer could code. Being a web designer may seem like an easy job or thing to do but if you actually break down the steps it can take quite sometime to produce a homepage with sub pages. So what is a web designer typical schedule?

A Web designer schedule is not exactly how I will list it below but I will just give you a prime example. I will skip the wake up and brush teeth steps, you should already have that down pack.

1. Find Inspiration
2. Sketch out a design on paper
3. Clean sketch up in Photoshop, use guide lines
4. Find Colors for website
5. Find clip arts, images, brushes, textures, etc
6. Start inserting textures, brushes, and icons into design
7. Name layers and group them
8. Slice the layout and get it ready for the developer
9. Save work

That may seem like it is nothing but each step can take a very long time. Whenever you design something it is very important that you design and send it off the right way. For example a developer expects for your design to be pixel perfect, layered & grouped, sliced, and ready to be coded.

Website Developer

Many of you designers out there probably consider yourself as a website designer/developer. If you’re wondering what is a web developer, then do not worry I will explain it below.

Web Developer is the person who deals with websites from a technical perspective
Source

Web developers are usually the ones doing all of the dirty work. What I mean by dirty work is coding the website in many different web languages. As a developer their jobs are to create web pages using front-end developer techniques or back-end developer techniques. If you’re lost then do not worry, I will explain it below.

Developer usually work with many web languages depending on whether its front-end work or back-end work. If you take a look at the list below you can see what type of languages web developers work with to create dynamic web pages.

• Markup languages (such as HTML, XHTML and XML)
• Style sheet languages (such as CSS and XSL)
• Client-side scripting (such as JavaScript)
• Server-side scripting (such as PHP and ASP)
• Database technologies (such as MySQL and PostgreSQL)
• Multimedia technologies (such as Flash and Silverlight)

Many designers consider themselves as Web developers but mainly know half of the languages. I know it is very difficult to learn new web languages while mainly working with a code that you’re familiar with. Each language above is very important if you’re one of those developers who has a plan to work for a company or keep a job.

Front-End
Front-End Developers mainly know some of the basic codes like HTML, CSS, Javascript, and might have a little understanding of PHP, and some back-end work. To learn more about Front-end developers check out this article from Fuel Your Coding.

Back-End
Back-End Developers are just as important as a Front-End developers. Back-End developer mainly work with web languages like Perl, PHP, ASP, JSP, ColdFusion, etc. What I love about working on the back-end of the site is that you can control the website and its functions. Say you wanted to create a membership website and you need a place to store the visitors user-name and password. You would need to create a database that stores the information and that is when the back-end developers come in.

What should I know to be considered a website designer/developer

To be considered a website designer and developers I would recommend that you spend time working with new lanuages that you normally do not work with and you keep designing the kick butt web pages and designs. You do not have to have every single web language down pack but it would be good to have a good understanding of what each languages does and how you can work with it to create something worth while. I hope this article gave you a basic understanding on what each field does and the main codes they use. If you’re looking forward to becoming a developer or designer keep working hard and you will be one in no time.

Elliot jay Stocks

Elliot jay Stocks is the author of the famous starkers wordpress theme and is a very good web designer who
creates mind blowing things.
Website | Twitter

Matt Brett

Matt Brett is a Freelance designer from Oshawa, CA. Matt has created Multiple themes for themeforest.net,and woothemes.
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Andrew Maier

Andrew Maier is a front-end developer who is great at creating UI websites. Andrew also speaks to future developers at web conferences throughout the year.
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Aaron Irizarry

Aaron Irizarry is a Front End Web Development / User Interface Designer who loves to create websites that people can interact with. Aaron loves
the design community and gives alot of his time to it.
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Chris Wallace

Chris Wallce is a front-end developer who creates rocking websites and loves to interact with the design community. Chris runs 3 very awesome websites
and contributes to the design community frequently.
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Magnus Jepson

Magnus Jepson is one the co-founder of Woo themes, web developer and programmer.
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Chris Coyier

Chris Coyier is a web designer from Madison, WI who runs a well rounded website that teaches future developers/designer tips and tricks
from jquery, to wordpress, and etc.
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Adii Pienaar

Adii Pienaar is also a co-founder of Woo themes. Adii is a rockstar wordpress designer, who
creates themes and deisgns for Woo themes.
Website | Twitter

Marko Prljic

Marko Dugonjić is a web professional from Velika Gorica, Croatia. He’s recognized as an expert on web standards and standards-based web sites. By focusing on simplicity, he creates accessible and easy to use web interfaces which are both visually appealing and highly usable.
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Collis Ta’eed

Collis Ta’eed is the CEO of Envato,(Nettuts, Vectortuts, and many more). Envato has Many websites that teaches individuals how to enhance their
skills at multiple subjects.
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Mark Forrester

Mark Forrester is a English/South African freelance designer, online entrepreneur who loves to try new things. Mark also works for woo themes.
Website | Twitter

Derek Herman

Derek Herman is a professional UI designer who focus mainly on back-end code and continues to create fascinating website.
Website | Twitter

Tyrale Bloomfield

Tyrale Bloomfield is a Lead Web designer who creates very good print, and web work. If you need inspirations then you
should check out his work.
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Josh Cagwin

Josh Cagwin is a UI deisgner, Web designer, and graphic artist. Josh Is a very laid back guy and his work shows that.
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Gaya Kessler

Gaya Kessler is a designer from the Netherlands and loves to create websites and learn new languages on his free time. His website is also a good inspirations to designers.
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Dani McDaniel

Dani McDaniel is a front-end web developer who loves to create websites and interact with the community .
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Josh Hemsley

Josh Hemsley is a creative designer from Portland, Oregon and is passionate about everything design & web related. Cool guy.
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Tiago Noronha

Tiago Noronha is a web Designer, Developer and Computer Geek from Coimbra, Portugal.
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David Link

David Link is a web Designer/Developer living and working in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. David has worked with many clients through the nation.
Website | Twitter

Collin Robinson

Collin Robinson is a web designer/ Graphic artist who creates very cool things. Collin aka CJ has come a long way to conquer his dream and it ended up working out for him.
Website | Twitter