LinkedIn Groups for Web Development Jobs

If you've chosen to be a web designer or web developer for your career, did you know that LinkedIn can help you secure new clients and/or jobs? LinkedIn also has a very useful feature called LinkedIn Groups, where you can meet, converse and respond to web design and web development questions.
LinkedIn is a very beneficial, professional business tool where social media is concerned. Additionally, the Group features can bring out even more benefits. Here are some reasons to get connected with LinkedIn Groups:

• Networking with other professional web designers and web developers: Below are a few examples of web development and design groups on LinkedIn and the topics they're discussing:

- Web Design and Development in the 21st Century: This group is specifically for professionals in the web design and development industry to collaborate their experiences, ideas, and suggestions. It is also a place where jobs can be found and posted. Anyone interested in design, development, SEO, hosting, Flash, 3D, PHP, Java, etc. are welcome.

- Group for Web Designers, Developers, and SEO: A great place for professionals to come and share ideas and experiences, and you can find job postings.

- Web Site Development: This group is great for asking webmaster related questions or to offer suggestions in the following areas: Web site programming and design (i.e. web site design, multimedia and graphics, reviews, software tools, programming, flash, security, administration, databases, etc.

- Women in New Media: This group is another great one where you can share professional opinions about internet and intranet development, online journalism, graphic arts and information architecture.

• Networking with local-area residents: Even though, as a web designer and developer, most work is conducted through the Internet, you shouldn't limit yourself to only the Internet contacts. Your community also needs designers and developers and LinkedIn Community Groups will help you to find those who need help in your area. Some examples of these groups located in Buffalo, NY are:

- Buffalo Technology Networking Group: A group for Buffalo, NY residents to converse and share information related to information technology.

- Buffalo Social Media Club: a professional group dedicated to the development and organization of social media enthusiasts living in or near Buffalo.

- Advertising Club of Buffalo: Any people living in Buffalo with an interest or professional orientation in Advertising can join this group.

- Buffalo NY Jobs Group: This group focuses on job opportunities located in Buffalo, NY and in surrounding areas. Their focus is in areas of accounting, finance, supply chain management, IT-related, engineering, health care, executive management and plant operations.

3. Networking with past and current colleagues: A ton of universities and colleges have groups on LinkedIn and some high schools have made a group too. Here are some examples of those groups:

- Canisius High School Alumni Group: This is a Roman Catholic Jesuit private high school for males only. It is located at 1180 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, NY and was founded in 1870. All current, alumni and faculty are allowed to join.

- Caltech Alumni Association: This group is a worldwide network for graduate of the California Institute of Technology. Located in Pasadena, California.

There are several ways to find groups:

• Using the "groups you may like" feature
• Using the Groups Directory
• Through a Keyword Search

If you're not sure whether or not a group will benefit you, it's always worth a shot to join and see what develops. If it becomes something that you weren't looking for, there are no obligations and you can leave the group at any time. However, LinkedIn Groups are a beneficial tool once you find one or several that are related to your field of work.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=C._Gillick

Web Development Trends: A Look Back at 2013

As long as the web has been around, many web design and development trends have popped up from time to time. Some of these trends have managed to stick around while others have succumbed to the ever common disappearing act.

So without further ado, here is a look back at 2013's biggest web development trends:

CSS Transparency

Adding transparency on a website has been a major trend throughout 2013. New CSS3 properties now allow for editing of opacity for any webpage element. Using these new features, one can apply effects which can turn out to be visually stunning.

The Greenhouse is a great example, do a search on Google to see their execution. In this technique, color blocks or images are de-saturated so that the color is diluted, causing the images in the background to show through. Web developers and web designers also use transparency to create contrast. This technique gives developers the flexibility to generate transparency in any web browser (all without the help of Photoshop).

There are some dos and don'ts with transparency that should be followed. For example, transparency should ideally be used in small spaces and at varying levels. Transparency should also not cover the background image or any image that conveys the basic message of the site or brand. Transparency as an effect should not be used for simply decorating a website here and there.

Automation of Documentation

Though it is the least glamorous element for any development project, it is also the most crucial for a successful product or service. Although documentation gets a bad rap, it is a vital element of a great project. If there's one thing that has been known to consistently let down otherwise excellent projects, it has been the process of documentation.

In 2013, developers placed more of an emphasis than ever on automating the documentation process for web development projects. The focus has been to produce documents that contain correct technical information and are consistent in the language that has been used. Efforts have been made to enable standardization of document terms, overall look and feel, and best practices.

An example of a new and efficient document generator doing the rounds this year has been Daux.io. Daux.io has brought in customizable fluid design and markdown syntax and code that allow developers to concentrate on making codes clear and usable.

Social Media Badges

The trend of web developers adding social media badges to websites has taken the web by storm this year. According to a recent survey by Bright Edge Technologies, websites that included social sharing buttons generated 7x more mentions than those that didn't. Why this trend has become viral is that people have begun to check social media sites more often than checking their personal email.

As a first step, developers learned to understand the nuances of these social media buttons and differentiate between 'follow' and 'share' buttons. Since then developers have been positioning and pinning these social media badges to landing pages, blog articles or other web pages. This has turned out to be a great way to encourage site visitors to share content quickly on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Leveraging multiple platforms allows businesses to showcase the brand effectively across the social media spectrum. Most of your competitors are now online and on social media. Some points to be kept in mind if you have decided to pass on the incorporation of social media badges.

Fixed Header Bars

In recent years the trend of having a fixed header bar had been doing the rounds. But it was seen in full force for the year 2013!

In this technique, web developers staple the header bars of a website to the top of the screen so that users never lose sight of them even when they scroll down the web page. This is done using the CSS position: fixed; property. The advantage of using this is that even if the visitor scrolls down the web page, he can check the navigation constantly and go back to the home page if required.

Take a look at this site to see an example of a fixed header bar. This site has two fixed menus, one on the top and one on the left, and the only aspects of the site that scroll are the items on sale. Fixed headers can work on practically any site including social networks, design studios or corporate houses. They go a long way when it comes to providing an exceptional user experience.

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In my own work at a software firm specializing in web development, client needs consistently evolve, allowing me to see firsthand how these trends progress.

Apart from these trends many other trends too have been observed such as adding sliding webpage panels or adding full screen typography on sites. These emerging trends have been found in websites for small businesses as well as large enterprises.

If you are aiming for a successful user experience, it might be a good idea to incorporate one or all of the ideas mentioned above in your site.

The author is a member of the Icreon Tech team, a software solutions firm that specializes in web development.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8187275