Alright so it might be a little nerdy to dedicate an entire post to a pencil…but I’m doing it anyway. The Sharpie Liquid Pencil is no ordinary pencil: it’s more pencil/pen/sharpie transformer than your regular No. 2. While I haven’t been able to pick one up yet (I checked our Office Max this week but they didn’t have any), they are available on Amazon for $3.92 each or at Office Depot for $4.99 for a pack of two.
While I do indeed have a few posts lined up to further your web design eduction and entertainment, dear readers, I thought I’d take a moment to ask what you want to read about.
This week I have a quick source of inspiration for you: The Inspiration Blog. Created by the designers at Circlebox Creative, it is a collection of design round-ups and showcases. The site features a variety of motivating artwork, including “all things visually pleasing and inspirational.” No matter what creative industry you’re in (or if you’re not a creative but are needing some visual stimulation anyway), the site features graphic design, illustration, photography, interior design, architecture and of course, web design related posts. It’s a great resource when you’re feeling stuck and need a quick jump-start to get going again at work.
While it is always the goal that your viewers never get an error page from your website, it is best to be prepared. A 404 Error indicates that the file or page requested cannot be found. Unlike a server error, a 404 or Not Found error occurs when access to the site is granted, but the address called for is missing. This type of error can occur for a number of reasons; sometimes it is simply a matter of the viewer spelling your URL wrong, and other times it is due to either external or internal broken links. A broken link is usually the result of updating and/or moving pages and files around on your website. Read on for tips on creating and executing a unique and helpful 404 page.
I had a brief moment of dread earlier this week when I visited one of the sites I manage, only to find a disturbing “That page cannot be displayed” error page. Like I said, though, my fear was short lived thanks to today’s featured sites. These three websites reliably (as far as I can tell) test and report whether a web page is down universally or it is your own computer/system creating the error. Down for everyone or just me? is the most well-known of these resources, though they are all similar programs. CheckSite and Down.io also report the status of a web server to determine if a website error is affecting other viewers or only you.
A web icon is the small symbol or picture displayed on the left side of a browser tab, in your bookmark menu and/or in the web address bar. Commonly called the ‘favicon’, short for favorite icon, the web icon can be a variety of file types and is recognized by most modern browsers. The icon is a small graphic with big impact; the presence of a unique icon helps viewers easily recognize your site among others, and increases brand recognition. Every major website has a recognized icon, and there is no reason your site can’t (or shouldn’t) have one too.
