Web Design Development Articles

American households love their pets, and a special place is reserved for the capricious cat. When making a cat website, providing a mix of feline charm, the value of human interaction, and pet responsibility, is the ultimate labor of love. For each cat that secures their place in a forever home, there are ten more cats waiting in the shadows, that are abandoned, or the offspring of a feral, seeking or never knowing the comfort of safety, plentiful food, play, and love. A good foundation for a feline website, is to possess a true passion for the well being of cats.

Tell your cats’ story

Each cat does have a story, uniquely their own of where you found her, or how she found you. Share her story, if she was a shelter rescue, a lost or abandoned stray, or a frightened feral that bravely ventured closer, with a spark of hope and in that glimmer found a chance to belong. Have you had her since she was a kitten, or did she become your companion as a mature cat?

Spay and Neuter

Educate in an informative manner, about being a responsible pet owner, that spaying and neutering prevents unwanted pets, that there will never be enough homes for them. Share any personal involvement you have with rescue groups, catch, spay/neuter, and release programs. Provide links to other sites that promote being responsible for the well being of pets, that aid with spay and neuter info, and no-kill rescue.

A cat is commitment

Give tips on cat care, habits, common medical concerns, that the life of a free roaming or indoor/outdoor cat is 3 to 5 years compared to an age of 15 years, and older for an inside cat. Provide cat facts, cat trivia, legend, and intertwine with tales of compassion, and commitment. A happy cat shares a spot, as a member of the family, with needs, expectations, and deserving attention and love.

Cat photos

However creative, or direct the presentation, in making your cat website, include feline photos. Present clear, slightly cropped images, of your pet, showcasing her ultimate style, snoozing, playing, and all around diva. Add new photos often, including all family pets, as her friends. Even if she had just as well, ignore them. Catch her doing something funny, odd, cute, and divine.

Making a cat website, can weave a story, a niche content site, centering on the merits of sharing life with a feline, a reward equally for the cat, and her human counterpart.

In the past the term ‘new media’ has been used to describe everything from emails to DVDs. With technology moving so fast, particularly in the online world, new doesn’t stay new for long. How can you keep up though and what features should you consider adding to your website? New media can enhance your website and encourage your visitors to return and purchase your products or services which is ultimately the goal of most websites. Take a look below at three features which you can add to your website with the help from a specialist new media agency.

1) Interactive online videos
Thanks to websites such as YouTube and watch again services from the major TV channels, most people have watched a video online at some point. Interactive videos can be used in a number of ways to enhance websites. You can use videos to display your products in action particularly if you sell something quite complicated or something which people may not have seen before. If you have a building which provides a service such as a gym, hotel or restaurant then you can give your website visitors a virtual tour or allow them to wander around the space by using interactive technology. Online videos can also be used for more traditional advertising purposes such as banner advertising.

2) Mini websites
Mini sites are great if you have a particular special offer or product which you want to promote only to specific visitors. They are also useful for testing a new feature which you’re not yet ready to launch onto your main website. Mini websites offer the ideal solution for targeting very specific sections of your customers. Mini sites allow you to guide your chosen customers to specific offers or promotions away from your main site. You may want to dabble into the world of interactive videos or add a new element to your site but wisely want to test this first and mini sites allow you to see how well people react to a feature before it’s officially launched. Mini websites are also a good place to promote online games which have been designed to create a buzz on the internet or for one off competitions or seasonal promotions.

3) 3D photography
Two dimensional photographs simply don’t have the clarity and depth that a 3D image offers. Although 2D is the standard for images on most websites, many businesses are now demanding more from their images. If you sell products such as clothes or home furnishings which traditionally people like to touch or try on before they buy then this could put people off from buying online. The great benefit of three dimensional photography is that people can see a product from all angles and get a better idea of the texture and materials used to create the product. With items such as clothing for example, 3D photography is vital as often the front of an outfit can be completely different to the back.

There are many options for how new media can help you develop your website and your business to suit your customers requirements. If you want to see how it can work for you then discuss your ideas with a new media agency.

When you approach a web agency to help you deal with the online side of your business you need to make sure that you choose the right company for your requirements. As the company will be working for you, you should take a similar approach to hiring them as a manager would approach recruiting a new member of staff. Employers responsible for recruiting staff wouldn’t look at one CV and give that person a job or just rely on references and not actually meet them. It’s wise to go through a thorough recruitment process when you hire a company to handle your online projects.

The CV

A company’s website is in effect their CV as it lists their strengths, talents, past projects and even a bit about their personality usually found on the ‘About Us’ page. Take the time to go through a number of agency websites and make note of what services they offer and what evidence they have to back up their talents. For example, some websites will feature case studies and break downs of specific projects which the company have completed. Some will have a full list of past clients with links to the completed website projects or images and details from marketing campaigns. If you need more examples then email the company and ask, you could even ask them for specific results of increased visitors or sales from particular campaigns.

The References

Testimonials are the equivalent of references and they can be a great way to find out how well a company works. Most agency websites will feature a number of testimonials from past and present clients so make sure you read these to get an idea of whether the company is right for you. If the company doesn’t have any or very few testimonials then this could be because they’re new or it could be because they’re not very good. If you like the look of a company but they only have a few testimonials give them a call so you can find out why this is. You could even do further research by contacting some of their clients and finding out direct how satisfied they were with the web agency.

The Interview

When you’ve narrowed your search down you could then call the agency or even pop in and see them to get an idea of how well you’ll work together. Working with an agency can sometimes be a long-term relationship so you need to feel comfortable with the staff at the agency and with the way the agency work. Draw up a list of questions to ask them, even if you think some might be silly or too prying, you have a right to know as much about the company as possible if you’re going to invest money in their services. Find out who will be your main point of contact and who will do most of the work on your project - these are the people you’ll speak to most so it’s vital that you feel comfortable with them.

By hiring a web company in the same way you would hire a member of staff, you can ensure that you know as much as possible about the company and therefore avoid any nasty surprises further down the line.

In this modern Web 2.0 era, creating websites is simply not a difficult task to do. Basically, everyone knows how to build their own websites based on their personal preferences - especially website layouts and settings; it can be completed within less than 10 minutes. One of the easiest ways of creating a one-page website is by using free weblog publishing tool - WordPress. There are few advantages of creating a one-page website with WordPress 2.7 because you do not need to spend money on:

• A personal domain – you can purchase their personal domain via Godaddy and Namecheap.
• A web hosting account – you need a remote web server to store and sort your files that belongs to your website.

In this building one-page website method, you will be able to display your entire personal portfolio or your curriculum vitae (CV).

Step 1: Register for a WordPress account
You need to have a WordPress account before you start making any sites with WordPress. Then, name your own WordPress domain, for example – “Put-Your-name-here.WordPress.com”.

Step 2: Choose an elegant theme
From the Dashboard, you will see “Appearance” tab at the left sidebar. Press the pull-down menu, choose “Themes”. For your information, there are more than fifty website themes to choose. Choose any theme based on your personal preferences.

Step 3: Start creating a post
Press the “Post” tab at the left sidebar. Start writing a post that is related to your personal portfolio or your CV. Upload any pictures that are related to the contents. Publish your post when you have finished. You can add-in links to your favorite page in your post by using basic HTML language like - “<a target=”_new” rel=”nofollow” href=”url-of-your-favorite-site”>Name of the site</a>”.

Step 4: Making the one-page website
Based on the “Settings” tab at the left sidebar, press the pull-down menu and choose “Reading”. You will be directed to the “Reading Settings” admin page. From the “Blog pages show at most” and “Syndication feeds show the most recent” sections, change the numbers to “1″ respectively. Finally, you have completed your own one-page WordPress website and you can start making use of it.

Imagine taking a taxi ride where the driver dropped you off at the wrong location. Would you trust that driver to take you to another location? Probably not. You’d most likely look for another taxi. One with a driver that promised to take you where you wanted to go.

When people click a link, to or on your website, it’s a lot like jumping into a taxi. They’re trusting you to take them where they’ve agreed to go. And when they end up in a strange location, it’s very likely they’ll take their business elsewhere.

This is why it’s very important to make sure that, as the driver, you’ve carefully planned the course. Because even the tiniest detour from the path your customer expects can ruin the trust you’re hoping to build.

So what’s a detour? And how does it cripple online trust and sales?

The web is task driven. Plain and simple. So when your customer clicks on a link for something, it needs to take them directly to what they’d expect. If it doesn’t you’ve created a detour.

These detours start to put unnecessary stress on your customer. Each time they click to a new page they immediately look for confirmation they’re in the right place. If they don’t get that confirmation, panic sets in. Just like when the crazy taxi driver takes a turn you’re not familiar with.

With each wrong turn the customer loses confidence in you and their trust meter plummets. And as the trust meter plummets so do the chances of the customer doing business with you.

How do you avoid this happening?

Just make sure your links take the customer on the ride they’ve agreed to. Let the customer complete their desired tasks. If the path doesn’t make sense or if your customer has to take extra steps to achieve their goal, you run the risk of losing them altogether.

Let’s take an example:

Domino’s Pizza. Currently, they’re promoting their new oven baked sandwiches. The online ads for oven baked sandwiches feature the scrumptious looking sandwiches and a button to “order online now.” But what happens when you click?

You’re thinking, “MMM…Oven baked sandwiches!” But when you get to the landing page order form. There’s no mention of sandwiches. There’s something about pizza. But I’m not looking for pizza. Now I’m starting to get grumpy. But I continue on because those sandwiches can’t be too far away. Or can they?

The next screen brings me to a page to build my pizza. Pizza! Where the heck are my oven baked sandwiches? That’s the reason I clicked on the ad in the first place. Now I’ve got to take the time to search for what I’m actually looking for. OR I could just forget it. Leftover chinese food doesn’t sound too bad.

How could Domino’s have gotten the sale?

Simple. Give the customer what they want. Don’t muddy things up with what you want me to buy. Let the customer get what they want first. Then an up-sell to pizza is appropriate.

The easier you make it for the customer to get what they want, the easier it is to get them to do what you want. Which is buy your product or service.

But aren’t customers smart enough to figure it out?

Yes, most times they are. But it isn’t a question of smarts. It’s a question of time. By making the customer struggle to find what they want, you’re sending the message that you don’t care about their time. Don’t squander people’s time by making them think about it.

Summary:

Make sure links and process take your customers where they expect to go. Don’t make customers jump through hoops and do things they shouldn’t need to do.

Action plan:

Have some people click through your site and point out areas where they get sent on a detour. Then find a taxi driver that really knows how to get your customers around.

The internet has become so cluttered with everybody and there brother trying to develop a “community”. From the early days of MySpace and what was that other one oh yeah Friendster. Anybody remember that one, I think it came right after DOS or something like that. O.K. time to get serious. I think after the deals with Murdock and MySpace and then Markie Z of Facebook and the faceoff with Microsoft and the 240 million deal he made for a whopping 1.6% that things went nuts. Now we have literally thousands and more showing up every day.

Some are downright funny. Some time back I was in the energy drink business so I checked out the competition and guess what Monster was up to and yep you guessed it they have built a community around a energy drink. Oh, and by the way they are called “troops”. Well, I got curious and lo and behold everyone out there is into it. They even have built online communities around T.V. shows. There is even a social network for folks over fifty. You actually have to be over fifty to be a member.It’s call Eons. Yuck! I’m fifty two but that name just makes me feel old. If you go to any of the major networks there is a separate community around every show including game shows!

So what is my point? The world of web2.0 has allowed this phenomenon but I’d like to ask YOU. Are connected to a online community where you are happy? Or are you like I was for so long. A drifter, a gypsy, drifting from place to place trying to find my place in the sun. I’m glad a friend of mine recently told me about Cagora. The name comes from the Greek word agora which means marketplace and the “C” stands for community. I believe they are going to fill a real gap in the world of web 2.0 by being a one stop spot where you can gossip, buy and sell, get information from all quarters of the internet, and be in online groups that are exclusive. In other words at Cagora there is only one group for “dogs” and one group or spot for “cars”.

They are officially launching this week and I will be exploring this elephant over the next several weeks.

Many web masters want a Content Management System that provides a lot of flexibility while designing a website. This gives them more scope while working on a website. Functions like editing, deleting, adding, updating texts, photos, images, and pages on their website should be smooth sailing. Joomla CMS is the answer to their requirements.

Basically a CMS is a computer system which enables to manage and control the presentation of the contents of the website. The contents of a website may include texts, images, music or documents. To manage these contents in a professional manner, the website needs to be designed with a competent CMS. It is a fantastic Content Management System which is very user-friendly. The website designer does not need to be an HTML expert or some kind of technical geek to design his/her website.

Anyone can design their own website without depending on professional developers by using this Content Management System ! And what’s more it is absolutely free. You do not have to pay a single cent to use this system because it is a free open source CMS.

A website designed using it, is also very easy to maintain and update. You do not have to depend on any professional to maintain or update your website. You can do it yourself by learning from the Joomla video courses that are available online.

How to get started?

Since it is free, open and available to everyone, getting started with Joomla is not a big problem. If you decided to design your website using this CMS then all you need to do is visit their official website. There you will find a link which reads ‘Getting started with Joomla’. When you click on that link you are introduced to the basics of this open source Content Management System and you also get to try out an online demo.

Once you discover how simple it is, you can manually download its setup by clicking on the link which reads ‘Download the latest version here’ and you’ll be all set to design an amazing website of your own.

SEO is important in getting more traffic to your website. This is in fact difficult to avoid. Everyone has some idea about how websites are listed high on the search engines. The reality is very simple. The truth is that content was always and always will be the key to success in search engine optimization.

Quality website content only can keep the search engines happy.

The quality content includes:

• Articles
• Press Releases
• Discussion Forums
• Blogs
• How-to guidlines
• Reports
• Seminars / Training courses

It is advisable to always use unique and quality content. The cut-paste duplicate content issues have gone out of control. You can still use reprint articles to generate more traffic to your website. However, your own original content will make more difference. To be identified as original and unique, your website content should be at least 80% different from other websites in competition.

If you are using Private Label Rights material, change it to make fresh content. Although few people will access this material, most of them use this material without changing it. You must change the Title Tag and rewrite the entire article.

Everyone wishes to develop a quality content for their website and to make it relevant and aimed targeted audience. If you cannot produce the content by yourself, hire an expert content writer.

To maintain good rank with search engines, you need to add fresh new content to you websites on regular basis. This should not be a problem with the website owners who have to often add new content. A blog can add content to your website regularly. Post at least once a week, something on your blog, and its better if posted frequently. Inspiring your friends/relatives/colleagues to comment on your blog can give you ideas for following up the blog posts, and will improve your search engine ranking.

Always encourage your members to submit content. Making other people submit content will help in generating flow of traffic. Ask them to add content to your website in the following ways:

Encourage them to post on discussion forums. You should have software that lets forum posts to be picked up by search engines. Ask your community to submit blogs, articles ideas, and product reviews. Ask members to review your products after they have bought and used it. Have only quality products to avoid negative reviews.

When you are doing advertising for car dealers, the way you display your message can heavily influence how the audience will take to your ad. Car dealer PHP script (or auto dealer PHP script depending on who you ask) can help to promote your car sales for your car dealership online. More and more clients are turning to this medium for information and purchasing, so it pays to be ahead with a professional site.

There are many softwares out there designed towards helping you chose your own custom auto dealer PHP script. Regardless of if you are selling new or used, foreign or domestic, customers will frequently need to go online. When looking at these sites, they have come to expect certain things, like high quality pictures of the cars in question, pics concerning the outside and inside of the cars they are researching, and a list of statistics on every car they can find. Drop downs, list boxes And forms can all aid in this, and a site with the proper car dealer PHP script can add to this.

Also, the ability to focus a user’s search can aid in generating comfort and professionalism. A site with proper auto dealer PHP script will allow for quick and easy access to records on any and every car they wish to search for, often times reloading the page to display only the custom information they need.

Other items a page may include are pricing scales for ease of search, model listings, availability and contact information. Also, certain car dealer PHP scripted sites will allow for the entry of personal information so that sales representatives can get in touch with the prospective client. They’re already interested, so you may as well establish a good repor ahead of time.

Remember, a client that is looking for a car has already decided they will buy a vehicle; you just have to convince them to buy from you. The style and ease of your site can go a long way in establishing the initial customer contact and creating a solid repor that will lend to influencing the customers ultimate decision.

Every business site needs good fresh content, which gives the customers something to learn about or enjoy while visiting your online business website. Maintaining a content driven website can be very time consuming and very detailed in order to present the best impression of your web presence, products and service. Rewriting clusters of HTML files to present a fresh new look would take endless hours of hard work. The answer to these problems is a website design that is database driven websites built with PHP and MySQL.

To appreciate data driven websites built with PHP & MySQL, you first must be familiar with the way in which a normal web page works. Standard non-database driven web pages will not change anytime the web page is loaded on a web browser. Nor will the standard web page change by use of clicking a graphic button. Normal web pages just load and unload. Standard web pages always look the same and their web content stay unchanged. Unless of course if there is new content or web designs manually uploaded to create a new version of the average web page. Data driven websites built with PHP and MySQL perform oppositely, as they are able to change every time they upload with out you having to make changes by hand. Data driven websites built with the use of PHP and MySQL are also enabled to change the content based on the actions that a user might do while visiting your website, for instance clicking on text or an image, on the same page, without loading another web page.

PHP is a general purpose, scripting language that is widely used in web site building. PHP is overall quite nicely balancing for web design development. Use of PHP also gives you the ability of embedding features into the HTML. MySQL is a free to use, open source database that is universally engaged with nearly all of the current server-side scripting languages including PHP. PHP & MySQL data driven websites are able to file and store information, and they are able to filter through their information and grab requested facts from their database, then insert that particular bit of info onto the web page every time it is loaded into a browser. When the information that is stored in a data driven website built with PHP & MySQL changes, the web pages linked to those databases automatically change as well.

Think for a moment of how an online banks website works. You are able to log in and check your bank balance. The account information is stored in the banks database that connects to a web page with data base programming, which lets you view your account information. Server side programming is another name for database driven website programming such as those built by PHP & MySQL. The reasoning is that the actions available to the web pages to connect to a database takes place on a server. Therefore every time a data driven web page as those built by PHP & MySQL are in process of being sent to be uploaded by the browser, automatically the server builds the requested web page and then sends a traditional HTML page to be uploaded by the browser. PHP & MySQL programmed data driven websites give the server instructions on how to build the web page request.