A Blog by Web Bright Consulting

For those who are serious about learning web design and its concepts and new standards, here is my favorite book from O’Reilly: “Learning Web Design” by Jennifer Niederst Robbins. This book is “a beginner;s guide to (X)HTML, style sheets (css), and web graphics.

This book was a great insight on using HTML markup for structure and css for presentation. I heard this concept for a while, but couldn’t quite grasp it until I read this book. It gave real examples with downloadable files and it’s structured more like a classroom in a book so you can follow along the lessons. Jennifer also gave some exercises to test the readers understanding of the material and provided the solutions so reader can check their work. Since I actually was working on menus for my clients, the menu example really came in handy.

This is my very absolute favorite book on web design and I highly recommend it for anyone trying to understand the concepts of HTML markup and CSS.

“Mastering CSS with Dreamweaver CS3″ is a new great book from New Riders (Voices that Matter) by two CSS authorities: Stephanie Sullivan, co-lead of Adobe Task Force for WaSP and wrote teh CSS layouts included with Dreamweaver CS3, and Greg Rewis, Group Manager of Creative Solutions Evangelism at Adobe.

The book begins with some background information on the (X)HTML Document, CSS and the concept of laying out HTML pages with CSS. Three of the seven chapters give a step-by-step examples (with downloadable sample files) for a Fixed Layout, Liquid Layout, and Elastic Layout Web sites. In Chapter 4, the authors demonstrates how to use Dreamweaver CS3 to migrate a Table-based Layout to CSS Layout. In Chapter 6, Stephanie and Greg show how to build a Gallery Site with CSS and Spry.

The book has a very pleasant style and layout with color images and side notes. Even with its technical context, the examples were very easy to read and follow, even if you’re not doing the examples online. Stephanie and Greg also presented a few great tips and tricks for using Dreamweaver CS3 and CSS, eg, the faux column technique which gives the illusion of two equal height columns.

I’ve been a Dreamweaver user for a few years. Late last year I learned about Dreamweaver CS3 (through Adobe’s eSeminar series) and learned CSS from another great book by O’Reilly called “Learning Web Design “. It was a good, but rough, background to start designing websites with Dreamweaver CS3 and CSS. I’ve been waiting for this book for a long time. I read three chapters in the first week and was able to learn a lot of new techniques and tips I already used on my next design project.

However, a few things can be added to this book to make it even better. Definition and explanation of CSS best practices and Web standards would be helpful, specially in understanding some design decisions in the examples. Also, Dreamweaver CS3 has many many choices for HTML layout. This book only covers three of them. It would be useful to give an overview of these layout and some pros and cons of each to help in deciding on the layout when working on a project. Another useful information to include in this book would be a Resources and References section.

Overall, this is a great book for anyone serious about designing professional websites with Dreamweaver CS3 and CSS.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to techniques and strategies used to increase a Web site visibility by search engines and bring target traffic to the site. The field of SEO is young (started around 2001) and Search Engine Optimizers (SEOs) are highly in demand. I recently decided to ride the waves and start my training in SEO. I plan to advance my skills in SEO (and SEM) in order to provide my clients with exceptional services.

I’m very pleased to announce that I have successfully passed SEO201 Certification course from Search Engine College. I received a 30 out of 30 for my final exam, and a total course grade of 96.73%!

With Advanced Search Engine Optimization I have SEO training in the following:

• Site Architecture
• Text Content
• Dynamic Content
• Graphics- Flash and Splash Pages
• Frames and Tables
• Link Popularity
• Pay For Performance
• Measuring SEO ROI

I’m currently doing SEO for The Summit Club, Katherine J. Anderson Design/Interiors, Palmetto State Base Camp (new site coming soon), and Web Bright Consulting.

Search Engine Marketing is a hot an exciting field and I love to be part of it. Thanks to my friend, Leyla Mason, for bringing it to my attention and encouraging me to look into it.

There are many options when considering professional training in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Ron Jones, had two great posts on Search Engine Watch on SEO Training: The first was on “Online SEO Training” options, and the second on “SEO Training: Live and In-Person” options.

I have been a Google Analytics user and had some basic knowledge of SEO, but I wanted to further my skills and be certified in SEO. Since the online option better suited my schedule and budget at that time, I researched it further and contacted a couple of the sources offering SEO certification. One of them was Search Engine College, founded and directed by Kalena Jordan from Ask Kalena, the popular “Daily Search Engine Advice Column” .

Search Engine College (SEC) has a number of courses and Certification Pathways on the subjects of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Search Engine Advertising, Link Building Strategies, Web site Copywriting and Web site Usability. There are two “Course Styles” to choose from: Certification (”these courses are tutor-supervised with a tutor assigned to guide students through the lesson material and review their assignments. Students who want to receive industry-recognized SEC Certification for a particular subject must take the Certification version of the course under tutor-supervision and make a 70% overall pass”) and Self-Study (”Students who take a course via self-study do not receive tutor-supervision, do not submit assignments and do not qualify for SEC Certification). Currently, course fees range from USD 145 (for a single Self-Study course) to USD 1,195 (for Certification Pathway).

You can sign up and pay the fees online with a credit card. Then you receive an email with student access information to log in to the Student area where you can access the course material. Lessons can be downloaded as PDF. Once you finish a lesson you can test your comprehension by taking a 7-12 multiple choice Review Quiz. For Certification courses, students have to “Pass” a number of Assignments. The Final Exam is worth 30% of the grade, and it’s a timed multiple choice questions.

I signed up for SEO 201 (Advanced Search Engine Optimization)- Certification- on the beginning of April and was able to complete the 10 lesson course in 5 weeks. I was very pleased with the course and my interaction with Kalena. SEO 201 covered topics on Site Architecture, Text Content, Dynamic Content, Graphics, Flash, Frames and Tables, Link Popularity, Pay For Performance, Measuring SEO ROI and even had a bonus lesson on Starting Your Own SEO Business. I learned a lot of good skills that I’m already using to optimize my client web sites for Search Engines.

I highly recommend Search Engine College and SEO 201.