This site has a great deal of information in the form of downloadable pdfs, and the addition of many video categories.

Visit Advocare Tips.

RedShoeWay, a many faceted blog, brings you wit, wisdom and whimsey!

I am frequently asked what tools I use for web design.  Many of the add-ons and plugins that I use are free and you might want to investigate for your own use if you don’t already use them.

Hardware, etc.:

• Macbook Pro 3.06  8GB RAM(upgrading the RAM to 8GB makes all the difference in the world!), Dell 24″ LCD, Apple wireless keyboard and magic mouse
• Rain Design M stand – raises the MB Pro to right height to use  as 2nd monitor with the Dell,  cools the Mac, and gives me a little space underneath for stuff
• Harmon Kardon Speakers – you gotta have good sounds when coding!
• Nikon Coolpix P6000 Camera – you can see some photo samples here

Apps, Tools, and Misc.:

• Evernote (use the free version for internet version, desktop app and iPod Touch app)
• Filezilla (free FTP client)
• Skype (I use the $30 annual version so I can make outgoing calls to clients that don’t use Skype)
• Bluehost – my favorite hosting.  Really cheap, but reliable, and you get to talk to someone knowledgeable 24-7 for support.  The more I use other services that my clients have, the more I love Bluehost.

Software:

• WordPress
• Operating System – Snow Leopard
• Adobe Design Premium CS4
• Microsoft Office for Mac

Free Browser Add-ons for Firefox (I use lots of others, but these are more specific to web design):

• Firebug
• Font Finder
• Colorzilla
• MeasureIt
• NoDoFollow
• Window Resizer
• CSS Validator

Premium Themes to modify:

• Woo Themes addict (also a Woo Affiliated Worker and Beta tester)
• Thesis

What do you use?  Pls comment with your setup and any suggestions!

Okay, I admit it.  I am a compulsive collector of free icons (and some paid ones).  Just always have to have one more set for the arsenal, and I have been known to stockpile.  What you have here is a list of some beautiful icon sets and many posts that have collections of icons for social media, web functions and applications.  All told there are over 1300 sets of free icons for you to bookmark or download.  Some of the compilations repeat sets, but I didn’t eliminate them if they had some unique sets that were worth noting.

Think of these sets as a good excuse to download a few and spice up a website or blog for free.  Don’t look like everyone else!  Hope you will retweet and share this post and please leave comments of sets I missed.  Always looking for more.    Thanks to those of you that put together some of these ensembles.

Royalty Free Icons & Clipart Stock Images ~ Icons Etc.

33 Free HD Icon Sets designed for Web

100+ Free Twitter Icon Sets

200+ Free Exclusive RSS Icons: “Supra” | Webdesigner Depot

21 Best Icon Sets for Designing Web Apps | Web Design Ledger

29 Free Stunning Web Icons Sets To Enhance Your Web Design | Onextrapixel – Showcasing Web Treats Without Hitch

33 Killer Web Icon Sets for Free – Web.AppStorm

365+ Free Best Twitter Icons And Buttons | Freebies | PelFusion.com

40 (NEW) High-quality and Free Icon Sets | Noupe

40 Extremely Beautiful Icon Sets Hand-picked from deviantART – Noupe

40 Free and Useful GUI Icon Sets for Web Designers | Icons

50 of the Best Ever Web Development, Design and Application Icon Sets : Speckyboy Design Magazine

60 Free Vector Icon Packs for Design Professionals – VECTORTUTS

600+ Free Design, Twitter and Social Media Icons: A Collection Motherload

75 Beautiful Free Social Bookmarking Icon Sets | Blog Godown

Another great list of free social icons | OpenSourceHunter

Beautiful Twitter Icon Sets Mega Pack | W3Mag

Developer Icon Sets: Collection of the best free to both personal & commercial use Icon sets – aComment.net

Free Web Badges & Vector Icons | The Ultimate Free Web Badge collection! | ExposeIT

LBOI Design Blog » Tweet Me Up Scotty – Free Vector Twitter Icons

Round Ups Of Social Icon Sets For blogs | AntsMagazine.Com

Social Media Mini Icon Pack | Komodo Media Social Media Network Icons | Komodo Media

The 10 Best Free Social Bookmarking Icon Sets | TJ Dzine

Ultra Glossy Silver Button Social Media Icons | WebTreats ETC

“I have worked personally with Customized Marketing on two separate websites now (Joggers Life & Letters to My Body) and she has also helped me with side projects along the way.  We’ve been working together for about a year at this point.

I have been nothing but amazed by her dedication, timeliness, and genuine care for my needs and goals.  She always has great input for me that goes well beyond just the site design.  She is very helpful with ways to improve my sites, and has always been able to provide me with  resources outside of my own knowledge base.  She even provided her services to help me through a website hacking nightmare, and my sites emerged unscathed.

I can do nothing but offer high recommendations for Customized Marketing.  Personally, I wouldn’t do business with anyone else!”

- Elisabeth Armstrong

These are some favorite and suggested tools for web design:

• WordPress Training Videos – 46 videos you can download
• Bluehost – Inexpensive, reliable hosting with unlimited space, transfer, and free domain
• Email Program – Auto-responder with many additional capabilities
• Email Opt-in Program – Free Trial can send 500 emails to test
• Woo Premium Themes – Best site for premium and free themes for WordPress
• Affiliate Theme – Many varieties of themes that are easily customizable for affiliate marketing
• Thesis Theme – Customizable theme framework
• Wishlist Plugin – Use this WordPress plugin to create a multi-level membership site
• Shoemoney Tools - Internet marketing tools to help you analyze and improve your site
• SEO Automatic – In depth reports and suggestions for improvement
• SEOmoz – Test how accessible your site is to search engines
• Color Scheme Designer – tool for color schemes for your site
• SEO in Practice – DIY book on search engine optimization
• Shoemoney Free 12 Week Course

For information on how we can assist you with your website or blog, please contact us.

These articles should assist you when thinking about your own web design.

• How to Spot Quality in Web Design – incredible collection of examples and tips
• 5 steps to Register a Domain Name With High Traffic Potential – helpful ideas and tips
• Choosing the Right Colors for your Website – thoughtful suggestions on the process
• Effective Strategy for Choosing the Right Domain Name – good suggestions before you buy a domain
• How is Page Rank Calculated? – discusses  how page rank is calculated
• 44 Design Layout Tutorials – lessons in Photoshop

For information on how we can assist you with your website or blog, please contact us.

This purple and pink site is about collector’s editions of retired dolls.  Integrated videos of the dolls and outfits help bring the site to life.

Visit American Girl Doll Collection.

Contact us for information about our July Sale for Advance Booking of your Complete Customization.  Sale is for new and existing customers.  Use this as an opportunity to have us do an extreme theme makeover (our version of a blog or website redo), or start a brand new site.

Since we are Customized Marketing, specializing in the Extreme Theme Makeover, it was only appropriate that we do an overhaul on our own site.  We had lots of fun customizing the Aperture theme, thanks to the group at Woo, especially Mark Forrester.  And yes, Aperture is our latest heartthrob.