I recently started subscribing to RSS feeds again after having given them up totally for several months. I was relying on the cream to rise to the top in Twitter and a handful of sites that I would visit every day or week. And now, after declaring feed bankruptcy, I’m back at it again (switching to Reeder as my feed reader was a big part of that decision). I have pared things down though. Here’s my must-follow short list of WordPress and Web Design sources that I’m following right now. These sources let me keep on top of what’s going on in WordPress and Web Design.
- WPCandy and WPTavern are my top two. These blogs are the DVRs of the WordPress community. I get to scan the highlights, dig in further when I want or can, and skip any fluff.
- Smashing Magazine is another great DVR-like blog. Or maybe you can think of it as the Evening News of the Web Design tips, tricks, hacks, and apps community. If something cool is happening, it’s going to show up here.
- A List Apart. If Smashing Magazine is the Evening News this is the … the … really awesome magazine that I won’t pretend I read. The New Yorker maybe? Who reads magazines anymore? You should be following this blog.
- Zeldman. He may be the godfather of web standards but he’s more like your awesome uncle that really knows what’s going on. Of course you should be following him.
- Paul Irish. He’s moving the web forward, modernizr-ing it, and working on your HTML document’s boilerplate.
- HTML5 Doctor is my favorite resource for what’s happening in HTML5 and how it ought to be implemented.
- Likewise CSS-Tricks but for CSS.
It’s a short list but that’s a feature. But what about you? Are there dreadful omissions here? Who are you following? Do you have a short list? Should people be following you? Let’s hear about it! 🙂
Bonus: I’ll leave you with one from my long list. It’s not for everyone but following the WordPress StackExchange is a great source of inspiration for WordPress hackery. You’ll have tons of I didn’t know you could do that moments and some great ideas to follow up on later.
ThemeShaper 
Great list Ian. I feel validated 🙂
Your list is very close to how I would prioritize these resources.
Glad to see WP Tavern and WPCandy right up top!
Thanks a lot Ian. I’ve never heard of WPTavern and HTML5 Doctor before, these are cool finds …
This is a great list, I hadn’t encountered Zeldman or A List Apart before and have added them to the daily reader. WPCandy and Smashing Magazine are currently the two I like most, they appeal to people like me who run sites and like to stay abreast of WordPress and webdev news but only do limited coding and development themselves.
Check out WP Mayor for more WordPress news and resources.
The only glaring omission I see from this list is one targeted at relative beginners or novices: wp.tutsplus.com, Envato’s TutsPlus take on WordPress – I find a lot of the tutorials on there useful and informative, sort of how I found your original “How Tos” here on ThemeShaper.
Thanks for all your continued hard work and contributions Ian.
Zeldman is very new to me. Simple and childish web design 😀 , but have lots of great quality contents. Since his site started around December 1996 – http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/http://www.zeldman.com according to webarchive age, no wonder he is nicknamed godfather standards.
It was his book that earned him his nickname.
Oops. I was just comparing his nickname with his experience. Great to know that he earned that from his book. Thanks for the info. Started following him already.
Zeldman is like the Jesus of Web Standards.
I’ve been following Zeldman since I started designing in 2006.
Treehouse (the newly re-vamped Think Vitamin) is what many people consider the best online site to learn web design, development and iOS. A lot more, and better, designed stuff than NetTuts. But it costs more (but has inexpensive student membership).
My suggestion, esp. if you are poor, start off at NetTuts.com, they have an incredible-that-its-free WordPress 101 class at: http://wp.tutsplus.com/category/tutorials/wp101-training/. Then try their more intermediate & advanced tutorials, some of which cost a monthly fee to access. Awesome value.
If you want design tutorials, iOS tutorials or just the same tutorials with a stronger focus on quality design & cooler projects, and the top online learning experience and can afford $25/month, do the tutorials at http://teamtreehouse.com/. Its so cool it cannot be described with justice, must be seen to be appreciated.
Lastly, dead broke and want to learn JavaScript and how to make web apps (not in native code like iOS-Treehouse, but the best HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript way)? The amazing online “How to be a Programmer” classes at http://www.CodeAcademy.com are awesome! Many have corresponding meetup groups in cities across the world.
Don’t be discouraged unemployed or homebound sisters and brothers, these high-quality classes, and the List of Ten here, will give you a top-notch education. Practice every day!