Premium WordPress themes are all the rage. After all, more people than ever before are using WordPress as their blogging platform of choice. That being said, you need to select a theme in order for your site to really take off: this is where One Theme comes into play. From the front page of the One Theme website you will see what the creators of this theme think:

“One Theme is not just a WordPress theme…It’s an enhancement, an “all in one” package that turns WordPress into the management tool you wish it was.” With so much already going for it, these are bold words. But after taking a closer look at what this theme has to offer, it is safe to say that you may agree with these accolades.

When it comes to features, there are too many to list them all. Of course, there are some that are better and more useful than others, and a small sampling of them include:

1. Custom control panel
2. Widget and AdSense ready
3. 100% valid xHTML and CSS
4. Custom control panel
5. Custom search result page
6. Five color schemes
7. Two homepage layouts
8. SEO optimized code
9. Numbered comments
10. Free support

As you can see, this WordPress theme does not lack features. While many themes claim to offer a lot, it is obvious by the partial feature list above that One Theme definitely delivers in this area.

Design

Of course, all of the features in the world are not going to make One Theme worth your while if the design has nothing to offer. Luckily, this is not something that you have to worry about. While the design may not be right up your alley, it does have quite a bit to offer.

In addition to being visually appealing, the homepage is nicely laid out which allows visitors to find what they are looking for without spending too much time jumping around from page to page. On the live demo, you will notice that the homepage offers a spot for a featured article as well as other top level content and “most recent” articles.

As you move to the two-column right sidebar, you will find that the layout is just as efficient and appealing as the main content. This includes an area for your RSS information, advertisements, and other widgets such as categories, pages, and tag clouds.
Backend Control Panel

Although you are sure to fall in love with the design of One Theme, the real fun starts when you begin to navigate the backend control panel. Just like any WordPress blog, you will access the backend via your username and password. But once you activate One Theme, you will have access to many other features that you would not find with other themes.

Even if you are new to WordPress, the One Theme control panel makes it easy for you to find your way around and to make changes to customize the look and feel of your site.

You can see a Live Demo of the One Theme, to see all its features.

If you are interested in monetizing your site with ads, One Theme offers a dedicated section for this task. Since the theme is preconfigured with AdSense, all you have to do is add your publisher ID and you are set to earn. Of course, if you do not want to run AdSense you do not have to. You can replace these blocks with other ads or content.

What else can you do via the backend control panel?

1. Adjust the appearance thanks to five color schemes.
2. Define the content that you want to use for the featured article, etc.
3. Upload a custom header if you are not satisfied with the packaged options.
4. Customize links for the top menu, sub menu, and footer.

By visiting the One Theme page and checking out the live demo and list of features, you are sure to agree that this is one of the top WordPress themes on the market today. To get started, you have three options. With the $99 Webmaster license you can use One Theme on one blog. For $199 you can use the theme on three blogs, and for $299 you have access to five licenses.

If you want to upgrade your blog but don’t have the money to pay for a custom design, One Theme may be right for you. Although the theme will set you back $99, once you take a closer look at the many options you will realize that it is well worth the money.

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10. “Can you make it more web 2.0?”

The term Web 2.0 has thrown the design world around. It’s meant to represent user participation, a simple aesthetic and great functionality. Some clients however have it in their head that to be successful they need to have shiny buttons, huge text fields, tons of gradients and some reflections. Not so. You want web 2.0? Make a great, accessible site that does something for people.

9. “Can you make it tech?”

Stop, and glance down at your watch. It’s 2007. Complicated and intricate interfaces with wires and glass orbs and little lightning bolts are totally 2004. don’t get me wrong, when done right it is amazing, but there are few people with that ability, and they either don’t freelance or are way too expensive. What site in this day and age could need an interface like that? Even the awesome designers don’t do it. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should

8. “I need to see the source code before I pay, just to make sure its clean.”

Also known as, “I’m going to steal your source code and not pay”. You programmers out there might’ve hard this once before, and for XHTML/CSS developers it’s always risky business showing your client a full scale, completely working preview. They could run away with it, so it’s important to encrypt your HTML. For programmers, obviously never fall for this and show them your source code. “It works, don’t worry about it” is a nice response, and not edgy.

7. “hai umm liek i n33d a websyte n hav liek 24 $$$”

If you ever get anything close to this, delete the email and blacklist the sender. If it was IM delete them. Always going back to finding trustworthy clients, this is the perfect sign of one that either won’t be able to pay up, will disappear or your comp will turn up on his site mysteriously, with you never handing it over.

6. “I don’t want you to list this in your portfolio.”

There are some jobs that you may finish and after looking at it think, “Ugh, I can’t put my name on this!” And so it never gets to your portfolio. However there are times when you will look back and think, “Damn! I’m raising my prices after this one!” and the client asks you to not list it in your portfolio. For whatever reason, they don’t people to know who designed it, they don’t want to extra traffic or whatever, this one can hurt.

5. “This guy said he’d do it for half the price!”

Awesome! Go to him! Most clients, in fact people in general like to spend less money than they have to. If they think they can bring your quote down, they will. Just stay firm in your pricing, don’t act like a total pushover and you’re on your way. Part of dealing with clients is having to not be submissive and put your foot down when you eating that week is on the line.

4. “Can you add AJAX?”

The thing with AJAX, and even straight up JS for that matter is that non JavaScript programmers just don’t get it. To many, AJAX means the slidey effects and the highlights with all the fading. That’s what they want. In this situation, many let their evil side come out and say, “Of course I can!” as their eyes ring with dollar signs. The ignorant pay up, and it’s totally true.

3. “Can I upload pictures to this blog design?”

I listed a design for sale on SitePoint once. It wasn’t my first time, so I knew the process of removing bad comments or spam, and attending to questions asked. Noted in bold at the top was how this was just a design. A .PSD file. Yet I still get a comment asking if you can upload pictures to this blog design. Remember though, the ignorant pay more

2. “I don’t have the money right now…”

This was a close contender for #1, just getting edged out. What do you mean you don’t have the money? This puts freelancers in a tough position. First of all, they need the money. You can’t just give it over on the client’s promise to pay when they get the money. Do you wait? Take another client as you contemplate the situation? Here you really just need to make sure the client realizes they don’t see one line of code until you see your PayPal balance on the rise.

1. “Sorry to waste your time, we’re going to hire someone else”

The number one, single worst thing you could ever hear after weeks of drafting and comps and revisions is this. Hiring someone else? This comes from the client that manages to get out of a down payment, or you never found trustworthy to begin with. Part of being a freelancer is proper invoicing and following up. This includes down payments and contracts. If the client is skeptical, then they’re not worth it. Contracts protect mutually.

Connor Wilson is a freelance web designer living in Toronto, Ontario.

First things first, a clarification:

• Client Side: code that is executed by the client’s (user’s) browser, like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and the likes. You can see the source code of client side languages.
• Server Side: code that is executed by the server and sent back out to the client in the form of HTML/text, like PHP, Ruby and ASP. You can not see the source code from your browser. This article will not deal with server side languages.

This will be all about the client side languages. Mainly (x)HTML and CSS. I will also be assuming you have no prior experience, and have no idea what either are. Please also note, this is not a tutorial on how to make a web page, rather a guide from one experienced person to someone wanting to learn how to learn, essentially.

The Hyper Text Markup Language

HTML stands for just that: Hyper Text Markup Language. When you put an X infront of it, it stands for eXtensible. The first thing that comes into your head might be, “I’ve heard of this, but what does it have to do with a web site?“.

The answer to that is simple. All web pages output HTML to the browser, which is then read by the browser and outputted to your screen accordingly. Simple, right? All you need to know is that if you want to have a page on the internet, you will use HTML. Whether you outsource the coding and don’t know a thing about it, you still need it.

HTML is like the air we breathe for the web.

Next, with these two seemingly identical ‘languages‘ there must be some differences besides on letter. Of course, there are, but before I can get into that (for now it’s over your head) you need some resources. These links will put you on your way to mastering the most basic of all web languages:

• Basic HTML Tutorials from Pixel2Life
• Your HTML Source (Excellent!)
• XHTML Tutorial Series from W3 Schools

Look like a small list? You don’t need any more than that! It’s that simple. Hopefully you understand.

Cascading Style Sheets

CSS isn’t just a game, you know, it’s what makes websites look the way they do!

For anyone completely new to CSS, I like to get them to do this. This is for Firefox users, and if you aren’t one, then become one I’ll also be touching on the cross-broswer issues of today later on. Anyways, here’s what to do:

1. Go to any website. You’re reading this on one right now, so head to #2.
2. Up top, go View > Page Style and click No Style.
3. What happened!?!

You just saw the affect CSS has on web pages. XHTML isn’t to make websites look good, its just the markup. The canvas, if you will. CSS if the paint. CSS styles web pages using a variety of different methods, and to understand this, here are some more resources:

• Your HTML Source Stylesheets (Again, excellent resource)
• Pixel2Life Basic CSS Tutorials

That’s all you should need, really.

HTML + CSS + Web Browsers

When I said the browser outputs HTML accordingly, I meant it. Different browsers will interpret CSS and HTML differently than others. This is an ongoing issue in the web development world, and always will be, mainly for one reason: Internet Explorer. Firefox and other browsers such as Opera, Safari, etc… display CSS more as intended than IE. It’s like IE tried to fix things it sees wrong.

The problem? Your website may look perfect- just as intended- in all broswers, but when you come around to IE things are misplaced, broken and dithered. This can be very discouraging, so it’s important to remember some things:

• There is usually one solution to a problem, but don’t kill yourself finding it.
  
• HTML ‘if statements’ (conditional comments) can help you to use browser dependent style sheets. Read about it here.

XHTML vs HTML

The differences between the two will be seemingly non-existent or minimal at first, but if you do a little bit of research, you will start to see some differences. This article from W3 Schools outlines one differences, and is a good read for beginners.

Essentially, XHTML is a stricter version of HTML. Today, XHTML is used on the more modern and web-savvy sites. In normal HTML you are likely to come across tables for layouts, animated GIFs and the like, whereas XHTML users are more likely to promote validity and accessibility. All with tons of exceptions of course.

What can these two do together?

A great way to conclude this is to show you a series of websites named CSS galleries. These sites gather the best looking websites from all over the internet that make use of CSS and XHTML properly. Here’s a few good ones:

• CSS Zen Garden - Shows the true potential of CSS. Users submit CSS files to style one HTML file that does not change. Everything must be done with CSS.
• CSS Remix
• CSS Import
• Screenalicious - More basic, but still worth a look.

One of the hardest things about web design is getting over the first hurdle. Making your first design is one of them, and making it come to life is equally ground breaking for someone new to it all. As someone who has been through many websites in all kinds of levels, all kinds of techniques and styles, I’d like to share what I think is the best way to go. The following tips are mainly general and might not work for everyone but remember- you can succeed in this. You just have to give yourself and your talent a shot.

Take good advice.

When you come across articles like this where someone is offering advice and tips based on experience, read up. Be a sponge. You can never know enough in the web design world. Even the seasoned gods of web design learn new things everyday. Design is a funny thing. You can be from varying talents and techniques and everyone will always come up with a different design, and a different opinion on this:

Your overall skill to design (websites) is a mixture of pure, god given natural talent that can not be learned and the things you can learn, like the tools, techniques and tricks.

Finding your talent and a balance between the learning portions is important. You can’t just walk into this, unfortunately. If you’re the most talented designer this world has ever seen, you’re nothing without your tools. Photoshop (or your weapon of choice) is like a language. A language to communicate your talent and ideas with. Someone who comes to a foreign country with a Ph. D. can’t use their education without being able to speak a word of the language, can they?

So, how do I go about gaining these skills? Well, the aforementioned parts of design that you can learn are widely available on the internet. There are many ways to learn design. The way I went about it was back in the Photoshop 7 days, I would toot over to Good-Tutorials and soak up every cool looking technique I could. Abstract waves, grunge buildings, bubble gum text, you name it- I could do it. But how has all that helped me today? I actually couldn’t do that today if you asked me to. All that helped me learn Photoshop.

I may not be able to create amazing fantasy art work with all glowing and amazing effects, but 100% I am more comfortable with the Photoshop interface and all things associated. Shortcuts, options, panels, windows, I know it all. The only way you can know it all is by just doing it. Here’s a simple quote:

Just do it. - Nike

Now, it may seem cliche, but think about it. You can manufacture experience by just doing it. Make the coolest looking desktop around, and some awesome forum signatures. Learn how to use renders and popout signature effects. Join a graphics community. This all may have nothing to do with web design, but like I said- you can’t just walk into this.

Today when I see a bad design, and I mean realllly bad, I can assume one, or even both of the following things:

1. The person has not used Photoshop a day in their life, and this is what they can do. It’s their limit.
2. They have no design eye. They don’t have that talent.

I’ve been constantly referencing Photoshop here, but that’s only because Photoshop is my tool. Photoshop is my weapon of choice. It may not be yours- and thats perfectly fine. Fireworks, GIMP, paint- whatever. In the end we can all admit that it’s not how you do it, it’s what you do.

So after all this, and you’re into the entire graphics thing, and you can do all this nice stuff, and most of all you’re comfortable with your tool- it’s now time to dip your feet in the water.

First things first. Basic stuff to set up your document.

• Size: Around 1000×1000 is where I always start. 800×600 users obviously don’t care much about how a site looks anyways, right? Also, you’ll find in this market especially, the average user runs 1280×1024.
• Colour: RGB colour. Safest way to go when dealing with the web, and dithering problems for IE users (*spits*).

Alright, great, so now you have this huge blank space. This is where you explore your own creativity, but here are some common mistakes:

• Alignment: If things don’t line up, your design probably won’t look right. Structure is key. If you have to, create a ‘wireframe’ first. This is when you make little outlines of where every element will go before adding an colour, etc…
• Colours: When starting, try to stick to a one colour scheme. It’s best to not add more, because early on it gets a little messy. You’ll be surprised how fast you’ll find how colours match and clash, and even how it applies to clothes, paint, etc…
• Effects: While gaining the first little steps and getting them under your belt, feel free to go crazy with brushes, effects, renders, anything. You’re not going to walk into ‘web 2.0′ on your first day.

Your style is something that will develop over time, and will progress as well. If you’re not one with that talent, or eye, don’t worry about it. It’s not one of those things that you really see in yourself, but something that comes out and is quite obviously there.

You should be on a good path by now, but remember, all the things mentioned here won’t take you a day, a week or even a month for that matter. Give it time. Your designing is like a plant. It needs to grow. With proper nurturing and attention it will sprout up no problem, and people will notice it I leave you with this:

Respect your inspiration

Basically means don’t steal from those you look up to.

Daily Color Scheme is a website in it’s beta stages, but what they have to offer is very promising. This isn’t a great new technology that will change the way you create websites, but it is a great resource if you need some ideas or inspiration for your next website.

There is a new color scheme available each day for you to download in six different formats including a photoshop color table, css file, and html. Since the site has really only been up and running since the beginning of September, the archives aren’t very deep, but they are coming up on twenty different schemes for you to choose from. Since the site is updated daily, it will slowly build up a pretty good collection, and if you want to see every color scheme they create you can subscribe to their RSS feed and receive updates as soon as they are posted.

If this sounds like something you’re interested why not go take a look around at their site, and if you have any resources that you use regularly, why not share them with us in the comments.

CSS is defined on the World Wide Web Consortium’s(w3c) website as “a simple mechanism for adding style (e.g. fonts, colors, spacing) to Web documents.” Check out some of these resources that will have you using CSS like a pro in no time.

• A large resource of specifications, tutorials, and examples at the w3c website
• CSS Tutorial at W3CSchools.com
• CSSZenGarden: Great examples of what can be done when CSS is used right
• Wikipedia knows everything, even CSS
• CSS tips and tricks at The Blog Herald
• CSSPlay: A huge gallery of CSS being used right
• Quiet possibly the largest collection of CSS and design resources on the web
• Beginner’s guide to CSS by Cameron Moll
• CSS cheat sheet

This is just a very small sample of what you can find on this subject, but there is enough information to keep even the most seasoned designers busy for days, even if you just look at the examples of some of the things people have accomplished using only CSS. If you aren’t very familiar with CSS take the time to understand it a little bit better, you’ll thank your self in the end, and even if you are a web design expert and know CSS like the back of your hand, take some time out to see some of the uses that other people have found for CSS. Like always if you have any websites that you can’t live without and want to share them with us, let us know about them in the comments.