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If you are a web designer or developer, you know that every element of a website has its own place and purpose. Most of us design our website from top to bottom, focusing on the header, the sidebar, and the main content. Many designers hone in on perfecting everything above the fold and end up neglecting the footer of their sites in the process. Few sites have footers that are truly specialized for their purposes, and many of them end up being generic afterthoughts within an otherwise excellent design.

Here are some viable design options for building a footer with deliberate, thoughtful choices.

The web design world is always changing, not only in terms of design aesthetics and techniques, but also in terms of best practices. Trying to think of new innovative ways to get yourself noticed can be difficult, especially when it comes to captivating the visitors who happen upon your online portfolio. Pushing boundaries in web design can actually be a plus for you, and what better way to push boundaries than to break some conventions and drastically change up the layout of your site.

I’m not just talking about element placement; I’m talking about the fundamental structure of your designs and the way they are experienced. Consider taking a vacation from vertical navigational scrolling and opening your mind to the idea of horizontal web design orientation. Though a questionable trend to some, horizontal scrolling websites are popping up every now and again, especially for artists wishing to showcase their work online. This trend is not limited to those in the design and photography world, but it appears to be a great choice for either creative field.

The seemingly unconventional layout design attributed to horizontal web orientation is not only a breath of fresh air, it’s also a game changer. The horizontal design allows you to become even more creative thanks to the unorthodox freedom that it provides.

Today, I want to showcase some truly beautiful and innovative horizontal web portfolios that use everything from simple scrolling bars to flash animation. Hopefully by the end, you will find yourself inspired to think of a creative concept for your own horizontal based scrolling portfolio.

15 Inspirational Horizontal Web Portfolios

Mark Penfold's October round-up of the best new tools covers 10 utilities for spicing up your frontend...

Mark Penfold's October round-up of the best new tools covers 10 utilities for spicing up your frontend

It's what's up front that counts. Or so they say. And as far as web development goes, 'they' may well be right. Very few users care about the clever coding that may or may not have gone on server-side. This month's crop of new tools reflects the importance of getting the frontend right.

And that frontend has very many faces these days. From HTML email newsletters to mobile web apps, to CSS frameworks, there's all of a sudden a lot more to think about technically for pretty much any new project.

Standout contribution though, has to be awarded to Typecast, which takes on one of the most challenging – possibly the most enjoyable? – aspect of frontend development. Typography.

Given the importance of type to the web, and the vast history of the typographic arts, connecting these two up is a worthy endeavour. What's really exciting is that this process is still in its infancy.

New tools for web design and development: October 2012

As all designers know, effective landing pages play a critical role in increasing online transactions and conversions. But, despite the well-known importance of proper, effective landing page design, there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for building a landing page that’s guaranteed to thrive.

There are many different approaches to building a high-performance landing page, but they all share a few basic principles in common: prominent calls to action, a highly-concentrated description of the service or offer, and bold, appealing colors.

The great thing about designing landing pages is that there’s an enormous variety of excellent designs that are worthy of careful study.

If you are in the process of designing a landing page for either yourself or a client and happen to be lacking for inspiration, check out these twenty inspirational landing page designs to get yourself back to brainstorming the perfect page for your purposes.