|
UK Web Design Resources
 |
While we are all out to make a living doing what we do, there is also a great feeling of community in UK web design. Many of us still find the time and energy to exercise that philanthropic side of us, and try and help each other out. While the internet may be a borderless, international community, we still try to maintain an element of our British identity.
The internet may be evolving into something we don’t really like that much, but it is still our livelihood, and we would be lost without it. It’s good to share ideas, brainstorm, or just spend time online with like-minded people who want to improve the way the internet works. Or develop design philosophies of the sites that will inhabit it, and improve the user experience wherever they can.
So here are some great resources that have useful information, whatever your skill level.
The first is the site for the UK Web Design Association (www.ukwda.co.uk). While you certainly don’t have joint the association, the site does contain some good info about web design, and contains links to other pretty awesome resources.
Second is Sitepoint. (www.sitepoint.com). While it isn’t a UK site, it is focused on web design and designers. The community is a mix, with a large British contingent. It is by far the best site for asking questions, solving problems, learning stuff, and wasting time. There is also a busy marketplace on the site, so if you have unused templates lying around, you could make a bit of money while you’re there.
Next is an Australian site called psdtuts. (www.psd.tutsplus.com). This is an excellent resource for everything Photoshop. It is part of the ever-growing Envato network which also include FreelanceSwitch, which is a great resource for those who like going it alone. The articles and tutorials are written by expert users, and are easy to follow and produce real results. I thoroughly recommend it for anyone who uses Photoshop.
Next and kind of related to psdtuts, is Themeforest (www.themeforest.net). While not strictly a resource site, more of a marketplace, it is a high quality site, with high quality designs. It also has a populated forum where designers insult each other and share ideas. It also has the added benefit of allowing you to sell your designs online. While the asking prices are generally low, they are mainly single-use licences so you can sell them over and over.
Lastly is a thriving community with a large UK web designing contingent. Wickedfire (www.wickedfire.com), is a forum that freely shares ideas, teachings, tutorials and other resources within the community. They cover everything from CMS design, latest concepts, SEO, mass-mailing and just about anything to do with working on or with the internet.
So there you go, my contribution to the top UK web design resources. They may not be completely British, but we certainly have a vocal presence on each and every one. |
|
 |
|
|
