Even nice webites eventually need a refresh... I liked my site, but it has been bugging me... this nagging need to change it. So here it is. Fresh and new, using a customized version of the RocketTheme template Solar Sentinel. I was using the Yootheme template, Ambient, prior. I liked the dark theme, but hated the main text area being black. It's a work in progress, so expect lots of changes.
You might be interested in how I put it together...
My workspace is a wild mess... I sometimes have so many programs open it would make your head spin... luckily I am on a 15" Macbook Pro that handles it like a champ and my brain floats through the chaos like it is home.
Want to know what tools I use? Here's a list:
- Mindmeister - Like Google Docs for mind-mapping. Mind mapping is the brainstorming thing you did in elementary school on the board where you drew a bubble in the middle with a central idea and then drew branches with child ideas... It is how I brainstorm and create my "wire frames" for what I want to include in the site.
- Joomla! and JCE - This is the free open source software that I use as the foundation for my websites along with the editor JCE (Joomla Content Editor), a fine replacement for the default built in editor.
- Central Desktop - An online tool I use for several things currently, but while building sites it mainly is where I keep my to do list of what needs to be done on the site.
- Mozilla Firefox - awesome browser. Seriously can Internet Explorer just go away? I am so tired of that problematic browser in its various flavors.
- Firebug - The primary reason I use Firefox. It allows me to change code in the browser on the fly and see what it will do... then I can go to my next tool and make it permenant.
- TextWrangler - A nice text/code editor program that has FTP browsing built in so I can make changes to the actual files on the server, without having to upload them using the next tool.
- CyberDuck - A free FTP (file transfer) tool that I use to upload files to the website's server space. This is how I get files from my computer to the server.
- Adobe Fireworks - The best image editor for web design image work. I used to use photoshop, but once I got used to Fireworks I fell in love... I use this to modify image source files for templates, logos, etc.
- Adobe Illustrator - I often use this to design logos.
- xScope - this amazing tool is a set of tools that float over all my windows. It includes a loupe, a magnifier that tells me the color code caught in its cross-hairs, and a ruler tool to I use to measure the size of images and areas on a website.
- Skitch - this is the handy-dandy screen capture tool that I used to create screen shots to share with you.
My goal is to contribute to the Joomla! Community and to share insights that will be usefull to other website designers and my clients.
