Spot-on with the beginning of the new year, the new Semiomantics XO 2010 theme has been released by Yorgo Nestoridis.

This limited edition is offering Web Designers at Web Design Consulting even better and more efficient ways to serve their customers in terms of their presence and competitiveness on the Internet, based on the latest web development and cutting-edge of technology.

The new Semiomantics XO 2010 was SOLD OUT within a few days!

New Semiomantics XO 2010

Included in the release of the new Semiomantics XO 2010 was a one-day online Semiomantics Workshop to introduce the new owners to:

~ the features of the new theme,

~ its many layout variations that can be explored depending on the purpose and target market specifications of the website or blog,

~ a large variety of applications for different customer requirements, and

~ smart Editing and Publishing techniques to ensure excellent visibility on search engines and Google.

Semiomantics Consultants

Semiomantics Consultants will satisfy their customers’ needs by delivering attractive websites or blogs that quickly achieve top Google rankings.

Of course, performance on the Internet is closely related to cost… that’s just as it is… and as such Semiomantics offers more sophisticated solutions for more sophisticated demands – at a different price and with higher rewards. It’s a matter of choice depending on what importance a customer allocates to his Internet Business and his Goals… and what means he can give himself to reach them.

But the worldwide trend to buy and sell online is obvious and accelerating following Bill Gates’ statement a few years ago:

“Within just a few years… you either have an Online business or you have NO business!”

Website Accessibility for Mobile Devices

Website Accessibility for Mobile Devices is an increasing trend and with Google just coming out with the new Nexus and Mobile Advertising predicted to surpass $6.5 billion in 2012, it also came over loud and clear that Semiomantics will be positioning itself for the future: go mobile!

Expect more on this HOT topic in future Semiomantics Workshops and Ycademy Seminars 2010!

Announcing the new Web Design Consulting Service by Bianca Gubalke. While the site itself is currently still under construction, the Service is available since a while as you can see under “Web Design Examples” at the top of this site.

Web Design Consulting

Web Design Consulting will be focusing on assisting individuals and businesses from around the world in creating a professional, attractive and Google Top 10 efficient presence on the Internet with an emphasis on reaching top rankings on Search Engines via dynamic content instead of developing a lifelong dependence on increasingly expensive Google Ads.

Computer not responding

At one time or another I’m sure everyone has a computer problem; some problems being more easily resolved than others. The other day my problem was that all the browsers stopped working; Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome all showing page not found.

Browser Not Connecting to the Internet

Browser not responding

One minute all was fine and working, next minute the browser shows ’cannot find the page’.  My first response was to see whether any other sites were/were not responding. They were not, so it could be a problem with the Internet Explorer browser  I was working in. Firefox to the rescue? well in this case no joy here either, nor Google Chrome. All completely dead.

The only course of action to be taken here is to ‘turn it off and on again’.

Turn it Off and On Again

It may be an old cliche but a good course of action if the computer stops working for any reason. A reboot often sparks the pc back into action again. In this case as the computer problem was just browser related I disconnected the internet connection on the wall, waited 10 seconds or so and plugged it back in again. It worked!

The browser was operational again showing web pages, in all  browsers. Just refreshing the ip address did the trick. Computers are great, but only when they work as we want them too.

Read also:

• WordPress for Authors Seminar
• How to get High Visibility on Facebook
• Ycademy Seminars in October 2009
• WordPress Seminar by Ycademy
• Google Top 10 Dominate your Keyword 3

Sometimes a plain photo or image is rather boring and makes no impact at all. Just by adding a border to a photo or image gives it a complete lift and adds a new dimension.

Add a border using Gimp

Here are some examples of borders using a free photo/image editor like Gimp. These require no technical skills, just a few simple mouse clicks hence easy to use by anyone.

For this example I have chosen a photo of a dragonfly, caught firmly on my washing. As you can see it is a plain photo, just catching the moment.  

Dragonfly

Opening the Gimp editor I opened the image I want to use and then selected ‘Filter’ and then selected ‘Decor’. By using the ‘Add a Border’  and making a few adjustments this changed the dimension of the photo.

Dragonfly with border

Re-using this new image of the dragonfly with a border I again  selected ‘Border’ and created a green border around it. A border within a border.

Dragonfly with green border

The more you experiment with the editor the easier it gets. Heres another example of just playing around with the editor.

Dragonfly playtime

With a simple image/photo editor you can create your own web effects. These editors often come as software with your digital camera, or you can choose from the many that are freely available online. 

Simple Web Effects

For the  purpose of this exercise in creating a simple web effect I am using  Paint.Net.

Step 1.
Open your photo editor, and open an image you want to select a region from. Go to the ‘Tools’ and choose the selection tool to cut out the section you require, then go to ‘edit’ and ‘cut’. Go to ‘File’ new, and open a clean white area, then right click  and paste. You now save this.

In this instance I selected a section of roof tiles on a house.

Roof tiles

 Step 2.
Now open this new image and on the top toolbar go to Effects.There find ‘Distort’ and use the Tile reflection. I increased  the tile size and decreased the curvature.

Web effect with tiles

This of course can now be used in many ways. Just by going to ’Adjustments’ and playing with the Hue /Saturation ( I increased the saturation to 200) I ended with this result.

Web Effects with tiles2

These images can be used in a variety of ways as background or whatever you choose. Its simple and lots of fun.

Having created quite a plain header graphic for this blog I decided to try and create different versions of the same using a free image and photo editing software. 

Header Graphics for Web Design

There are many free image editors on the net. The two I like to work with are Gimp and Paint.Net. Both of these are good for computers that run  Windows.

Here is the image I started with:

Web Design Header Graphic

I opened this image in Paint.Net and used the Effects to change the look of the header. As you can see from the results below, you can create something quite unique.

Web Design Header Graphic

and yet another example:

Web Design Header Graphic

Just give it a go, it’s all about fun!

A header graphics can be as simple or complex as you desire them to be. They are the first thing a reader sees when opening your site. A header needs to be striking and memorable and yet not distracting.

Web Design Header Graphic

For this site I have continued the theme as used in my other sites and kept the header graphic plain and simple by using a striking free font. There are many fonts freely available online that will distinguish your site fom the usual microsoft default fonts.

Once you have decided on a font to use you can create a header graphic using a free image editor. The font I have selected is the  Sebastion Font. Using the editor select the size of graphic you require and use the font for the text. Save and upload the file to the image folder 0n your site.

Web Design Header Graphic.

Web Design Header Graphic

Of course you can be as creative as you like, see the examples below:

Graphic header by Ute Schaedler.

Header Graphic by Ute Schaedler

Graphic header by Larrie Perkins.

Graphic Header by Larrie Perkins

Developing a transparent WordPress Based Photo Blog, I got inspired to use some elements in a Grunge environment. It’s creative, it’s fun, it’s the Semiomantics XO Theme for WordPress.

Grunge Background

The first step is to create a grunge background:

Grunge Background for WP

This background is 1680 x 1250 pixels big and has a weight of 130 kb only.

Transparent Header Footer and Content Backgrounds

Step 2: make your backgrounds transparent and set opacity to 70 %.

Fancy Fonts

Add some fancy fonts for h1 and h2 using the Fontburner plugin.

Fancy Fonts for h1 and h2

Background Opacity and Hover Function

It is not easy to read content on colored backgrounds, therefore we add a hover function to show white backgrounds on left content and sidebar.

Save load by Scrolling over the Background

No vertical tiling is needed, also on long blog posts when the content scrolls over the background. We fix the background attachment (background image).

Header Transparency and Site Title

To get the header effect I have loaded a transparent header png with no content and added a top margin to adjust the position of the content.

The blog title is painted on the background with position top left to allow display on any monitor irrespective of resolution and size.

Transparency Variations

Your creativity is the limit. You could create an overlay look by adding a black background with 80% opacity:

Transparent Overlay Hover

Try and enjoy!