Web design is a pleasure and we’re sure you’ll enjoy designing and developing sites with these simple tutorials and tips. These tutorials are easy to follow and fun to do!
There are a million things to consider when you’re designing a web site: the look and feel, the theme, what kind of content it will feature, whether it will support ecommerce (and how strong of an influence that will be), how to optimize it so it shows up well in the search engines, and so on. In this section, you’ll find tutorials that help you deal with all of these issues and more.
Web Design isn’t a cold science, it’s more of an artform.
Magento Theming: Up and Running
Getting started with Magento themes is far more intimidating than it needs to be. This tutorial will get you familiar with Magento’s theming file structure, how Magento makes your life easier with a theme fallback system, and how to use layout configuration files.
This tutorial consists of a 15 minute HD screencast.
Create a Media Player and Playlist
With such a prevalent medium like video on the web it may be a matter of time before you need to build a video section with playlist and player. By using javascript (in this case the jQuery framework) a flash player and the new HTML5 data attribute you can easily create a playlist that when clicked will load the video into the specified player without refreshing the page.
Diving intoWebSockets
Leverage the power of asynchronous server-to-browser “push” communication with Node.js and Socket.IO. With Socket.IO, you can allow your server to communicate with your browser clients without having to worry about browser support (HTML5 WebSockets, Flash, polling, etc.). This has many applications in modern web development, including chat rooms, real-time analytics, HTML5 games, etc. In this screencast, we will walk you through installing Socket.IO, the basics of using Socket.IO in your Node.js application, and an example application that “pushes” tweets from Twitter to your browser in real time.
The 11 JavaScript Mistakes You’re Making
JavaScript is relatively easy to learn. However, gotchas abound in this tricky language. Are you sure that you’re not following any bad practices? Today, I’ll point out ten big mistakes you could be making.
This purchase includes a full written tutorial, as well as an in depth video overview of each mistake. This is the free file from this month!
Get Facebook profile pictures by email-address
Many applications require email-addresses during registration. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to show other user’s profile picture? In this tutorial we’ll be learning how to use Facebook’s Javascript SDK and the GraphAPI to get a user’s profile picture by email addres.
How to Build a Micro-blog with SproutCore
SproutCore is a revolutionary JavaScript framework for creating client-side desktop-class applications that run in the browser. This tutorial will introduce you to the core concepts within SproutCore by developing a simple Twitter like micro-blog.
Included with this purchase:
- 1 hour HD screencast
- Full in depth written tutorial
- Source code for the project
Build a Spiffy Quiz Engine
The first official Nettuts+ quiz was a massive success with an impressive number of developers participating and evaluating their knowledge. There were a non-trivial number of comments asking how the mini quiz engine was built. And lo and behold! That’s what we’re gonna learn today. Because we, at Nettuts+, are awesome like that! Get started after the jump.
Using the Screen Terminal Command
In this 18-minute screencast, you’ll learn how to use the screen terminal command that comes built-in on almost every Unix system (including Cygwin). screen is a Unix utility that let’s you run multiple shells (called windows) within a single shell, allowing you to switch between them easily and mouselessly. Once you learn to use screen, you’ll find that your productivity in the terminal will be boosted incredibly. Here’s what you’ll learn about:
- Opening and naming windows
- Switching between windows
- Splitting windows into regions and moving between regions
- Creating your own
screencommands with a.screenrcfile
Also included in your download is a cheatsheet outlining all the commands taught in the screencast.
jQuery UI and HTML5 Image Editor
A step-by-step tutorial showing how to make a basic image editor using jQuery, jQuery UI and the HTML5 canvas element. Techniques you will learn include a robust mechanism for working with events in jQuery, properties and methods of the canvas element, creating jQuery UI dialogs and some techniques for working with images on the canvas including saving images, rotating images, resizing images and applying color effects such as black & white or sepia tones. General HTML5 and some basic CSS3 styling is also covered.
Create Presentation Slides
So you’re a web developer, and will be giving a presentation soon. Why the heck are you reaching for that piece of software? Keynote? No thanks. I’ve learned enough programs to last a lifetime!
Why don’t we instead use the technologies that we’re already familiar with? HTML , CSS, and JavaScript.
In this 5-part screencast course (and written tutorial), I will personally take you step by step through the process of creating custom presentation slides from scratch.
Even better – you know how, sometimes, instructors assume that you understand way more than you do? Not me – I’ll cover every single line to ensure that all of you are on the same page with me.
We’ll discuss everything from JavaScript best practices, to the latest techniques in CSS3 , to perfect HTML markup. Ready?
As the editor of Nettuts+ and a site manager of the Envato marketplaces, satisfaction is guaranteed.
CSS Photo Tagging
“CSS Photo Tagging” teaches how to create tags for your images and photos using only CSS . The difficulty level of this tutorial is intermediate; i.e. some knowledge of HTML /CSS and Adobe Photoshop is required.
The Ins and Outs of Amazon EC2
In this 6-part screencast series, we’ll explore Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)—a highly scalable, reliable, and cost effective means of cloud computing. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or have some experience with AWS , you’ll appreciate these succinct and methodical video tutorials. We’ll create and connect to an instance, configure it, install a LAMP webserver w/ phpMyAdmin, and explore security/backup methodologies.
Speed up Workflow in the Terminal
The terminal is great, especially for web development, but typing out long, obscure commands and directories deep in the filesystem can get tedious. Aliases and functions allow you to create short, memorable names for commands you type all the time. In this Premium video tutorial, we will learn how to create and use both of these to speed up your command line workflow.
Unlocking Drupal 7
Drupal is renowned for being a complicated CMS to get to grips with. This 17 page, 23 step tutorial will show you how to take Drupal 7 and unlock its true power, without touching a line of code.
I walk you through from to download the modules to getting a full product-management system running. You will learn the techniques required to create your own unique content types and how to display that information in any way you place.
How to Build a Custom S3 Uploader
Ever wondered how to create a form that can upload multiple files directly to your desired S3 bucket with PHP ? While tools like S3Fox and Transmit certainly get the job done quite well, sometimes we need a simpler, one-click interface for our clients. We’ll build one today!
You’ll Learn About:
- Separating your code from your markup as much as possible
- Creating a form that allows for uploading multiple files at once
- How to work with Amazon S3 and PHP
- Using the excellent Uploadify plugin
- And plenty more. Plus, you have your choice of learning: written tutorial or screencast!
Meet jQuery – PeepCode Screencast
Two years in the making, it’s the PeepCode screencast on jQuery, the popular Javascript framework for developing web applications.
jQuery stormed out of the gate and quickly won the hearts of developers. Its design and implementation make it easy for you to accomplish basic tasks. Extendability is built in with its plugin architecture (you’ll write one in this screencast). You can organize code around native Javascript objects (you’ll do that, too!).
Researching and producing this screencast converted the author from a jQuery skeptic to a believer. If you want to understand the fundamentals in an easy, fun way with the high production values, motion graphics, and straight-to-the-point depth of PeepCode, this is the screencast for you!
In addition, you’ll learn about the Pomodoro time managment technique by building a simple time-tracking application.
Topics covered in this tutorial include:
jQuery Core Concepts Browser Tools Brief Javascript Primer The Mighty Dollar Function Selectors Implementing a Pomodoro Task Management Application Design and Write a Plugin Event Handling and live() Using extend() Understanding the this keyword Using the debugger Code Organization with Javascript Objects Basic Animation Using Timers
Future screencasts will cover Ajax and Test-Driven Development.
Meet Rails 3 – PeepCode Screencast
Since its initial release in 2004, Ruby on Rails has surged in popularity among cutting-edge web developers. And our original Rails screencast has been a best-seller for three years, establishing PeepCode as the authority on video training for Ruby developers.
Today, Rails developers are in high demand and Rails is widely available on hosting services across the Internet.
This 75 minute screencast introduces Rails 3, the result of two years of low-level improvements, API refinements, and performance optimizations. If you are just learning Rails or if you have limited knowledge and want to learn more, this is the video for you!
NOTE : If you’re already experienced with previous versions of Rails, try the Rails 3 Upgrade Handbook.
You’ll learn to:
Install Rails on Mac, Windows, or Linux Understand the important parts of the Ruby language Navigate the default directory structure of a Rails application Generate and write view templates Link controllers together and prepare data for views Design, implement, and use data models
This highly-polished screencast will give you a gentle introduction to the ideas that have transformed modern web development.
Meet Node.js – PeepCode Screencast
The Web has seen at least four major advancements in browser technology, about once every five years. Ajax has been around for five years, and we’re at the next jump: persistent connections between server and client.
Node.js makes it easy to write asynchronous, event-driven applications that serve static, dynamic, and persistent data to clients while using a minimum amount of RAM and CPU time. While other programming environments can accomplish similar things, Node has been built from the ground up to make this kind of programming painless.
In this 70-minute screencast, you’ll learn to install, use, and understand Node by building a real-time geographical tracking system (live demo). In Part I we start with simple servers, static requests, and dynamically-generated content. Part II (coming soon) will explore persistent connections and client-side scripting.
You’ll learn to:
Install Node.js (including the latest 0.4.0) Create a basic HTTP server Use built-in and third-party code Organize your code into CommonJS modules Understand and catch errors Build dynamic responses at various URL paths Setup a development environment Configure and use a Websocket server library Write a browser client Publish and subscribe to messages between browser and client
Most Node documentation on the web or in print is sparse or outdated. Blast forward into productive development and save yourself hours of time by watching this screencast!
jQuery Ajax – PeepCode Screencast
PeepCode Meet jQuery quickly became our fastest-selling title of all time. In this screencast, we explore the Ajax features of the popular jQuery JavaScript framework.
We start simply with the transfer of HTML fragments in only one line of code. You’ll learn about the convenience methods in jQuery and then dive down into the details of the low-level Ajax method.
Included are the source code of the demo application in addition to tips and strategies for using jQuery well. Clear graphics and animated diagrams present the information you need to know over the course of 45 minutes.
Topics covered in this screencast include:
Setup JavaScript code organization Querystring Params & Callback Functions Global Handlers Sending Data Handling Errors Gracefully Client-side API Strategy Common Ajax Options JSONP data transfer from other domains
Ruby’s Sinatra framework is used as a demo server, but the concepts apply to web frameworks in any programming language.
How to turn your Home-PC into a Webserver
With this tutorial you will install and configure a fully-feature Webserver on your Home-PC. It will show you how to install Core Components (Apache HTTP Server, MySQL and PHP ) and some optional components like a FTP – and Mail-Server. In this tutorial we will use Microsoft Windows XP as host system. We will guide you with this tutorial through the process of creating your PC into a Webserver. Later we will add some Bonus-Chapters. If you need a tutorial for a Component which is not included so far, feel free request it.
Creating a Subscription Site Using WordPress
In this tutorial, I will walk you through creating a subscription site using WordPress and PayPal Subscriptions. By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to create and personalize the WordPress registration page and login page, create custom registration fields tailored to your site, and restrict content based on category and if the user is logged in. Along the way, I provide insights to WordPress fundamentals, and help point the way to further learning. This is a great WordPress tutorial for beginners to intermediate users who want to learn how to easily and effectively create subscription sites and use WordPress as a content-management-system.
Object Oriented JavaScript
Ever wondered how you can write JavaScript with object oriented principles? Had a hard time understanding prototypes when working with constructor functions? Tried to write JavaScript that would do your laundry?
This tutorial is here to help you answer all those questions, and more (actually, you’re on your own for the laundry). With both a written tutorial and ~3 hours of screencasts(1280×800 HD), this tutorial covers the following topics:
- Introducing to OOP
- Getting Acquainted with JavaScript objects
- Understanding context and binding
- Working with creation and inheritance patterns
- Module Pattern
- Prototypal Pattern
- Classical Patterns (With Base.js and Mootools)
- Revised Prototypal Pattern
- “Crockford” Patterns (new_constructor and power constructors)
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