Tutorial: Adding Images To Blogger Blogs For Better SEO

Featured Project: Affordable Signs Website.

Client: Affordable Signs, St. Louis MO. USA.
Project: Logo and Website design for a signs company located in MO, USA.
Tools & Technologies: Adobe Creative Suite, XHTML, JavaScript, Custom Coda-Slider
Live Link: www.signsstl.com
Launched: Dec 12, 2012 (12-12-12)

Excluding Directories From Open Cart - Edit .htaccess

Hi, Everyone,

I am working with Open Cart  now a days and there are many things needed be taken care of, for example I had an issue with Open Cart taking over my server :) and since I am using Friendly SEO URLs e.g. www.yourstylebazaar.com/women etc. this creates a situation when you have installed open cart on the root of your website "It does not let you access new sub-directories you create" so, the solution is to edit the .htaccess file on the root of your server and follow these steps;

1- Open your ".htaccess" file in a Text Editor or Dreamweaver
2- Find the line "RewriteBase /"
3- Just under this line add a new line of code "RewriteRule ^/directory-name [L]" Where "directory-name" is the name of your own directory you have already created on the server via FTP or File Manager etc.

Now when you access this newly created directory, it'll still show the Open Cart page with "Page Not Found" error, this is because open cart has put a custom 404 Page on your server, to get rid of this situation you'll have to upload an Index file (index.html, index.htm or index.php etc.) to access the directory.

I have created a custom directory on the client server to show this function; www.yourstylebazaar.com/iqtidar/ here it shows the index.html file free from the clutches of Open Cart, I believe the same solution can be applied to Word Press or other software that use .htaccess and URL Rewrite Module to present SEO Friendly or User Friendly URLs.

I applied this solution to Open Cart 1.5.4

Thanks & Enjoy !
I.Q !

How To Disable all Countries in Opencart

While today working with OpenCart for a client, I found out that the back-office has many many countries and there is not an option to select multiple countries and disable them from appearing for users/customers in the front-office. I found the following tutorial to be the best solution, fast and easy. Click the following link for the tutorial.

How To Disable all Countries in Opencart – A guide for e-commerce starters:

'via Blog this'

Using HTML "Fieldsets & Legends"

I had to use the "Legend" attribute of HTML in a project today, normally this is used in forms but I had to use it to post a Cautionary Statement on the home page of a project, you can take a live look at that here; http://samnelson.biz/jsr/ Also you can use the "View Source" option to check how I setup this stuff using aid from CSS. But there is one issue, I am still not able to find out a way to "center" the legend text i.e. "Cautionary Statement" here in IE. :) I am using IE 8 and it's showing it on the Left, both FireFox and Chrome are showing it in the center, for Chrome the css property "text-align:center;" works and for FireFox simple aligm="center" makes it in the middle of the top border, I also change the border style with CSS by using;

style="border: solid 1px #b9d9ed;"

You can find more help on this at this page: http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutorials/forms/article.php/3479111/Fieldsets-and-Legends.htm 

Cracking Open MacBook Air 13-inch (2012)

Cracking Open MacBook Air 13-inch (2012)

In this post at TechRepublic, they have cracked-open the 2012 MacBook Air, to me the manufacturing is great of a MacBook. Looking inside an Apple will give you more idea about the quality of their products or if they are worth the prices they charge ? :)

'via Blog this'

Featured Artist: Ugur Sahin - 3D Automotive Design & Concepts

Right-click Images and Open in New Tab to view full-size High Resolution Images.

A few days back I was squirming around Deviant Art and I found this guys page  http://ugursahin1234.deviantart.com/ and whoaaaa... the Cars were made in 3D and they were so beautiful and exquisite I was immediately impressed. This man is living my dream life :) designing Cars in 3D both real-world ones and the concept cars as well.

Take a look at his company website  http://www.ugursahindesign.com because pictures speak more than words do. Amazing artist and designer and from Turkey.... one of my favorite countries.

HTML Accent Entity Codes

Ever wonder how to add the accent / dash / hyphen ( ' ) over "é" or other letters or many other variations of this type when working in HTML.... Your problem is solved :) here's a whole list of the HTML Accent Entity Codes (that's what they are called).

HTML Accent Entity Codes: "é"

I had to search these since a client had asked to add accent to a name in the article and I had no clue about this. :) but a live saver, the codes also worked in the Expression Engine Title field, so it was a great experience.


'via Blog this'

Featured Work: Customized Simple jQuery Dropdowns

Hi. I just customized a good and simple jQuery drop-down menu which proved to be very good in a situation where I have a bit complex design layout. This jQuery menu is available for download at CSS Tricks: http://css-tricks.com/simple-jquery-dropdowns.

 The basic menu looked like this:

And the customized version that I did looks like this:

You can view the live demo of customized version at: http://www.samnelson.biz/bli/

SEO: +1 your website

I think +1 is a great way to optimize the websites for Google, as people share their interest together and it counts as a measuring tool of the quality of pages, more people +1 it the more it's a good quality or relevant to topic page. I like this idea of google and have seen my websites perform better in search engine due to this handy tool.

You can also add this widget to your website here: Let visitors recommend your content on Google Search and share it on Google+ ( http://www.google.com/webmasters/+1/button/ )

Pretty Photo - JQuery Plug-In

PrettyPhoto is a jQuery lightbox clone. Not only does it support images, it also support for videos, flash, YouTube, iframes and ajax. It’s a full blown media lightbox. It is very easy to setup, yet very flexible if you want to customize it a bit. Plus the script is compatible in every major browser, even IE6. It also comes with useful APIs so prettyPhoto can be launched from nearly anywhere (yes, that includes Flash)!”

Read more about jQuery lightbox for images, videos, YouTube, iframes, AJAX | Stéphane Caron – No Margin For Errors on: http://www.no-margin-for-errors.com/projects/prettyphoto-jquery-lightbox-clone/

Babar Iqbal (Youngest MCP,MCTS,MSP,CIWA & CWNA, Software Architect, Technology Guru & Speaker) from D.I. Khan, Pakistan.

Khaleej Times featuring Babar Iqbal in its Pakistan Independence Day Special Edition on 14th August 2011!

Babar Iqbal (Urdu: بابراقبال )(Born March 2,1997), is a whiz Kid and IT Prodigy from Pakistan who started at the age of 5. He came to the prominence by becoming one of the the Youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) at the age of 9 years 27 days on March 29 2006,Youngest Certified Internet Web Professional Associate (CIWA) aged 9 years 02 months 25 days on May 27 2006, Youngest Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) at 10 years 02 months 25 days on May 27 2007, Youngest Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) at 11 years 05 months 08 days on 10 August 2008 and Youngest Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) in .NET 3.5 at 12 years 03 months 20 days on June 22 2009.

" My wish and dream is to spread IT around the world, specially children!...every child deserves education! "--Babar Iqbal,
Youngest MCP,MCTS,MSP,CIWA and CWNA in the world.

Windows Phone 7 /XNA Developer,Software Architect,IEEE Published Researcher and Technology Guru & Speaker!Z

His Official Website: http://www.babariqbal.com

Facebook Page, IT For All: http://www.facebook.com/studentscafe

Pride of Pakistan !!! Pakistan Zindabad.............

My Status ! :)

Hi, Audience...

there have been no posts for some time due to my busy life at this point, as soon as I get relief I will be posting some great resources. :)

Thanks.

Flash Drop Down Menu Tutorial with Actionscript 3.0

[HD] Flash Drop Down Menu Tutorial with Actionscript 3.0



A good 42 min tutorial from www.tutvid.com on creating a drop-down menu in Actionscript 3.0 using Flash CS4 or above. I am actually trying to implement this menu in a current project of mine, let's see how much success I get. :)

3D Abstract & Tech Art Wallpapers

1280 x 960 "Righ-Click -> Open in new tab" for full size

1600 x 1200 "Righ-Click -> Open in new tab" for full size 

1280 x 1024 "Righ-Click -> Open in new tab" for full size 

1600 x 1200 "Righ-Click -> Open in new tab" for full size 

1280 x 960 "Righ-Click -> Open in new tab" for full size 

1280 x 1024 "Righ-Click -> Open in new tab" for full size 

1280 x 1024 "Righ-Click -> Open in new tab" for full size 

I found these and similar abstract wallpapers a great way of inspiration in designing techy / abstract website designs. We can also get a hold of some artistic ideas from these wallpapers, and they are off-course the jewel of our desktop. :D

3Ds Max Tutorial - 1 - Introduction to the Interface - YouTube

3Ds Max Tutorial - 1 - Introduction to the Interface - YouTube



This is a great series of tutorials from The New Boston , the above tutorial is an introduction to 3Ds Max and it's pretty basic for the beginners. Normally we have some trouble finding tutorials which are very basic and for people who want to start from scratch, so I found this very useful and wanted to share with everyone. There is a whole series to follow which will teach more complex topics like modeling, design and textures etc. in 3Ds Max 2010.

They also have many tutorials on other software and languages like Dreamweaver, Javascript, After Effects etc. Their YouTube Channel looks great and what else do you want if you get FREE tutorials and FREE Education. Thanks to The New Boston.

FREE Website HTML Template With Source PNG.

Right-Click -> Open In New Tab for larger resolution.

Hi. Today again,
I am offering another on my template for FREE To Download. I did this for a client back a few years, but He wanted the exact replica of another site He showed me :) Sometimes clients can be like that, can't listen and ruin your hours of hard-work.

Download Link: https://rapidshare.com/files/4245443565/WaterMarkBuilders.zip

The above zip file includes, HTML File, CSS File and the Source Fireworks PNGs in the "Source Files" folder.

Tutorial: Nav Button - Designing Buttons in Adobe Fireworks. FREE Source.

Designing navigation buttons in Adobe Fireworks using gradients and two squares with  little bit rounded corners. I recently used this button on my latest project www.april-laundry.com

"Right-Click - Open In New Tab" to view larger image.

To bring the effect of the semi-transparent cut in the middle of button, I have given the 2nd rectangle's 1st grandient color and opacity of 18% and the 2nd is 0% because it's already out of button dimensions and gives the upper color a light effect. The engraved arrow has an inner shadow, you can view the shadow color and values in the source file.

Download the source Fireworks PNG from the following link to get more insight.

Download Link: https://rapidshare.com/files/4143501687/btn_home.png
File Type: Adobe Fireworks Source PNG
Software Requirements: Min Fireworks 8.

Featured Project: Bandanas Bar-B-Q Website.

Click on Image for larger resolution.
live link: www.bandanasbbq.com

Client: Bandanas Bar-B-Q, Missouri USA.
Agency: MME Technology Solutions, USA.
Project Category: Design, XHTML
Tools: Adobe Creative Suite.
Project URL: www.bandanasbbq.com

Case Study:
The client came to us to re-design their old non-performing site that had an outdated design and wasn't making sense with the latest trends or helping users to access information with ease. In our opinion, the website of a business should help the business perform better, faster and make more profit.

We designed the site to give it a new fresh look, make it XHTML compliant and giving users faster access to information and resources on the website. At last we were able to make a website that made the users happy, increased business specially the Catering section & increased the social circle on Facebook with rapid increase in Facebook Likes.

Please provide your thoughts in comments, specially web development professionals.

Thanks
Iqtidar Ali
www.souldesigns.net

FREE E-Commerce Design Template. X-Cart.

I had designed this template for X-Cart Shopping Cart. I have normally gotten used to design my templates in Adobe Fireworks, so the source file is in PNG. I am making the template available for download for FREE for web designers. X-Cart uses the Smarty PHP Framework, so implementing this template is not as straight-forward as for a normal website, but for designers experienced with X-Cart and Smarty will find most of the things in place.

The icons and watermarked images are iStockphoto property, please purchase before use.

Source File: http://rapidshare.com/files/321893657/home_layout.zip ( At least Fireworks 8 required )