If you are a WordPress developer there is no doubt you will have your own personal collection of code snippets, hacks or even short-codes that you can call upon in time of need. They are those little lifesavers that can solve complex problems with only a few lines code… they truly are indispensable no matter which host monster you use. In this design news round-up we have highlighted some recent articles and posts that will freshen-up your WordPress toolbox.

WordPress Snippets

The idea behind WordPress Snippets is simple; to provide small snippets of code, helping you to create a magic WordPress Theme. The original documentation of WordPress is excellent, but not as straight forward as you may want. Straight forward is the lead word for WP Snippets. No talk, just Snippets.
WordPress Snippets

10 useful new WordPress hacks

This WP hack list, from CatsWhoCode, has a whole of lot fresh new snippets to help with WordPress dev. Want to remove comments autolinks? Or, are you looking for a hack that will display a Twitter style “time ago” date? If so, you will find the answers in this post.
10 useful new WordPress hacks

10 Useful WordPress Search Code Snippets

In this post will find 10 really useful code snippets that will help improve your WordPress Search functionality.
10 Useful WordPress Search Code Snippets

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboyand speckyboy@twitter).

For today’s news we have collected our favorites design and development related freebies from the the past week and thought they were that good, that we simply had to share them with our readers.

“Buddycons” – Vector Social Media Icons

The icon set is called “Buddycons” and includes 126 vector social media icons. Included in the set are PNG versions of all 126 icons in both circular and rounded variations as well as a vector source file for easy resizing. The icons are free to use for personal and commercial usage, however, redistribution is not allowed.
“Buddycons” – Vector Social Media Icons

Free PSD Templates: vCard Personal Portfolio Minisite

This PSD design comes in 4 pages: Homepage (About), Works (Portfolio), Portfolio Pop-Up, and Contact.
All the pages are in Photoshop (.PSD) format with all layers neatly organized in layer groups for easy identification and editing of the logo, text and graphics.
Free PSD Templates: vCard Personal Portfolio Minisite

Modernist: Free WordPress Theme with Focus on Typography

This theme supports widgets, is SEO optimized and has clean and documented code. It loads very quickly, and has various WordPress 3.0 features. Works in IE 6+ and all versions of Safari/Firefox/Opera. The theme is absolutely free to use in private and commerical projects.
Modernist: Free WordPress Theme with Focus on Typography

Typominima: Free typography based minimal WordPress theme

Typominima is a free typography based, gorgeous, minimal WordPress theme fit for the writer inside you.
Typominima: Free typography based minimal WordPress theme

Coda Shortcuts Cheat Sheet (PDF)

Coda Shortcuts Cheat Sheet (PDF)

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboyand speckyboy@twitter).

Icons are one of the most sought after design elements within web design, and the great thing is there is no shortage of new and creative icon sets that are freely released for general consumption and satisfy our design appetite. In today’s news round-up we have collected five fresh icon-sets specifically designed for web designers, developers and bloggers.

gCons – All-Purpose Icons for Designers and Developers

gCons are a set of free all-purpose 32×32px icons for designers and web developers consisting of 100 icons. The icons come in 12 different colors and are available in PSD, PNG, JPG and GIF formats.
gCons – All-Purpose Icons for Designers and Developers

PixeloPhilia2

This set contains 44 beautifully crafted icons designed specifically for software and web developers.
PixeloPhilia2

ComFi Telecom Icons

ComFi Telecom Icons

Sketchy Social Media Icons

Every icon in this set are in .PNG format (making them easy to edit) and include four sizes for each icon: 16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 57×57.
Sketchy Social Media Icons

Rubber Stamp Style Social Media Icons

The Rubber Stamp Style Social Media Icons set contains 12 creative icons in .png format and sized at 256x256px.
Rubber Stamp Style Social Media Icons

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboyand speckyboy@twitter).

WordPress 3.0 should have been with us by now, but due to a few bugs and glitches it is now going to be released at some point in the next few weeks.

There are big changes in this new WP version, with a lot of exciting features like multi-site and custom post types. Brace yourselves, its coming!

In today’s news we have collected the best resources to give you the low-down on WordPress 3.0.

List of WordPress Version 3.0 Enhancements and Fixes

This is the official list of the many enhancements and fixes you can expect with the imminent release of WordPress 3.0.
List of WordPress Version 3.0 Enhancements and Fixes

WordPress 3.0: The 5 Most Important New Features

The list of new features in WordPress 3.0 isn’t very long in comparison to previous releases. However, the changes that are coming will certainly have a significant impact, particularly if you use WordPress as a CMS. Here is a rundown of the most important new features arriving in version 3.0.
WordPress 3.0: The 5 Most Important New Features

WordPress 3.0: Ultimate Guide to New Features

In this article, from SixRevisions, they will give you a head start for 3.0s release, and will walk you through the notable new features of WordPress 3.0.
WordPress 3.0: Ultimate Guide to New Features

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

The design of most WordPress powered sites will always have a fair few similarities and traits. Sometimes you may have to look a little bit closer, but the tell tale signs will be there, and they will be shouting: “I am a WordPress site!“. Of course not all WP sites are like that, there are some that will dare to break the mold, dare to extend it to its CMS limits, and create a site design unique and inspiring. Below you will find three showcases that show such sites.

40 WordPress-Powered Websites With Awesome Designs

40 WordPress-Powered Websites With Awesome Designs

Exceptional Web Sites Built on WordPress

Exceptional Web Sites Built on WordPress

30 Insanely Awesome Websites using WordPress as a CMS

30 Insanely Awesome Websites using WordPress as a CMS

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

As we do every week, we like to offer a question to our readers that has been previously asked on Answers, we love to hear your thoughts and read your comments.
This weeks question is: How did you get into web design?.
You can leave a comment below or you can leave an answer on the original question on Answers.

How did you get into web design?

This question was originally asked on Answers by Tim.

Answer from Chris:

I was working full time, doing some thankless job. At the same time I was starting up a blog, but I could not get past looking at all the WordPress themes available, then installing them, and trying to tweak it just so. Then, I got laid off from work, and now I am taking a web design course. So I am just getting into it, still in school, but, I love it! I am 36 years old, and I can honestly say this is the first time I am going to actually enjoy what I will be doing for a career. Very exciting.

Answer from Just_linda:

I created a fan site for a filmmaker friend of mine and from there he hired me to do his official site which led to more exposure and more paying clients. Other than taking a few Photoshop classes I’m pretty much self-taught. The internet is ripe with information and all I can say is practice as much as you can, follow design blogs to stay current and learn how to utilize social media for optimum networking.

Answer from Audee:

It started when I wasn’t too happy with default Blogger theme. I wanted to create a blog theme that fits my need at that time, so I did few experiments to tweak it and it came to be my first blog (Graphic Identity Blog). I attempted to design another blog themes for friends and have been so interested to CSS. Delivering PSD to CSS-HTML always makes me excited. I love the challenge to discover solutions for any kind of web design project and how to make them look nice in all browser. My main interests at this moment in web designing are jQuery and WordPress.

Answer from Heri Setiawan:

I went to vocational school majoring at Networking and Computer Tech. But i spent most of my time at school doing Need For Speed and Counter Strike. One day i got a flyer entitled Web Design Competition with big prizes. And i was starting to design my first website for the contest… And i was failed. But that’s what gave me a passion on website design.

Answer from Abhinav Sood:

A couple of years ago, I used to write at my “Inspirit Blog” where I wrote Free Blog Reviews ( www.inspiritblog.com ) and guided my readers on how to lay out their websites, and play with the design elements to generate maximum traffic and revenue and beautify their websites and blogs..

About an year after I started Inspirit, I was inducted into CSSJockey where Mohit Aneja ( web designer ) was about to start his freelance web design n development business.. So I helped him get started with CSSJockey and he got me deeper into xHTML / CSS.. Later, I learned to develop WordPress themes… Currently, I serve as the Lead Developer, Designer and Social Media Expert at CSSJockey ( www.cssjockey.com ) ..

I haven’t had any formal training in web design and development ever.. But I do wish to go to a school for web design and polish my skills further, after I finish my under-grad school in about 3 semesters from now..

Answer from Dan:

I’ve started it as a hobby – same as Darren but much earlier I guess. My first steps I made where in MS Paint, And then my teacher showed me Corel Draw and Paint Shop Pro. I was amazed by its possibilities. It was about 18 years ago. Now I’ve got pretty good skills in Photoshop/Dreamweaver. I can do stuff in Flash and Illustrator as well.

What about you, how did you get started in web design?
You can leave a comment below, or leave an answer here: How did you get into web design?

Thanks again, firstly to everyone who asked a question, but most importantly thanks to everyone that took the time to offer always helpful and useful answers.

As the web matures, there is an ever greater need and requirement for web designers and developers to grasp and learn any new technological advancements. With the new CSS3 properties, HTML5s advancement, WordPress rapidly approaching version 3.0 and with the recent release of the iPad, the demand on the developer has never been greater.

For today’s news round-up we have a small, but useful collection of newly released developer tools and apps that can assist you during this learning curve.

CSSDesk – Dynamic CSS Sandbox

CSS desk is a new and useful tool that allows you to test and experiment with CSS and HTML.
CSSDesk – Dynamic CSS Sandbox

The HTML5 test – How well does your browser support HTML5?

The HTML5 test grades your current browser and depending on how well it performs will awards it a score out of 160. The score is calculated by testing for the many new features of HTML5. Each feature is worth one or more points. In some cases the tests go beyond the specification.
The HTML5 test – How well does your browser support HTML5?

iPad Peek

iPad Peek is a nifty tool that lets you see how any website will be rendered on the iPad. Click on the top border to switch from landscape to portrait mode.
iPad Peek

Elastic WordPress Theme Editor

Elastic is a visual theme editor and theme engine for WordPress that takes a new approach to WordPress theme development. Have a look at the video below.
Elastic WordPress Theme Editor

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

Everyday new WordPress themes are freely released, the difficulty is not finding fresh themes, the hardest part is finding high quality themes. In this news round-up we have collected the themes are we feel are of a premium quality, but of course, are available for free.

Light Folio Theme

The theme has a unique, simple design that would be a perfectly fit for your personal blogs, portfolios, business site and can also be used a unique magazine-style-blog.
Light Folio Theme

UpSide: A Free WordPress Theme

The UpSide Theme is a free WordPress theme that is best suited for personal blogs. The WordPress theme comes with 5 color schemes and 2 different layouts that you can set up on the theme’s options page in the WordPress Admin panel.
UpSide: A Free WordPress Theme

New WordPress Theme: Koi

Koi has threaded comments, multi-level drop down menus, social media buttons, one sidebar widget and three footer widgets. The theme also includes an option where you can config the menu, favicon, social media buttons, and footer tracking code.
New WordPress Theme: Koi

Silva WordPress Theme

While the Silva theme is easy on the eyes, it is anything but boring. Thanks to its dynamic header, you can easily feature your best posts. Above the header is a user friendly navigation menu, as well as a section for your logo, a search box and several colorful social media icons, including Twitter, StumbleUpon and Facebook.
Silva WordPress Theme

Free Dark and Clean WordPress Theme: Designpile

The theme comes with 3 color styles and a couple of jQuery-based goodies. It can be used for portfolios and blogs as well as corporate web.
Free Dark and Clean WordPress Theme: Designpile

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).

Choosing the perfect CMS for any project is one of the most important aspects of web design – and the hardest. There are so many CMSes available and each offers so many different features and options, how can you possibly pick the best? For the most part it comes down to opinion, reputation and whatever you feel most comfortable with. Just like every project, everyone has there own thoughts and opinions on there favorite CMS.

As we do every week, we like to highlight an important question from Answers. And this weeks question is no different, everyone has there favorite and everyone has there opinion of What's the best open source content management system for designers?. Whats yours?
You can leave a comment below or you can leave an answer on the original question here.

What's the best open source content management system for designers?

This question was originally asked on Answers by Rubydevelops001, and has so far received 8 answers.

Answer from Ryan Smith:

Each Open Source CMS has it’s good and bad points. I personally use WordPress as it can do 95% of the sites my clients need. There’s the odd site I would not be to great for.
But that’s not to say it’s ‘the best’ for yourself or clients.
It’s a good CMS to start on. Well documented and tonnes of tutorials out there.

Answer from Emiel:

Since you’re asking for designers and not for coders, I would strongly suggest WordPress. You can create basic but great looking websites without too much developing skills and even if you take to time to get to know the basics of CSS, PHP and wordpress theme development, you can build about every type of site you need. Also your clients will be pleased by the easy to use and understand ‘backend’ of the CMS!

Answer from Heri Setiawan:

CMS Triangle: WordPress-Drupal-Joomla . And there is also a powerful CMS called Chyrp.

Answer from Jot8686:

Joomla is a good, solid system that has a vast community supporting it. Can’t go wrong with Joomla.

Answer from Bridget Thornton:

I’m biased because I consult for these folks but Webvanta appears to be more scalable than WordPress in the long run plus I think it is pretty easy to use and built on RoR. You could try it free.

Unanswered Questions on Answers

Below you will find this weeks selection of unanswered questions, can you help?

1. What's the Easiest Way To Have Users Open a New Browser Tab?
2. Where Can I Find All of A Users Granted Permissions in My SQL-Server?
3. How Can I Make an Ajax Callback Start Another Ajax Call?
4. Are Cookies Still Available EVEN After JavaScript Has Been Disabled?
5. How Can I Make the Images on My Site Pop-Out and Have a Shadow Behind it on Roll-Over? (Like inspectelement.com)
6. How can I retrieve my facebook RSS status?
7. How Can I Convert a Java OutputStream to an InputStream?
8. How Do I Automatically Resize All of the Images on a Webpage to Fit Any Screen Resolution?
9. What's the Best Example of an XHTML Transitional Layout?
10. What's the Most Efficient Way to Make a Text Area Auto Load While a User is Typing?
11. How Can I Retrieve Multiple Anchor URLs Using jQuery?
12. What's the Best Way to Split a Huge MySQL Query?

Thanks again, firstly to everyone who asked a question, but most importantly thanks to everyone that took the time to offer always helpful and useful answers.

Designing a web site layout with Photoshop has been a very popular trend that has emerged into the main stream over the last couple of years. Whereas in the past Fireworks was the tool of choice, with Photoshops wide array of tools and options you can deliver high end designs with relative ease, as these tutorials demonstrate.

Create a Chalkboard Style WordPress Layout in Photoshop

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a unique and original WordPress style layout that looks like a chalkboard.
Create a Chalkboard Style WordPress Layout in Photoshop

How To Create a Rockin’ Website Layout In Photoshop

In this Photoshop tutorial you’re going to create the chocolate-looking website layout that you can see above. As you go through the different steps, you’ll deal with many techniques, some big typography, wood texturing, and so on.
How To Create a Rockin’ Website Layout In Photoshop

How to create a web hosting layout

In this layout tut you will be shown how to create another eye catching hosting layout, using only 2-3 colors, with small variations, and this layout would be perfect for any internet business.
How to create a web hosting layout

Create a Professional Web 2.0 Layout

In this very detailed tutorial you’re going to learn how to create the web 2.0 layout that you see above.
Create a Professional Web 2.0 Layout

Create a Clean and Classy Web Design in Photoshop

In this web design tutorial, you will learn how to create an elegant and professional web layout that can be used as a web portfolio site, using various Photoshop techniques, relying on basic tools such as shape tools and layer styles that will result in a usable web design.
Create a Clean and Classy Web Design in Photoshop

By Paul Andrew (Speckyboy and speckyboy@twitter).