Archive for the ‘Tools & Resources’ Category
published by Dan in SEO | Tools & Resources | Web Development | Web Technology | Writing for the Web
If you happen to have a website and want to generate income from it using Google adsense, it would be wise to determine how you place your ads. We see this option from Google once we are ready to create our own ads but while the Google tutorials are something to guide us, it all really depends on where you place your ads.
For the record, Google allows you to place a maximum of 3 ads on a certain page. Going over that will leave you a blank space. So for blogs, if you want to maximize the advertising spots, it would be wise to place your ads near the posts. Remember that your posts are the ones which changes frequently and to broaden the ads that will be shown on your site, fresh content is usually the keywords that they will rely on.
Just be sure not to overdo it. While it would be best to place Google ads for content, it may render your site worthless if you forget about why the people are there. Formatting is still essential. Blogs are meant to provide information and if you screw that up, chances are you may not get the visitors who will eventually be clicking those ads to generate your revenue.
This has been proven already. Placing them near posts raises the bar of potential ads that may be of interest to your visitors. Just bear in mind, if you don’t update or have good ads, why would a visitor become interested in them if they see recurring ads each time they land on your page?
published by Dan in SEO | Tools & Resources | Web Development | Website Analytics
For some people who want to get traffic in a hurry, some pay third party companies in directory submissions. Some charge a reasonable rate, sometimes at 4 cents per directory and considering that there are a large number of directories on the web today, it is bound to escalate at prices beyond your imagination. This scheme of submitting your site at a “per directory” option is indeed tempting since it looks cheap. But once you accumulate it, you will be surprised at the bill you will get if you don’t keep track.
Regardless, this is a form of search engine optimization that your site will surely benefit from. Not all people who put up websites have the time and effort to do research and do the online marketing practices needed to be able to get the necessary exposure these days. Apparently, some people are likewise hesitant to shell out some cash since the validity of the claims of some services are sometimes categorized in scams.
But in reality, there are really people who do this as a specialization. The best bet you can get in locating these services is to ask around or perhaps read forums that focus a lot on web development and search engine optimization. While you are at it, you can follow the conversations. You can pick a lot of tips from how they go and for sure the rest will be easily understandable.
That is all you need to do and you can be pointed to the right direction to help your site flourish and return the expected results that you have in mind when you started out on a site.
published by Dan in Tools & Resources | Web Development
The last two posts gave the following factors when considering the most appropriate authoring tool when designing a website and/or e-learning tool:
- Level of competency needed
- Need for customisation
- Interoperability
- Media and file support; and
- Cost
If you DO consider each factor you will realise that though your choices will be more easily narrowed down you will likely end up having to compromise something…especially if cost is a big factor. Because of this what you really need to do before choosing a authoring tool is already have a design direction in mind. What this means is knowing the desired look, capabilities, and other specifications of your end product, whether that be a website or an e-learning software.
After you have conceptualised the product you can then base your decision for choosing the authoring tool on the existing specifications. Choose which factor will be the most important in order to achieve the quality of the end product and start crossing out options in order of priority.
Again remember that if cost is a big factor and your budget is REALLY limited then you might want to make that the first criterion for weeding out the unlikely authoring tools. Note too that in cases like this you might want to canvass the price of hiring professional web designers because they might come in cheaper than having to buy a powerful authoring software.
published by Dan in Tools & Resources | Web Development
- Media and File Support - Make sure that the authoring tool you plan to use support the file types you also plan on using. For the most part if you’ll be using common image file types such as .jpg and .gif you shouldn’t have a problem with this. However, if you plan on streaming video and audio on the website/e-learning software you are developing then you’ll automatically be able to narrow down your choices since only few authoring tools offer support for such file types.
- Cost - Usually the reason why a company opt to go in-house and use an automated authoring tools is cost. The funny thing is that some do not realise that the more powerful authoring tools, whether of the automated kind or not, can be pretty expensive. Before committing to a venture using an authoring tools make sure that the kind of authoring tool that suits the rest of your needs also suit your budget. Authoring tools can cost anywhere from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. If you won’t be happy with the quality of work that cheaper authoring tools will yield but can not afford the high-end authoring tools then you might as well hire the services of a good web designer.
published by Dan in Tools & Resources | Web Development | Website Standards
To make sure that you get the most out of the authoring software you use you must first be able to choose the one that best suits your needs. When choosing an authoring software you should consider the following factors:
- Level of competency needed - As mentioned in the previous posts there are automated authoring tools that can be used even by those that do not know anything about programming. For those that do not want a completed automated authoring tool there are others out there that are still pretty easy to learn and use. However, if you are a web/graphics designer you might want to opt for tools that are a bit harder to learn to use but that will provide you more options and leeway to customise things.
- Need for customisation - Lots of easy-to-use authoring software will provide nice enough results but since templates are used you’ll end up with a not too unique product (read: obviously non-professional work). You should base your decision on the amount of customisation you want done especially if you wish to add high-end multi-media simulations and really artistic graphics in your e-learning site.
- Interoperability - Authoring tools follow different set of standards. This is due to the several standards that is existent today. Make sure that the authoring tool you choose can work or interact with other e-learning software produced by other tools that adhere to other standards. If you can not make it interoprable with ALL the existing standards you should at least make sure it can work with the top four standards, which are the:
to be continued…
published by Dan in Accessibility | Tools & Resources | Web Technology | Website Design | Website Standards
Benefits of automated authoring tools:
- Programming-free authoring and publishing - Uses easy to learn and use WYSIWYG editing
- Time saver - Automated processes makes content translation faster and everything else faster, which results in saved money and earlier release of product to the market.
- Cost reduction - The in-house production/development of e-learning materials and websites using such tools can be significantly lower than hiring a development team.
- Quality assurance - Automated editing processes ensures that process steps are taken.
- Easier collaboration - Some automated software allows for real-time multi user collaboration.
- Results in documentation consistency - By automating documentation processes you can be sure that you’ll get more consistent and timely results.
Disadvantages of automated authoring tools:
- Small things that count get overlooked - There’s no denying it a professional web designer will find it easier to spot problems or even just potential problems that someone inexperienced that is just dabbling with an automated authoring software.
- Non-compliance to web standards - This wouldn’t be too bad if it didn’t result in something adverse but since it does affect accessibility then it is a problem that shouldn’t be overlooked. Most affected by accessibility issues are the visually-impaired. While this can be corrected by someone knowledgeable in HTML those using WYSYWIG editors do not even know there’s a problem.
- Debugging woes - Whether a big/critical problem or something as minute as incorrect alignment arises a lot of those using automated authoring tools will find themselves unable to solve the problem that easily, if at all, which then prompts them to either hire a professional web developer or to leave the the end product flawed.
published by Dan in Tools & Resources | Web Development | Web Technology | Website Design
Automated authoring software have been getting bad publicity from web designers and some people think that the reason behind this bad vibes is simply that these tools are displacing web designers. While it is true that there are people that now use automated authoring tools to “design” their own websites there is still no dearth of web design clients.
To help clear up the issue of automated authoring software let me list down both the advantages and disadvantages of automated authoring software. Before I do that though let me give a short introduction to automated authoring software.
An automated authoring software is a development tool that can be used to create and publish web-ready content in different formats, from HTML to CD files. The great thing about this development software is that it allows even those without any programming knowledge to create these content (including websites) since they are mostly drag-and-click types of content creation…no programming!
Automated authoring tools can be used for a variety of purposes but right now the most popular use is to create e-learning modules.
In my next post I’ll be giving the advantages and disadvantages of using automated authoring tools.
published by Dan in Tools & Resources | Usability
No I’m not trying to wiggle my way out of listing the best web design books. The post title is actually the title of one of the best web design books anyone can read - Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug.
The great thing about this book is that the “common sense approach” is something that is understandable to everyone. Reading the book will benefit everyone from web designers to website owners who know nothing about web design. Those who have an advanced knowledge might not think they can learn more but might actually be pleasantly surprised at the enjoyment refreshing one’s “knowledge base” can bring. If you feel like you won’t learn anything new at the very least you’ll enjoy the book’s humour.
On the other hand, those who do not have any background on web design will find this book not too difficult to read since it doesn’t contain any code and presents usability concepts in a way that won’t stress your brains. If you don’t believe me just read the glowing customer reviews on Amazon.
A quick list of some of the things you’ll learn:
- First Law of Usability - Don’t make me think. Users want websites to be self-explanatory. They want things to be intuitive. Don’t make them think!
- User habits such as the fact that most users do NOT…
- read. Instead they simply scan pages so you should avoid being wordy.
- take time to learn how things work.
- Simple usability tests; and
- a whole lot more…
published by Dan in Tools & Resources | Usability | Website Design
Aside from pages with downloads other web pages where help is appropriate include:
- gaming sites - A help page where game information including the goal, rules, and instructions is needed for any website with games. Shortcut keys should be explained and a legend for icons given.
- online shops - A help page where people can find everything they need to know is important. However, due to the nature of the site the help pages for online stores are often subdivided into different topics including FAQ, product details, security issues, etc.
In truth any website wherein users need to do anything more complicated than just read and comment usually should have some sort of help page. This doesn’t mean that all users will actually need to read that help page (especially if the website design is very professional and is very usable) but what’s important is that help be available to anyone who might need it.
Note too that the complexity or depth of the help files/pages depends on the complexity of the tasks that a user needs to perform in the website. A simple download will just need a brief description (although you can give information on troubleshooting in case the download doesn’t work) while purchasing a product will require not only product details but in depth information on shipping, online security, etc.
published by Dan in Accessibility | Tools & Resources | Web Technology | Website Design | Website Standards
Last time I posted about the importance of web accessibility. I mentioned how other users, aside from the disabled and partially disabled, could benefit from web accessibility. As a web designer though that is not very familiar with web accessibility you should realize that there is a pretty wide range of disabilities to address including:
- visual impairments - whether full or partial blindness or colour blindness
- motor disabilities - for those with problems with fine muscle control due to certain conditions like Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, etc.
- auditory problems - whether full or partial deafness
- seizures - epilepsy is sometimes triggered when the screen frequency is between 2 to 55Hz
- cognitive/intellectually impairments - users with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, has poor memory and problem solving skills, etc.
Looking at the list above can be daunting. However, a web design provider really needs to address these issues especially if under the jurisdiction of countries that legally require web accessibility. As mentioned in the previous post though, the Web Accessibility Initiative is a good place to start informing yourself about the issue. There you will find everything from guidelines and techniques to evaluation tools.
As a web designer note though that your job is really only to follow the guidelines set by the W3C. You do not have to worry about the hardware part and other assistive technologies that will help the disabled in web browsing. By following the guidelines you can be assured that the website you have designed can be easily read by assistive technologies such as screen readers. Of course, since technology constantly gives better (or at least newer) solutions then it is important that you keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments in web accessibility.
0845 838 7448 
