An Easy Guide to JQuery Show/Hide

A couple weeks ago, I was looking for some help with a particular JQuery project only to find that out of every resource I checked, not one was east to understand or include complete source files. Today, I’m going to teach you how to build a simple JQuery header that you can show or hide with the click of a button. There’s many different ways to do this and many options you can choose, but I’m going to show you just one. I’ve included all the source files at the end of this lesson but I’ll go over the major parts with you.
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Step Away From Web Designers Block

Web Designers, like any other creative individuals will find there comes a point in time in their life where they will suffer from creative block or writers block. There are a variety of things you can do to become free of the dreaded ‘block’ and on your way once again to being creative.
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2 Comments | Posted in » Web Design

Google Adwords CPC Checklist

Before you start advertising on Google, it would be a good idea to go through some common sense checks. I have been continually surprised to hear from clients that “Google Adwords is a waste of money,” when in fact, in my opinion, nothing could be farther from the truth. On talking to clients it often pains me to learn that some very simple research was not done before vast sums of money were spent with Google.

So before you ‘waste money’ on Google, follow some very simple steps to check whether you should go forward and how much you can afford to bid on a per-click basis.

Of course, before you start your advertising you will need a product. I will assume you have a product in mind already, In which case your first step will be to ascertain whether there is enough demand to make this viable. You could also off course go around this slightly different, first identifying a demand and then creating a product or service. However, for the sake of simplicity I am going to assume you have your product in mind already.

This could of course be your own unique product, my preferred method, or you could be an affiliate selling products or services to others, and many people have success doing this as well.

Here’s my top 3 checklist.

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Why, When and How to use Web Templates

Stylish Design has recently started offering WordPress and soon other web design templates for free download. So I thought it would be a good idea to cover the topic of templates in web design. I hope to write a balanced article explaining how to utilize templates and remain professional.

When it comes to graphics and web design many website owners try to keep away from using templates of any kind, whether it is graphics or website templates, ebook covers, layouts or promotional banners. This is because many people are entrenched in the idea that using templates is unprofessional and may damage their credibility in some way.

Templates utilized badly can indeed tarnish your image — obviously you have spent some time coming up with a unique identity and therefore it makes sense for your website to be unique as well.

That does not discount the ability for you to utilize templates however, they can be a beneficial aid to design and also provide a much faster route to market by speeding up the development process.

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#1 Position on Live Search and MSN

You may well have heard about the “MSN Loophole” recently. It is being ‘hyped’ as a big thing at the moment by several people online. It is even quite possible you have received one or more emails on the subject in the last 2 or 3 weeks.

There is at least one site selling the ’secrets to a TOP MSN’ position for well in excess of $50. Well, it isn’t really a secret or a loophole, its not even particularly a new technique, but it is completely real and true. If you know how, then for less than an hour effort and $20 you can get yourself a top position on MSN.

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3 Comments | Posted in » SEO

Free Wordpress Theme - Gingerbread Man

This week, as an early Christmas present, we are releasing the first in a series of free Christmas Wordpress themes. This is themed on the traditional gingerbread man, and makes a great holiday theme. It also may make you hungry for some cookies, so get baking!

The theme is completely free to use, and you can even re-distribute the zip file on your own site (intact). Gingerbread Man 1.0 Theme is valid XHTML. We have two versions for you, so download what you like!

Gingerbread Man Christmas Theme

• Download the above theme

Gingerbread Man 2 Christmas Theme

• Download the above theme

Download and unzip into your themes folder, and activate!

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Blogging for Business: An Overview

Forgive me if I go over old ground here, however the importance of blogging, the benefits and rewards means I feel compelled to cover this topic. Blogs have been around for over 5 years and as a result a whole industry has built up around them, and we have even coined new words such as ‘blogosphere’ to describe this massive phenomenom.

Originally, blogs were highly personal in nature, maintained by highly opinionated or verbose individuals with something to say. Sometimes this was focused on a particular subject but more often than not they just followed the whimsical choices of the blog’s author.

Since ‘joe public’ so readily adopted the blog format, commercial organizations have spotted the marketing potential for their products and services through others blogs. We have even seen born a niche-advertising sector, offering delivery through widgets and the like.

We then saw the advent of professional bloggers, those blogging for profit, and there have been a number of success stories. More often than not individuals gained financial reward as a result of being offered work in the mainstream media. It has however only been a relatively recent occurrence for business to realize the potential of launching company blogs for marketing potential.

Blogging is a practice that has been around for at least 5 years. It began with average, but opinionated people with something to say, who wanted to share their opinions with anyone who would read them. While it has been popular with the general public, it hasn’t caught on with many businesses until recently. Blogging can be a powerful tool for marketing and exposure for any business, if done properly. This article will cover the first steps businesses will need to take to set themselves up for successful blogging.
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RSS Syndication: Getting Started Using Blog or CMS Software

If RSS and syndication puts your head in a spin then start here first. That is the first article in this series of utilising RSS for syndication and it covers the basic terminology, the technology and its capabilities and benefits.

If you are still reading I can assume you know the fundamentals about RSS and appreciate the tremendous marketing potential of syndication. We touched on the ATOM feed in the previous article, and if you have opted to use the ATOM method of syndication then this article will on the most part still be of benefit.
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RSS Syndication: An overview

Well you must have come across the term RSS, and maybe you have decided it’s some geeky technical tool and of no real interest to you or your visitors.

If that is the case then you are missing out on an extremely powerful free marketing tool. When publicized properly and combined with a blog that has good content, you are on a guaranteed route to ‘viral’ success. There is no marketing more stylish than organic marketing, and this is organic marketing at its best.

As DeWitt Clinton states “RSS, as a representation of an idea, is perhaps the single most influential cultural shift of the post-2001 technical and business community. RSS is the embodiment of the notion of sharing and syndication. Businesses will do well to heed the lessons being taught by people like Dave Winer and Robert Scoble.”
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Thinking about a Flash-based site?

Over the years, Flash-based websites have come in and out of fashion. At one point in the late 90’s it seemed like every website you visited had a gratuitous ‘flash’ movie or component as an obnoxious introduction. Thankfully those days are now over. If you are considering using Flash within your site design then you should give it careful consideration first.

Admittedly, Macromedia (now owned by Adobe) is increasingly cramming more functionality and incredible features into Flash and making it ever more attractive to web designers looking to create something a little different. However, it is important to remember that those ‘funky cool features’ come at a price, and I am not just talking about the 19 year old emo-flash-guru you hired at Elance, but the other factors you need to consider.

First however, before I get an onslaught of email from Fans of Flash, some of the benefits:
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Create 3d Book Covers

Create 3d Book Covers and Software Boxes Using Actionscripts

If you are in the business of ’selling’ digital information or products then you must have wondered how to create 3d ebook covers and the like . Even if you are giving away a free book or report to try and encourage opt-in subscribers then creating a 3d cover helps make your digital product more tangible in the mind of your website visitor. If you are trying to charge for an ebook then it is absolutely essential. I used to spend hours trying to create the effect before I realized it was a relatively simple and painless process if you simply used a Photoshop Action-Script.

What about other soft products like software, scripts or programs? Well a 3d Software Box is perfect for making the product seem more real to your users.

So this is exactly what we have for you today. A Photoshop ActionScript and a collection of templates you can download right here at StylishDesign and use completely free of charge. With these tools and this step by step guide you can have your first 3d cover complete in 20 minutes. Also included in the download is an actionscript for creating a software box. In a follow up article we will cover creating a software box in more detail. However follow the steps in this article and you should find using the other ActionScript is intuitive.

• Download the complete contents here (requires a zip program to unpack.)

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Using the Amazon S3 service to save money- the easy way

Unless you have been hiding under a stone recently you must have heard of the Amazon S3 simple file hosting service. You can use it store any amount of data online. It makes truly scalable computing available to the masses. No one can compete with Amazon’s network cluster and Service Level Guarantee at anywhere close to the price Amazon charges.

If you host downloads of any kind you should be looking at Amazon. Whether its music, large numbers of images, video, audio or documents, zip files and PDF files. Any file from 1byte in size to 5GB can be stored on Amazon web services. There is even a BitTorrent™ protocol interface which will dramatically reduce your costs for high-scale distribution.
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