Latest news and blog posts

What your website design says about you

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:54:00 +0000

It is hard to believe that the first proper website went online as recently as 1991 and now there are billions of pages fighting for attention. Of course the Home Page is by far the most important as it is your company’s shop window.

Horses for courses - why web copy is different to print copy

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:53:00 +0000

The perceived value of copy has gone down over the last 10 years since the emergence of the Internet. The perception is that copy is cheap and that what was once considered a genuine skill is no more than a collection of key words, key phrases and Ad words.

Double the spark, double the bang?

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:51:00 +0100

If it is done well, publishing shadow websites or decoy websites or micro websites can drive more customers to the principal website.

Importance of page rank in SEO

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:50:00 +0100

Are you looking for some effective SEO tips and techniques that will make your site easily available to the potential customers? Consider working on page ranks as they are really important in determining the overall position or ranking of your website on the popular search engines.

Being Up to Date With Content

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:50:00 +0100

For people who maintain blogs, it would be fine to write about anything you wish. But bear in mind, people today are after updated information. Preferably, you should have a reliable source such as Google or Yahoo news to which you can use as reference. You don’t have to rewrite what you read.

Google Adsense: All About Ad Placement

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:49:00 +0100

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.

Can Directory Maximizers Really Drive in Traffic?

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:48:00 +0100

For 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.

SEO is An Art and Test of Patience

Wed, 11 May 2011 13:47:00 +0100

So you have your site up and the next thing you want to know is for the whole world to know that you exist. How do you go about it? Well for starters, don’t expect an overnight success as far as obtaining a well-optimized site is concerned.

Avoid Using Excessive Web Design Scripts

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:46:00 +0100

Turning to the different scripting techniques to make your website stand out above the rest of website designs today may be something that will not always be good.

Advertisers will Find You

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:44:00 +0000

While there are various commercial sites where you can generate income from your site, bear in mind that there are also private ones who may want to advertise on your site.

Choosing between Blog Sites or Websites

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:43:00 +0000

When it comes to putting up sites these days, we can see a fair amount of people left with two choices, blog sites or websites. Some may ask what is the difference between the two since they can both be hosted using any domain and maintained using the standard ways of search engine optimization. Between the two, it seems that blog sites are easier to maintain since with software such as Wordpress or TypePad, you can easily just compose and save your blog entries and even add an image or two and you can start building on rapport on the web.

Domain Names can Make a Difference

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:42:00 +0000

When it comes to being among the optimized and top preferences that will come up when it comes to searching for certain topics, people who are planning to put up websites should focus a lot on unique domain names. This makes it more user-friendly and easier find, especially if you want your target visitors to easily find you on the web.

A Closer Look at Web Accessibility

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 11:10:00 +0000

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.

Website Construction is Like Jigsaw Puzzles

Sat, 20 Nov 2010 13:41:00 +0000

When it comes to designing a website, people normally point at advanced programming such as PHP or CSS for reference. But there are software today that make it easier. There will still be the usual coding and commands that a site developed will have to get used to but generally, if you know logic, you can handle it yourself.

User Interface Markup Languages Part 2

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 13:40:00 +0100

Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) - Powerful XML-based markup user interface markup language and application markup language in one. Has the combined functionality of various user interface markup languages such as XUL, SVG, and CSS. Created by Microsoft.
OpenLaszlo - Supports Flash. Newest versions 4.x and releases also supports Dynamic HTML (DHTML). As you have already probably deduced from the name it is open-source.

User Interface Markup Languages Part 1

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:38:00 +0100

We all know how important the graphical user interface (GUI) is for all websites. Though a website may have excellent content if the user interface is poorly designed users will have an extremely difficult time extracting the information they need or finishing whatever task they were set out to do on that website. The GUI is a factor that largely affects the user satisfaction and as we all know it is the satisfied customer/user that will come back and maybe even spread the news. Because of this GUI is extremely important.

General Purpose, Lightweight, and Content Syndication Markup Languages

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:37:00 +0100

This is a partial list of markup languages. The links pointed to are the most authoritative links I could find on each particular markup language. Note that I chose only the more popular markup languages for each category in order to give you an idea of the scope of use of markup languages.

Accessibility Tips Part 4

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:03:00 +0100

When talking about accessibility although it is often used to refer to ensuring that web sites are accessible to people with disabilities it actually has a larger scope and actually addresses accessibility of web sites to EVERYBODY. Sure enough when designing web sites the accessibility to the majority of users are always considered, which is why the topic is not really fall under accessibility but usually focuses on usability when it comes to the majority of users.

Accessibility Tips Part 3

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 12:01:00 +0100

Perhaps the tip that beats all accessibility tips is the simplest one - to test your website using a screen reader. Even if you do follow accessibility guidelines chances are something will get overlooked. Testing the site with a screen reader is plain common sense.

Accessibility Tips Part 2

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 12:00:00 +0100

Keep empty form fields empty - Although I have observed the trend of inserting sample text into empty form fields as placeholders there are still websites that do this. This shouldn’t be done since most screen readers (except the very old models) are able to recognize form fields and so prompt users to enter the required information. The problem with putting placeholders inside the form fields is that screen readers usually do not even read out/mention the existence of these placeholders so that users end up not deleting them and thus end up submitting incorrect information when they simply add the right information at the beginning or the end of the placeholder. Note that this is true only for supposedly EMPTY form fields (i.e. name, address, username).

Accessibility Tips Part 1

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:59:00 +0100

Last time we talked about the importance of accessibility. This time I’ll be giving some tips that should help you avoid making mistakes when implementing accessibility.

Web Design Book Review: Don’t Make Me Think

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:15:00 +0100

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.

Accessibility for those with Learning Disabilities

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:31:00 +0000

When discussing accessibility web designers often take into consideration users that have slow internet connections, use alternative browsers, and other technical factors that might result in difficulty accessing a website. With regards to people with disabilities, although there are still many websites that still do not use alt tags, the needs of the visually impaired are also usually taken into consideration. What is usually left unnoticed are the needs of those with other disabilities such as learning disabilities.

A Technical Background on Mobile Web Protocols

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:28:00 +0000

Studying mobile web development should be started with a clear understanding of its roots.

Choosing a Good Web Design Company

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:37:00 +0000

There are numerous web design companies you can hire to to develop your website for you making choosing one a difficult task. Add to this the complication of scammers that dot the internet and what you get is a big headache and a lousy website. To help you in choosing a good web design company I have outlined a few guidelines which you can follow. Feel free to add any factors I might have overlooked and do feel free to tell us about it.