Now, I’m not going to say I thought of this first or that I was apart of anything other than the crowd that has been following this trend.  I am apart of the vast crowd that has been using this method of a sitemap style footer.  But I am probably late to the party; by a few years!

If there is one thing I know in web design/development, watch Apple.  And Google and Facebook and everyone else, of course.  But Apple seems to be right at the forefront of “conservative” design.  That being, design that isn’t revolutionary or contreversial, but design that is usable and “just works” as they say.

What I think is tacky and maybe “liberal” design is the stuff that comes out Microsoft or some of these social online communities.  What I mean by MSFT is their new focus on “Live” or live.com or MSN Live or Bing whatever it is they are trying to rebrand themselves as, you must be noticing my bias by now?

I know I can prove it too.  The ease of navigation on Apple sites compared to Microsofts’ corporate website, software support site, or the new Live Search, it becomes evident things are harder to find.  The use of javascript carousels, accordions, sliders or rounded corners showed that these features help us navigate, aside from any “wow factor” these elements may have had at first.

http://www.webdesignerwall.com/trends/modern-sitemap-and-footer/

The website is called Shopify Links by ZooThemes.com

The site will go through several stages before maturing. I plan on compiling a long list of links of articles and websites that already exist for helping Shopify store owners, many from the Shopify forums mainly from (Caroline, Christina and Matt Beck) Eventually, I will receive submissions for links, it seems the Shopify community isn’t as big as Open Source projects. Though, this is expected, I see the Shopify development community expanding every week and more and more companies are signing up for Shopify to run their e-commerce operations.

Eventually, I will write full tutorials on topics directly related to Shopify/Liquid as well as relevant issues of CSS and Javascript but may not only pertain to Shopify.

I plan on creating a template club for Shopify similar to WooThemes for WordPress or JoomlaBamboo and Yoothemes for Joomla.  I guess you can tell I the domain name came directly from this group, and was the only logical name left and went in alphabetical order.  Again, inspired by but in no way will I compete directly. Woothemes is expanding into Magento templates for e-commerce so perhaps we will intersect one day.

But the Zoothemes will eventually create templates for Shopify as well as extensions once Shopify releases their API for their future App Store for Shopify extensions.

It’s in the works!

Simple and short but I think he has it right with these five tips. These techniques are simple enough to follow but hard to implement 100% throughout a site, read validate markup and optimize H1 tags. But that’s the point. Everyone is getting SEO wrong by paying companies huge sums and over thinking the whole SEO fad.

Granted, there are exceptions. When you have thousands of pages like an IBM or Adobe site, SEO is much harder, or in the case of an all flash site such Adobe’s Kuler site (kuler.adober.com). But for the rest of us using blogs, portfolios, corporate promotion or e-commerce sites, search engine optimization could be accomplished with the help of basic techniques, like those suggested in the link above and if you’re using an open source CMS then a few quality plugins.

How are you performing SEO on your site?

http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200502/basics_of_search_engine_optimisation/

SEO is a perfect example of being over done. Web 2.0 is the new SEO, and before that AJAX was the new SEO. No one quite knows what it means and everyone has their own definition. They start out innocent and meaningful, but only get watered down by spamming Twitter accounts or bogus blog articles.

I am going to write a Shopify SEO article soon. Basics. Steps… baby steps. That way you can have a meaningful simple track to take in your SEO efforts. Sometimes just a small drink is all you need to run a marathon.

http://planetozh.com/projects/lightbox-clones/

It’s a nice resource because it shows all the different version of photo galleries, with all the different authors saying They’re sick of all the other lightbox replicas so they created something new, yea right!

You just proved why mass collaboration in open source community works.  Whether or not you we’re original is up to debate.  I love art and artists.  I also know artists and how they think.  Creating something truly original is very hard and possibly never attained by most of society.

That’s a whole different debate.  Love the lightbox clones resource….

When you talk about web design from a designer’s perspective you talk about deep philosophical conversations in design. Left navigation or right? How many kilobytes do you need to pinch to reach 56k Modem users? Can we get away with using PNG’s or can we only use GIF’s?

Not to mention color theory and making a statement through design on behalf of the President. Obviously, the power position that this website represents is in itself a complicated conversation. Perhaps, a guest speaker in a graduate level course.

Basically, the website presents “simple” elements with very deep unobtrustive navigation. Just enough news and 24 hour news channel information, with a little random knowledge thrown around, on secondary pages.

How about one of my favorites, typgraphy. Check out the list of fonts used (”Lucida Sans Unicode”,”Lucida Grande”,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif). I love Helvetica and use Lucida Grande all the time. Makes me feel like I’m in good company with my choices.

Then the heading serif fonts. Good choice, easy to read in small sizes. In general I find myself inspired by this site design.

Go to the new White House website (http://www.whitehouse.gov).

With that said, the people that created the infrastructure for the modern Internet saw many user problems before the public demanded a fix for them. Most of the bad practices on the Internet are started and perpetuated because of an ignorance to these standards. Whether one does not learn them at all or simply doesn’t sit through a class lecture being bored to death by a short history lesson.

In short, follow the W3C web standards does several things.

1. Cater to More Users. By following web standards you provide an accetable web experience for as many users as possible, not leaving out those with slow Internet connections, older browsers or the visually impaired using screen readers.
2. A Faster Website. Your website will load faster. Your customers will stay. You will achieve a higher conversion rate. What ever the goal of your site, keeping your customers happy is your main goal. You cannot keep them waiting if you plan on giving them information or to sell a product.
3. Better Search Results. By simply following web standards you will naturally find your self ranking higher in search results and gaining more foot traffic to your website. Granted, creating websites by current web standards is not easy, but when done right, it can yield great results.
4. Because Rules Matter. If we didn’t have rules or a set way of doing things, the world would be chaotic or atleast a lot less organized. Look at what organization has done in the cell phone market for Europe, and then compare those results to the dissected US cell phone market. Less growth and innovation in products and higher prices from dissected markets. When you follow the rules of the web you see better results by the entire community.
5. These Guys Are Smart. The men and women who created these web standards and recommendations did so out of love for you! Well maybe not, but they were thinking about the user experience. Their recommendations have made developing the web and using it a much better place. They have Ph.D.’s for a reason.

That’s only five easy reasons. If you wanted to know more I could list many technical and legal reasons for being standards compliant as measured by the W3C. But you just wanted five quick points right?

The Need for Web Design Standards

On the other hand Ten Reason Why Clients Don’t Care About Accessibility

E-commerce solutions.

One reason I am so keen in developing e-commerce solutions is the business background I have educationally along with the experience in running an Internet based real-world service.  I take a business approach on every project.

But my interests in philosphy lead to pshycology.  Which tells us a great deal about the human mind which helps us understand business and the art of selling.  I gain not only personal satisfaction from my literary interests but an acumen for solving problems.

I take a third person approach to any solution.  What would Google do with this site?  What kind of customers are buying this product?  Will I have to make the site accessible in javascript disabled browsers?  Then their is always the part about putting yourself in their shoes.

I develop excellent e-commerce websites because I always provide a greater sense of search engine optimization in all of my projects.  With only necessary website submission and limited use of keyword.  I won’t bombard the Internet with your site because that’s not required.  But having a Twitter account is!

By combining usability, accessiblity, navigability, degradability, searchable and attractive websites I can drive traffic to your store.  Then with the use of advanced analytics, social marketing and search optimization I can get you your first sale, maybe your first million.

As always, my best.

That said, yesI am a real Steelers fan. I own a terrible towel from the early 1990’s when they were not very good. Granted, they were a winning team for the most part but never really a Championship club. The 1995 Super Bowl team was good but didn’t deserve to win with that offense. Anyways, I have relatives in Pittsburgh and grew up as a Pittsburgh fan of any sport. I played hockey, so my hero was Mario Lemiuex (though he’s not a model citizen as I have come to find out, but who is?).

I am very excited about this because it’s a moment that you can really enjoy as a fan of the team about to win it all, hopefully. Don’t want to jinx or curse anything.

Last year, as the Giants we’re heading to the Super Bowl, I never verbally said their going to win and therefore never expressed the enthusiasm for that Super Bowl as I will for the upcoming. I was more excited to see the Patriots lose! Yes, I did not like New England that year because I felt they we’re running up the score even though that’s how the game is played. I just don’t like the Patriots.  Perhas, it’s because the Patriots have been killers in the Playoff against my black and gold (or white and gold).  Or I suppose it’s because I am a Yankees fan and don’t prefer the Red Sox. But I am definitely NOT they kind of person to heckle someone just because they have a red B on their hat.

My college roommate from Long Island, border of Queens, wore a Boston Hat all around the Bronx and Manhattan just to spite the dispicable New York attitude. He was a true Mets fan.

Back to the point.  I think this will be a great matchup in this years Super Bowl.  Though I was rooting for Philadelphia in the NFC Championship, hoping to see a Pennsylvania Bowl and possibly McNabb’s first Championship win, I have come to realize this is still a great game.

Of course the media will hype it up any way they can.  They will beat this thing like hell over the next week.  But I believe the matchup between the coaching staff’s is a real thriller.  I also believe the media has missed a real storyline here.

Bruce Ariens, the Steeler offensive coordinator who stepped up after Whisenhunt left for Arizona has significantly opened up the playbook compared to when Whisenhunt was in charge of offense.  Granted, Cowher was in charge and played a more conservative style of ball and once Whisenhunt was aloud to go crazy in the Super Bowl, he delivered.  But Ariens is a different coach and some media insiders would say a more creative offensive mind.  The Offense has played more of a spread formation in the last two year.  Combine that with the in-your-face rushing attack and you have the new hybrid Steelers.

I don’t know if this matchup is as much about the head coaches as it is about the Offense Coordinators versus Defensive Coordinators.  Dick Lebeau is in charge of that Steelers defense, like Bruce Ariens with the offense.  Mike Tomlin is a good coach.  He knows how to motivate, how to mediate and more importantly how to delegate.

You can see the only major Steelers weakness, the secondary, has stepped up play and is now a strength.  The solid offensive line of years past entered rebuilding phase at the begining of the year and is now the only major weakness.  The line is very young, with no player having played more than 9 seasons.  Very young for o-line, where you typically see lineman hitting their peak in their thirties and staying healthy well into their late thirties.

I don’t know much about the offensive and defensive coordinators on the Cardinals.  What I do know is that both are potential head coach candidates for the many vacant positions around the league.  While many coaches had successors in place (Colts, Seahawks and Bucs) we are likely to see these coaches atleast interview for poistion openings.  This will be intriguing because the motivation will be high for both teams, but different in nature.

I believe the Whisenhunt-Tomlin storyline is a little overplayed.  Simply because Whisenhunt left Pittsburgh.  Yes the Steelers didn’t make an immediate offer and Whisenhunt felt he needed to take the head coaching job while it was around.  I don’t believe there is any bad blood or revenge in this game.  Perhaps, vindication, but no hard feelings.

Dan Rooney made a good example of his NFL namesake The Rooney Rule by interviewing a black head coach.  It turned out he would end up hiring this coach, and it also turns out that Mike Tomlin was a pretty good coach.  I say pretty because he has a decade yet to prove himself in Steel Country.  I assume he will get that long because of the patience in that organization.

Actually, in my deepest football thoughts, I hope he sticks around for awhile and wins a few Super Bowls.  I really like his demeanor and his coaching style, from what I have gleaned from Peter King and associates.  Tomlin is a perfect fit because he is tough and soft, mixing the perfect combination when the situation is right.  Not too nice to so they go soft, but a friend they can trust and believe in.  Kind of the like the cool dad on the block that everyone likes because he’s fun, but he is still a responsible dad.  Bad example.

Anyways, Steeler are going to win in a great game.  This one won’t be a blowout and I believe will come down to the last drive.  The Pittsburgh defense will hold up on the last drive to stop the Cardinals.

Prediction: Steelers 31, Cardinals 24.

I donated, or more accurately, I purchased t-shirts and a car magnet.  I loved some of the t-shirt designs so much I bought them as gifts.  Anyways, my point is that I hear this man in 2004 at the DNC.  That was it, he has me at hello.

I knew this guy was different because he talked to every class of people without singling out anyone while doing so.  So many white people joke about Rev. Al Sharpton or Rev. Jesse Jackson, and it’s because they emphasize race so much.  Justifiably so, but people don’t want to hear a depressing message if they don’t have to.  Humans tune out things very quickly and easily if they want to, and those two men just weren’t appealing to the masses.  Man black people don’t enjoy their message because it’s alienating some folks.

But Barack Obama had a different message in a time when we all wanted to hear something.  We we’re going through a horrific time of post-9/11 and the second Bush Administration that atleast 51% of the country believed was not deserved.  We were taken into a war we had no intention and right to be in, yet politics was as it has always been.  A game.

Obama… he delivered a serious poignant message that made us believe that things could be different, and more importantly be better.  His speech was absoutely moving.  Not a red America, or a blue America… but the United States of America!

Now I’m not one to drive around with an American flag magnet, but that made me feel very patriotic.  No longer was there this schism in our country.  There was a sense of hope.  That may soud cheesy but it’s 100%.  So many of us hoped for something different and not the same old politics.

I believe while things are not 100% different.  They are different.  Obama did not run a dirty campaign, despite what some skeptics will point out as false advertising.  Obama did not blatantly lie and make stuff up, like his counterpart and those before him have easily done.

The Inaugaration… it was moving not because of what was accomplished, although that is touching it itself.  But his words of motivation inspire you to get up from the couch and want to do something, just as he has done with community service.  He is an inspiring kind of guy.  Today was no exception.

Congratulations.  Make us proud!