Since the major success of Dribbble designers and developers have been looking for such amazing communities to share resources. Because of this, Forrst.com isn’t really a totally new idea in and of itself. However the implementation and UI features are so unique, the community has exploded over the past few months since launch.

Forrst allows you to register an account and run your own profile, similar to a Twitter or Foursquare profile. You can follow other designers/developers in the community to receive their updates on your homepage dashboard.. also in real-time! You can choose to share graphics or mockup designs, called “snaps”, with all of your followers in the community. You can also share snippits of code and even as questions directly to the Forrst community!

Read More…

oDesk is a simple application launched back in 2003 to devise a way for freelancers and remote developers to work on projects with ease. Allowing you to charge on a per-hour basis, oDesk logs how many hours you put in and what work you do.

The idea for a freelance board has been around for many years. However, oDesk is really the first company to take charge of the wheel and innovate a product that works well for both freelancers and managers. After creating an account, you can devise an online team of developers and designers to tackle projects together – and all your work is cataloged and recorded using oDesk’s desktop software.

Read More…

Template Monster has really made a name for itself over the past couple of years. Growing into the leading provide for website templates, clearly the company’s CEO David Braun is doing something right. I’ve been a huge fan of Template Monster for years now and have written about their blog earlier this year.

However with 2010 kicking around, I was intrigued to hear about how Template Monster is doing and where they may be heading. I’ve got a great interview with David below, discussing future plans for TM and where the company will be growing into.

Read More…

Back a few years ago I used to work full-time freelance web design. It’s a tiring job, and many people who can do it today earn a lot of money working for themselves in the trade. Web professionals are always in demand, but it’s difficult at times to find good web projects. Freshwebjobs.com changes all that with professional listings to pair up webmasters and developers to those looking into projects.

The site is designed beautifully, set up so that anyone can get a 30 day listing on a project for only $75. You can set up a project as looking for either a Freelancer or a Full-Time/Part-Time worker. This gives you a lot of freedom when posting a job or project on the site.

Read More…

PSD Conversion is a very high-paying business. Many amazing designers know how to work through Photoshop but just don’t have the time or haven’t learned how to code their designs into XHTML and CSS code. This is where many popular companies come in to help, the most popular being psd2html.

I got an interview with the founder and creator of Slicejack Toni Trivkovic. He has some really inspirational words for those who are looking to get into the slicing business. It’s a very high-paying market if you have clients, and understanding how to code PSD’s into XHTML/CSS code is knowledge useful for every web designer and developer.

Read More…

One of the fastest growing professions is website design and web developers, especially with the attraction of working freelance. Many people hate the 9-5 grind induced through corporate America, and having the option to work from home on your own time seems like a much more viable and interesting option to many. Although in the end it may require a bit more work on your end, the ultimate freedom of your time seems to pay for itself.

I’ve talked with one of the many talented freelance web designers on the web Shay Howe. I got a great interview with Shay, discussing the ups and downs of living the freelancing life, some great tips for those interested in becoming a freelance designer, plus a whole lot more! Avid readers of FreelanceSwitch will recognize where Shay is coming from, and anyone interested in the freelancing or work-from-home profession should absolutely give this interview a read!

Read More…

Design blogs are the new in, everybody who is interested in making money online and knows any amount about web design is starting their own blog. Granted only a few have made it and gained star-status in the blogosphere, but there are thousands of others who struggle to build their way to the top.

I’m turning to one of my favorite web/graphic design blogs for inspiration: Web Designer Depot. The blog was launched at the end of 2008, and since then has grown into a thriving success (boasting a solid 124,000 Twitter followers).

I’ll be analyzing just what Web Designer Depot has done right when building their blog. There are so many different things to do and work on when first launching, it can seem a bit overbearing and stressful. However looking at famous blogs and matching their techniques is what makes a truly successful blogger.

Read More…