Webdesign: Style Tiles

Creating style stiles is going to save a lot of time and help to put the website design into perspective. Therefore, I have decided that during the first week of development while research is being done I will also create a style tile for my clients. A style tiles is much more useful to the website development than a mood board. Also, I tend to associate mood boards with logo and graphic design. 

So, when working with a graphic designer I'd like for the graphic design to handoff the mood board along with the logo.

Ultimately the mood board, logo, style tiles and wire frames will be reviewed and approved by the client. Honestly, the thought of having a client approve every step makes me cringe. However, I know that this is generally the best way to make sure the client is satisfied with the website.

For those of you who are not familiar with style stiles I've included these below as a sample for you to become better informed about including style tiles in the professional process of website design and development. 

Having this style tile will help you in the future when you need other things designed for your business.  I'm going to get more into detail about the importance of the style tile and mood board in the future as I blog more about brand identity for your business.

For clients I will be presenting two completely different style tiles however for the samples below of pre-existing websites two weren't needed.

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Wordpress Plugin: Buddypress Media

This isn't a post all about the actual features themselves but about the company RTCamp actually going a step beyond the norm. I am pleased and impressed by their addition of a support tab right inside the administration section of the plugin on your website. Wow, ain't she a beauty ? 

When a developer does something to make my job easier and nearly pain free I'll gladly acknowledge and thank them.  Good developers deserve recognition for building the things we love. This means that while I'm in the midst of all the things I do with these twenty tabs, two browsers, head phones, telephone and the cell phone I can submit a problem right here and right now. 

Thank You ! 

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Developer: Bitnami

I learned about this software from an online course, YAY ! I'm dedicated to my craft and I'm doing to learn as much as I can. In a nutshell,  Bitnami allows you to install web based software locally on your computer easy and effortlessly. So you can test all your wordpress themes and plugins logically on your computer before uploading them to your site. You have no idea how much time this saves you.

I've been using this for about two weeks now and It is awesome ! I love it. It makes everything so much easier. So right now I have child themes for every wordpress website that I am working on. Can you say magically delicious ? 

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Re-organizing Website

You know I don't really consider myself a techie but here I am in front of the computer once again and the only thing on my mind is getting these sites better. It's always a nagging thought to make the websites better. I decided before the release of wordpress 3.0 that I would re-organize the sites I manage that run on the wonderful wordpress platform and doing that has made things easier. 

I must admit though Chicago's hottest parties online has transformed into a more work for me then I anticipated. I never intended for this project to result in me doing so much. Several times I've thought about dropping it and never looking back. I think I'm still learning lesson on letting go of the vision.

If I were following my own advise I would have dropped Chicago's hottest parties online when I didn't see the fliers for them being circulated, and when I pressed play on video after video and didn't see patrons in the club rocking Chicago's hottest parties online T-shirts. Why am I blogging this..? I'm blogging this because it's time to tell it like it is.

I am responsible for website hosting, website design, website promotion, email marketing, video and photo editing. In a nutshell most of what you see and hear on the internet for Chicago's hottest parties online and with all things considered I've done more than enough, more than what was agreed upon and more than most were willing to do.

I absolutely draw the line at promoting people and companies for free. I did not take on this project to promote friends, venues and promoters that are too cheap to invest in themselves and their business and now it is written. Here it is feel free to read this as many times as you need to. 

Chicago's hottest parties online is still a work in progress and it is no where near what it needs to be or what it should be. This website is all about community and it is beneficial to the community of Chicago but most beneficial to the urban nightlife community. It's also supposed to be about networking and having fun !

There are no plans to turn it into an imitation facebook. There are plans to implement several ways for bloggers to make money from their blog post and plans to allow live streaming video on venue and entertainer pages. The idea of adding classifieds, games, and greeting cards, has been dismissed.

Chicago's hottest parties online is Chicago's #1 nightlife blogging community !!  Is there another nightlife blogging community..?  

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Affordable and Reliable hosting a Dreamhost come true

So, I've been up all night yet again making sure Chicago's hottest parties online.com has some relevant content.

I've learned that content is in deed the biggest hurdle to climb in site building. The best one can do is build a site which is helpful to user and easy to use.

This will allow users to submit the content they enjoy for others to enjoy as well.


So, now i've added this image to recommend dream host hosting and I've rambled a bit about why I'm up so early in the morning.

Dreamhost truly is the best. I've tried yahoo hosting, go daddy and also worked on gator hosting.

Of all the host I've worked with Dreamhost is the best hands down.