3 Sites for Learning to Make Web Pages

There are many websites to help you learn HTML/CSS

Just doing a quick Bing search for 'online html tutorials' will show so many online resources to learn coding with HTML and CSS.  I would say 80% of online material is free for coding lessons.  Here are three of my favorite references/train sites I often go to and would recommend to others.

 

CSS-Tricks

I believe this is the first page a came to when I was looking for some extra info on id's and class's.  It helped out a lot with many explanations and examples.  On some pages there are quite a few comments at the bottom of a lesson or article where I have also learned a lot.  Maybe this is more of a reference for the more knowledgeable, but it has always had some 'tricks' that I started using.

CodeAcademy

I haven't spent much time on the computer at code academy but us it all the time of my phone.  Their Android app is pretty good.  Html and css  coding are just a couple things available at this site.  They have fairly thorough beginning guides for several programming languages(like Java, Python, JavaScript, jquery, C++, and more)  I just found out about this site a week ago when I downloaded the app on my phone to help with my very limited JavaScript knowledge.  I like there html and css as well, great for just starting out.
 

 

 

Microsoft Virtual Academy

The Microsoft Virtual Academy has the most resources for free online that I have come across.  I've listened to some of the CSS lessons and it was pretty good.  There are several 'classes' that can take a long time to get through, but without moving slow.  Their lessons are mostly videos, some articles.  I wish the beginning programming language sources had more written content.  That could be a good thing for some though.  It was a benefit for me a few years ago when I started playing with C#, just never got all the way through one of their coursed(they can be long!) lasting for weeks or months when some might just want to do a little here and a little there.

3 Sites Breaking a Usability Rule

Confusing navigation menu's

McPheeters Turf and Nursery has a confusing side navigation menu.  Some of the menu options were blank.  It could be hard to tell one nav item from another and they are not all in the say font size.  I would have made them into more of a button, shorten and clean up the nav titles.

 

Possible usability issue with non centered web page.

Crook County Parks and Recreation District.  I found this page to be very usable and easy to out want I wanted to know.  My main issue with this one is they 'body' of the site is all the way on the left side of the screen.  This was kinda difficult to get used so I had to make my browser window much smaller.  This site, in my opinion, does a great job and looks good.  Although that small mistake of not centering the body it makes the whole thing look elementary.

Picture scroller towards end of page is not displaying pictures and appears to be broken

The website, Rock Climbing for Life, has info and stories from around the States in blog posts.  At the end of the page and before for there is a huge list of blogs from each state, is what looks like should be an image scroller with information to show underneath the photo (which also is not working).  There are some more things I would do to this site to make it more readable, I was not really sure about where I was within the site.

Great Audiobooks

Audio books

Audible is a digital audio book service with a huge selection of books in all category types. I've had an Audible account for years and listen to books almost daily. It's great for commuting to work or school. Books you purchase can be downloaded to your phone or computer. Audible has apps for Windows phone, Android, and Apple, which makes listening wherever you want a breeze. Through Amazon you can try Audible and get two free Audiobooks

The easiest way to listen to your books purchased through Audible is with it's phone app. I've used the Windows Phone app and Android, both are very good. I would assume the iPhone app is just as good or better. Comparing audiobook prices between Audible and other sellers and the price is about the same and cheaper. There are often discounts for the type of books you prefer listening to. It's also cheaper than buying physical Cd's of the book, and you don't risk damaging the discs or loosing one, which is never a good think when you're mid-book!

3 online businesses I visit most often

www.Etsy.com

Etsy.com

Etsy.com is a pretty cool site if you are really into DIY and crafts.  I wife recommended I look at the site and though I honestly don’t link I will visit this site for myself( aside from buying some pretty cool handmade customer cards) It is really neat.  The site looks sharp, stylish, and simple, it even has a search tool to find your favorite bloggers and see what items and sellers they like best.  The whole think is completely peer-to-peer so you can set up your own ‘shop’.

Cellular outfitters

http://www.cellularoutfitter.com/new-products.html

This is a massive site with some awesome deals on anything to do with electronics.  The site itself looks good.  It’s not as simple and Spartan compared to what I usually like, but it is very easy to navigate the whole site.  There are menus on top and to the side that will take you anywhere you need to go and the options are simple but descriptive.  I have ordered from this site a few times and they are good on shipping time and ALWAYS have 50-80% off sales on thinks I actually buy.  I keep going back to Cellularoutfitters because my money goes twice as far compared to, say, Wal-Mart.

Buffalo Games                                                      

http://www.buffalogames.com/

Buffalo games is an attractive, simple home site for the company.  Of course everyone knows you can go to almost any store and find a Buffalo puzzle, but if you pay attention you’ll find it’s a lot of the same puzzles from store to store.  If you are big on puzzling , then the website Is where you want to go.  Most puzzles you find on here you never see in the store.  I like to get my puzzles from here because the selection is good with a wide range of difficulty so my daughter and work on some, my wife, and I(We all like different styles and number of pieces).  So even though buffalo isn’t strictly just online, you have to go to their online store to get puzzles you really want and fit you skill and style.

 

3 Examples of Businesses Using Social Media

  Three businesses I liked their use of social media were Lowe's, HomeAdvisor, and Outdoor Photographer.

   Outdoor Photographer,, outdoorphotographer, uses twitter (Twitter) in a great way if you are interested or learning about photography. Almost every tweet is a cool picture and type of lense used to shoot the picture. Some tweets are more general tips and tricks. Seems anyone could possibly post something if it was good and useful.

   The second business I checked out was , HomeAdvisor,  This site is pretty neat. As well as all their social media links(Google+, twitter, Facebook, Pintrest...) Their google+ page has a large selection of articles, pictures, tips, and how-to's you can do on your own.  Their most recent post was "tips for successfully running a lawn mowing business" and the picture and article were showing tricks on laying sod, which would have came in handy earlier today!  My wife and I layed our hole yard with sod. I really like the look and content of HomeAdviser on Google+, check it out!

https://www.facebook.com/lowes   Lastly, I checked Lowe's website out. Lowe's Facebook page was nice.  I was expecting for the most part a list of what they sell, or big sales going on.  Rather the focus seems to be on DIY projects(presumably with Lowe's products).  Something I appreciated about their facebook page is a map showing the closest Lowe's from my current position.  Lowe's Facebook page was nice.  I was expecting for the most part a list of what they sell, or big sales going on.  Rather the focus seems to be on DIY projects(presumably with Lowe's products).  Something I appreciated about their Facebook page is a map showing the closest Lowe's from my current position.

Thee Productivity Web Tools

I use quit a lot of web productivity tools, and am always looking for new tools to use.
Here are three tools, two I use every day, the other I have never used.

1. The first one I would mention is OneDrive.  It keeps all my files, pictures, and documents accessible through either the OneDrive app or anywhere you can access the internet, even on your phone.  Not only that but, you can have access to everything on your computer(or tablet and phone), if you have the app downloaded, or if you set your files up in a way that they all come under one drive.  
2. The second tool I use all the time is OneNote.  Its a great note taking application, document writer, scheduler, snipping tool, with editing and drawing/handwriting notes if you have a touche screen.  I use it most to quickly get a screen shot of a web page or picture.  Its great for snipping just the section you want(just a schedule table and not anything else).  Then its available anywhere you have internet access or the application downloaded(desktop, tablet, or phone).  Also you can do hand written notes on top of a document or picture(touch screen).<br>
3. One I have never tried, but I have read several good things about it and it seems to be top notch, is Evernote.  It seem a lot line OneNote, with that option to clip from the web that I like so much.  I have been wanting to give it a try for awhile now, but I think I will try it out now because I read you can take pictures of notes, images, and documents.  Now that would be handy and productive!  Sometimes you just want to write with pencil and paper.  Evernote has a searchable feature that allows you to search your docs, pics, and hand notes, which just adds to the appeal.