1. Adobe Creative Suite

Adobe Creative Suite is a collection of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications.

2. Picasa

Picasa is a free software application for organizing and editing digital photos.

3. ACDSee

ACDSee is shareware image organizer software for Windows.

4. IrfanView

IrfanView is a freeware image viewer that can view, edit, and convert image files.

5. PhotoStudio

PhotoStudio is photo editing application featuring an advanced tools, filters and FX.

6. Xnview

Xnview is free cross-platform image viewer used for viewing, converting, organizing and editing.

7. Gimp

Gimp is Open Source raster graphics editor used to process digital graphics and photographs.

8. Paint.NET

Paint.NET is freeware raster graphic editor with all the essentials tools and advantages.

9. PhotoFiltre

PhotoFiltre is app for digital picture editing and handling.

10. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is the graphic design package including vector editor and image editor.

11. PhotoStitch

PhotoStitch is program to mix related photos to arrange a panorama view images.

12. FastStone Image Viewer

FastStone Image Viewer is image viewer that also can edit and convert images.

13. Inkscape

Inkscape is Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator and CorelDraw.

14. Nvu (Kompozer)

Nvu (Kompozer)is WYSIWYG HTML editor, based on the Composer component of Mozilla Application Suite.

15. Microsoft Expression Studio

Microsoft Expression Studio is suite of design and media applications aimed at developers and designers.

16. Ulead PhotoImpact

Ulead PhotoImpact is image-editing suite with retouch tools, red eye removals, and hundreds of masks and textures.

17. SnagIt

SnagIt is app to select anything onscreen and capture it, annotate and enhance with a built-in editor.

18. Google SketchUp

Google SketchUp is 3D modeling program designed for professional architects, civil engineers, filmmakers, game developers.

19. Paint Shop Pro

Paint Shop Pro is photo-editing software for everything from easy, automatic photo fixes to precision editing.

20. Axialis IconWorkshop

Axialis IconWorkshop is icon editor can create icons for both Windows (.ico) and Macintosh (.icns).

JPEG 2000 offers much better quality/size ratio as well as Microsoft’s new format HD Photo that is claimed to deliver “a lossy compressed image of better perceptive quality than JPEG at less than half the file size”, and that “lossless compressed images … are typically 2.5 times smaller than the original uncompressed data”. Both HD photo and Jpeg 2000 are very similar.

According to JPEG 2000 and HD photo image formats comparison by CS MSU Graphics&Media Lab despite commercial announcements, WMPhoto quality is similar to JPEG2000. Some implementations of JPEG 2000 (better results shows ACDSee, Lurawave and Leadtools Photoshop plugin JPEG 2000 codecs) significantly outperform WMPhoto in objective and subjective comparison.

You could also check up Image Compression Benchmark which stated that JPEG 2000 in most cases outperforms HD photo in lossy compression quality, in lossless compression both image formats are similar in compression ratio but HD photo is faster.

JPEG 2000 appeared earlier (in 2000) but still isn’t accepted by industry and isn’t widely supported by hardware and software manufacturers. While there are only Joint Photographic Experts Group behind Jpeg 2000, HD photo is promoted by powerful Microsoft which could be enough to win. But probably a brand new revolutionary image format could appear to defeat both of them.

So the winners are: the first prize takes Ernest Fiscalini with idea of anti-cancer site. In very near future he gets first-rate site on Drupal to implement all of his ideas.

The second prize is awarded to Thomas McElwee with idea of site which helps people to “green up” their life. He gets simpler though not less excellent site on Joomla!.

The third prize is not awarded due to some reasons.

Besides fully functional websites and unique designs the winners get original logos, icons and other graphic as well.

1. How to Create Web Site Header Graphics Using Photoshop: In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to make a snappy header for your Web site.
2. Matt Cutts Discusses the Importance of Alt Tags: Find out why alt tags are so important and how you can put them to work in this clip from Google.
3. How to Create a Basic Web Site Layout: Check out this video to see how to create a no-frills Web site layout.
4. How to Build a Content Minisite in Under 10 Minutes: Learn how to create a small site full of content with this video.
5. Follow These Principles When Designing Your Web Site: Use these design guidelines from Hot Studio when you’re building your site.
6. C.R.A.P. — Basic Layout and Design Principles for Web Pages: This video offers a number of layout and design principles for Web design.
7. Typography School: Typography expert David Dabner discusses design, letterpress and properly using typography on computers.
8. Preparing and Planning for Internet-Marketing Success: This video will show you how to get started with marketing online.
9. Meta Tags: How to Edit Them: This clip teaches you how to edit meta tags.
10. Matt Cutts’ Three-Step Process to Building Up a Really Good Site: In this clip, recorded at PubCon Vegas 2007, Matt Cutts explains how to improve your site to get more traffic.
11. Create a Web Page Using Photoshop: This video teaches you how to create a Web page out of a graphic using Photoshop.
12. IP Delivery: Background and Considerations: Learn about using IP delivery on your site from this Google engineer.
13. Photoshop Tricks: Editing Web Templates for Web Sites: Use this video to learn how to manipulate Web site templates in Photoshop.

100 Awesome Webmaster Videos on YouTube

1. CG textures

A vast number of free nice nature, fabric, splatter, sign, etc. textures with a usable navigation.

2. Texturez free textures

Free texture collection with choice among walls, metal, glass, ground and more.

3. Vertx texture library

Several hundreds of high resolution free stock textures: graffiti, organic, carpet, walls, etc.

4. Spectralogue Textures

A large number of free stock textures including HDR textures, seamless textures, animals and objects.

5. ImageAfter Textures

A huge recourse with thousands of free textures: architecture, objects, vehicle, industry and more.

6. Texture Library

A nice collection of free texture among 15 categories: skin&fur, maps, cloud, technical, water, bump.

7. 2textured

Free textures for digital artists in categories abstract, anatomy, man-made, ground, panorama, etc.

8. PatternCooler Seamless Background Designs

Web 2.0 resource with free textures and possibility to edit its colors on the fly.

9. Grunge Textures

A growing collection of Hi-res quality textures including Aircraft, Drains, Vents & Grates, Graffiti & Vandalism, Mud, Trash & Garbage Textures.

10. Amazing Textures

Texture library with hundreds of free high-resolution textures to download: aerial, buildings, streets, doors.

1. Create website conception

Imagine that your website is ready. What is its structure? What content it has? What is the general impression of visitor who visits your site for the first time? What he/she should think or feel? Could it be similar to some well-known sites?

Don’t be afraid to answer these questions in simple language without use of special terms. The main point you should describe as detailed as possible the result you are looking for.

Example: The website visitor should feel reliability, stability. The content should include short description of our market position, pricing policy, contact information and product catalogue. Site visitor should quickly find order form link and fill in minimum fields to send it to us.

2. Set website goal

Be honest to yourself! What for does your company need a website? If it’s important for you that your partners would give you very positive feedback about its design then say it frankly. But maybe you plan to move back online competitors by providing more useful service? Or you are going to create some kind of virtual office to work easy with partners and clients from different regions?

Set the only one goal for the project to succeed and don’t be mistaken that with help of one particular website you can resolve all your problems. If you are going to create branding website with impressive graphic and animation it could hardly be effective as internet shop or news portal.

It’s important. You goal should be measurable. That means any particular number of visitors, concrete amount of money earned with site help, etc.

3. Define website target audience

It’s very important for you to understand for whom you create website and to know your potential visitors. If you can imagine your target audience quite well describe it in details.

Are your potential site visitors’ men or women? What is their social status? Where do they work and spend free time? What are their interests? Just imagine one typical site visitor and tell about him/her.

Example: A young man 26-30 years old, educated, who is interested in career. He is healthy, likes to spend free time in night clubs and spend his vacation in Europe.
A young woman 30-40 years old lives in small town with children. She is interested in improvement of her house.

4. Get to know web development process

You should understand in general what is happening on the developer’s side and how they produce the ready website after you give them your requirements and pay the money.

The main three circumstances to allow your website appear on the web.

1. The website itself as a combination of certain files and services should be ready
2. It should be uploaded to some hosting account to access it from any place in the world
3. The website should have it own domain name

As a rule the website developer could help you with domain name registration and hosting so let’s consider web development process itself.

If your web developer isn’t a single person but a web studio it means that your site will be developed by several people.

First of all, there is project manager which will discuss and conform to you details of the project. He will set tasks for designers and programmers, control everyone to follow the timeline and will be mediator between other stuff and you.

The next one is the content manager who is responsible for every photo, illustration and text information on the site. You could provide ready content or order its production for web design studio.

After content and structure of main page and subpages are described (in this work web GUI designer could be involved) web designer start to work. Web designer draw one or several sketches of site design. After design approval web coder translate web design from image to html language understandable by web browsers.

After all templates are coded programmer integrate design, required modules and content management system. He makes easy for you as the site owner to update site content.

Afterwards site is tested first on local server and then on web hosting to get rid of all possible bugs and errors.

so, now you can define your wishes for individual workers and prepare necessary information or questions for project manager.

5. Choose web design studio

Let’s suppose that you already have a list of web design studios or freelancers to choose from. As a rule they ask you to fill in a standard questionnaire to get necessary information. Learn this document. Is it overloaded with time consuming questions which hardly are useful for your website development? Do you understand clearly questions, terms? Is it easy to get help from project manager?

After getting the necessary information from you, the web design studio tells you the budget and time of your project. But don’t choose your website developer only on basis of price/time ratio. Ask yourself, with whom you found mutual understanding? Who is eager to consider your opinion? Who asked you more questions, spoke with you in simple language and promptly respond to your wishes?

Look through web designers’ portfolios again to make sure you like their works’ level and style. Are you sure that chosen developer could reach goal and tasks set by you? Your choice could be rather expensive but your main goal is to resolve an issue but not save the money.

6. Learn project documentation

Website development starts with writing project documentation. It could include from 10 up to 100 pages (if it’s a big project). Be ready to carefully look through all given documentation, find out and make clear all incomprehensible for you details and sign them only afterward. The writing of such documentation costs some money and its structure and details should prove web developer’s level and proficiency. So don’t try to save money by skipping this step.

Your website will be developed according project documentation only if you sign it (without any future improvements or corrections from your side). If you have project documentation you could change your mind later and choose another web design studio as your website developer.

7. Choose supervision methods

The main and almost single method of website development process control is checking up all its steps to previously approved plan. Make sure you and website developer understand each other fine as well as specific terms and ideas. Try to abstract from your vision since in most cases you do not belongs to the target audience of your site. Ask questions, ask for details if you don’t understand something but not overdo. Your main goal is not become a web developer but make sure you’ll get the desired result on time.

8. Stick to right actions sequence

It’s not a good idea to approve a final design when you don’t have content. You can’t write project documentation if you didn’t define site conception, goals and target audience. Otherwise you would spend much more time on the project or won’t get the desired result at all and just waste your money.

Spend more time at first on planning and don’t change task in the process since it will be completely different website. Make sure one of your company’s employees is responsible for providing all required information for developer or can answer their questions. Keep to the agreement and terms of the contract.

9. Prove that you’ve reached your goal

It’s easy if you followed your plan and stated measurable goals for your website. After website launch you can track visitor’s number, their behavior on site and financial effect. Make sure to control that everything works smoothly.

10. Expand your website further

To improve your site and make it more efficient you should post fresh and interesting content. Someone have to update and support your site regularly, watch its availability and control results.

Bradicon has a wider file range than similar tool ConvertIcon and more user-friendly two-step process. It could be useful for quick icon design mockup or for people who don’t want to spend time learning advanced software. To get better results you should use square images with fewer colors and details.

Yet another online image into icon online converter is FavIcon from Pics. It let’s you simply select a picture, logo or other graphic (of any size/resolution) as the source Image and download your icon after clicking Generate FavIcon.ico.

Though it’s not image to icon converter Favicon.ico Generator is a handy online favicon editor. With its help you can create icon from scratch using simple tools or find inspiration browsing through gallery of free icons created by other users.

Mediators
A large number of projects on Getafreelancer.com are published by mediators. They bid on high paid projects on Guru or Elance and then find freelancers on Getafreelancer.com for as small money as possible. The problem of communication arises as well, since some mediators can’t clearly explain what their client needs and project time extends. Most of such projects are non-public, it means that you should register to have a look at it and search engines don’t see them (as well as real clients).

Competition
One project could have 30-40 bids so it’s really hard task for a client to make the right choice. And it’s even harder for designer to be chosen especially if you are starter and still don’t have any reviews. There are large teams of freelancers which consist of programmers, designers and marketing specialists who actually make bids (I guess on all projects) and are responsible for relationships with clients. So if you are single you are out of competition because you can’t spend all day bidding and chatting with prospective clients and then work at nights.

Mockups
Some clients require mockup providing before you actually could be a winner. Whereas one third of the projects are cancelled by the clients, I guess that they just need your ideas and don’t want to pay actually for your work. Firstly, I made a couple of mockups but don’t get any feedback and projects were cancelled later. Then I decided once and for all to not make any mockups before prepayment. Well, I am glad that I manage to get some project without providing free mockups.

Earnings
When some people bid below reasonable minimum (logo for 5$ and site for 40$) it’s really impossible to prove that these things should cost ten times more. To be a successful bidder you need at least Gold membership which cost 12$ a month and gives you ability to make 150 bids in comparison with 15 for not paid membership. The most common project description on Getafreelancer: my budget is very low so don’t bid above 50$. I want Craigslist/Facebook/Myspace clone but with better design and with new features. With a couple of projects done a month you can earn money enough for beer or coffee only.

Payment
First of all, you should not start working on project before Escrow payment is done by client. Because you could work just for free as it turns out later. You should not give out your ready work (source files or scripts) until payment is released or you will wait uncertain time which client will use to make improvements again and again without any additional fee. The first payment of internal Getafreelancer.com system is delayed for 15 days because of ’security reasons’. To withdraw money from Getafreelancer you should withdraw it first to Paypal or Moneybookers which takes another few days. And some time more until you get your money on your Visa card. Am I living in XXI century?

Benefits
In general, I have a low opinion about Getareelancer.com as a designer (possibly clients thinks completely differently). Are there only drawbacks on this site or it has some benefits? Well, you can build your portfolio based on real projects but don’t expect that you work would be paid even on minimum rate. You can get experience of managing hard clients which would like to have 10 times more features for their poor budgets. You can train your competitive skills because I didn’t see such a competition ever before. You can improve your communication skills talking with people all over the world. Finally, you could learn what the real client needs are and what trends are most hot currently.

• While you are sleeping, Steve Jobs is thinking of the next cute gadget.
• While you are smoking, Matt is running another Wordpress conference.
• While you are watching the movie with your girlfriend, the next startup is selling out itself to Google.
• While you are drinking beer in the pub with friends, Sergey Brin is thinking of another great online service.
• While you are having lunch, Ruth Kedar is creating another world famous logo.
• While you are following friend’s Twitter, Techcrunch is preparing another popular rating.
• While you are reading Digg, Smashing Magazine is gathering stuff for another main Digg page review.
• While you are staying in traffic jam, Lifehacker is running another contest.
• While you are dreaming about great undertaking, Mark Zuckerberg is making it real.
• While you are sitting in the toilet, Veerle is gaining over one of your clients.

Just work!

And “don’t waste your time or time will waste you” (c) Muse