I just have to give credit where credit is due!  This new look is compliments of SmashingMagazine.com. I was just so impressed when I saw it that I had to try to implement it on my site.  The code was beautiful and understandable.  I was able to alter the navigation by adding pages by altering the navigation.php file, the index.php file and the stylesheet.  I had to make a few of my own images but it all worked out in the long run. 

This is the type of designing I want to do.  Now off to learn some more! 

We web designers are always trying to tweak and perfect our websites to get the look and feel we like best and the functionality we need for our end users.  We learn new things to improve our sites and can’t wait to try them.

The hard lesson to learn is to back up constantly, especially when we are making changes.  We think, oh nothing will happen, I have a local copy and one on the server.  Well, I’m here to tell you that sometimes, that just isn’t enough.

A friend of mine was anxious to make some changes and he did it remotely from work.  The next thing you know, he ended up deleting everything he had on the server.  Bam, no more website.  He didn’t have a copy of his files with him since he wasn’t at the location his local files were on.  Worse than that he had things on his server that he didn’t have saved locally.  What does this mean?  It means if anyone was looking at his site, it just wasn’t there.  He had to wait to get back to his local files and re-upload them.  That is a huge disaster if a potential client was trying to view his site.    The good news is, he had a local copy.  He found out that his server would have recovered everything for him but for a fee of $150.00.  Large price to pay if you ask me.

Lesson here to learn is that if you must make changes, be sure to have a back up copy on hand.  It’s always good to have at least three copies of your website… one on the server, one locally and one on a storage device in a different location than the local files (this protects you in case of fire or water damage).  Back up, Back up Back up!  Can’t say it enough!

Just wanted to let everyone know that there is a free e-book out there to inform you about Twitter the social networking site.  My friend Corey from Hippo Internet Marketing explains what Twitter is and how it can be used to keep in touch with friends and family or even to help with research for your career or to meet real live people in your community.  Check it out at his site under free resources. 

I am a member of the Charlotte Meetup Group called Charlotte Interwebs Design Meetup.  Yesterday we met virtually using www.Vyew.com 

It was a very cool experience.  There is an organizer who initiates the meeting and you get a session id and phone number.  You log into the Vyew platform (no downloads) and then enter your session id for the specific group and make your phone call.  You can then view a whiteboard where everyone can enter onto or you can desktop share.  This came in very handy for our group.  Using the phone lets you hear what others are saying (mainly the organizer speaks).  There is also a chat screen on the right side that lets you interrupt politely.

Using Vyew you can present information or tutorials to a hundred people online or post a document you’ve been working on for review by your colleagues at their convenience. We used it to go over the elements of an HTML page and CSS.  It proved very helpful.

Click here to check out
The Charlotte Interwebs Design Meetup!

Just wanted to let you know that I am tinkering in the very popular open source content management system of Joomla.  You can watch as I learn. (Please note… “work in progress”.)

I hope to be able to get more familiar with this technology so I can offer it to my clients as an option for their Web Design and Content Management.

I am really excited about my new technical skills.  I’ve recently created a family website for my family which includes a Photo Gallery which my family members can view and upload photos with. 

I also included a forum where we can chat and keep in touch with the latest going ons.  I love the calendar feature.

Let me know if I can help you create one for your family, group, or business!

Check out my portfolio  to see my work.

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I just recently joined The Official Charlotte Search Engine Marketing Meetup Group for Charlotte business owners and online marketing executives.

I look forward to learning new tricks to help website owners reach high ranking seach results.

The Official Charlotte Search Engine Marketing Meetup - SEO

My first meeting will be on Thursday, April 3 at 7:00 PM

Check back for details after the meeting.  I hope to share valuable information to help others as well as myself.

Join me in the wonderful world of technology and learn new things daily!