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UK freelance journalist and author Sean McManus

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Free javascript advent calendar for your website

Photo: Christmas bauble Help your visitors count down to Christmas with this free and easily customised javascript advent calendar for your website. Each door could hide videos, songs, games, books, or software. There are basic controls to stop people opening doors early.

The script includes instructions so you can customise the image, the layout of the doors and what's behind each one.

If Goya had learned Javascript

Goya screengrab detail It's a little known - and somewhat made-up - fact that the artist Goya was working on a Javascript rollover demonstration. Here, he shows you what he wanted to do with his painting 'La Maja Vestida' and gives you some advice on creating Javascript rollovers for your own site.

Designing for Opera Nintendo DS Browser

Thumbnail of Nintendo DS Browser boxOpera has released a web browser for Nintendo's DS and DS Lite handheld games units. I've created a site for the browser, including some Javascript games. In this article, I'll share what I've learned about the browser from a webdesign perspective, including tips on making websites that will be easy for NDS surfers to use.

Count on me: an introduction to web analytics

An abacusYou need to know how your business is doing and need to find someone who will give it to you straight. Who can you count on? There's a growing range of companies and technologies that will help you to quantify your website's performance and - more importantly - help you improve it, as Sean McManus reports in this introduction to web analytics.

Making your website accessible

Photo: Jakob NielsenI've been interested in accessibility since 2000, when I wrote one of the first mainstream articles about it in the UK for Internet Magazine. Here's a selection of my articles on accessibility:

Kickbacks for clickbacks: Boost your sales with affiliate marketing

moneyAffiliate programmes give you access to top-notch promoters at low risk. They're experienced, daring and only paid for successful sales. Isn't it time you tapped in to the web's greatest sales resource? This comprehensive introduction to affiliate marketing is written for website promoters, but also includes handy hints for advertising hosts.

Website templates store

Templates storeBrowse my website templates store, in partnership with Template Monster. Offers a wide range of website, flash intro, and website logo templates for you to license, either exclusively or non-exclusively. The site offers a no membership guarantee, which ensures that the designs retain a level of exclusivity.

3D Text maker

3D Here's a free program to make 3D text for your website, including text that looks like the image to the right. It's a cut down demonstration version of the Xara 3D software, which enables you to create headlines and titles for your site with three-dimensional effects and animation.

Partner sites

Create a favicon.ico for your site

close-up of ipod touch interface I'll tell you how to make a favourites icon (favicon.ico) that appears with your website address, alongside your title when it's bookmarked and on the desktop when a shortcut to your site is placed there. Now includes instructions for creating a logo to be used when iPhone or iPod Touch users bookmark your site.

Create a custom 404 error page

404 What happens if people follow a broken link on your site or arrive at an obsolete page? Unhelpful server errors will prompt them to give up on your site, but you can replace them with pages that will bring them into your site to explore further.

Read my tutorial on creating a custom 404 error page.

Castle Fictoria - website design exercise

Photo: Castle Fictoria Want to learn website design, but struggling to think of what to put in your first website? Here's the solution. I've created a brochure for a fictional hotel called Castle Fictoria. It provides plenty of material (including pictures) for a website of about five pages.

3D webdesign

3DML World thumbnail screenshotIt's no mistake that we store our work in 'folders' and navbars are designed with 'buttons'. Metaphors from the real world make computers easier to use. So when it comes to navigating websites, what could be more intuitive than a 3D environment that you appear to walk through? See my 3D Web design examples covering technologies including VRML, 3DML, Java panoramic photos and 3D photo albums.

Writing for your website

Photo of Journalism word in dictionary

"The words on a website are the most important single element on the site because the content is the reason users are visiting the site in the first place," says usability expert Jakob Nielsen. Read my guide to writing for the web, one of my resources for journalists, for tips on making your words work harder.

Small Business Websites that Work: Get online to grow your company

SBWTW book cover My book 'Small Business Websites That Work' explains what makes a successful small business website, how your website can increase your profits and the most common mistakes the avoid. It explains what business managers need to know to work effectively with the website design team.

"...many small businesses are still hazy about the web and what makes a good website...this always leads to trouble...Sean McManus' book is a down-to-earth guide to the ins and outs of an effective small business website... If you have a client whose knowledge - or rather, lack of it - is causing problems, then consider buying this for them."
- Cre@te Online Magazine, March 2002

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