Internet | The Graphic Mac

Top ten Web design mistakes… year after year

Jakob Nielsen’s survey results of the Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2005 is an old article, but proves to me to be an interesting read. While it may seem pretty straight forward, these were the same mistakes that are mentioned year after year. And yet designers continue to make them. The oldies continue to be goodies – or rather, baddies – in the list of design stupidities that irked users the most in 2005. Each of the following is discussed in various amounts of detail at the site:

Legibility Problems
Non-Standard Links
Flash
Content That’s Not Written for the Web
Bad Search
Browser Incompatibility
Cumbersome Forms
No Contact Information
Frozen Layouts
Inadequate Photo Enlargement

I believe the problem is that there are too many people who got a cheap PC and a copy of (Insert cheap consumer-based Web design program name here – GoLive and Dreamweaver don’t count) and now believe they’re “designers.” But the problem also lays squarely on the head of true designers who over-design their sites. We’re so worried about “how it looks” that we forget that someone else (who usually doesn’t care how it looks) is actually trying to read it! I don’t 100% agree with each statement in the top 10, but all are completely valid and you SHOULD pay attention to them because it can make or break your site.

Posted On: 11 November 2006 | Category: Internet

Getting smaller image sizes for Web design

You can achieve smaller file sizes for your jpeg photos for your Web site by blurring the image before saving. Use a slight Gaussian Blur on areas of the photo that aren’t important, such as a background or areas around the edge. A little bit of blur can go a long way to shrinking the file size.

Posted On: 22 October 2006 | Category: General, Internet

Free online file storage and file sending

A while back, I posted an article about YouSendIt, a free e-mail-based file sending service. If you’ve ever had to send large files and don’t have access to FTP, or the person you’re sending to doesn’t, this type of service is a fantastic resource. Today, I have a list of 50 similar services that are absolutely free and require no e-mail registration to use. Included in the list are file size limits, download limits and the amount of time the file remains on the server for download. Some of these services will no doubt have updated or changed their services. If you know of any changes, or have additional services listed, please send me an email with the contact form, or use the comments section below the list to notify everyone.

Bigupload
File Size Limit: 300MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.bigupload.com

Content-Type
File Size Limit: 100MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 7 Days after last download
URL: URL: http://www.content-type.com

CyberUpload
File Size Limit: 500MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 7 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 7 days)
URL: http://www.cyberupload.com

FileFactory
File Size Limit: 500MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 15 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 15 days)
URL: http://www.filefactory.com

MegaShares
File Size Limit: 1.5GB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 25 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 25 days)
URL: http://www.megashares.com

mooload
File Size Limit: 500MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.mooload.com

RapidUpload
File Size Limit: 300MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.rapidupload.com

RapidShare
File Size Limit: 100MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.rapidshare.de

SendSpace
File Size Limit: 1.2GB
Download Limit: download bandwidth limit of 100GB
File Life: 14 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 14 days)
URL: http://www.sendspace.com

SendOver
File Size Limit: 2GB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 7 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 7 days)
URL: http://www.sendover.com

Spread-It
File Size Limit: 500MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 14 Days
URL: http://www.spread-it.com

Snaggys
File Size Limit: 500MB
Download Limit: 999 Downloads
File Life: 15 Days
URL: http://www.snaggys.com

TransferBigFiles
File Size Limit: 1GB
Download Limit: 20 Downloads
File Life: 5 Days
URL: http://www.transferbigfiles.com

Uploading
File Size Limit: 500MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.uploading.com

YouSendIt
File Size Limit: 1GB
Download Limit: 25 Downloads
File Life: 7 Days
URL: http://www.yousendit.com

zUpload
File Size Limit: 500MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.zupload.com

myShareBox
File Size Limit: 100MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.mysharebox.com

ShareBigFile
File Size Limit: 300MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 21 Days
URL: http://www.sharebigfile.com

MegaUpload
File Size Limit: 250MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.megaupload.com

UpDownloadServer
File Size Limit: 250MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: Unlimited
URL: http://www.updownloadserver.de

MyTempDir
File Size Limit: 40MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 21 Days
URL: http://www.mytempdir.com

Send File
File Size Limit: 40MB
Download Limit: 10 Downloads
File Life: 10 Days
URL: http://www.send-file.co.uk

XtraFile
File Size Limit: 250MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 15 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 15 days)
URL: http://www.xtrafile.com

bonpoo
File Size Limit: 250MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 10 Days
URL: http://www.bonpoo.com

FileCache
File Size Limit: 250MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 31 Days
URL: http://www.filecache.de/upload

Supload
File Size Limit: 200MB
Download Limit: 30 Downloads
File Life: 7 Days
URL: http://supload.com/sendfile

TheUpload
File Size Limit: 100MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days
URL: http://www.theupload.com

zSHARE
File Size Limit: 100MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 10 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 10 days)
URL: http://zshare.net

Upload.Sc
File Size Limit: 100MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: Unknown
URL: http://www.upload.sc

Store and Serve
File Size Limit: 100MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://storeandserve.com

BIGfileupload
File Size Limit: 100MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: Unlimited
URL: http://bigfileupload.com

QuickDump
File Size Limit: 100MB
Download Limit: download bandwidth limit of 500MB per hour
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://quickdump.com

Easy-Sharing
File Size Limit: 75MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days
URL: http://www.easy-sharing.com

Turbo Upload
File Size Limit: 70MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: Unknown
URL: http://www.turboupload.com

SaveFile
File Size Limit: 60MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 14 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 14 days)
URL: http://www.savefile.com

FileHD
File Size Limit: 60MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.filehd.com

RapidSharing
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 60 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 60 days)
URL: http://www.rapidsharing.com

UploadSend
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.uploadsend.com

UploadFront
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.uploadfront.com

FreeUploader
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: Unknown
File Life: Unknown
URL: http://www.freeuploader.com

Momoshare
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 15 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 15 days)
URL: http://www.momoshare.com

FriendlyShare
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.friendlyshare.de

orb-z
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: 200 Downloads
File Life: 15 Days
URL: http://www.orb-z.com

UploadHut
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days
URL: http://www.uploadhut.com

SupaShare
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 14 Days
URL: http://www.supashare.com

FileHost
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: Unknown
File Life: Unknown
URL: http://www.filehost.ro

ushareit
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: Unknown
File Life: Unknown
URL: http://www.ushareit.com

SceneWorld
File Size Limit: 50MB
Download Limit: 1000 Downloads
File Life: 50 Days
URL: http://www.sceneworld.net/up

UltraShare
File Size Limit: 30MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.ultrashare.net

UploadTemple
File Size Limit: 30MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 21 Days
URL: http://www.uploadtemple.com

SendMeFile
File Size Limit: 30MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 14 Days
URL: http://www.sendmefile.com

Upload2
File Size Limit: 25MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 1 Year
URL: http://upload2.net

UploadTown
File Size Limit: 20MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days)
URL: http://www.uploadtown.com

11MBIT.in
File Size Limit: 20MB
Download Limit: Unknown
File Life: Unknown
URL: http://a1.11mbit.in

Refrozen
File Size Limit: 20MB
Download Limit: Unknown
File Life: Unknown
URL: http://www.refrozen.com

KeepMyFile
File Size Limit: 15MB
Download Limit: Unknown
File Life: Unknown
URL: http://keepmyfile.com

Hyperupload
File Size Limit: 10MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: Unlimited
URL: http://www.hyperupload.com

WebFileHost
File Size Limit: 10MB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 30 Days
URL: http://www.webfilehost.com

SendOver
File Size Limit: 2GB
Download Limit: Unlimited
File Life: 7 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 7 days)
URL: http://www.sendover.com

FileFactory
File Size Limit: 1.5GB
Download Limit: 25 Downloads
File Life: 7 Days
URL: http://www.filefactory.com