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Outstanding Web Design and Development Blogs you really should know about

Posted on February 18, 2010, in Best Of ...

Any good web designer has to stay informed with the latest in the world of web. It still amazes me how many “good” web designers learn solely from library books, rather than taking advantage of the incredible resources that can be found online. We have listed our favorite and most helpful blogs which offer great advice, inspiration, resources, tutorials and more.

We find almost all of our resources and interesting articles through Twitter, rather than by RSS or visiting the sites directly… so try adding the sites to your Twitter feed. Reading selected blog posts keeps you 100% up to date with other professionals like yourselves.

To help you get started, here is a list of our favorite web development blogs we have read over the years – all the blogs here have helped us in one way or another and we think you should read them too.

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1. Smashing Magazine

URL: www.smashingmagazine.com
Twitter: @smashingmag
Arguably the best web design and development blog. The Smashing Network includes many of the best design blogs at the moment. With a massive range of guest writers, everything from inspiration, to how-to’s, Smashing regularly posts original and unique articles. By far our favourite blog.

2. Net Tuts

URL: www.net.tutsplus.com
Twitter: @NETTUTS
Net Tuts focusses largely on tutorials and how-to’s, with clear demonstrations and explanations. The PLUS area enables a wider selection of tutorials with video explanations.

3. CSS Tricks

URL: www.css-tricks.com
Twitter: N/A
Chris Coyier’s CSS-Tricks is by far one of the most well designed blogs on this list. The articles are clear, concise and easy to follow. I’ve been a visitor for a long time.

4. Web Designer Wall

URL: www.webdesignerwall.com
Twitter: @WebDesignerWall
Focussed mainly on the frond end of the web, Nick La’s site has consistently good posts. Frequently has giveaways and free resources. The tutorials are brilliantly written, so check it out.

5. We Function

URL: www.wefunction.com
Twitter: @wefunction
Brilliantly designed and with great content to match. WeFunction has some awesome freebies and giveaways.

6. Six Revisions

URL: www.sixrevisions.com
Twitter: @Sixrevisions
Articles on Six Revisions are consistently very high quality and always make a great and informative read. This blog is one of our favourites on the list and is well, well worth visiting and following.

7. Build Internet

URL: www.buildinternet.com
Twitter: @buildinternet
Owned by Sam and Zach, Build Internet is a successful web development & business blog. Their posts have always been relevant and worth a read.

8. Web Designer Depot

URL: www.webdesignerdepot.com
Twitter: @webdesignerdepot
One of the most influential blogs in the web design community. Featuring a great range of design related posts, not just limited to web design. A really great all round blog, must read.

9. Design Informer

URL: www.designinformer.com
Twitter: @designinformer
Design Informer appeared 3 months ago, and has been extremely successful. The community feel that Jad Lamcaco has worked hard to create is great. All the posts are original and brilliantly written.

10. The Web Design Blog UK

URL: www.thewebdesignblog.co.uk
Twitter: @smashingmag
The Web Design Blog is run by Phil Matthews. There are great posts to read through and the site is very pretty to look at.

11. Inspired M

URL: www.inspiredm.com
Twitter: @inspiredm
A blog focussing on the design and visual aspect of web design. Regularly posts are inspirational and contain good freebies.

12. Design Mag

URL: www.designm.ag
Twitter: @DesignMagTweets
Part of the Smashing Network, DesignMag is focused on delivering quality content to it’s community of designers. There are also job listings within the site for those looking for design/development opportunities.

13. Fuel Your Creativity

URL: www.fuelyourcreativity.com
Twitter: @Fuelcreativity
FUEL is a network of high quality design related blogs ranging from writing blog posts to photography. The whole network is well worth visiting.

14. Color Burned

URL: www.colorburned.com
Twitter: @Colorburned
A great graphic design blog, containing a whole load of tutorials and handy resources. Regular giveaways and freebies make this site a must visit.

15. Acuity Designs Blog

URL: www.acuitydesigns.net/blog
Twitter: @MindofMelg
Acuity Designs is a blog that supports the phrase “Content is king”. There is plenty to read and learn from this blog.

16. Tutorial9

URL: www.tutorial9.net
Twitter: @tutorial9
The clue is in the name here… Tutorial9 has a whole load of handy tutorials and how-tos related to web design, and digital arts. Impeccably presented and the tutorials are straightforward and easy to follow.

17. Abduzeedo

URL: www.abduzeedo.com
Twitter: @abduzeedo
An impeccably designed site, with equally good content. Focusses largely on visual design inspiration, rather than web design tips, but well worth visiting if you’re stuck for inspiration.

18. Hongkiat

URL: www.hongkiat.com
Twitter: @hongkiat
Hongkiat has some great list posts, very often unique and interesting topics that are certainly inspiring. We’ve read many good posts here.

Reading the ‘right’ web design blogs regularly will improve your knowledge and skills. By keeping up to date with professional quality blogs, you are staying tuned with the latest web trends and techniques as they happen.

Do you have any blogs to add to the list? Maybe your own?. Let us know in the comments form below.