Web hosting: Finding happiness

One of the services we offer here at Spigot Design is high quality web hosting. You may wonder what we mean by hight quality… hosting is hosting right? Well, not really. 9 Steps To A Happy Relationship With Your Hosting Provider from Smashing Magazine offers a few good points to think about when choosing a…

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Custom built websites vs web templates

Here at Spigot Design, we plug ourselves as a ‘custom’ web design studio, with heavy emphasis on the custom (and design) parts. But occasionally we’ll build a site that is based on a template for a client who’s needs fit the criteria. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each, and why we…

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Drop down menus are good?

While I’ve designed a few in my day, it’s standard protocol around the studio to swat drop down menus like the annoying, dysfunctional bugs they are. But am I being too critical and one sided? Matt Cronin thinks so:

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YUI Grids vs Blueprint (CSS Frameworks)

CSS Frameworks have been around for a while now, and while there are many detractors, the benefits they provide make them an attractive option for speeding up development time, as well as simplifying complex layouts. After pouring through this Top 12 list of CSS Frameworks, the two that stand out the most are Blueprint and YUI…

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DIY vs Hiring an Expert

Ever since I got my first car I’ve been a do-it-yourselfer. The first time something went wrong that car I brought it in to a shop, and they charged me $350. Then I found out I could have bought the parts and the necessary tools for half that much. I’ve never brought a car into…

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Font Explorer X Pro vs FontCase

Font management has thankfully been something I haven’t had to think much about in the last few years, ever since Linotype came out with Font Explorer X for both the Mac and PC. FEX was free, and it worked – while others on the scene at the time such as Extensis Suitcase were wracked with…

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5 tips on promoting your website for free

There are a number of ways to promote your website that involve parting with hard earned dollars, but I’ll often tell clients that the best ways to market your site are actually free. Well, free might not actually be precise, since nothing is ever truly free. So instead of money, the following tips will cost…

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Collaborating with the competition

Recently I met for coffee with two local web designers, Greg Schmidt of GS Web and Nate Flint from Flint Digital. We met for an hour and a half of shop talk, getting to know each other a little better and discussing new techniques. It was very enjoyable, and we talked about doing it again…

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