11amDesign Tutorials and Articles - The five questions posted most recently:

Colour Contrast Check�- Specify a foreground and a background colour and determine if they provide enough of a contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen

FontExplorer X�- Free font management software

Designer Plaything�- The Standalone Web Typography and Colour Testing Tool

CSS with Vertical Rhythm�- Will help you compute CSS that has a consistent vertical rhythm

Baseline Rhythm Calculator�- Helps you to generate a stylesheet

Articles:

A Guide to Web Typography�- I Love Typography

15 Excellent Examples of Web Typography�- I Love Typography

The Anatomy of Web Fonts�- SitePoint

The Principles of Beautiful Typography�- SitePoint

How to Size Text in CSS�- A List Apart

Power to the People: Relative Font Sizes�- A List Apart

Typography Matters�- A List Apart

The Non-Typographer�s Guide to Practical Typeface Selection�- Cameron Moll

5 Simple Steps to Better Typography�- Mark Boulton

The Effect of Website Typeface Appropriateness on the Perception of a Company�s Ethos�- Usability News

How to Size Text Using Ems�- Clagnut

13 Ways of Looking at a Type Face�- Design Observer

Typography and Web Advertising: Making Every Opportunity Count�- Digital Web Magazine

Better Font Management�- Digital Web Magazine

CSS Typography�- Digital Web Magazine

15 Tips to Choose a Good Type Text�- Typies

Fonts on the Web and a List of Web Safe Fonts�- Dustin Brewer

Serif vs. San Serif�- KuraFire Network

Web Typography Cheat Sheet�- Modern Life

Working with a Limited Font Set on the Web�- Modern Life

Typography Tips and Advice for Graphic Design Students�- David Airey

Logo Type Guide�- RedSun

Typo Tips�- The FontFeed

Choosing Type Alignments for the Web�- Astheria

Motion Typography: 4 Approaches to Kinetic Text�- Wisdump

It�s All About Legibility�- Fonts.com

Know Your Type�- iStockphoto

The Showcase of BIG Typography�- Smashing Magazine

Resources:

Browser Safe Fonts

Top 10 Web Safe Fonts

The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web

Web Typography Style Guide

An Introduction to Font Families and Font Choices

ABC Typography: A Virtual Type Museum

TypeNeu - Typography News

Nice Web Type - Gallery

Typography Crashcourse Roundup

Combined Font Survey Results

Typography for Headlines - Gallery of Headlines

Accessible Web Typography

FontLover

Typography Videos at Yuxt

Typography Glossary

Text Sizing Methods by Browser

Font Classification

TypeNavigator

Typography in the Behance Network

Movie Fonts

10,000 Tips, Ideas and Resources

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:58:09 GMT

Every once in awhile�I come across�an article or blog post listing the �Top 100? of something for writers or bloggers. Every time that happens, I�m a little bit impressed. After all, it is common to see �Top 10? lists but it takes a lot more effort to compile a list that includes 100 things. However, it makes more sense to be thinking in terms of hundreds and not tens when it comes to freelance writing.

With thousands of new blogs launching every single day, there is a lot of material online for people to be reading. There�s certainly far more than ten authority sources on any particular topic. So, in an effort to be ambitious as well as to provide others with information about the best writing tips and sites out there, here is my Top 100 collection of �Top 100? lists that others have put together. That means that you�ve got 10,000 tips/articles/ideas to read here. There are lists about books, lists about blog tools and lists about everything in between. That should keep you busy during your downtime!

150 Plus Wordpress Tips and Resources

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:27:37 GMT

This list below has took me a few weeks to compile and I have sifted the net and came up with 155 of the best Wordpress Resources covering tutorials, plugins, themes, WP and AJAX, forums, podcasting, WP and DIGG (social bookmarking) and the list goes on and on. I think I have covered everything here for the novice all the way up to the expert.

If you can, download themes from the authors own website.

We have a great looking site, now lets make it secure with some plugins

29. Try Akismet to stop SPAM.
30. WordPress Database Backup Plugin, better being safe than sorry.
31. Toughen up your login with Semisecure Login.
32. Scans your site for security issues

Lets get a decent Contact Form Plugin for your Contact Page

33. By far and away the best Contact Form Plugin.
34. TDO Mini Forms is another excellent plugin.

What about some Widgets for the Sidebar

35. If you are using a WP version below2.3, you will need to download this to install Widgets.
36. A massive list of Widgets.

Were else can I get Plugins?

37. Wordpress Official Plugin Site.
38. WordPress Plugin Repository.
39. Wordpress Plugin Database.
40. Blogginpros Plugin Archive is great for newly released plugins.
41. Top 30 Wordpress Plugins that are actually useful!.
42. 30 Free Resources for Photoblogging and Image Galleries (Wordpress).

What about Social Bookmarking?

43. Get an AddThis button for your site which links to all major social sites.
44. You could try this handy bookmarking plugin called Gregarious.
45. This is the bookmarking plugin I like to use, very simple to use and doesn�t ruin your sites theme.

Will I need to do something with my RSS feed?

46. Feedburner is a very useful tool to use for your feeds.
47. Read all about RSS validation here.
48. CopyFeed is an excellent plugin, that works in conjunction with RSS.

Podcasting and Wordpress

49. Read about Podcasting and Wordpress.
50. Download the Podpress Plugin.

Screencasting and Wordpress

51. Read about Screencasting.

Want to read more about Wordpress, try these�

52. WP Designer.
53. WP Candy.
54. Matt Mullenwegs personal blog (Wordpress Founder).
55. Lorelle on Wordpress.
56. Web Blog Tools Collection.
57. Solostream (excellent themes as well).
58. Lorelle on Wordpress.
59. Easy Wordpress.
60. Automattics blog.
61. Alex King.
62. Ryan on WordPress (WP developer).
63. Mark on Wordpress.

Some Ajax, anyone?

64. Read all about Wordpress and Ajax from the Codex.
65. AJAXed WordPress Because WordPress loves AJAX (great site).
66. Ryan on WordPress (WP developer).
67. AJAX WP Themes.
68. The AJAX Libraries.
69. 30 AJAX powered WP Plugins.

AJAX (Javascript) Frameworks, for the advanced WP designer

70. Prototype Homepage.
71. script.aculo.us Homepage, this works in conjunction with Prototype.
72. MooTools Homepage.
73. jQuery Homepage.

Here are some Ajax Scripts you can download

74. 20 Top Script.aculo.us Scripts you can�t live without.
75. 41 of the Best MooTools Ajax Example Downloads.
76. 65 Excellent jQuery Resources (tutorials,cheat sheets,ebooks,demos,plugins�).

Feel a need to cheat? Here are some cheat sheets.

77. WP Cheat Sheet from Andy Wibbels.
78. WP Cheat Sheet from WP Candy.

Pimp my WP Admin

79. WP Tiger Administration.
80. AFD WP2 Admin.
81. Js Style Admin + Drop Menus.
82. WP NiceAdmin.

Here are some advanced Wordpress Tutorials

83.WordPress Theme Hacks.
84. No More CSS Hacks.
85. Create a Dynamic Sticky.
86. Styling Individual Posts Using the_ID.
87. Show Category Images.
88. Separate WordPress Comments and Trackbacks.
89. Customize your WordPress Login.
90. Date Image Hack.
91. How to place a login form in the sidebar.
100. WP: KeyBoard Shortcuts.
101. Making Better Use of Your Error �404? Page.
102. Customize Your 404 Page.
103. WordPress accessibility hacks.
104. Reset your Lost WordPress Administrator Password.
105. The Definitive Guide to Semantic Web Markup for Blogs.
106. Do-It-Yourself WordPress Hover Menu (Pop-Up).
107. How to Protect CSS Mods for ANY WordPress Theme.
108. WP Contact Manager.
109. Wordpress and the custom fields, a overlooked feature.
110. DiggProof your Wordpress.
111. WordPress Ajax Commenting revisited.
112. Widgetizing Themes. (Source: Automattic.)
113. Cloaking to Stop Scraping.
114. Server load button for blogs.
115. Giving each WordPress post a thumbnail, and display the thumbnail on the home page.
116. How to create overlapping tabs.
117. How to Optimize Your WordPress Title.
118. Blocking Your WordPress Categories and Archives From Google.
119. Adding An Author Page To Your WordPress Blog.
120. Make a Mobile Friendly Version of your Blog with Google Reader.121. How to Use Wordpress as a Membership Directory.
122. How to Format Images for Feed Readers.
123. Add Del.icio.us Daily Blog Posting To Your WordPress Blog.
124. Huge Compilation of WordPress Code.
125. 4 Simple ways to Speed up Wordpress.
126. WordPress Date Button. (Source: WP Designer.
127. Wicked WordPress Archives in One Easy Step! .
128. Make Yourself Available to Readers with a Contact Form.
129. Wordpress as a CMS - Content Management System.
130. Installing Xampp and WordPress (Locally).
131. WordPress Category Page Hacks.
132. 3 WordPress Hacks For SE-Friendly Blog Archives.
133. Opening Links in New Windows.
134. WordPress Thumbnail Size Limit Hack.
135. Restore your Wordpress Database.
136. Validating Wordpress.
137. Backing Up Wordpress.
138. Getting your feet wet inWP.
139. Importing Content from another blog.

Wordpress Video Tutorials

140. The Best Wordpress Plug-ins.
141. How to embed YouTube Video in Wordpress.
142. How to Upgrade Wordpress.
143. Make Your Wordpress Blog Search Engine Friendly.
144. WordPress.com - Step-by-Step Tutorial on How to Blog.
145. How To Create A Custom WordPress Page Template.
146. Recover WordPress Password When You Have Forgotten It.
147. WordPress Tutorial - Edit a Sidebar File Using a Text Editor.
148. WordPress Tutorial - Make Menus of Links With the Blogroll2.
149. How-to: Use WordPress/PodPress to podcast to iTunes.
150. How to Put Adsense on Your Wordpress Blog.

Wordpress Podcasts

151. The Wordpress Podcast.
152. The Wordpress Weekly.

Wordpress Showcase

153. We Love WP.
154. Loop Press.

Wordpress Forums

155. Wordpress Official Forum.
155. Easy Wordpress Forum.

5 Favorite Stumbles - October 5-11 2008

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:36:01 GMT

This week�s Stumbling took me on an interesting journey, with stops focusing on Twitter, blog themes, website tweaks, logo designs, and ad slogans.

I�ve been trying to convince myself to learn the ins and out of Twitter. To be honest,
I just don�t get it yet. 140-character Tweets? How much can you accomplish with that? I know a lot of people swear by Twitter as a social marketing tool and it has a huge following. If you�re like me and want to know more about this fascinating phenomenon, chekc out �Why I Like Twitter and Others Don�t� over at Internet Marketing with Josh Spaulding.

If you blog, finding the right look can be an ongoing challenge. Fortunately, WordPress has a huge inventory of themes to choose from. In case nothing there appeals to you, the folks at Listropolis have put together �35 Free Premium Wordpress Themes You Probably Missed.�And if they don�t do it for you, visit Smashing Magazine�s 100 Excellent Free WordPress Themes

Although it might be a bit on the technical side, SEO Hosting�s �50 Simple Tips for Improving Your Website� provides some discussion points with your IT professional. If nothing else, it can make you sound like an expert when you ask questions.

Where do you start in designing or re-designing your logo? So many factors have to be taken into consideration, since it will become a huge part of your identity. Graphic designer Tanner Christiansen offers �45 Rules for Creating a Great Logo Design.�

Imagine boiling down a company or product brand into three or four memorable words. That�s exactly what slogan writers do for a living, and their hard work is often overlooked. Not at Ad Slogans, where the staff has put together a Hall of Fame for slogans.