Yogesh Mankani

9 Best PHP Tools of Year 2017

PHP is one among the most popular programming languages used in the world. This popularity of PHP can be accepted by knowing the fact that around 2.1 million servers and 39 percent of the websites are built using PHP. Being a popular one, it is also considered as a powerful language, making it admirable for every programmer. Like any other language, PHP also contains a few concepts, which are tough to understand and execute. So, to save time, many programmers use the available PHP tools. Usage of PHP tools makes the hectic work of a programmer easy and also helps them in developing something unique.

Here in this article, we have come up with a few PHP tools for analyzing and parsing code, which you can use to enhance your programming skills.

1. PHPCPD

PHP Copy Paste Detector tool will be of great help when you handle big projects. It helps you in analyzing codes and also prevents from repetitive errors. The accuracy of analyzing is perfect, offering you with easy configuration.

2. PHPCheckStyle

As a developer, you can maintain code conventions in PHP using this open source tool. It also helps you by scanning the input source codes and checking them for violation of standards. The best part of this PHP tool is that it helps beginners in understanding the basic testing and analyzing of codes.

3. PHPMD

PHP Mess Detector is another handy tool for any developer, and its Java counterpart is named as PMD. PHPMD is easy to configure and its interactive user interface makes it user friendly. This tool helps you by scanning the potential bad areas present in your code. Along with this, it also detects the bugs and sub-optimal codes.

4. Parsedown

Another consisting and swift tool for your PHP codes. The premium features provided by this tool are exciting to explore and can be proved to be the best, if used by a professional programmer.

5. Sabberworm

This tool is nothing but a parser for CSS records written in PHP. It allows you to extricate CSS records in information structure, permitting to control the structure, yielding a document in CSS form.

6. PHP Sandbox

This handy PHP tool helps you by preventing sandbox code from running any other unsafe codes.

8. PHP Analyzer

This tool performs comparable examination assignments that are preferred by the compiler. PHP Analyzer can be used to perform interface and many other sort and stream investigations. The yield report helps you in enhancing your PHP code by fixing the bugs.

9. PHP Markdown

This PHP tool is a library bundle incorporating PHP Markdown Parser. Here Markdown is a basic discussion instrument that converts even content into HTML. Using simple-to-peruse content arrangement you can compose codes without much of a stretch. After this the apparatus is changed into an organized XHTML structure.

BONUS: Detect Mobile Visitor with PHP User Agent

Here is a simple PHP script that detects Mobile USER AGENT. You can then use it on your site to offer to install you APP, or show different “mobile” content only to mobile users, or HIDE specific content for Desktop or Mobile. Or you can show different ads on your site/page, geared to specific users / smartphone types, etc. The usage possibilities are endless.

This script works for iOS, Android, Win 10 Mobile, etc.

These were the best PHP tools that you can use to enhance your programming skills. They not only enhance your skills, but also helps you and your creation turn into a professional one.

Fresh free resources for designers

Looking for some awesome freebies which will ease the job of web or app designing? Here is a list of fresh resources that can be readily incorporated into any project. The list includes icons, themes, layouts, UI kits and more which will make any designing job an enjoyable one.

1. Squid Inkline Icons

Be it PSD, AI, EPS, PNG or SVG format, Squid Inkline Icons has it all. It offers freshly designed icons, which are also available in vector, that can be readily used on any project. Every icon is handcrafted and consists of meticulous designs.

2. World Landmark Icons

Anyone who needs to use a famous landmarks as icon in a project no longer needs to worry. World Landmark Icons offers all the famous landmarks in the form of vector icons which will allow designers to up the quality in their travel related websites.

3. Sketch Country Flag Kit

Sketch Country Flag Kit is specifically created for the iOS and the OS X and can be used on both apps and web. It provides users with as many as 180 flags of different countries that can be readily used anywhere by placing the code.

4. Inkallicons

Liquid looking icons are quite popular as they are fun and classy at the same time. Inkallicons offers a set of as many as 150 various free icons to be used on any project and they are easily edited on requirement.

5. Facebook Cover Collection

Facebook Cover Collection consists of a set of PSD formats that allows users to rearrange photos in four superb pre-designed layouts. Designers can use multiple images at a time to create a desired layout which can use on your design.

6. Outdoor Signs & Facades Mockups PSD

Outdoor Signs & Facades Mockups PSD are very useful when it comes to creating logo designs for a client. They are available with Photoshop layers which helps in the easy editing of the design and the insertion of a developers own ideas into the designs.

7. Diverse Device Hands

Diverse Device Hands: Photorealistic mobile Mockups provides users with the image of the various kinds of people that will be using your designed app around the world. The images can be freely displayed at any public or private forum and are represented on a pure white background to make it stand out.

8. Social Car UI Kit for Sketch

If you are designing an app which is going to deal with transportation-based services such as cabs, package tracking, carpools and the like, then Social Car UI Kit for Sketch is perfect for your designs.

9. Fancy

Clean and minimalistic designs on a crisp black and white base along with professional look for documentation are the best features of Fancy. Ai, InDesign and PSD are the various formats which Fancy is available. It print-ready so you don’t have to spend a lot of time editing theme templates.

10. U.S. Web Design Standards

U.S. Web Design Standards was created by the U.S. Digital Service to make online designing easy. Depending up on the requirements a designer needs, they can select the various services available with this fresh resource.

These are some of the best fresh resources which can be used by designers to make their project even more attractive and appealing to viewers.

11. Company Folders Binder Templates

Company Folders provides 55+ free templates for Vinyl, Clear View, Turned Edge, Leather, Paper and other binders in EPS and PDF formats for Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign.

20 Creative brochure designs for inspiration

If a brochure stands out, then a business will stand out. The more attractive and useful the more a brochure will showcase a company’s products and services.

The very first thing that catches attention is the design of the brochure. But in order to enhance the design, Don’t forget to add the required amount of information. The best brochures are the ones that contain necessary information with an appealing design.

Make sure to consider how easy or difficult it is for users to navigate, while creating a brochure. One of the best strategies to create a brochure’s content is to start with the company’s story, followed by the services provided. End with a call to action and company’s information.

Lastly, make sure to choose the right printing service. There are many printing solution providers available online that allow clients to can select the paper type, size and finishes at a reasonable price and time frame. Here are some examples of eye-catching brochures.

1. Lake Shore Brochure

2. Adidas Brochure

3. Snowbordets Historie

4. Quem Sou Eu

5. Key : Slovenia

6. Adult Swim Comin-Con Brochure

7. Esam Caen

8. Nick Cave

9. RW Swiss Style Brochure

10. FolioMania : The Design Portfolio Brochure

11. Waterfront Brochure

12. United States Postal Service Re-branding

13. BTL

14. NTU Art and Design Book

15. Audi

16. Brochure

17. Hot Club Portugal

18. Shoreditch

19. Concept Design & Photography

20. Dream of Mind

As mentioned above, the most important part in a brochure is its design. You need to select a design which attracts customers by displaying every important information related to your company. The challenging task over here is to maintain your company’s brand. It’s obvious that none of us would compromise over our company’s brand, in order to fit according to the selected design. So, to help you out from this compromising situation, we have come up with the following brochure designs and templates.

Hope that the above mentioned designs and templates to make an effective brochure inspire you to create one. The only thing to be kept under consideration while creating a brochure is its design and effectiveness of displaying or conveying the information.

Top 10 Hosted E-Commerce Platforms

Thinking of starting an online shopping store? Consider looking into an e-commerce platform. A hosted e-commerce platform is basically a software service which allows users to showcase their products online. It allows merchants or designers to use a number of features and integrations to receive online payments. For merchants who have online businesses, it helps reduce the time spent worrying about paying for products or services. Here are some of the best e-commerce platforms available, which are sure to boost business.

1. Shopify

When looking for an e-commerce platform that will be cost effective and have a user friendly interface, Shopify is the best choice. It is available for just $14/month for the starter pack and $29/month for the basic and more reasonable version. Along with the recently launched POS, it allows users to manage their online store from desktop or mobile.

2. Volusion

One of the top notch e-commerce platforms, Volusion hosts around 900 e-commerce attributes. Not only is the platform attributed to generating $16 million in sales for users, it also provides additional services. With no transaction fees, it is available for just $15 a month and it allows users to showcase more than 100 products.

We have also found a detailed Shopify vs Volusion comparison that will help fasten your decision making process on which platform to use for your e-commerce site.

3. Big Cartel

This low-cost hosted e-commerce platform was mainly designed for online stores selling creative products such as jewelry, arts, music, fashion and other innovative ventures. It now boasts over 500,00 stores and allows users to showcase up to 25 products for just $9.99 a month with five products free of charge. Users can display up to five photos for each product.

4. PinnacleCart

At just $29.95 a month this hosted e-commerce platform which has clients like HBO, Miami Heat and Discovery Channel is a good bet. It has 1 GB of storage space with a bandwidth of 2 GB. The fact that it allows users to link with apps like QuickBooks and Facebook makes it even more popular.

5. Wix Online Store Builder

Wix Online Store Builder provides their customers with a storage space of 20 GB along with a bandwidth of 10 GB for just $19.90 a month. This hosted e-commerce platform is a venture of the do-it-yourself website builder Wix. It is extremely easy to use and popular.

6. Bigcommerce

Entertaining over 55,000 online stores and generating a combined sales of $4 billion, Bigcommerce is available in both a paid and a free version. It allows merchants to use online shopping apps to expand their business while also incorporating third parties like MailChimp and Visual Website Optimizer. Available for just $29.95 a month with a 1% transaction fee and 3 GB storage, users simply can’t go wrong with this platform.

7. X Cart Cloud

With an open source PHP shopping cart which is manageable for sole proprietors and available for just $15 a month for the starting pack, X Cart Cloud is an awesome option for online shop owners. It is also available for free with an array of programs to extend the X Cart online store. The paid versions offer incredible POS options.

8. 3dcart

Unlimited storage and no transaction fees, showcasing over 200 features and more, 3dcart is one cool hosted e-commerce platform that allows customers to earn points whenever they shop from a users online store and it allows users to accept Bitcoins.

9. Yahoo! Ecommerce

Highly affordable at $26 a month is not a huge bill to pay when doing business on a e-commerce platform hosted by one of the world’s biggest technology giants. Yahoo! Ecommerce, allows users to integrate directly with shipping companies like UPS. It also allows online store owners to have a 5 GB storage space with a bandwidth of 150 GB that displays over 1,000 products. It entertains over 1 million businesses and has transactions amounting to $64 billion.

10. Storenvy

At 100,000 selling brands and counting, an impressive API and free or just $5 a month, Storenvy is hosted e-commerce platform which allows users to showcase products on their marketplace which will expand a company’s web reach to their extensive customer database.

These e-commerce platforms are definite to ease your job as an online shop owner and allow you to concentrate more on earning revenue through your sales.

25 Inspirational quotes for designers

What is inspiration? Is it something that makes us feel excited? Or is it something that makes us feel determined? Inspiration is a mixture of both. It excites us to do something big and at the same time keeps us determined until we achieve our dream or complete our task.

Is inspiration required? Yes! It acts as fuel until we reach our goals. Here are some quotes that will inspire designers to do their best work and achieve their goals.

1. Never Ignore Design

2. No Shortcuts

3. Finish Well

4. Work Hard

5. Keep Creating

6. Artist

7. Why Copy

8. Create Something Beautiful

9. Good Design Bad Design

10. Design is Like Sex

11. Today is the Day

12. Typography Rules

13 Don’t Go with Flow

14. Never Finished

15. Imagine Better

16. Change is Essential

17. Be Bold

18. Always Imagine

19. Sacrifice

20. Having Fun

21. Creativity Vs. Design

22. Think More

23. Sunshine

24. Evolve

25. Title

5 Sites to get free Mockups

Mockups are probably a web designers best friend. They make a designer’s job easier and speed up the work. There are numerous sites available that offer mockups making it difficult to chose the best options. Here are some of the best online sites where elegant mockups are available for free.

1. Pixeden

Pixeden was made with designers in mind. With more than 24 million downloads, Pixeden has a huge stock of materials which includes icons, vectors, textures, mockups, text effects and much more. It also offers users a number of paid as and free tools which can be selected and the website has a simple yet beautiful design.

2. GraphicBurger

Looking for a free community that offers various mockups that are one-of-a-kind? Visit Graphic Burger. Whether it’s UI kits, backgrounds or mockups, everything is available on this site which is regularly updated and has over 17 million downloads.

3. MediaLoot

Who doesn’t love free stuff? Especially those in the web designing industry? Media Loot provides email subscribers with regular updates of what’s new on their site. They have a range of products including fonts, background, UI kits and more in their beautifully designed website which also has a dynamic filter and a brilliant interface.

4. PixelBuddha

Looking for some awesome PSD mockup files which can be easily used for designing purposes? Looking for unique designs which will awe customers? Try using Pixel Buddha. The PSD mockups on this site are specifically created by the various designers who maintain PixelBuddha. There are various collections which can be used professionally.

5. Sketch App Sources

Sketch App Sources is one of those sites that provides users with professional quality designs that are primarily for technical and app stores. It also has a well supported mailing system along with numerable tutorials which will help designers to learn how to use various mockups on their projects.

10 Free Christmas Inspired WordPress Themes

It’s that time of the year again. The cold wind is blowing and soon everything will be covered in pretty, white snow. With the onset of winter people are gearing up for the holiday season and for Christmas. Here are some WordPress themes that will help to decorate any WordPress blog in the holiday spirit.

1. Mistletoe

With the upcoming season, it’s essential to decorate blogs with the spirit of holidays. Mistletoe comes loaded with a cute little snowman and handwritten fonts (courtesy of Google Webfonts) to give blogs or web pages a holiday feel. It is a minimalist theme comprised of two columns that is perfect for the holidays.

2. Merry Christmas

The name says it all. Merry Christmas is a pretty WordPress theme with a dark background that is perfect for the upcoming holidays. The best part is that it can be customized according to anyone’s needs. Although it is a simple theme, it has some pretty cool effects which can be used to amaze viewers.

3. Snowy Christmas

Initially created solely for ChristmasWordPressTheme.com, Snowy Christmas is one of those themes that was later made free for public use. This theme captures the spirit of the holiday season perfectly with the red and green hue, snowman, snowfall and loads of Christmas trees.

4. Christmas Gifts

For those who are blogging about Christmas gifts or selling them, then Christmas Gifts is the perfect holiday theme. It is created on a darker background and will pop any site to draw viewers. This WordPress theme is designed so as to perfectly adorn a website in the spirit of the holidays and has a unique layout that will make any blog stand out.

5. Christmas Blog

What can be better than the combination of red and black? The colors are vibrant and attention grabbing. Christmas blog comes with loads of widgets that makes the utilization of the theme pretty easy. The theme is primarily created for WordPress and consists of customizable options so that users can prep their website for the holidays in any fashion they choose.

7. Christmas

The name says it all. Christmas is a WordPress holiday theme that is designed with the favorite character of the winter season: Santa Clause. This is a simple and minimalistic theme which is created on a white background and captures the essence of Christmas perfectly.

8. WordPress Merry Christmas

White, green and red! All the colors of the holiday season are captured perfectly in this WordPress theme called Merry Christmas. With loads of widgets and plug-ins that will help to customize websites completely, this Christmas theme will help users to extend the happiness of the holiday spirit to visitors.

9. WordPress Christmas

WordPress Christmas is a minimalist theme consisting of two columns. Along with the theme users will also get the PSD source files which are used to decorate the theme elements to achieve the look that you want. It also comes with two pre-made CSS layouts which can be used to jazz up a blog.

10. Christmas Crox

Christmas Crox is a three column theme which is based on a blue and white background and is ready for use on a WordPress blog or website. It includes holiday elements such as snow and Christmas trees. It is also widget-ready so that users can add the widgets of their choice in order to customize a blog.

12 Essential tools for startups

The rate of technological development has created avenues for entrepreneurship. This decade has seen a rise in new businesses in part because the internet has been an effective medium for tapping market potential. A new business venture is a lot of hard work. But technologies and new platforms that can make the process of starting a new business easier and smoother. Here are some few online tools catering to the needs of entrepreneurs.

1. AngelList

Any new business idea needs capital. Seed funding is very important to startups if they have to check the practical feasibility of an idea. AngelList has a group of venture capitalists and investors who act as incubators to provide the initial funding for startups. It provides a good platform for entrepreneurs to connect with investors.

2. Clarity

The success of any business venture depends on the quality of ideas and advice that new owners receive. Clarity provides a marketplace to connect with industry experts and consultants before owners must make important decisions regarding capital expenditures. Clarity provides an online platform to seek expert advice for each and every aspect of a startup business.

3. Kickstarter

Kickstarter is a crowd funding platform where ideas take physical form with the support of investors. Owners can connect with investors on their platform.

4. Docracy3

One of the most steps involved in starting a new business is to ensure its compliance with local laws and ordinances. Docracy contains an online collection of information about legal proceedings and the required documentation and the platform to seek the help of lawyers.

5. Alibaba

Startups generally need computer systems, other electrical and electronic devices, furniture and stationary. Alibaba is a portal which connects business owners with various manufactures, wholesale dealers, retailers to choose from. It will also serve as an effective platform for customized requests and multiple bidders.

6. iPage

The Internet is a very powerful medium to share information and expand visibility. A website is an integral part of a business and iPage plays an important role in providing hosting services with a lot of features to promote businesses online. Its services include website development tools, mailing system, storage and more.

7. Sprout Social

Social media marketing helps promote a businesses brand. But managing a company’s profile over different platforms can be tedious. Sprout social provides a hassle free solution to manage various social media profiles from a single account.

8. Designhill

It is important to have a good logo design for branding as well as marketing products. Designhill provides users with a multitude of options including ready made or customized designs. This is a platform definitely worth trying.

9. Base Camp

A project management tool is essential for a startup in order to track and manage workflow of multiple projects and teams in a business. Base camp is a cloud based tool tailor made for this purpose.

10. Survey Monkey

Survey monkey is an important tool which helps users conduct surveys and study recent trends by market research. These market studies help users in making informed decisions and improving business strategies. Survey monkey provides a platform for conducting and comparing surveys of competitors.

11. Wave

Accounting is an important part of tracking and managing income and expenses. Wave helps in streamlining the accounting process by handling payroll, monthly invoices, and more.

12. Dropbox

Dropbox provides storage solutions for handling loads of data. This comes with a personal cloud, file synchronization which is essential for projects handled by a team.

Technology is an effective tool in hands of well informed entrepreneurs. It provides room to invest time and energy in taking business to the next level. These tools are designed to do just that.

Login form designs for inspiration

Let’s face it – first impressions are very important. As much as it is true for human beings, it is equally true for websites. This is why creating an interesting login page is of absolute importance. An interesting login page will draw viewers to explore the website in detail. Similarly the more innovative login page, the more viewers will be drawn to it.

Designs should be user friendly so that the visitors are capable of figuring it out with ease and will not have to go through a lot of hassle in order to become a member. At the same time, it should display all the features that are necessary. And the login page should reflect the image of a business or blog.

The first thing designers should do when creating a login form is figure out what information is needed from the people who are about to become a member. Do you want any special menu to appear on your login form? Or do you want it to be a basic form? Work all these details out before sitting down and creating the form. This will save a lot of work and time.

Now it’s time to put all the details down. Developers will come across many designs which are minimal and consist of the basics. On the other hand, there are also login pages with elaborate designs and creativity that are very appealing. In order to figure out which is best suited for what the business or blog is hoping to accomplish, look at login forms which are popular among the target audience. Here are some login pages for inspiration:

We hope that after watching all the above designs you now have a fair idea of what you expect to feature on your very own website. You will now be able to draw out your own login form with ease and without any confusion. Make sure to keep it simple for the audience you are trying to haul over to your site at the same time creative enough to actually make them take attention of it. We are glad to help!

Tips to create a personal brand

The use of a “brand” is not just for large companies or celebrities. Developers, business owners, artists and just about any entrepreneur can better their marketability with a creative and memorable brand.

A brand, basically helps businesses or individuals to create an image for everything they do so that it can be recognized by consumers. It is what sets a business or entrepreneur apart in a crowd of similar companies or individuals. It is what will draw customers toward a business.

Let’s just face it! The world is filled with people who do the same thing that you are doing. It may be you do it in a different way than they do. It also may be that your method yields better results. Skills will only take a person so far in any given field. Whether you are starting off as a freelancer or as an entrepreneur, your primary job will be to create an image for yourself as soon as possible. This is where branding comes into play. It helps you to sell yourself in the market so that people get to know you and what you do. The good news is that you can take examine the brands of others to determine how to create your own.

Here are some tips on how to create the perfect brand:

1. Identity Mark

Make your mark. Create an identity mark, in the form of a unique name or tag line, which will remind people of you and you only. Don’t go overboard but instead think of something that is out of the box yet will allow people to relate to your company. Make sure it has no resemblance to any of your competitors.

2. Uniqueness

Every individual is unique in their own right. Try to identify your unique traits. If needed ask your family and friends what sets you apart from the crowd. While trying to brand yourself, use this quality to let people form an idea about you that will set you apart. Also the primary focus should be to stay consistent in what you do and how you do. Consistency helps in gaining trust and will in turn gain you customers who will be loyal to you.

3. Technology

Technology or more specifically, social media sites are a great boon when it comes to personal branding. With the help of your social media accounts you can reach out to a huge number of people in a very short span of time. Make sure all your social media accounts are in sync with each other and send out the same message. Your aim should be to provide a concrete idea of yourself and your work to the people at large. Communicate with the people on your social media account on a regular basis, keep them updated and interested in you and your company.

4. Visualization

One of the most important factors of creating a personal brand is to give your company an image in the form of a logo. Creating a unique yet simple logo that will help people identify your company is an absolute must. It is this logo which will make people relate to your company the moment they set eyes on it. Also create a unique design for your website which will set you apart.