Newsletter Volume 1.3 - May 28th, 2007
Welcome back to Pittsburgh Designers for Volume 1.3 of our newsletter.
This community has grown to 79 registered members with an amazing 67 of those active. I would like to offer a huge “Thank you” to all of the members, and for those of you who are still inactive (meaning an incomplete profile) please log in today and complete it. It only takes a few minutes and with the organic traffic really starting to take hold, there has never been a better time to be showcased here.
The Pittsburgh Design Community
A few months after the initial launch, we started the Pittsburgh Designer Interview Series to help our visitors and fellow designers get an in-depth look at some of the design talent in and around the Pittsburgh region. So far, we have had 4 wonderful volunteers, and I would love to hear from you if you would like to be featured as well.
Important News
- Web Standards are Important - The time is fast approaching. We have decided to conduct an un-biased report card of sorts in a few months that will highlight the designers who design conforming to web standards and those who do not. We feel it is a very important aspect of designing for the web, and we hope that more of our members will become aware of the Web Standards Project and start designing with valid code and CSS. This does not mean that they need to use table-less design (although that is without a doubt optimal) to receive high marks, but instead that their own portfolio sites don’t generate any HTML or CSS errors upon validation by the W3C. For more information on this project and report card visit our post about it here.
- Keep your Business Information Current - Without current information, our visitors cannot make informed decisions.
- Finish your Registration - Still, some of our members registered, but never came back to complete their profile. It is crucial that you complete your profile fully, because without it, your business will not be listed her at Pittsburgh Designers. If you have any questions, or somehow never got your initial password email, please use our contact form and we will get back to you ASAP.
New Features Added at Pittsburgh Designers
- Streamlined & Simplified - This site has grown larger than even I could have imagined since its initial launch back in January. Because of this growth, I have had to streamline the site, and now it is more important than ever to have a complete profile here. This is because, as you can see, the homepage has been changed. Visitors will now have to search for your site starting with your ‘tags‘ or ‘location‘. Also, because of these changes, I have lessened the requirements to becoming active (…and now many of you are active, when at first you weren’t). This site is still only about showcasing local quality designers, but we have decided to loosen the straps a little bit. Take advantage of it today!
- Job Board - There is now a Job Board for those of you who are interested. Check it out!
- Partners Page - I created a dedicated page to those of you who have helped Pittsburgh Designers since its launch. The list is currently on the short end, but will grow once I notice new links coming in. If either you or someone you know have blogged or linked back to us in some way, shape or form… let me know so I can add it to this page. Thanks!
