I’ve posted some of my favorite Mac webmaster and writing tools here. The benefit of these is that they are easy to use and will save you a lot of time. I’ve  attempted to provide decent windows alternatives for each of these solutions.

1Password

The average web or computer user has more passwords than they would like to remember. This is where 1password fits in. It will remember all your passwords for you. Furthermore, it can be used to store all of your other personal information such as credit card numbers, software serials and combination lock codes. The only thing you have to remember is the password to use the program hence the reason why it is named 1password.  I cant live without this program, especially as a webmaster. Right now this program is mac-only but a windows beta version has just been released. If you run both windows and mac there is also a method described on Agile Solutions website to sync your 1 password data between mac and windows through Dropbox.

Transmit

This top-of-the-line FTP program is loaded with features and has the ability to create multiple connections in the background so you can upload your content to your servers even faster.  There are

Shared hosting is a wonderful thing but it still has its caveats. That is, some people will encounter wordpress memory limit problems when they administer their websites. I came across this problem recently when I started getting 404 errors after making posts and trying to re-configure one of my websites using the theme settings. I inquired with my web host provider Dreamhost and was told that my websites were approaching the memory limit.

They gave me advice on how to track and reduce my memory usage and also mentioned that I could simply upgrade to a private server account in order to increase my memory threshold. This disappointed me a bit because I wasn’t quite prepared to extend the budget for web hosting just yet.

That said, I tried to figure out a few more ways to reduce my memory limit with a little research and tinkering on my own. I’ll list my findings below:

1) Examine Your Scripts

In my case I had a bad script which was putting visible gobblety gook on the header of my web page. It was a problem I noticed but didn’t realize was related to my memory/page speed problems. Bad scripts can slow down a page significantly. You most likely wont have any added scripts if you are just starting out but as you implement other features into your website you may be required to paste a script or two into your header and this is where the problems can start.

2) Use Firebug

You can test for all web page loading elements by using the Firefox browser and the FireBug add in. Speed page is another tool you can use and it

I’ve been quite interested in the Thesis WordPress theme because it’s one of the most talked about themes out there and for a very good reason.

Why Thesis Is Better

Thesis is one of the best WordPress themes you can have because of the supreme flexibility it offers as well as the SEO advantages.  Just like many before me, I was frustrated with tweaking previously created WordPress themes. Thesis is designed to with airtight code so it loads faster. No matter how you change the look of your website, the underlying primal code remains unchanged and this is quite important from an SEO point of view.

The default Thesis theme will give you a basic working website right out of the box. The settings panel is very detailed with options for changing the fonts, colors, scripts and a large number of other settings. Any changes you want to make are made to only two custom files within the Thesis panel interface, which makes customizing it much easier. A big plus is being able to upload your header and faveicon files directly to the website.

The Thesis Options Panel

Thesis Unique Hooks Feature

What makes Thesis unique is a system called hooks. Basically it allows you to design your website and put things exactly where you want them. The Thesis website references tell you where these hooks are and several websites out there actually

Setting up a contact form for your wordpress blog is easy. You will want to have one your webpage especially if you are running a business website because it would be a good business practice. Its just good etiquette no matter what kind of website you have to make it possible for people to contact you. A Contact form on your website doesn’t mean having to list your name, address or even your email address. In fact this is one of the worst ways to make yourself accessible to the public. It’s just too easy for crazy people to contact you, not to mention you will be spammed to high heaven. The contact form I’m about to describe will make it easy for people to contact you without

“Glow Theme” Pictured

Elegant themes is a great choice for beginners who want a decently priced set of wordpress themes with plenty of customization options. I’ve been using these themes and find them so easy because I don’t have to touch a