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What’s Your Daily Web Routine?

Posted Saturday, June 5th, 2010

We all have one, a daily routine of websites we check and get updates from on a regular basis, it may be so natural and embedded that you may not notice it, but we do! So I thought this would be a fun way of sharing my routine and also find out how others spend their day on the web.

To kick things off I will list out my daily bookmarks and sites I visit in order, along with a rough estimate of time spent on each site, then hopefully get some feedback through comments on other peoples daily routines!

My average day I generally visit the following websites:

1. Best Web Gallery

Ever since I was featured in the Best Web Gallery back in 2008, I have made it my first port of call every day to visit the site, take a look at all the new website submissions and play my part in commenting and joining in with the sometimes quite heated discussions on design practices and techniques.

I am also a massive fan of Nick La and his work at NDesign Studio and Web Designer Wall.

Time: I would say on average I spend about 5-10 minutes on this site depending on how many new submissions there are.

2. Apple / Apple Store

Yes yes I am part of that gravy train of Apple fan boys, although I would consider myself tame in comparison to some people I know! I do regularly check the Apple Store, mainly the refurb section as I am keen to grab a bargain.

At this stage I find myself drifting away from my browser and into the iTunes app store, generally having to pull my self away from spending more money on the latest tunes! I am a big listener of music when I work so always having new tracks to listen to is a productive measure in my opinion!

Time: I would estimate about 10-15 minutes here, depending on if I saunter off to the iTunes app store or not!

3. BBC Technology News

I think this should be a daily stop for any techno bod, the BBC technology pad is a great place to find out about new releases in the latest technology, social media news and new digital movements. You can sign up to the BBC Technology feed here. I also then skip around the sport section and latest general news stories to keep up with whats going on in the world.

Time: If there are stories of serious interest here I can be on for around 20-30minutes reading, but usually I would say about 5 minutes is average.

4. Rightmove

Kind of an odd one this one! but for the last 5 months my wife and I have been ‘trying’ to sell our house, so it is now part of my routine to log in to Rightmove and take a look around any new houses that have been added in the last day or so. It is a little addictive house hunting! and our favourite list is getting larger and larger by the day!!

Anyone want to buy a house?! Just give me a shout, I know a great little pad in the North East of England!

Time: Generally about 2-3 minutes, quick search in our price bracket, print off or save details then move on.

5. CSS Remix

CSS Remix is a site that I have visited regularly for a few years now. I have been a little disappointed of late not to see many new submissions, but I am still an avid daily visitor as not only do I enjoy checking out the new submissions, but I also like to see how many overall visits my site is getting.

Time: Lately around 30 seconds as there have not been any new submissions, but usually around 5 minutes.

6. Google Analytics

At this point, I am feeling a little more in work mode and open up Analytics for my daily checks on all my sites to see how they are performing.

I would recommend this step to anyone designing or building websites, always keep an eye on your Analytics, whatever method you use to check them, as it is invaluable information, and can seriously help you keep clients happy via on going maintenance or gather new business via improving and targeting areas lacking in performance on your sites.

Time: I spend a decent amount of time here a day, usually around 20-30 minutes, unless we are looking at online marketing campaigns and I am actively tracking certain sites.

7. Twitter

Well, I was a little bit of a slow burner on Twitter, I only actually got my twitter link on to my site last year!

As the guys at Twitter release more and more features I am finding myself spending more time on Twitter on a daily basis, especially now with Twitter in my iPhone I am sometimes tweeting before I even get out of bed in the morning!

You can follow me on Twitter @branded07

Time: 20-30 minutes a day is about right for my daily Twitterage! Not taking into account wandering off to different linked sites.

8. Facebook

Aah Facebook, I don’t know about you but for me, I am not spending as much time on Facebook as I used to, especially on a daily basis. I do still log in to keep up with the chat, but not nearly as much as I did in the hype days.

I don’t doubt that it has become such a large part of peoples lives but for me it is so ‘common place’ now that I am not really interested anymore. I walked past an internet pod the other day in our local mall, and a teenage girl was sat with what must have been 20 friend chats open on her screen, she was there when we arrived to shop, and was still there 3 hours later when we left.

For me, that is now the direction Facebook has gone, entertaining the younger generation, unless you are looking at it from a commercial aspect. Obviously from this point of view, Facebook becomes another beast all together. This post is from a personal angle, and I am beginning to find value in actually ‘seeing’ my friends again, when I have the time that is!

Saying that, if you want to buddy up, here is a link to my Facebook profile!

Time: 5 minutes max, personal time.

9. Linkedin

I pop on to Linkedin daily to search for new connections and check my recommendations. At the moment, I am extremely busy so finding new business, although nice and always welcome, is coming second to my on going work. I would love to get connected so please feel free to view my Linkedin profile and throw me an invite to connect!

Time: 5 minutes for checking and updates.

10. Smashing Mag

Ok so I have done the social thing, I am now back in web design mode and looking around for more inspiration, I turn to Smashing Mag.

I have been reading Smashing Magazine daily now for the last couple of years and I am always amazed at the great and diverse level of content available for web designers. I generally integrate items I find of interest on Smashing Mag and retweet them on Twitter. Visit Smashing Magazine here.

Time: I can spend 10 minutes a day easily on this site

11. Gizmodo

Similarly to Smashing Mag, I use Gizmodo as a great resource for Technology news.

I also find it a great way to get some banter from other techno bods on the articles posted and read other peoples views on what is hot and whats not.

Time: I would say around 15 minutes a day is spent reading Gizmodo articles.

12. Apple Movie Trailers

I love films, and I am an avid cinema goer. It has become a weekly excursion for my wife and I, we even own an Odeon Premiere card, which I treat with more care than my bank card!

So I love to visit the apple movie trailer site to check out the new releases and teasers of up and coming films. I think tonight it is Sex and the City 2 night… but it looks like I am going to be ill this evening and unable to attend.

Time: About 2 minutes on the site excluding actually watching the trailers or reading the synopsis.

13. The CSS Awards

Since Branded07 won site of the month back in December 2009 I have been visiting the CSS Awards site as it is a great resource for inspiration.

It has a very dedicated judging panel, of which a random selection judge the submissions on design, creativity, usability and content, ranked out of 10. These then get placed and chosen from the daily submissions to win the monthly award and finally an overall site of the year.

It is really interesting to see how others rate the level of your work and it is nice to see how different popular sites get ranked.

Time: I usually spend about 5 minutes on this site as there is only 1 new submission a day gets ranked and placed on the site.

14. Dribbble

No, this is not my weak attempt at getting a Dribbble invite! That’s next week…

Dribbble has been brought to fruition by Dan Cederholm from Simplebits and Rich Thornett who have put together a great site made up of top designers, developers and creatives showcasing small screen shots of designs, projects and applications they are working on.

It uses an invite process to be a part of the Dribbble community in order to keep up standards of design work available on the site. It is a fantastic resource for getting an insight into what new designs could be released and what people are working on.

Time: I spend about 5-10 minutes a day on Dribbble checking out the new snapshots and responses.

Then after all that, it is down to work! So that my friends is what I do on a regular daily basis. It is amazing how I find time to do anything else! So I would love to hear your daily web paths and routines, maybe I can pick up a few new ones for my trails!