Free Gear Design - 5 Star Reviews

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We all like getting things for nothing, but realistically speaking when you undertake a project, there are going to be times when you will not be able to escape spending money. Perhaps the FREE products available on the Web do not suit your needs -- or maybe you are having difficulty finding a specific piece of information. I have created this resource for occasions such as these. I was in two-minds whether to have this page because it does not exactly fit in with the FREE theme of the site; however, I thought that you may find it useful.

All the recommendations listed below have proven to be extremely worthwhile buys. Each was the result of hours-upon-hours of searching for top-quality products. They all have a link to a Website where you can obtain their current price. Many of the links are to the Amazon Website. This isn’t some crafty angle to promote Amazon or their goods. I have found many of Amazon's and Amazon Market Seller's prices to be the lowest around and their service has always been quick and reliable. If you choose not to buy via this site, at least you have a starting price that you can compare with those listed by other sellers. Before you start buying, checkout the FREE Stuff section first. Who knows -- you may find what you are looking for there!

The types of product found on this page are as follows:

Books

Software

I would like to finish by saying, do not buy a product based on one of my recommendations alone. Find out what other people have to say about them first.

	Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP and MySQL (Paperback) by Kevin Yank (Author) Publisher: SitePoint Pty Ltd ISBN-13: 978-0957921818 If you want to know how to build a Website that caters for continually changing content, this book is for you. It shows you how to build a simple database driven Website from start to finish, using PHP and MySQL. The text is readable and the illustrations and screenshots are well done. This book is nicely laid out and is written as a tutorial, where each chapter teaches you how to implement a new feature to your project. The first part of the book focuses on how to create, view and populate SQL tables and the second explains how to manipulate the data in the tables using PHP. I found the book easy to follow and written in such a way that I never felt left behind. After completing Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP and MySQL, do not expect to know how to build a complex Content Management System like for example Joomla! It will however, give you a firm PHP and MySQL foundation to build on. I very much enjoyed working through this book and watching my database-driven Website grow.
	Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites (Paperback) by Louis Rosenfeld (Author), Peter Morville (Author) Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc ISBN-13: 978-0596527341 This book does a commendable job of explaining the key elements of Information Architecture, including organization, labeling conventions, search and navigation systems, taxonomies, thesauri and metadata. It is full of practical advice for everyone who is involved with structuring and presenting large amounts of content in a large scale Website. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web addresses the behind-the-scenes areas of Web design, focusing on navigation and content structure. The text is easy to follow and the visuals are clear and comprehensible. A must read those involved with shared information environments, who wish to effectively display large amounts of data.
	Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition by Eric E Meyer (Author) Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc ISBN-13: 9780596005252 Since I discovered CSS to layout Web pages instead of using tables, I have never looked back. CSS has opened up a whole new world for me regarding separating structure and style. Cascading Style Sheets, The Definitive Guide is an excellent resource to have by your side to help you build cross-browser compatible Web pages. This book however, is more than a reference book. Eric Meyer, an expert in HTML, CSS and Web standards, explains each of the main CSS properties and how they can be used to control the visual presentation of Web pages. This book totally made me aware of the power of CSS and how it can help make Websites more effective. I particularly find useful the property reference section in the back of the book for quick solutions to display or styling problems. The latest version of this book (3rd Edition) has been updated to cover Internet Explorer 7.
	Bulletproof Web Design: Improving flexibility and protecting against worst-case scenarios with XHTML and CSS(Paperback) by Dan Cederholm (Author) Publisher: New Riders Press ISBN-13: 978-0321509024 This book is for all Website designers who are interested in finding out how XHTML and CSS can be used to construct a standards-compliant Website that is both attractive and usable. It is the kind of book that should not leave your side. The book focuses on practical solutions to common Web design issues such as scaleable tabbed navigation and flexible page layouts. The blocks of text in each chapter are short but informative and the images compliment the text well. Bulletproof Web Design will show you how to make your Websites more accessible, by combining semantically marked up html with creative CSS.
	Don't Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition (Paperback) by Steve Krug (Author) Publisher: New Riders ISBN-13: 978-0321344755 This is essential reading for anybody involved in website design. Krug has an interesting and extremely readable writing style and I must confess that I read this book from cover to cover in one go. I can not say enough good things about this book. It is easy to read with many humorous and informative illustrations that help you to stay focused and interested. All of the tips, techniques and examples presented within it revolve around users having to think less about how to use the site and more about its content. When designing a site, I generally reflect back to the teachings of this book before I start. One example that comes to mind is Krug's statement, "We don't read pages, we scan them". How can we accommodate for this in our designs? Usability design is one of the most important though often least attractive tasks for any Web developer; however, this book has the effect of making it more fun. If you are anything like me, it will have you looking at your own site with new and more critical eyes.
	Non Designer's Design Book 2nd Edition (Paperback) by Robin Williams (Author) Publisher: Peachpit Press ISBN-13: 978-0321193858 This is not a book on Web design although I found it of great interest. This is not a book for experienced designers although those without formal design training may find it useful. It is an easy-to-understand introduction to the principles of design. The book is very visual - illustrations demonstrate how each of four principles of design (proximity, alignment, repetition and contrast) affects a layout. Most chapters end with quizzes and summaries to reinforce learning. I found that Robin Williams helped me to adopt a different approach to creating visuals and decipher what was not quite right about my designs, and also, how to put them right. Even now, when my creative juices are not flowing, I refer back to this book for inspiration. The Non-Designer's Design Book also has a large section on type and how it can be used effectively.
	How to Use the Internet to Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business or Web Site: With Little or No Money (Paperback) by Bruce Cameron Brown (Author) Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Co (1 April 2006) ISBN-13: 978-0910627573 Interested in promoting your business and/or Web site, but don't have the big budget for traditional advertising? Let us arm you with the knowledge you need to make your business a success! Learn how to generate more traffic for your site or store with hundreds of Internet marketing methods, including many free and low-cost promotions. This new book presents a comprehensive, hands-on, step-by-step guide for increasing Web site traffic and traditional store traffic by using hundreds of proven tips, tools, and techniques. Learn how to target more customers to your business and optimize your Web site from a marketing perspective. You will learn to target your campaign, use keywords, generate free advertising, search-engine strategies, learn the inside secrets of e-mail marketing, how to build Web communities, co-branding, auto-responders, Google advertising, banner advertising, eBay storefronts, Web-design information, search-engine registration, directories, and real-world examples of what strategies are succeeding and what strategies are failing. Anybody working to a tight budget, who wants to promote a business via the Web will find this book useful.

Dreamweaver 8
by Adobe Systems Inc
ASIN: B000ALM5Y8
If you are looking for a professional industry standard Web authoring tool, then this is my recommendation. Dreamweaver offers the choice of three different working environments (visual layout interface, coding environment or split visual and coding). This software integrates well with other leading software including Adobe Photoshop CS3, Adobe Illustrator CS3 and Adobe Fireworks CS3. The CSS support now features a large selection of templates and new tools that can help you to manage styles. It also takes a lot of the strain away if you are not proficient in hand-coding pages with dynamic content. Dreamweaver 8 also has a JavaScript library of code snippets for adding interactive elements to your pages. This is the type of package that a beginner can pick up and use, but the advanced features would require training to master.

Office FrontPage 2003
by Microsoft
ASIN: B0000AZJV8
If you are looking for a professional industry standard Web authoring tool, then this is my recommendation. Dreamweaver offers the choice of three different working environments (visual layout interface, coding environment or split visual and coding). This software integrates well with other leading software including Adobe Photoshop CS3, Adobe Illustrator CS3 and Adobe Fireworks CS3. The CSS support now features a large selection of templates and new tools that can help you to manage styles. It also takes a lot of the strain away if you are not proficient in hand-coding pages with dynamic content. Dreamweaver 8 also has a JavaScript library of code snippets for adding interactive elements to your pages. This is the type of package that a beginner can pick up and use, but the advanced features would require training to master.

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