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Many blogs are using excerpts to display content on the front page. The use of excerpts gives designers a little bit more freedom and some opportunity to create an attractive and unique front page. In this post we’ll showcase for blog front pages that are using excerpts.
For more blog design inspiration see our gallery site Blog Design Heroes.
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Our friends at IconShock have designed another set of icons especially for the readers of Vandelay Design. This pack includes five icons with a business theme. As you will see from the preview, it includes a briefcase icon, a calculator icon, a phone icon, a coins icon, and a pie chart icon.
These icons can be used for personal or commercial projects, no attribution required. You may use them in any way that you like, but they cannot be re-distributed or sold.
The source files (Illustrator) are included, as well as two sizes of PNGs (512 px and 256 px).
Download the Business Icon Set
Also see the other set of icons from IconShock – Free Portfolio Icons
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While user experience is important on all types of websites, it is especially critical for ecommerce websites where visitors will be making purchases. A poor user experience will result in visitors having difficulty finding what they want, frustration during shopping, and many lost sales. In this post we will showcase the design of 35 e-commerce websites for your own UI design inspiration. The sites that are showcased in this post have also been featured at CartFrenzy, our gallery of the best ecommerce web design.
For more design inspiration see CartFrenzy, our gallery of ecommerce web design, plus the following posts from our archives.
- 50 Inspirational E-Commerce Website Designs
- 25+ Inspirational E-Commerce Website Designs – Part II
- 25 Well Designed Sports E-Commerce Sites
- 20 Inspirational, Clean E-Commerce Website Designs
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Navigation menus are, of course, important for usability purposes and creating a user-friendly website, but they also provide opportunities to add some visual appeal to the design. In this post we’ll showcase 40 examples of attractive navigation menus, including a variety of different types and styles.
For more on navigation menus please see:
For more design inspiration please see:
- Button Design Showcase
- “Add to Cart” Button Showcase
- 25 Beautifully Dark Websites – Part III
- Showcase of Social Networking Websites
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We’re happy to announce that Vandelay Design is now partnering with Fanurio to make its time tracking and invoicing software accessible to more designers. We worked with Fanurio a few months ago to give away some free licenses to readers and the response was tremendous, so we decided to work together on a more permanent basis. We wanted to offer something special to all of you to kick off this partnership. Starting today (November 11, 2009), for the next 35 days you will be able to try and buy Fanurio for $49, a $10 discount from the regular price. Fanurio always comes with a 30 day free trial of the full software, so the 35 days will give you enough time to download it and try it out before the coupon code expires.
The coupon code to use when purchasing is “vandelay2009″. More details at the end of this post.
Why Fanurio?
All freelancers and independent designers need a way to track the time that they spend on client projects and a simple solution for creating, managing, and tracking invoices. There are plenty of options out there and a number of them are pretty good, but Fanurio offers some distinct advantages. We’ve chosen to partner with Fanurio because we think it’s a great choice for all of the following reasons.
One-Time Purchase
Most of the options for invoicing involve a monthly fee for a web based app. While there is nothing wrong with this, it can quickly add up to a much higher expense as compared to a software license that is purchased one time. Fanurio’s price of $59 (or $49 with the discount) is less than you would pay for just one year with a basic plan of most invoicing apps.
Unlimited Clients and Invoices
The flat price of $59 gives you a full license to the software that will allow you to manage an unlimited number of clients and projects, and to create an unlimited number of invoices. Most of the online invoicing apps base their pricing on the number of clients and invoices that you need to manage, but this is not an issue with Fanurio.
Multi Platform
Fanurio works with Windows, Mac OS X including Leopard, Linux, and more.
Easy Time Tracking, and it Integrates with the Invoicing Features
With Fanurio you can easily stop and start the tracking of time on a particular project. The timer can be accessed from the menu, the toolbar, the iTunes-like mini timer or from the menu bar/tray icon. The timer includes a few features like idle time detection to help keep your time tracking accurate. Additionally, for situations where you do not want to use the time tracker you can add time to a project manually before it is invoiced (invoices can be based on an hourly rate or a flat fee).
Managing Invoices
You can easily manage your invoices to see what is paid, unpaid, or overdue. A lot of invoicing features are included, such as the ability to give discounts, handling of multiple currencies, and more.
Invoice Templates
Invoices are created and emailed to clients (or printed) and you can use a template to control the look of the invoice. Fanurio offers template customization as a free service to its users.
Data Backups
To prevent loss of data, Fanurio to create a backup or restore from a backup at any time.
And More
There are a lot of other features that I won’t cover here, but you can read more about them at Fanurio’s website.
The Details of this Special Offer:
The discounted price of $49 is available now through December 16, 2009. You can download a 30-day trial of Fanurio (the trial allows you to use the full software) before making a buying decision. If you’re familiar with Fanurio and you want to purchase the license now you can do that, otherwise you can upgrade from the trial at any time in the next 35 days to get the discount. In order to receive the discounted price you will need to use the coupon code “vandelay2009″ when ordering. The coupon code is entered when making a payment, so if you are downloading the trial you will not need to coupon code until you purchase the license (make sure you have the coupon code handy for when you need it).
Disclosure: As a partner of Fanurio, Vandelay Design does have a financial interest. We use Fanurio and feel that it will be a great resource for other designers and freelancers.
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Lighting effects are a great way to make an impact with a design, and there are plenty of options for creating these effects with Photoshop. In the past we have published collections of Photoshop tutorials for lighting effects and they drawn a lot of interest from readers, so here is a collection of newer tutorials. For more, see:
- 40 Photoshop Tutorials for Lighting and Abstract Effects
- 40 Photoshop Tutorials for Amazing Lighting Effects – Part II
Colorful Light Effect in Photoshop
Create a Trendy Galactic Poster Design in Photoshop
Creating Colorful Disco Lines Effect
Create a Retro Cosmic Design in Photoshop
Aurora Borealis Wallpaper in Photoshop
Design a Colorful Northern Lights Landscape
How to Create a Sparkling Fantasy Photo Manipulation
Create a Divine Angel Montage in Photoshop
Design a Retro Futurism Space Scene
Create Energy Lines Around a Dancer
Stylish Light Effect in Photoshop
How to Make a Typographic, Retro, Space Face
Design an Awesome Geometric Shaped Typography
Very Easy Heroes Eclipse in Photoshop
Create a Glossy Volt Icon in Photoshop
Distant Desert City Scene with Energy Ray Blast
80’s Style Design Using Photoshop
Give a Car Photo Super Slick Lighting Effects
How to Create a Magic Mysterious Ball in Photoshop
Fantastic Disintegration Effect in Photoshop
Create a Dramatic Car Speeding Scene
Sexy Model with Glowing Bubbles Effect
Making of a Mythical Encounter
For more tutorials please see:
- 35 Photoshop Tutorials for Designing Your Own Posters
- 25+ Photoshop Tutorials for Poster Design
- 40 Excellent Photoshop Tutorials for Textures and Backgrounds
- 25 Photoshop Tutorials for Working with Textures
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While front pages are usually the part of blogs that get showcased, blog design includes a lot of other details that can add to the overall look and appearance of the blog, not to mention usability. The pages of individual blog posts provide opportunities for design and styling in a number of different areas.
In this post we’ll look at a few aspects of blog posts and showcase some design elements that are used to make the post more helpful, inviting, or attractive.
Intro Areas:
At the start of posts, some blogs include additional elements or design techniques to improve the post in one way or another.
ANidea’s appraoch is pretty unique. Each post has a lead image that appears above the right sidebar, and just below that is a list of related posts.
Blogfullbliss uses a lead image at the top right of each post.
Ecoki uses a thumbnail just to the left of the post title, followed by the author name, date of publication, and categories.
Tutorial9 posts start with a lead graphic and links for social media voting/sharing.
Above each post on Web Design Ledger is a lead image. Between the image and the post title is a comment count, date of publication and category link.
New visitors to the Art of Nonconformity will be greeted with a brief intro to the site that includes links to get more information about the site or to subscribe.
Above posts on the Creative Tempest is a large lead image.
Design Reviver also includes a large lead image above the post title.
Sub-Headers:
Readability is obviously important to any blog in order to build an audience and encourage repeat visits. One of the best ways to improve readability in posts is to make use of sub-headers, and to have them styled effectively.
ANidea uses all uppercase letters on its sub-headers to make them stand out and break up the rest of the text.
Viget Inspire also uses uppercase styling, and if you click through to this post you will see that their use of sub-headers and bold text helps to make the post scannable.
Reality Equation has a colorful theme, and the purple sub-headers fit well with the approach of the design and they look nice.
CSS Globe doesn’t use different colors for sub-headers, but changing the font family and the size of text makes it an effective approach.
UX Booth uses different colors for h3 and h4 tags, which helps to visualize the flow or outline of the post.
End of Post Area/Promotion:
At the end of posts and before the comments, many blogs are including things like buttons and links for social media voting, and calls to action that will encourage readers to subscribe.
Web Designer Wall includes some hand-drawn design elements in this area to go along with links to popular social media sites and a link to the previous post.
Webdesigner Depot includes an area for promoting submissions and votes at a number of social media sites, plus an icon and link to the feed.
Ecoki provides links to a few related posts and some icons with links to subscribe, share on Twitter and email to a friend.
GoMediaZine has a dark, textured area with social media icons and links, as well as related posts and subscription options.
We Are not Freelancers continues the hand-drawn approach to its design by using a hand-drawn heart, “Promote Me” text, and an RSS icon.
Colorburned includes an area for social media promotion, followed by a list of related posts with thumbnails for each post.
Well Mediacated has an area for encouraging social media votes and an “about the author” section.
Blog.SpoonGraphics uses the doodle icons for social media (these icons were created and distributed by Chris Spooner).
AppStorm uses a box that contains two simple lists for related posts and popular posts.
Macalicious has a related post list followed by 3 purple buttons for voting, bookmarking and subscribing.
Bluemag uses several icons for social media votes and sharing, as well as a list of related links.
Foodess uses a list of similar recipes, and a few small links for social media.
Carbon Sugar includes two large areas for voting and for subscribing.
UX Booth uses an attractive area with encouragement for social media votes.
About the Author:
Including author information on posts is also very common, especially on multi-author blogs. We’ll see a few different approaches to this here.
Viget Extend show the author name and photo at the top of the post, rather than showing a brief bio at the end of the post as is more common.
Outlaw Design Blog includes an author bio box at the end of posts with links to the author site and to Twitter.
Line25 includes a brief author bio with a photo at the end of posts.
At the end of posts on Tutorial9 there is an “about the author” section with a brief bio, photo and a link to the author’s site. The bio also includes a subtle background image that helps to make it an attractive area of the post.
PSDTUTS includes the author area after a brief post intro at the top of articles.
What’s Your Opinion?
From a reader’s perspective, which elements do you feel are important to have on blog posts, and which design approaches do you prefer?
For more design inspiration see:
- 25 of the Best Websites of Bands and Musicians
- 37 of the Best Website Designs from the Travel Industry
- 25 Magazine-Style Layouts for Your Design Inspiration
- 25 of the Best Church Website Designs
Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?
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Color schemes have a huge impact on the end result of a design. In this post we’ll feature 25 websites that use bright and vibrant color schemes very effectively. This is the fifth post that has been published in this series. You can see the previous four here.
- 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites
- 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites – Part II
- 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites – Part III
- 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites – Part IV
For more design inspiration see:
- 50 of the Best Church Website Designs
- 25+ Inspirational E-Commerce Website Designs – Part II
- 25 of the Best Photographer Portfolio Websites – Part II
- 25 Beautifully Dark Websites – Part III
Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?
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Pricing pages are very common for sites of web apps, web hosting and other types of services. These pages are critical to the success of the company because they will have a significant influence on the visitors who are trying to make a buying decision. Pricing pages typically give the necessary details regarding the various plans and options, and they encourage visitors to take action.
In this post we’ll look at a number of trends in pricing page design, along with several examples for each.
Emphasis on One Option:
Most of the pricing pages that we are looking at in this post include some sort of table or chart that shows the various options that are available for purchase. Obviously, this is helpful for buyers to be able to compare their options and determine which is the best choice for them. However, sometimes having too many possible choices can actually make things more difficult. Some pricing pages are using an emphasis on one option to help it stand out to visitors. In some cases it is listed as the most popular or best value, and in other cases it is simply emphasized in some way.
Aside from attempting to make the decision easier for visitors, emphasis also gives the designer the ability to control which of the options will get the most attention from visitors. In some cases it is used on the most expensive option, but in many cases it is not. Let’s look at some examples.
Crazy Egg emphasizes their basic plan (the lowest-priced option) by using a green background color compared the the gray background of the other plans, plus the column background is also a little bit larger.
Highrise offers five different plans that users can choose from, but the Plus plan is marked as the most popular and is emphasized by a larger sized box, a slightly different background color, and a drop shadow that causes it to appear as if it is on top of the other options.
Media Temple uses a simple ribbon that says “best value” to its (dv) RAGE server.
TypePad has four different plans to choose from, but the Pro plan is emphasized. In addition to just making this plan stand out visually, they also have a discount available for the Pro plan to give it further emphasis.
FormSpring uses color and size to help the Professional plan to stand out. Also, they have listed it as their most popular plan.
Pulse uses a colored background and a green border to emphasize their standard plan.
Onehub emphasizes their Team plan by using a subtle change in background color and button color. Additionally, it is starred and labeled as the most popular plan.
Volusion uses a “most popular” sticker, change in background color, and a higher tab to allow the Gold package to stand out.
Multiple Colors for Various Options
Color can be used very effectively to make things stand out, and it can also be used to distinguish various items/options. Some pricing pages use different colors for each plan to help separate them visually and to give some added visual appeal to the page.
Wufoo offers five different plans to choose from, and on the pricing page each option features a different color.
Shopify uses some subtle color changes on the various plans to help them stand out from one another. The Business plan is also emphasized by labeling it as the most popular.
The pricing page for LightCMS uses a different color for each of the six plans that they have to choose from.
Freckle offers four different plans. Each one has a unique color on the pricing page.
Emphasis on Sign Up Link
Some pricing pages use a sign up link or button that stands out from the rest of the page in some way. Of course, this is done with the intent of capturing the attention of visitors and encouraging them to take action and sign up for something. Some companies use this method to encourage signups for a free plan or trial just get to people to try it out, while others use the emphasis to encourage signups for their paid plans. Here are some examples.
The Resumator uses a large sign up button below the name of each plan that is available.
FreshBooks uses a green arrow and a large button that says “Get Started with a FREE Account!” the button is located at the bottom of the table that displays the prices and features.
Cobblestone uses a large banner graphic that is displayed above the plans and pricing to encourage signups. The enticement is provided by offering the opportunity to lock in to low prices during the beta launch.
Free Account Options, or Free Trial
A number of companies have chosen to offer limited free accounts from their pricing page to encourage customers to give the service a try. This also makes it possible for customers who only have a need for very basic features and limited quantities to use without the need to pay. Here we will see some examples of pricing pages that promote free accounts.
MailChimp has a free plan in addition to their five paid plans.
Campaign Monitor’s pricing page is different than most that are shown here, but they do offer a free plan on the page and they use buttons to encourage visitors to sign up for the free account.
Six Central offers a choice of two plans, including a free one.
Polldaddy offers three different types of accounts, including a free one.
Backboard doesn’t offer a permanently free account, but two of their plans come with a 14-day free trial, and this is emphasized on the pricing page.
Feature Listing
Most of the pricing pages that you have seen throughout this post have some sort of feature listing. In some cases the pricing page may only list basic features, but these pages are examples of though that use extensive lists of features and details for the various options or plans.
Expression Engine has a detailed table on its pricing page that shows the differences between each plan.
Invoice Machine has four different plans and a list of features for each.
Big Cartel shows the difference between each plan through a table that compares the features of each.
WiredTree lists the details of its various web hosting plans on the pricing page.
Proof HQ has eight different plans to choose from and they use a large table to list the features and details of each plan for comparison.
For more design inspiration please see:
- Showcase of Social Networking Websites
- 37 of the Best Web Designs from the Travel Industry
- 25 Magazine-Style Layouts for Your Design Inspiration
- 25 Outstanding Church Websites – Part III
Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?
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UPrinting has offered to give 500 die cut business cards to five readers of the Vandelay Design blog! If you’re interested in having a unique business card that helps you to stand out to potential clients, this is a great opportunity.
If you’re not familiar with UPrinting, they have been a printing leader for over 25 years and they offer a very wide variety of services, including business cards, brochures, calendars, menus, posters, postcards, envelopes, and more. UPrinting also has a blog that may interest you. They publish articles relevant to graphic designers and the printing industry.
UPrinting offers convenient ordering for business cards. Their site includes a pricing calculator that allows you to choose the size, stock, color, and quantity so you can see the price before even getting started. Shipping costs can also be calculated.
Giveaway Details:
Five readers will win 500 business cards each, plus free ground shipping courtesy of UPrinting. Free shipping is only provided to winners in the U.S. Those outside the U.S. are welcome to enter the contest but would have to pay for shipping and applicable taxes.
To enter the contest, please leave a comment on this post stating that you would like to enter, or tell us how you would use the business cards if you win. On Friday, October 30th I will select five random winners and this post will be updated at that time. The winners will be contacted by email (be sure to leave a valid email address with your comment).
Good luck!
UPrinting is also sponsoring an identical giveaway at DesignM.ag, so feel fee to leave a comment on this post to double your chances. You may enter once at each site.
UPDATE: The contest is now over. Thanks to everyone who participated! Here are the winners (you will be contacted by email shortly):
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PSD to HTML conversion is a critical step in the web design and development process. Whether you are coding your own design or outsourcing it, the quality of the final project will be significantly influenced by the work that is done at this stage. In this post you’ll find 75 resources, including PSD to HTML providers, PSD to WordPress providers, sites for reading reviews of the service providers, automated resources, and PSD to HTML tutorials.
PSD to HTML Tutorials:
If you’re interested in learning more about doing the PSD to HTML coding yourself, these tutorials will be very helpful.
From PSD to HTML, Building a Set of Website Designs Step-by-Step
Build a Sleek Portfolio Site from Scratch
Encoding a Photoshop Mockup into XHTML/CSS
How to Convert a PSD to HTML (video)
How to Code a Clean Portfolio Design
How to Code a Grunge Web Design
Coding a Clean and Illustrative Web Design
How to Create a Dark and Sleek Web Design from Photoshop
Coding a Clean Web 2.0 Style Web Design from Photoshop
Converting a Design from PSD to HTML
The Design Lab: PSD Conversion
Converting a Photoshop Mockup (video)
PSD to HTML Providers:
Here is a look at more than 40 of the leading providers of PSD to HTML services. Additionally, some offer options to have a PSD coded into a WordPress theme, some other type of CMS template, or for a particular shopping cart system.
Snobby Slice
You can read our review to see why we recommend Snobby Slice.
Markup4U
Markup4U also did some excellent work for us. You can see our review of the services from Markup4U.
PSD to WordPress Providers:
The companies listed below specialize in taking a PSD file and coding it into a WordPress theme.
WPCoder
WPCoder has done some work for us, and you can read our review of their services.
PSD to Any
In addition to WordPress, they offer coding services for other CMSs.
Reviews:
Finding the right PSD to HTML provider can be a challenge. There are a few sites that exist to allow reviews of PSD to HTML companies, which may be helpful if you are trying to find a provider that comes highly recommended.
Best PSD to HTML
Also see the post Tips to Choose the Right PSD to XHTML Firm.
Resources:
There are a few resources that will take your PSD and automatically create the code for you. I have not personally used any of these tools, so be sure to pay attention to the code that is produced.
SiteGrinder 2
A premium Photoshop extension that will convert a PSD to HTML.
PSD 2 CSS Online
A free online tool for PSD to HTML conversion.
Divine
Converts a PSD to a WordPress theme.
For more helpful resources please see:
- Different Methods for Choosing Color Schemes in Web Design
- 14 Options for Managing Membership Websites
- 25 jQuery Image Gallery/Slider Tutorials and Plugins
- 40 Options for Converting PSD to HTML
Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?
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Since I launched CartFrenzy a few months ago I have enjoyed seeing a lot of great e-commerce websites from designers all over the world. Many e-commerce sites aren’t much to look at, but there are plenty that feature attractive designs. In this post we’ll feature 25 sports-related e-commerce sites.
Sanction Snowboards and Skatboards
For more e-commerce design inspiration please see:
- 50 Inspirational E-Commerce Website Designs
- 25+ Inspirational E-Commerce Website Designs – Part II
- 20 Inspirational, Clean E-Commerce Website Designs
Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?
Post a free job listing to the DesignM.ag job board for freelance, part-time or full-time positions. Your listing will be seen by thousands of talented designers and developers. - Post a job for free.
PSD to HTML services have become incredibly popular in the past few years and many designers use these services regularly. Personally, I was hesitant to try PSD to HTML providers for a few reasons, one of them being that I just wasn’t sure how it worked and what was involved. I assume that many other designers out there are curious about PSD to HTML services, so I asked Tyler from Snobby Slice to do this interview to help those designers.
Who Is Snobby Slice?
After trying a few different providers I came across Snobby Slice several months ago. Tyler and his team did a great job for me and they have established a reputation for being one of the highest quality providers in a crowded market. If you’re interested in working with a PSD to HTML provider who will produce quality code you can see more details in our review of Snobby Slice. And if you are just curious about the PSD to HTML process, I think you’ll find the information that Tyler shares in this brief interview to be a good starting point.
Why should designers hire a PSD to HTML service provider?
Why deal with code when you don’t have to? By choosing a PSD to HTML service provider, you can stick to your biggest profit center (design), and spend more time making sure the needs of your clients our met. We’ll do all the nasty coding work!
Most PSD to HTML companies primarily emphasize their price and turnaround time to potential clients. What would you advise designers to consider when choosing a provider?
I would suggest contacting them and making sure that it’s a provider that they trust. Look around their site, see where they’re based and get familiar with their service. Do they have relationships with others in the community? A little due diligence goes a long way. Making sure they’ll treat your client work with respect and secrecy is extremely important before putting your reputation at risk.
What type of research (if any) do you think a designer should do before hiring a PSD to HTML provider?
I’d start by talking with other designers, seeing if they have any experience with a few of the firms out there, and also read some of the blogs/forums on the topic to see if anyone can provide you with a solid recommendation.
What are some of the most common issues experienced by your coders that slow down the process or require them to go back to the designer?
Sometimes the designer isn’t always clear with exactly what they want. An added “comments” layer in the PSD (specifying texts, images, etc.) can really speed up turn around time.
What tips do you have for organizing layers in Photoshop to make it easier on the coder?
Just keeping things nice and neat in folders is helpful. However, a comments layer is really the most important thing.
What should designers expect to be included in the base price and what is likely to cost extra?
Unfortunately, many providers are skimping out on key features to lower their prices. Make sure your design would be compatible with a healthy variety of browsers, and that you’re not getting sold a “sub par” coding package.
What makes Snobby Slice different from other PSD to HTML providers?
We care about our clients! Our base pricing includes everything our clients could want or need. We don’t charge for every little drop down or javascript implementation. Since we offer a 100% money back satisfaction guarantee, we’ve designed our business model around keeping our customers happy – NOT just collecting their cash.
Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?
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One of the great things about Photoshop (and others from the Adobe Creative Suite) is the ability to extend the possibilities with 3rd party plugins. In this post we’ll feature more than 50 plugins/extensions/add-ons for Photoshop, some are free and others are premium.
Premium Photoshop Plugins:
Bokeh – $199
Snap Art 2 – $199
SiteGrinder 2 – $129 (Basic) or $349 (Professional)
Xtivity Web Authoring – $79
Colour Studio – $19.95
Mask Pro 4 – $159.95
PhotoFrame 4 – $259.95
Focal Point – $159.95
PhotoTune 2 – $159.95
PhotoTools 2 (Professional Edition) – $259.95
Portraiture – $199.95
Noiseware – $49.95 – $69.95
Real Grain – $99.95
Auto Eye 2.0 – $129
Free Photoshop Plugins:
AlphaWorks – Transparency Effects
Fotomatic – Traditional Photographic Effects
The Worx – Complete Classic FX Collection
For more Photoshop resources please see:
- 20 Tutorials for Working with Photoshop’s Tools
- 60 Photoshop Tutorials for Photo Touch-Ups
- Photoshop Tutorial Hall of Fame
- 45+ Sources and Sets of Photoshop Custom Shapes
Looking to Hire a Designer or Developer?
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Membership websites have increased in popularity in recent years. They present an excellent income opportunity for the site owner and a great value (depending on the content) for users. If you have thought about setting up a membership site but weren’t sure where to get started, here is a look at 14 options that will allow you to get started with your own membership site.
AMember
AMember is probably the most popular choice for managing a membership site. It is ideally suited for sites that sell digital downloads. A built in two-tier affiliate program is included, as well as many other features including free installation, easy web-based administration, automated signups and expirations and more. The price of AMember is $179.95.
WishList Member WordPress Plugin
WishList Member is a premium plugin that can help you build a membership site powered by WordPress. It allows you to establish multiple levels of membership and features easy member management, secure RSS feeds, and much more. Because it is a WordPress plugin, installation is quick and easy. A single-site licnese costs $97 and a multi-site (unlimited) license is $297.
Instant Member
Instant Member allows you to set up multiple levels of membership and includes an affiliate program, plus loads of other features. You can set up coupon codes and trial memberships. The price is a one-time fee of $147.
Easy Member Pro
Easy Member Pro includes a wide range of features for managing your membership site, the rights to use it on unlimited domains, and a built-in affiliate program to promote your membership site. It includes a content management system, templates for page layouts, plus all the features needed for member management. The cost is a one-time payment of $97.
ProfileManagerPremium
ProfileManagerPremium includes many features for membership sites including, newsletters for your members, member profiles, multiple membership types, and much more. One unique feature is that members can upload pictures, video or other content. The cost is $199 and includes free installation.
SubHub
SubHub is managed software that will allow you to set up a membership site that includes articles, forums, audio and video, and downloads. It includes a content management system and a single administration panel to manage the site. The cost is $97 per month or $997 per year (14-day free trial is available).
MemberSmart Pro
MemberSmart Pro is fully-featured membership software that includes unlimited levels of membership, email administration, payment and income reports, and more. WordPress and Joomla pulgins are available. The cost of MemberSmart Pro is $179, or $249 for MemberSmart Pro plus a WordPress or Joomla plugin.
MemberWing
MemberWing is a premium plugin for using WordPress to power your membership site. It includes a number of features including gradual content delivery (release content accoring to how long people have been members), four levels of membership, lightweight and easy to install. There is a limited free version of the plugin available and prices range from $99.95 to $295.
YourMembers WordPress Plugin
YourMembers is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create a membership site using WordPress and PayPal or ClickBank. It includes the ability to make part of any post private to members, private RSS feeds, and free trial access. A single-site license costs $50 and a developer’s license is $200.
WP Member
WP Member is another premium plugin for WordPress. WP Member allows you to restrict access to pages and posts based on membership level (you can set up unlimited membership levels) and it will automatically manage users, subscriptions and payments. A one-site license costs $44.99 with additional options for multi-site licenses.
Wild Apricot
Wild Apricot provides all of the features needed to run your membership site, plus email newsletter tools, blogs and forums, event registration and more. There is a free ad-supported version available limited features. Other plans $25 monthly to $200 monthly.
Extreme Member
Extreme Member uses WordPress to manage membership websites. It includes a lot of features including use of coupon codes, multiple membership levels, built-in autoresponders, an affiliate module (depending on the plan you purchase), and more. Pricing ranges from $19-$99 per month.
YourMembership.com
YourMembership.com is a complete membership management system that is marketed towards alumni programs, association, chambers of commerce, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other such groups. It’s a full-feature system that is more than needed for many entrepreneurs or small businesses that are interested in setting up a membership site. Pricing includes a one-time setup fee of $1,495 (which includes site design) and $5,995 annually.
MemberGate
MemberGate is another advanced option that provides tons of features, more than most small websites will need. The price starts at $3,995 and goes up from there. Included in the price is site design, a built in affiliate program, credit card processing, unlimited member plans, content management, and much more.
Things to Consider When Deciding on Membership Software:
With a wide selection to choose from, there is no solution that is right for everyone. As you are evaluating your options, here are some things to keep in mind that will help you to make the right decision for your situation.
Monthly Pricing vs. One-Time Payments
If you’re trying to compare the prices of various membership site solutions be sure that you understand the difference between those that charge one-time fees and those that charge monthly/recurring fees. Generally, if you purchase a license for a one-time fee you will be hosting it yourself with whatever web host you choose, and if you purchase one that involves monthly payments it will probably include hosting.
Features
There is a very wide variety of features available for the various options that are covered in this post. Of course, the price is also reflective of the features that are included. It’s a good idea to visit the various sites and read through the features that are included, then make a list of those that are necessary for your own needs. Once you know the features that you need or want you can narrow down your choices and compare prices accordingly. Try not to be distracted by features that are impressive, but might not be of any use to you.
CMS
If you are building a membership section on an already-existing website, are you currently using a content management system for that site? If you’re using WordPress you will have several plugins to choose from, and Joomla also presents some options to keep the membership section of the site on the CMS.
Many of the options that were listed above include some type of content management system of their own, and several make use of WordPress. Part of your decision should be based on the CMS that you want to use for your membership site.
Support
Most of the options listed above include some type of support. In some cases there may be a forum available, and for others you may have email support, but only for a limited amount of time. Generally, the plans that involve monthly payments also include some type of ongoing support. If you think it’s likely that you will need support, make sure this factors in to your decision and that you are comfortable with the support that will be available from the option that you choose.
Multiple Websites
You may want to build a membership site on one domain, or you may have several websites that are possibilities for memberships. Additionally, designers and developers may be interested in selling membership sites to clients. Most of the options listed here will provide some choices that allow you to choose bewteen a single-site license or a multi-site license.
What’s Your Experience?
If you would like to share your experience with any membership site software please leave a comment.
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Our friends at IconShock have designed a set of 5 icons with portfolio sites in mind. The set includes PNG files of 512 pixels and 256 pixels, plus the source files (Illustrator). The icons are free for use in both personal and commercial projects.
If you have suggestions for future icon sets, please leave a comment.
Download the Icons (4MB zip file)
IconShock sells royalty free icons and also offer custom icon design services. If you’re in need of some good icons check out their site.
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This post features tutorials for designing various characters and cartoons in Illustrator and Photoshop. Characters are often used for branding websites or companies, so it is certainly a useful skill. For other tutorials, you may be interested in:
- 40 Photoshop Illustration Tutorials
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Create a Super Happy Octopus Character
Create a Cute Furry Vector Monster in Illustrator
Create Simple Cartoon Characters in Photoshop
How to Create an Original Pin-Up Girl in Photoshop
Drunken Monkey Photoshop Tutorial
How to Create a Website Mascot
Create a Blue Vector Character from Pencil Sketch to Coloring
Create a Cute Vector Monster from a Pencil Sketch
Create a Cute Panda Bear Face Icon
How to Create a Vector Illustration and Prepare it for Micro-Stock Sale
Illustrator Tutorial – Create a Gang of Vector Ninjas
How to Illustrate a Cute Emo Kid
The Making of Abe, the Are My Sites Up? Mascot
How to Create a Stinking Zombie Flesh-Eater in Illustrator
Create a Character Illustration Wallpaper
Vectorial Character Design with Illustrator
How to Create Your Own Vector Cartoon Character
Create a Vector Art Twitter Bird Character Icon in Adobe Illustrator
How to Create a Cute Hippo Character
How to Create a Cute and Adorable Twitter Icon in Photoshop
How to Create a Killer Chainsaw Bunny Character
How to Create a Cute Bunny Vector Character
Cartoon Tutorial with a Wacom Tablet
How to Illustrate a LeBron James Cartoon Character
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Splatters can be used in web and graphic design to create interesting effects that grab your attention. In this post we’ll showcase many examples from a variety of different types of design. One of the easiest ways to use this type of effect in your work is to take advantage of the Photoshop brushes that are readily available. See 500+ Splatter Brushes for Photoshop.
For more design inspiration please see:
- Design Inspiration: Lighting Effects
- 3D Design Inspiration
- 35+ Horizontal Websites for Your Design Inspiration
- 25 of the Best Photographer Portfolio Websites – Part II
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Social networking and social media sites have been popping up everywhere over the past few years. The design of a networking site is important for a few reasons. First, it needs to appeal to the those users who are in the target audience of the site so that they can relate to it and feel at home. Second, usability is very important for these sites because their success hinges on the ability to get first-time visitors to become regular users and repeat visitors. If a site is poorly designed and makes it difficult to interact, chances are the visitors will not continue to use the site.
In this post we’ll feature a number of well-designed social networking sites.
For more design inspiration please see:
- 25 Magazine-Style Layouts for Your Design Inspiration
- 25+ Inspirational E-Commerce Website Designs – Part II
- 25 of the Best Photographer Portfolio Websites
- 25 Impressive Blog Footers
- 37 of the Best Web Designs from the Travel Industry
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One of the most challenging aspects of design for many web designers is color selection. The color scheme of a site can have a huge impact on the overall look of the site, and it will have an impact on visitors as well. There are a number of different methods that can be used for finding the right color scheme for a particular project, and in this post we will look at several of those methods. Throughout the post you will find links to helpful resources that you may appreciate.
Getting Colors from Existing Marketing Materials
In many situations the client will already have an established color scheme from an existing website or from other marketing materials. In some cases they may want a change, but frequently you will need to work from the established color scheme. Sometimes making slight changes to the shades of colors but sticking with the same basic color scheme can make an impact, and combined with a fresh design of the website it can help to give the company some added interest to their identity.
In situations where you are not working with a client that has an established color scheme, here are some methods that you can try for finding the right one on your own.
Online Color Palette Resources
There are a number of websites and online tools available for selecting color palettes. Many of these sites allow users to upload color palettes that they have put together, and the rest of us benefit by being able to browse through those that have been uploaded. Most of these sites allow you to search or sort the color schemes by a particular hue or by keyword, which can be helpful if you have one color that you want to use but you are looking for others to use with it.
Here is a quick listing of some of the best places to find color palettes.
Others:
Other online tools exist for helping you to put your own color palette together. Here are some of the best.
Taking Colors from Photographs
Photographs are a great source of color inspiration. You can easily and quickly browse through photos either of your own or random photos from sites like Flickr and deviantART. When you find one that includes a beautiful color scheme, you can upload it to one of several different online tools that will help you to determine the specific colors that are used, providing the hex value so that you can use them in your design work.
Here are some of the best resources of this kind.
Others:
- Color Palette Generator from jrm.cc
- Palette Generator from Big Huge Labs
- Color Palette Generator from DeGraeve.com
At From the Couch David Perel has a nice video tutorial where he goes over his process for choosing colors from a photograph. This is a method that can easily be applied by designers with impressive results.
Design and development blog Build Internet has a series of posts that showcase color schemes from Photographs. Check out their Motivation category to find the color scheme posts.
Taking Colors from Magazines and Other Printed Materials
Online resources aren’t the only place to find color schemes. Magazines, books, flyers, posters, brochures, cards and any other type of printed material can be another source of color inspiration. You can either find a scheme that you like and try to come close just by eyeballing it, or you can scan it in and take the colors directly from the scan in Photoshop or another program.
Browsing Web Design Galleries
One of the best ways to find color schemes that work well for the web is to browse through design galleries. As you do, you will come across some color schemes that you really like and it may give you some ideas for your own work. Of course, what is good for one site may not work very well for another, so it is a good idea to keep your particular project in mind so you can find some colors that will work well for your situation.
You can search around and take one color from a few different websites, or find a scheme that you like and work with Photoshop to find a similar color scheme that will work for you but will avoid copying the colors of the other site. One of the downsides to this approach is that you can wind up doing more copying than you intend, so be careful to make your scheme unique even if it is inspired by other sites.
I Like Your Colors is an online tool that allows you to enter a URL, and it will give you the hex value of the colors in use.
Based on Psychology of Colors
One of the factors that should be considered when choosing a color scheme is the psychology of color. There is a great deal of research that has been done over the years to indicate meanings and messages that are associated with various colors. In many cases this will vary from one culture to the next, so be sure that you are paying attention to information that is relevant to your client and their audience.
Here is a list of some online resources and articles regarding the psychology of color.
- Color Psychology in Online Marketing
- Color Wheel Pro: See Color Theory in Action
- The Meaning of Colours
- Why Color Matter
- Color Psychology
- Color Symbolism and Psychology (from Wikipedia)
Nature
Color is everywhere in nature. Step outside, look around, and you are bound to find some inspiring color schemes. Plants, animals, sunsets, color schemes can be found from just about anything in nature. Of course, getting the exact colors and shades isn’t as simple as when you are working with a photograph (although you can always take a picture) or an inspirational website, you can still get many ideas simply from observing nature and the colors that appear.
What’s Your Approach to Choosing Colors?
If you have a method that works well for you, please share in the comments.
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