Here is a very quick video tutorial I made on how to subscribe to our blog “The Chicago web designer”

© 2012 Chicago web designer

The new profile page features a large cover photo which you will need to set.  You can use one of your existing photos or upload something new.

The dimension of the cover photo is 850px by 315 px, if the image you select is smaller that that it will end up being stretched and not sharp.

I created a montage of contemporary graphics for my cover photo, they are the same as the ones I used to create the “Color Punch” igoogle theme.

To get you started I am offering three contemporary graphics you can use on your own Facebook profile. Download by clicking on the image and saving to your computer. They are sized correctly and ready to go.

Color Splat

Color Punch

Rays

© 2011 Chicago web designer

So I have put my graphic designs skills to use and created my own birthday card which can download for free.  I actually have this card on my personal blog ” Creative in Chicago” and was recently picked up by About.com, making it their number one choice in a list of 20 free birthday cards.

The card comes in four color combinations and works well for men, women and teens. Click on the one you like and download the pdf.  Print it out on some good quality card stock and you are good to go.

© 2011 Chicago web designer

You can download these free cards, print them out using your desktop printer on some good quality card stock for an easy scary card. Click the image you’d like, for a printable pdf .

© 2011 Chicago Web Designer

So in celebration of all those honest designer out there here,  is another pattern for you, a contemporary little number I like to call bubble alert.

Enjoy!

©: 2011 Chicago Web Designer

Coupons for domain names

Without a doubt GoDaddy continues to offer the best prices for domain names and there are plenty of coupon codes out there to get an even better deal.  For example the code cjc749fat will get you a .com domain name for $7.49 . The deals/codes  changes on a regular basis but a good site with up to date information is  fatwallet.com

Web Hosting

Here are some ways to can save on web hosting

1. What type of hosting account do you need for your web site? Most hosting companies offer a number of different packages and the more complex your website the more you will need from your hosting company. If you have a simple web site the basic hosting package will probably suffice… no need to upgrade for features and functionality you don’t need.
2. Before opening a new hosting account always do a Google search to see if you can find any coupons, for the company you wish to host with or the type of hosting account you need.
3. Committing to an initial 12 month contract as opposed to month to month, will generally give you a better rate and save you money in the long run.
4. Set up a reseller account, many hosting companies will give you a discount on every site you host with them.

© 2011 Chicago web designer

So in the spirit of that program I thought I’d do a series on Extreme Couponing for web designers.

Let kick off with What you can get for FREE – no coupons required for this stuff

Google Products:  Google offers a load of free products, from the  igoogle home pageyou can fill with gadgets to manage your bookmarks ( even have a folder for all your coupon web sites), see the weather for the week, read the news etc, to Gmail for your email needs. They even offer free storage of photographs through Picasa and you can build a basic website using Google sites

Blogging Platforms
Google’s blogger is great for simple blogs but Wordpress is better for the more complex.

Content Management Systems
Wordpress is being used more and more these days as a CMS system ( I read recently that 14% of all new web site being built today are built using Wordpress).  Joomla is a great application for building member type web sites, Drupal is another good contender.

Internet Marketing
Set up free social networking  accounts with Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and monitor traffic and SEO efforts with the wonderful Google Analytics

Next time coupons for domain names hosting and stock photography.

© 2011 Chicago web designer

In my quest for relevant directories I came across Google Offers today,  a FREE marketing tool which works in conjunction with Google maps.  If you would like to take advantage of this, here is the Chicago web designer’s tip of the day.

1. List your business on Google Places using your Google account login information. Company name, address, telephone, email and category are required fields. Optional fields include hours of operation, photo upload e.g logo,  description, and even a video upload.
2. Verify your business. This is easily done by an automated phone system – the quick way or via a PIN sent to the business address. Once verified your business will appear on Google maps.
3. On your main Google Places Dashboard click “Offers” and select +add  new offer
4. Complete the offer form and hit submit.
5. Once your offer is live you can edit, pause or delete it.

Here is the offer I created today: Free website review

Enjoy!

©2011 Chicago web designer

Now this Chicago web designer is embracing the up coming snowy season with a free set of contemporary vector snowflakes.

Download Free vector Snowflakes

2010 © Chicago Web Designer