Archive for August, 2006
Having presented the other side of the coin, I thought I would also publish this post presenting some good reasons to adopt the Wordpress Engine as a CMS.
If you are an experienced user of WordPress and want to setup a non-blog website - perhaps a portfolio site, news/magazine site or even an e-commerce site - you might just want to skip the more robust content management systems most people tend to suggest, like Drupal and XOOPS, and consider using WordPress for your CMS-oriented task instead.
read more | digg story
August 31st, 2006
What’s the difference between a Web page titled:
Bob’s Doggy Treats
And one titled:
Bob's Doggy Treats
Maybe more than you think … it’s all in the apostrophe.
Recently, I noticed that a client had pasted their business name from Microsoft Word into their Web site title tag without converting their apostrophe from Word’s character entity to the straight text-only apostrophe that HTML requires.
Initially, I was not very concerned until I Googled for the client’s name and it was nowhere to be found. Other similar business names were in the search engine results pages where my client should have been. Though most Web browsers are able to interpret the Word markup visually, it made no sense to Google, who treated the apostrophe pasted from Word as part of the business name instead of punctuation. For a business who relies on search engine traffic, this can be a costly mistake.
This post is a short reminder that cutting and pasting from Microsoft Word into a Web page document is ALWAYS a bad idea. If you need to cut and paste, a short workaround is to copy from Word into a text editor like Notepad. Then, copy the text from Notepad into your Web page. This removes most of the extra characters could potentially harm your Web page.
August 28th, 2006
Though Wordpress can be used as a simple CMS, it is not specifically designed to function as a content management system. Some limitations that should be considered before you choose Wordpress as your CMS include an overly simple post and user management system and a rigid permalink structure.
read more | digg story
August 27th, 2006
Over the past few months, the range of behaviors available via the JQuery library has grown rapidly. Initially, it was fast way to hide and show divs and change CSS classes on the fly with very little hand coding. Now, it has matured into a library of behaviors that can empower Web designers with high quality animation and interactivity.
view some additions to JQuery | digg story
August 23rd, 2006
In CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions, Andy Budd makes Web design with cascading style sheets accessible to readers of all levels with clear explanations of standards compliant design techniques, CSS bugs and case studies. CSS Mastery features exceptionally clear explanations of the causes of CSS bugs and provides elegant hacks along with the reasons each hack is effective.
This book does not skimp on detail in its discussion of:
- background images and image replacement
- styling tables and forms
- list based navigation menus
- fluid page layout techniques
- rounded corners and dropshadows
- and demarking offsite links with attribute selectors.
To strengthen his clear presentation of CSS methods, hacks, and best practices, Budd hosts two talented CSS designers, Simon Collison and Cameron Moll, to create cutting edge Web sites using the techniques featured in the book. Their detailed case studies with full code samples available by download close out this comprehensive book.
Product Details
- Authors: Andy Budd with Cameron Moll and Simon Collison
- Softcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Friends of Ed
- ISBN: 1590596145
- List Price: $34.99
- Buy the book on Amazon
Related Resources
August 20th, 2006
If you ever need a failsafe way to redirect browsers with PHP, whether or not the page headers have already been sent, look no further than Jakob B.’s snippet on PHP.net.
This code snippet uses the cleanest method, the php header function, if it is available. Otherwise, it defaults to javascript. Failing that approach it uses the old meta refresh method.
August 19th, 2006
The Google Analytics Blog has announced that you no longer need an invitation to receive the Website statistics tracking for free. Just head on over to the Google Analytics site and login with you Google account. It will then take you through the steps that are needed to setup your Website.
read more�|�digg story
August 18th, 2006
It’s official. Logo Designers are now obsolete! Web2.0 Logo Creator is taking over our market share. 
I found this web site that parodies the current Web2.0 look from a link on Squidoo and just had to share it.
Here’s my new logo that was generated in about 3 seconds!
Design+DelineationsBETA.png)
Here’s the one I spent several hours creating myself:
Go figure. Not bad for a machine! Of course mine looks better in context.
August 18th, 2006
Over the past several years, I have noticed that many Web design clients do not understand how to take ownership of the design process and rarely think about how they will manage their Web site after it launches. Somehow, the new design is supposed to compensate for a Web site owner’s lack of vision. This list is one Web designer’s attempt to help you create a plan that will allow you to achieve some success attracting new visitors to your Web site, and making a positive impression once the new visitors arrive.
- Plan your content carefully before you think in detail about your Web site structure and aesthetics.
- Research competing and related niche sites to discover the content, Web site structure, and aesthetics representative of your industry.
- Determine your business objectives and set measurable goals for your new Web site. In as much detail as you can muster, record the ways in which your new Web site will help you achieve your goals.
- Your landing pages should reflect the ways in which your prospective customers will search for your service or product. Plan the content of these pages in relation to the complexity and number of your offerings. Use Wordtracker to discover key phrases that are likely to drive visitors to your Web site landing pages from search engines.
- Since no page is purely informational in a bottom-line business climate, decide carefully what you will ask your Web site visitors to do in response to the content your page offers. Find an appropriate way to ask your potential clients to respond.
- Articulate the first impression and emotional response your Web site should evoke. Who will your site visitors be, and why will they feel this way when they visit your site?
- What is the dominant type of content your Web site will feature? Will it be news items, archived documents, multimedia or sales copy. What ideas do you have about how the content can be structured for maximum comprehension and utility?
- What aesthetic preferences do you have? Why? Link typefaces, colors, and artwork specifications to the first impression and emotional responses you hope to evoke and the business goals they will help you achieve.
- Set your budget and communicate it clearly. If working with a limited budget, be prepared for trade-offs and be ready to prioritize goals and preferences.
- Discuss your communication preferences with your designer in advance. Do you want daily reports? Weekly? Will you want real-time access via telephone, instant messaging, and email? Do you need face-to-face meetings to feel comfortable with the process?
If this blog post left you wanting more, Harvey Ramer has also written a short e-Book called A No-Nonsense Guide to Creating Your Web Site Design Plan that you may find helpful.
August 17th, 2006
Today I decided to start a blog category of CSS Bug Fixes more for myself than for anyone else. I often read about simpler ways of fixing bugs and misplace the facts somewhere in the jumble of thoughts and busyness. Here’s the first installment:
The IE double margin bug shows up in practically every floated layout I create using CSS. Sometimes I use a CSS hack to set margins specifically for IE and others for Firefox and more modern browsers. Now, thanks to CSS Mastery by Andy Budd, and Bulletproof Web Design by Dan Cederholm I am reminded that there is a much more elegant solution than setting alternate margins for IE. If there’s a choice between fixing the problem or managing symptoms, I’ll choose the former every time!
The solution to the IE Double Margin Bug on floated elements is to set the floated element’s display property to inline.
For example:
.column { float:left; margin-right:10px; }
/* For IE */
* html .column { display:inline; }
I hope this helps you. Now this fix is in a place I’ll be able to find when I need it. More coming soon …
August 17th, 2006
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