Archive for the ‘web development’ Category

Four things that web designers ask from their clients

August 27th 2009

It is already common knowledge that in working with a company in whatever field, equal commitment is expected from both parties. San Diego web design, like other web designing firms cannot do the job alone. They are just there to translate your ideas to actual websites. You pay for their expertise and give them directions. If you went through a rough time looking for the best web designer, then understand that your task has not ended yet. A good website is a product of shared effort. If you ask the web designer for professionalism, they ask you for the following:

Trust
The most common misunderstandings that emerge from a professional relationship with a web designer breed from the lack of trust. The reason why you had to go through the trouble of looking for the best web designers is that you only want your website in the hands of the experts. When the actual process takes place, you definitely put your previous efforts to waste if you don’t let them do what they do. That includes stopping the flow of their creativity.

Opinion
Trusting the San Diego web design professionals is not the same as leaving them with all the work. It is your website and that alone gives you the right to ask questions and share opinions. Hesitation in doing so is expected but somehow, this can be overcome if you decide spending time with them as the process takes place. Web designers, no matter how pro they are, will value what your opinion because it is what ultimately matters.

Response
If the San Diego web design company couldn’t anymore wait for you to speak up, chances are he will directly ask for them. That means you should be paying more attention monitoring the progress of your project. Most people who ask for opinions get annoyed when you don’t respond. Since it is your website they are working with, they expect your quick answers and decisions.

Patience and firmness
You can only understand this if you consider yourself as the boss of the project. In fact, there are inevitable times that you clearly are the boss. Well, not only because you pay them but more importantly their actions are dependent on your decisions. As a boss, you should be patient especially when the project is big, but firm as well to demand updates.

Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1046404_4.html

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How To Get The Most From Your PSD-to-HTML/CSS Provider

August 11th 2009

PSD-to-HTML services are quite easy to deal with: you send or upload image files on a provider website, select conversion and layout options, pay through an online payment system (PayPal, Google Checkout, etc), and get a resulting markup coded. But in order to make the most of it and avoid unnecessary troubles it is better to follow some simple rules.

Properly prepare designs for uploading
1. If you have several files to convert, archive them and give that archive an understandable name, for example, “AnnSmith23June2009.zip” (i.e. “YourNameDate.zip” or “ProjectNameDate.zip”). It can be convenient for you as well, especially in case you need to check your previous orders.
2. If there are files additional to your main .psd image (e.g., custom fonts), don’t forget to send or upload them too.
3. Make sure you send or upload right files. PSD-to-HTML services are very fast, and by the moment you notice the problem with your files your markup may be ready. As a result, it could cost you some money to correct a mistake.

Design slicing, xHTML/CSS conversion requirements
1. Try to explain as accurate as possible what you want to get. Usually an order form on PSD-to-HTML websites has special subsections and items to help you with this task.
2. Nevertheless, if your requirements cannot be described in this way or you don’t have time to use it, don’t hesitate to write down your requirements in a field named like “Notes” or use other communication channels convenient for you: live chat or email.
3. If you are confused with something (”Is that option included? What is the delivery time?” etc), ASK! Sometimes even friends and relatives see things differently. So it is better to ask and to be sure that you and your provider get everything right and in the same manner.

Communication
1. DOUBLE check your email address that you state in the order form of the PSD-to-HTML service.
2. Make sure that your anti-spam filters and email servers are not too overzealous and allow the provider’s emails reach you.
3. It depends on the PSD-to-HTML company but usually they send you an order confirmation (as well as your login and password to access a client zone on their website). If you don’t receive such an email during several minutes, contact them through the order form or live chat — the reason may be a misprint in your email address.
4. Just in case give the provider’s team an alternative communication channel (mobile telephone number, instant messenger ID (Skype, MSN, ICQ), etc).
5. If time is crucial for you, specify the provider’s time zone.

If there are any doubts
1. If it is your first PSD-to-HTML project or you select a company for long-term cooperation, start from a relatively small pilot project to test the waters.
2. Check the provider’s Returns Policy, e.g., whether they offer a money-back guarantee.
3. If it is important for you, don’t hesitate to ask for NDA (non-disclosure agreement).
4. Specify whether they offer after-sale support and what it means. If the provider is confident of their work, usually the technical support is free.

Change management
1. A small addition to .psd designs may lead to large modifications in xHTML/CSS code. If the process of PSD-to-HTML conversion is in progress or finished and you change your design, be objective while estimating changes to be made in the markup.
2. Small changes are usually free.
3. But if changes are large then it is like an additional page in your order and should be paid accordingly (note: usually prices on secondary pages are up to 50% discounted).
4. If you are not sure, talk to the provider — together you will find a reasonable and mutually beneficial solution faster.

Project completion
1. Check the finished xHTML/CSS markup how it corresponds to your design and conversion requirements. If you have some remarks, ask to fix them.
2. Change access rights to your servers (passwords, logins) if you gave it to the provider’s team.
3. If you think the provider has deserved your testimonial, give it. You will support a qualified and diligent PSD-to-xHTML/CSS company in the market and help other users to get to know them.

PSD-to-HTML services are just a tool to slice and convert designs into website markups, Wordpress themes or Drupal templates. The better you know how to work with them the more you get.

About The Author
Natalia Savchenko is the CEO of HTMLcut.com, a PSD to HTML/CSS slicing and PSD to XHTML conversion company.

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Gain Visibility with Flash Web Design

June 25th 2009

In this Dot Com world with so many websites emerging day in and day out, it has become necessary to add some uniqueness to our websites. Presentation is of utmost importance these days as it is helpful in attracting the people to our sites. However, merely attracting traffic is not enough and to convert the visitors into buyers and it requires something additional. Flash web design provides with this additional quality to your website. Flash is basically software that can animate graphics and images on your site.

Flash web design provides the web designer with unlimited scope of creativity while designing a website. The otherwise and dull and prosaic HTML pages can be brought to life with the action script. A professional action script developer can make your website a perfect eye candy and thereby increase the chances of getting good ratio of conversion. With the help of the flash web design one can display 3Dgraphics of the products or also include a video of the product on their website itself.

The primary advantage of flash web design is that your website can gain visibility as it looks more attractive, interactive, and vibrant. This kind of website is also beneficial for displaying commercials, games, and movies on your site. Flash enables you to present your work portfolio in the most interactive way and thereby more appealing to your clients. The website also becomes more user-friendly and hence it can retain the customers for a longer period of time. The more the visitor stays on the site, the better are the chances of him/her getting converted into a customer. It is now a myth that the flash websites are not SEO friendly In fact, with advancement in the technology, the search engine crawlers can now crawl through flash designs as well. Hence, flash Web Design Company can make your site gain more visibility for your site.

About Author: the author of this article is a professional writer and works with a leading web development services provider in India. The writer has got several articles on web design, graphic web design, and web development and so on to her credit.

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Internet Home Base Business - The New Way to Earn More Money

March 16th 2009

One of the most popular ventures in earning money today is through an Internet home base business. It provides you not just with wider opportunities in making money; you also get exposed to a bigger target market, as your business is not trapped within geographic boundaries. Thus, if you are looking for a way to get more profit and become rich faster, then pursuing an Internet business is the way to go.

First, you can set up your own site. By setting up your own site, you can then promote marketing campaigns for various businesses that their products and services promoted all over the Internet community. Also known as affiliate marketing programs, you can earn money through commissions and referrals especially when people click on the ads posted on your site.

Another good Internet home base business is providing technical services. If you are not a fan of affiliate marketing, then you can establish a service-oriented online business site wherein you are the one who provides certain services to your prospective clients. Some online entrepreneurs make money by offering technical services such as web design, content generation, and bulk promotional strategies like posting on chats, forums and sites (just like Yahoo Answers). These tasks are relatively easy and offer good pay, though they can be boring since they consume a lot of time to accomplish.

You can also start a home Internet business by providing email marketing services. Similar to telemarketing, you will be given a long list of email addresses to which you will send letters to, promoting your client’s business. A lot of companies are in need of manpower to do this task, as the letters should not look spammy (in order to pass through spam filters), thus you can take advantage of this work opportunity and do it right at your own home.

Aside from these online work opportunities, you can start a home Internet business by getting paid to write. Some companies hire people to write reviews about the products and services they offer to capture the interest of their target audiences. You do not necessarily need an online business site, just a blog where you can post these reviews, or you may subscribe to article submission sites and have your articles featured in those pages.

If you are looking for more ways to start a business online, you can post questions at Yahoo Answers and see if other Internet users can help you out with your endeavor. It is quite recommended to reach out in the Internet community especially if you want to start your own Internet home base business, since the people here are knowledgeable in the things you would need in order to succeed. You can even make partnerships with these people for your business to prosper. Having an online business site naturally helps a lot, as you get to have your own space to inform your audiences about your goods and services. Why not create your own site now and start earning money? This might be your ticket to success.

About the author: Cliff Posey, owner of CRP Marketing, owns and operates webbusinesstoolsonline.com Cliff has also operated several other successful web businesses including Love Song Cards and Radio Career Consultants. The content in this article was developed from his experience in these businesses and his continual research into further business improvements. This Blog is for discussion about web sites and web site traffic therefore your feedback is welcome.

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How to Correctly Include a Remote File Securely With PHP 5

March 16th 2009

PHP 4 is now becoming less used across the Internet, and instead being switched out with newer versions such as PHP 5. There have been many modifications that have been done under the hood, so to speak, and specifically webmasters will notice that they will have to find a new syntax in order to include remote files into a webpage.

Remote files are often included into a webpage as a way to modularize and organize the code for webmasters. Included files make administering a website quick and painless, but with the switch from PHP 4, the syntax is going to change a little. This is due to the fact that cross-site scripting attacks, or XSS attacks, have become a serious threat to developers everywhere.

An XSS attack will seek to inject code into a webmaster’s website and attempt to run it. By using the normal include function that PHP 4 allowed for, this means that an attacker could easily include files from another server located anywhere in the world. In doing so, servers could become “zombies” that could spam or attack other websites and users at will, all without the webmaster knowing.

PHP 5 has fixed the problem by setting the PHP configuration “allow_url_fopen_ to “off” in the configuration file. This allows webmasters to still use the include function, but they can’t use absolute paths anymore. One way around this is to simply use relative paths instead, which are easier to type out and are a cinch to put into action.

Another method of using the include function in PHP 5 is to simply call the server’s own base directory for calling files. This way the same syntax can be observed. The server variable for this base directory, “$_Server['document_root'],” takes the place of the webmaster’s domain name when including a file. Using this server variable, in effect, allows webmasters to still use absolute paths in their include functions. This is useful for bypassing changing all include functions to accommodate for relative paths.

It is recommended that the “allow_url_fopen” command be kept off, even though it could be easily changed in the server configuration if access to the server is granted. If for some reason there is no possible way to keep this configuration setting off, there should be more focus on sanitizing any input a user on a website might have into a database or variable. After all, web servers got along fairly fine with the setting defaulted to on in PHP 4.

Closing Comments

PHP 5 has brought us many new security features, and the default setting of disallowing absolute paths in include functions is an example of where the industry is going. For more information on the syntax, how to use it, and more words on web development, readers should consult the PHP manual or obtain a PHP 5 book from a local bookstore for more information.

Learn more about URL File-Access is Disabled in the Server Configuration and what is php

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How to Make More Money From Your Online Business With Better Conversion Rate

March 16th 2009

I think the question how to make more money online is more asked than the question how to make money online, because it is easy to make tiny sums. I suppose you have an online business at the moment, so the question is how to make more money from your present business, i.e. how to increase the purchases?

1. You Can Either Increase The Number Of Visitors Or To Increase The Conversion Rate.

It is much wiser to concentrate on the conversion rate, so I do not even handle the visitor increase alternative, because that is so different topic. As you may know the conversion rate tells how many of the site visitors have bought, but also how many have not.

When you think that the happy customer is the best customer, because he will come back and buy another time and tell others about his experiences, we have to focus in growing the residual income. When we manage to do that we have found out ways to make extra money on an ongoing basis.

It is somehow curious that so little is needed to find out how to make money on the internet, I mean that in general to be able to make some money. But how much more is needed to grow that figure and how to make good money online. The question is about the quality and about the competition power. Are we able to stand out from the crowd, so that the market feels that out offer is better than others.

2. Does The Market See A Clear Promise In Your Marketing Process?

The winners have a clear business plan. With clear I mean a plan, which is personal and promises useful benefit to the target group in a different and persuading way. This touch must be seen in all single elements of your marketing, all mediums, and especially from your website.

Actually there are only simple ways to make money online, after we have found out what they are. If you look at the marketing of the most successful brands on earth, you will see that they repeat the same things in all mediums with the same look. This makes it easy for the consumer to quickly understand who is advertising.

3. The First Thing Is, That You Have A Solid Business Plan.

Actually the plan is just a starting point. The most important thing is that the consumer feels that your solutions are simple and unique, easy to understand and gives an answer to his problems. To fine-tune a business plan is an ongoing process, but you have to keep your strategy untouched all the time.

Many do not understand that the question is about trust building in the online marketing, and this means that you just cannot change your strategy, but you can fine-tune it.

So as an answer to the title, you can make more money by fine-tuning all marketing elements to the highest level. This will make the site more visitors to buy.

Juhani Tontti, B.Sc., Marketing. The Biggest Question Is How To Make More Money. To Increase Conversions Rates Offers Better Ways To Make Money Online. Visit Here: How To Make Money Online

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Why Your Band Needs a Website

March 16th 2009

There are two truths you can accept about making music. Nothing sounds bad to everyone, and people always want something new.

This is an important thing to remember.

Why that’s important to your band having a website, is the topic of this article.

When you get signed to a major label they market you, they put you out in front of people. Some will hate you, others will love you. The problem is that the Labels always get their pound of flesh and then some. They will bleed you for every penny you’re worth, then when they’ve used you up, they drop you.

This leaves you with a problem. How do you get the kind of exposure a label can give you, without selling your soul? The simple truth is you cant. Not, as quickly. What you need is a place people all over the world can see you, and more importantly hear you. A website. Your website is a store stocking only your music, a worldwide club where you play, and a meet and greet for your fans, all in one place.

If you have a website, suddenly the whole world becomes your audience. You may not have thought about having a site; of your own, in those terms before. Using services to make your music down loadable, your site becomes a Store for your music. By putting up videos it becomes a club where anyone can see you play. By Blogging about your lives, you let your fans get to know you. They might be half way around the world, but they can go to your website and be close to you.

Never underestimate the power of being able to (potentially) put yourself on every computer on on the web. If your band has a website you will; over time, achieve exposure and fame. And you wont have to give anything up to any corporation.

My name is Ryan and My love in life is music. Listening to it, making it and exploring it. Music really is my drive in life. I created acidhedz.com to help people learn to make their own music, and to showcase my own. I would like to share my love of music and the joy that come with creating your own, with everyone. Over time the site has expanded to include resources for bands looking to promote their music. Including a guide for building your bands website from scratch - http://acidhedz.com

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Joomla Web Development Services

March 16th 2009

Joomla web development services are the talk of the day. It has many features that overall provide ease-of-use and extensibility to user. Anywhere, anyone can make use of Joomla open source solutions. Joomla is used all over the world to make powerful websites with innovative solutions. You can easily infuse your designing ideas here and provide a “good site” to the visitors and the search engines as well. Joomla has thousands of extensions and is highly extensible, which are available in Joomla extensions directory (and most of them are free under GPL License). Hence, for getting an exclusive site designed and developed you can make use of Joomla Web Development Services offered by the web development and designing company. They have team of designers who can make the effective utilization of tools available on Joomla. They make professional and aesthetic custom web design that in nutshell represents your organization.

By using this program web site builders can easily make corporate web site portal, Corporate intranets and extranets, Online magazines, newspapers, and publications; Government applications; E-commerce and online reservations Small business Web sites; NGO Web sites; Community-based portals; websites for institutions (both religious and educational), personal homepages and much more.

You might be thinking what about the content and other related things. Well Joomla program takes care of all this. It has the feature to add simple text, documents, audiovisual tracks/snippets, books or anything you can think of. Since, Joomla is easy to use, now many e commerce companies, web designers and developers are using this service for quickly making great websites. By using Joomla web development services, clients can maintain their site themselves as minimum instructions are written there.

To know more benefits of Joomla Web Development Services, visit http://www.open-source-development.com/

Born and raised in New Delhi, India, Mohita completed her graduation in English Literature from Delhi University, India. She also holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Makhanlal Chaturvedi Rashtriya Patrakarita Vishwavidyalya, Bhopal. She is currently working as Content Writer.

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For Blog Or Webpage Changes, Only Upload What You Need

March 16th 2009

When you own, operate, or manage a blog, webpage, or any other Internet-related application, there will always come a time when you are going to have to make some changes to improve or modify how your application looks, works, and feels. However, in order to make these changes, only upload what will make those specific changes and avoid the temptation to make unnecessary ones because these will most likely cause your application to crash.

Actually, all Internet-based applications are made up of a series of texts that function as commands, making your application work. Changing these lines of text will either change how your application functions or destroy it totally. There comes a need to know which lines of text to change and how to change them in order to make the changes that are needed. This requires having knowledge of html language and programming ability.

When you want to make a certain modification to your application, first decide on what change you want. Take note that even font styles and background colors rely on text-based inputs. When you know how to “read” html language, you will know what commands correspond to the portions of your application and what commands are used to modify them. For instance, colors are usually designated by values from 0000 to 9999. Finding these values and those portions they correspond to will enable you to make changes.

When you have decided on what changes you want to be made, you must then make a plan on how to implement those changes. Always save a backup of the current template you have so that just in case worse comes to worst, you have something to use to restore your application to its status quo. You can use the wordpad application in Windows to backup your template. What is quite useful with wordpad is that you can use the actual text document to upload your template to restore the original configuration.

Trial and error is a programmer’s best friend in making changes to an application. This is because no programmer has the ability to make exact changes without committing a single error. This is the reason why applications are usually and initially released as test versions. When you have your template and you have already decided on what changes to make, alter the text inputs and observe the changes. Remember always to make your changes one at a time in order for you to be able to monitor the changes your application goes through. The more changes you make at a time, the more confused you might get. This may result in a ton of work going down the drain if you have to start over because you got lost in your own application.

When you are done making your changes, upload your template and see if your changes are satisfactory according to your plan. For other minor changes, only upload what is needed. You can also seek the advice and comments of other users to see whether or not your changes improve your application.

If you are interested in Changes Only Upload, check this web-site to learn more about changes only web upload.

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Important Tips When Buying a Website

March 16th 2009

A quick way to establish a profitable internet business is to purchase an existing website. Read four tips when buying a website.

Traffic Sources

One of the first questions you should ask before purchasing a website is how much traffic the website receives. It’s also important to identify the traffic source. Organic and referral traffic is much more valuable compared to paid traffic.

Established Revenue

Website valuation includes established traffic, returning customers and most importantly revenue. The established monthly revenue will attract buyers and raise the value of the website.

Most website valuations are based on twelve months of projected income. If a website is generating $1000 per month in revenue, there will be buyers willing to pay $12,000 for the website based on established revenue.

Why is existing revenue important? It proves a particular business model can be monetized. You can also use existing revenue as a basis to speculate on improvements to the website to increase future revenue.

Maintenance

When you’re buying an established website it’s important to have a thorough understanding of the maintenance involved. You’ll want to know the rate of site updates, estimated time of maintenance and any special skills required to update the website.

If there are specific skills required for maintenance, PHP programming for instance, you’ll want to calculate the cost of outsourcing if you aren’t an experienced programmer.

Support From Previous Owner

It’s not required by the seller, but it’s always an added bonus if they’re offering technical support for thirty to sixty days after the purchase.

You’ll have a knowledgeable resource in the previous owner should you have unexpected questions or problems.

The tips above are just a small sample from a larger blueprint to make money online found at the Maverick Money Makers.

You can use the following link to learn more about the online community created by Mack Michaels.

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