Being a web designer or developer, you might be in a design block or might have some problems with code so you take a trip away from your machine and suddenly have a brainwave of solutions – This is where your iOS device will come in handy. Other than this, there are a multitude of apps that will make you more productive even when sat in front of your machine. I’ve not listed every app under the sky but some of the more useful ones.

18 Vital iOS apps for Web Designers and Developers

Dropbox

iSpy Analytics

Some users may complain of the lack of advance features but this is perfect for the mobile. It’s free and developed by a reputable company so works quite well.

FTP On The Go

Access, edit and modify files!

WhatTheFont

Take a pic, upload, wait a few seconds and discover the font.

Wordpress

Needs no introduction

Remember the milk

Excellent (probably the best) to-do app and syncs with your online account.

Paypal

For all you freelancers out there.

Skype

Contact clients via the mobile

Source Viewer

Who doesn’t love the <p> tags?

Color Expert

Excellent tool for both designers and developers. in the middle of a colour block?

Evernote

MobileRSS

Excellent RSS Feed reader that syncs with your Google Reader account and it’s FREE!

Hootsuite

I prefer this over the office Twitter app as it allows multiple accounts and syncs with your online Hootsuite account! (it’s all about the sync these days)

iBillTo

Keep client payment/bill details on the go.

iBlueSky (mindmapping)

Like putting mind maps together?

Server Status

Monitor server downtime.

Photobucket

DatabaseViewer

Cheatsheets

There are many cheatsheet apps available that I though would list together here:

• PHP Cheat Sheet
• MySQL Cheat Sheet
• RegEX Cheat Sheet
• jQuery Cheat Sheet
• JavaScript Cheat Sheet
• CSS Cheat Sheet
• HTML Cheat Sheet

Conclusion

So there you have it. If you’re an iPhone/iPod/iPad user and a web designer/developer, you shouldn’t be without most of the apps above! Have I missed anything?

Ever wondered why other web designers are busy doing great business while you are stuck there waiting for customers to come your way? Days passed and you still have no customers. Do you feel being left out in the design realm? Oh well, it is not a good feeling for you to linger. But instead of sulking there, why do you not patch things up and make a difference. There are a lot of things to do and to improve. Just find the ways and give it your best shot.

Web design business is very competitive and individuals and firms have to adopt creative ways to get more clients. If you are a good web designer or design firm, some of the things you can do to increase the number of clients you get are listed below.

1. Word of Mouth

Yes, it is true that internet marketing will help you get more clients. However, studies have shown that word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools. People trust recommendations from friends and family members and will use your service if you served one of the people they know well. This is the magic of viral marketing. Before you know it, you are already a big hit in the industry. In addition, you can offer your clients an incentive to refer others to you!

2. Service Excellence

Your customers will love you if you provide excellent service. One of the best ways of doing this is to over deliver on your promises. Instead of simply creating a mundane website, use compelling colors and good web copy that will wow your clients!

3. Customer Support Excellence

Customer service begins from the time a client contacts you to the final completion of his or her project. Be quick to respond to their queries, provide regular feedback on the progress of their projects and reduce the number of questions they may have by sending out an FAQ at the initial contact.

4. Use Social Networking

Social networking sites can help you get more web design customers. Keep an active presence on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and engage your followers, fans and connects respectively. Avoid direct selling. Instead, provide web design solutions to what people are asking and you will gain their respect. In turn, new projects will come your way.

5. Approach Local Organizations

If you are a member of local organizations or clubs in your area, let the members know what you do. Most small organizations do not have a budget to employ a fulltime web designer and opt to have their websites designed by outside firms.

6. Networking

Go out and meet people. While advertising can be effective, most people prefer to work with designers they have met and trust. You will also be surprised at the number of referrals that can come your way through networking.

7. Use Classifieds, Forums and Message Boards

Local classifieds sites are a great way to get people looking for web design services. Sign up at popular message boards and forums and post your services in the classifieds section. However, be careful not to spend too much time in these forums.

8. Offer Complimentary Services

You can offer other services that compliment your web design work. You can have a different department to work on graphics and copywriting, search engine optimization, provide web hosting packages like cheap dedicated hosting and others. This will make you a one stop shop web design firm and clients will not have to look for other companies to offer these complementary services.

9. Your Portfolio Should Speak for You

As you do more web design projects, your portfolio will diversify and this will help you get more clients. Upload the portfolio on your website or burn it on a CD that you can send to clients on your first contact. Your past work will act as proof on the quality of your work.

Conclusion

Getting more web design customers will depend on the marketing efforts, both online and offline, that you will implements. If you do a good job, you are bound to get more clients from referrals. You can also market yourself online using search engine optimization, social media marketing, pay per click and email marketing and others.

You can start with free domain hosting. Be sure that your provider is reliable so that customers can easily access your website any time of the day. From there, work up to achieve exponential growth in terms of web design work.

Do not sulk there. Do something. Some good things are meant to happen if you will work your way up. People who needs functional and creative web design are just out there…Try to reach out and be the best in what you do.

We all love Photoshop and many of you will use it for hours on a daily basis. The question is, have you ever been in a situation where Photoshop isn’t installed on a computer you are using?

Of course you have. This is why this post is important.

7 Great Online Alternatives to Photoshop

Pixlr

Looks and feels a lot like Photoshop

fotoflexer

Edit photos from many online sources (Flickr, Photobucket etc.)

SumoPaint

Looks Impressive (especially the real–time gradient)

Splashup

DrPic

Built in JavaScript

thumba

Drag ‘n Drop!

Image Editor

Bonus!

From start to finish, deviantART Muro allows users to create complete works of art in ways never before realized by digital drawing programs. deviantART Muro already boosts standard and interactive brushes, full-blown layer capabilities, and the ability to upload directly to your deviantART account, but we’ve also left room for expansion. You can expect to see many features and functions added in the coming weeks and months.

Muro

Nowadays, websites have become so critical to the success of practically any company.

A good website in many cases can spell the difference between a viable business enterprise and a failed disaster. It is true that a poorly laid out website can actually drive the firm or sole proprietor’s potential customers away.

With so many competitors only a mouse click away, the website in question needs to be both attractive, easy to use, and cutting edge all at once.

Ensure that the Price List is Easily Available

Customers can not purchase a company’s products or services if they are not easily able to figure out what they cost. A business or individual ought to go out of their way to ensure that it is simple for any visitors to the site to reference and understand their price list.

There are websites which actually try to conceal their price lists for their various goods. They will not give a price until a customer selects the order or buy button. Sometimes, they even make the potential customer wait until an account has been set up on the site to divulge this critical information.

Whatever the logic behind these types of actions truly is, they only harm the prospects of the seller in the end. If the visitor is only window shopping and wants to write down the price for possibly coming back to purchase it later, be sure that he or she will not hunt around the website for a long time looking for it. Rather, he or she will just go to another e-commerce website instead, one where the seller is upfront with his or her pricing information.

Remember that numerous Internet experts have claimed that the typical Internet surfer possesses the same attention span as a flea does.

Offer Both Descriptions and Pictures for All Products and Services

There has been a raging debate on this topic where company websites are concerned. On the one hand, web designers are told to keep it brief, as they will only get a few minutes, or seconds even, to impress the surfer enough that he or she stays on the website.

On the other, experts recommend that products be well described, and have pictures as well, in order to thoroughly impress a potential client. There is a happy medium ground which will meet both objectives.

Amazon proves to be an effective example of the way that this can be properly and effectively accomplished. They put up a short description, a small thumbnail type of picture, the cost of the item, and a link to see more information on the item, as well as to purchase it.

The point is that Amazon does have a full product description page for all items somewhere on the website. This sort of description and picture process is critical for a successful website. In particular, if the product being considered has many competitors offering it, or proves to be fairly expensive, then this becomes even more important.

Put simply, these product descriptions and pictures are like salesmen pushing a certain product to a walk in customer. On the top of this description page, as well as at the bottom, the vendor should have an Order Now or Buy button.

The key is to make it as simple as possible for the potential customers to complete the sale once they are convinced.

Make It Simple for Customers to Browse the Website However They Would Prefer

There are all too many websites which lock the visitor into a pre-arranged sales pitch. First, the user is forced to read the authoring company or individual’s introduction on the product itself. Once the tiring tome is completely read, a link to the next page magically appears at the bottom of this particular web page.

The message on the second page must be endured before the user is allowed to move forward, once again. Although the individual might have already chosen to purchase the product, he or she is simply not allowed to skip all of the propaganda to get to the checkout page. This is too much like a high pressure salesman tactic, and it certainly leaves a negative impression on any visitor.

Simple to Use and Intuitive Navigation

If the navigation of a website is not simple and straightforward for the visitor to figure out, then the website usability factor is particularly low. This will likely discourage anyone who might simply wish to buy an item on impulse.

A golden rule to run a company or sole proprietor website by is that the customer must not ever be made to click his or her way through numerous pages before he or she is permitted to get to the download or buy now buttons. This is the fastest way to drive away a good portion of the visitors who came to the website looking to purchase a good or service in the first place.

Keeping the Website Simple, Staying Away From Flash, and Appropriate Use of Colours

Complex websites do nothing to help a business’ cause with Internet surfers. When they are not able to quickly and easily find the features and products that they are seeking, they are likely to simply go to a competitor’s site which is easier to understand. Staying away from the use of flash is a related point.

Since everyone is using a different specification of computer and Internet connection speed, the business should avoid flashy websites which look good in theory, but in practice, may keep a potential customer from being able to quickly access the website, or even require that he or she downloads missing plug ins along the way.

A last point to consider concerns the colours used on a website. One thing that ought to be remembered for certain involves avoiding colours which clash. Do not use a dark colour on a black background, for example. This could make it hard for some users to distinguish the text from the background. Once again, anything that makes it more difficult for the user is likely to cause them to disengage and leave the site.

Conclusion

The best thing that a business’ website can possibly do is to make the majority of important links easily available from literally each and every page of their website.

In simply putting them up on the navigation bar, this is most easily achieved. Businesses must never forget that truly great customer service over the Internet begins with an simple to use website. And having a readily available and reliable business website starts with finding a trusted e-commerce hosting provider.

How the business or sole proprietor designs and maintains their website will certainly determine if a given visitor will turn into a buying customer, or go on to become the customer of a competitor, instead.

There have been many posts recently showcasing the top design blogs out there that every designer should subscribe to. Due to these lists being quite large many users click through a few and subscribe to a few.

I thought it would be a good idea to gather them into one XML (OPML) file that you can download and import directly to your favourite RSS Feed reader.

The blogs chosen cover all areas of web design and development including the following:

• Inspiration
• Design/Development
• Tutorials
• Freelance
• Blogging
• Usability
• Logos
• Typography
• Industry News

Well, here it is:

You may need to right click and select save file/link as.

NOTE: I have only tested this in Google Reader.

I will have missed many great blogs out there – If you have any recommendations, be sure to mention them in the comments below and I’ll add them.

Sites included in the download

2experts Design – Web Design and Graphic Design Blog
A List Apart
Abduzeedo | Graphic Design Inspiration and Photoshop Tutorials
BittBox
Blog.SpoonGraphics
Colorburned
CrazyLeaf Design Blog
Creattica Daily
CSS Globe | Web Standards Magazine
CSS-Tricks
David Airey, graphic designer
Design Newz
Design Reviver
Design Shard
Design was here
Designers who Blog
DesignFlavr – Inspirational design served daily | Resources
DesignM.ag
DevSnippets
Dzine Blog
Flashtuts+
Smashing Apps – Free and Useful Online Resources for Designers and Developers
FreelanceFolder
FreelanceSwitch
Fuel Your Creativity
Function Web Design & Development [ Blog ]
GoMediaZine
Graphic and Web Design Blog – Inspiration, Resources and Tools
Graphic Design Blog – An Ultimate Resource for Graphic Designers
Guerrilla Freelancing
hongkiat.com
i love typography, the typography and fonts blog
In the Woods
Inspired Magazine
instantShift
Line25
Logo Design Love
Minervity
Minty-Fresh Posts from PSD Vault
MyInkBlog
Naldz Graphics
Nettuts+
Noupe
Outlaw Design Blog
Photoshop Lady
Pro Blog Design
ProBlogger Blog Tips
psdfan.com
psdlearning.com
Psdtuts+
PSDVIBE – Tutorials and Resources
Script & Style
Sharebrain | Sharebrain »
Six Revisions
Skelliewag.org
Smashing Magazine
Speckyboy Design Magazine
Spyre Studios
styl.eti.me
The Design Cubicle
Think Design
Tutorial Blog
Tutorial9
typesett
Usability Post
Vandelay Design Blog
Vectortuts+
Veerle’s blog
We are not Freelancers
Web Design Ledger
Web Design News
Web Designer Online
Web Designer Wall – Design Trends and Tutorials
Webdesigner Depot
You the Designer