Archive for the 04. Tutorials Category
In order for your domain name to point to your website, you need to set the nameserver for it in your account. This lets the domain know where your site is located so that your visitors will be able to view it.
- Log into your GoDaddy account, and choose “Domain Manager” from the left hand menu.
- Locate the domain name you wish to point and click the “Details” link.
- In the top menu, select “Nameservers.” A dialog box to set nameservers will appear.
- Select “I will host my domains with another provider” and enter the new nameservers provided by your host in the first two boxes Nameserver 1 and Nameserver 2.
- Hit OK and youre done!
It can take up to 48 hours for your nameservers to properly propigate throughout the internet, but in my experience with GoDaddy, the changeover happens within a couple of hours.
To add single photos, or several full sized photos to a wordpress blog;
1. Click on the “Add Photo” logo directly next to “Upload/Insert”
2. From the next screen, chose “Select File”, then browse to and select the photo you wish to display.
3. Once the photo is uploaded, a preview of the image along with options to place an image caption, description, link, align or rezise the image. Click “Insert into Post” and the image will appear in your blog post ready for you to publish.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for each full sized photo you would like to enter into your blog.
1. From the main page of your blog, under the META category, click “Log In”
2. Enter your wordpress login name and password (case sensitive)
3. From your Dashboard, dlick “Posts - Add New” from the left side navigation.
4. Enter a post name, and post content.
5. Make sure to choose the categories your post belongs to, or choose “Add New Category” to create new categories for your post.
6. Choose “Preview” to see how your post will appear to make sure everything looks fine, or directly hit “Publish” to save and publish your new blog post.
Done!
Optional before you publish:
Categories - These are like navigational links for your blog to directly link you to posts of the same topic. For example, a blog about a tour to Texas with photos may have categories such as “Travel” “Photos” “Live Shows”
Tags - Entering tags for your posts is a great SEO tool. With tags, you can make mention of every single topic, name or any other words that directly relates to your blog. For example, this same blog about a tour to Texas may have tags that include very particular details about the blog like places visited, people of mention, etc such as “travel, roadtrip, flights, tour, photos, Texas, Dallas, El Paso, House of Blues, Bob Donalds, Evan Paul”
Trackbacks - If you copy a quote from another blog, enter the direct link to that blog here. For one, it gives them credit for originally writing the piece, and for two, a link back to your blog will appear to their readers, which gives you exposure.
Discussion - Check or uncheck if you would like to allow/disallow commenting or trackbacks on your post.
When I start a new site design, I first grab paper, a pencil (or my purple Pilot pen…not ideal but its *always* on my desk) and sketch out ideas which I add to throughout the design process. By the time Im done, I have a stack of papers full of ideas with detailed notes and a coffee cup ring or two…or three. Or four.
Im working on a new website for a client, and today the design concept took on new life. Considering the complexity of the project I know I need to make a rough draft to present my ideas. So then Im about to venture into a world I thought Id never see…revealing my chicken scratch… er, I mean concept sketches for approval.
I seriously need help with that… So that my rough draft isnt met with shock and gasps of horror I went on the hunt for some articles about website concept sketching. Interestingly theres very, very little information out there about this…thankfully, what little information I found was incredibly helpful!
ComputerArts offers a fantastic tutorial explaining how to head to Photoshop with the sketches to clean up pencil lines, create layers to separate the different elements as well as simple colouring and shading to help bring the focus of the concept to life. It includes a PDF tutorial, as well as a zip file of the project files.
PSDTuts - The Role of Sketching in the Design Process is an incredibly helpful blog post I found in which it says:
As a tool or skill, sketching has its role in the design process. That role will vary depending on the end-product being created, the size and scope of the project, the individual designer’s style, experience, and workflow, and the client’s expectations. Find out more about how sketching is used in the design process within multiple design disciplines.
The best part is to me is where they say you dont need to have amazing..or even good drawing skills to work out a composite sketch before bringing it into Photoshop. *WHEW!*
As part of the design process with a client, its a great way to present your ideas to be sure of the direction your client wants to go. Even if its just for yourself…its a lot easier and faster to make a bunch of chicken scratch on paper to draw ideas out of your brain rather than staring at the blank white space on Photoshop while mumbling “what to do, what to dooooo…?!!!” (or is that just me?)
