My web browser homepage has been Yahoo for years. I’ve lost track of how many years – at least 15 years, maybe longer. So maybe it is time for a change?

Google has a homepage that is fully customizable with widgets in three columns. They have a selection of themes and skins, and I was attracted to the new comics themes. I have an edgey sense of humor and was very surprised to see one of my favorite comics was actually included in the collection of themes. So I clicked on it and gave it a go. I really like it.

In my opinion, design is the most critical aspect of a web site. You can have the most vital, important information to share with your readers, but if the design is crap, most people will move on without reading what you are trying to say. Design is combining art and style with form and function. It takes a talent for composition, a sense of style, an eye for detail and a deliberate learning process that develops skill to be a good designer.

The biggest mistake most beginners make when designing anything, whether is is a flyer that hangs in the convenience store window, a personal scrapbook of family photos and memorabilia, or a web page is to clutter the page with too much “stuff.” Beginners use several different type styles and fonts, making the page look like a ransom note. They use too many “cute” embellishments like clip art, busy borders and doo-dads. And they often lose track of the main thing they are trying to communicate – the original content.

You can’t teach someone everything they need to know about design in just a few minutes. And some people never “get it” no matter how hard to you try to teach them. But if you have an interest in design and any talent for art or composition, there are a lot of books in the library and free web resources to learn the basic principles and then move on to advanced skills.

One of my favorite resources on the web is a blog by a designer who really knows the internet. His posts are short and to the point, and they cover a wide range of talking points. This is not for the beginning designer, but anyone who has successfully completed a dozen or so projects will most certainly appreciate his comments and suggestions. If you are interested in learning some of the intermediate and advanced techniques, you should check in with the web design blogger site once in a while. He talks about more than just design. Recent posts include topics like search engine optimization, determining your Google page rank, and web site templates. So you can see that there is a variety of useful information presented and worth the time to click over there.

Every time I’m ready to go out shopping and have something specific in mind or a particular store that I want to go to, I check online for coupons first.

Sometimes I just Google the key words and add “discount” or “coupon” to the search, but most of the time I check the one website that is like a clearing house of coupons and discounts, 1-coupons.com.

This site lets me check individual stores when I want to buy electronics or toys for my grandson or even workout gear.

Last time I ordered my computer, I found a discount coupon for 25% off my Dell laptop. Now that’s saving real money!

You can even save on booking travel for hotel stays for your next vacation or weekend getaway and there are discount codes for car rental companies. So unless you’ve got money to burn, you might want to check out the coupon site and save yourself some cash next time you go shopping, too.

There are some plugins and extra things for WordPress that can enhance or aid the blogging experience. LinkXL is a plugin that allows you to monetize a WordPress site by selling links in existing content. So basically it is a way to make money from blogging. I was not familiar with Contextual Links until I started reading other people’s blogs and saw what others are doing. That’s a cool idea and I might check it out for something I can do in the future.

I had considered putting banners and Google Ads on my site, but I’ve resisted going to an all commercial format so far. I like the layout of the theme I am using, although I admit that on some monitors the gray text can be hard to read. I might try to brighten that is I have some quality time to read through the code and make a few changes. I know enough about html to be dangerous and am not an expert on coding by any means.

Seems Apple Computer shares have risen on the sales of its iPod, iPhones and personal computers. I wonder with the recent launch of iGoogle recently, if a merger between Google and Apple is near? And if they do merge, could we see a Yahoo and Microsoft merger as well ?

In my opinion, it is only a matter of time before these four companies merge together and make two GIANTS but we will see if my prediction comes true anytime soon.

To be honest the merger I am waiting for is StarBucks and Krispy Kremes so I can get both my addictions at the same place. But I am interested in hearing what two companies you think should merge together, and why? So please leave them in the comments.