What’s the deal with web desingers and their messy desks? We all know that most designers aren’t exactly the neatest desk keepers around, but apparently this environment has started to manifest itself in their websites. In honor of this unusual turn of events, I have compiled a gallery for your viewing pleasure.
Frye / Wiles Blog Archive for the ‘Creative Business’ Category
« Previous Entries
Next Entries »
With a modicum of fanfare, Google yesterday released its very own web browser, dubbed Chrome. Among other things, that means that we web developers now have to test on yet another browser, bringing the unofficial list to - Internet Explorer 5.5, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 2 and 3 (for both Mac and PC), Safari for Mac and PC, Opera for Mac and PC, and now Chrome. Add in the occasional Internet Explorer 5 and mobile platform test and you have, well, a lot of testing (especially on the various IEs). Anyone wanting to know why good web development is expensive, look no further.
On the plus side, Chrome is based on Apple’s open-source WebKit architecture, which also runs Safari, and is fairly standards-compliant. Our limited experience with Chrome so far has been very good - it runs pretty much everything that runs in Safari and Firefox (and Opera). A few minor render issues, but not bad for a first beta release.
Short answer: probably not. But there have been some rumblings out in the wide world of the Internet, where Google’s can-do-no-wrong status is being challenged. This is nothing new of course. The reasons range from frivolous to somewhat substantive, but one thing is certain; nothing lasts forever. Even a well-known and storied online superpower can fall out of favor with the masses if they attempt to change what made them great and so well loved in the first place.
HTML Mass Email, Eblasts, Email Blasts, Newsletters, Special Offers….
Lots of names, same basic technology. These days, we see a high level of awareness among our clients of the potential of HTML Mass Email - you know, those nice looking emails you get when you sign up for something (see the image above for a nice example from Circuit City). A lot of our customers want to integrate HTML emails into their marketing plans, but many are unaware of how to do it, and especially how not to do it.
HTML email is very powerful, and can be a great way to communicate with your customers - send them special offers, product updates, news… the list goes on. Generally your customers like to stay in the loop, especially if yours is the kind of business that has repeat sales. However, any sort of email marketing walks a very fine line - you have to make sure that people want your email, that they can get your email, and that they will read your email, and that if they no longer want your email, they can opt out. So how do you do that?
Note: I’m not talking about spam here - for this article, we are discussing legitimate email.
(more…)
If you ever wanted to know about SEO ( Search Engine Optimization ), but were afraid to ask, or you just didn’t think it mattered, Web Designer Wall has an article about SEO. It’s more like a guide, so you and I can get more familiar with using good SEO practices in our web development. The guide goes through the reasons for SEO, the basics of how a search engine works, the top mistakes a designer or developer would make in dealing with SEO, and of course the do’s and don’ts of SEO. It’s a well written article and has been Julian approved! Now you know you have to read it.
Google has a lot of powerful search features you probably aren’t using!
We talk about Google a lot around here…but how many of you actually know how to use it? Of course, anyone can run a simple search for, say, komodo dragon underwear. But you can save yourself a lot of time if you use Google’s simple search commands to narrow in on your search before you hit that search button.
(more…)
For web development software I like to use Coda. I used other web development applications before like Aptana and a long time ago, and I mean in the days of Yore, I used Dreamweaver. Coda is a product of Panic, who makes software for Macs. They’re most commonly known for their FTP software Transmit. If you haven’t tried Coda and you have a Mac, you can download and try the free trial version for a limited time and see if you like it. I think you will and paying the extra money for the full version is worth it.
Okay kids it’s going to be back to school soon. Alright ,maybe in a couple of months, but to prepare yourselves here’s a site that might help you out. It’s called W3 schools and this is a school worth attending. The site has many tutorials and I mean many. From learning XML to JavaScript, this site has everything to get you started in web development. Another great feature of the site is that it actually has examples of the stuff that you’re trying to learn.
Enjoy the school year.
Yesterday Amit Singhal from Google wrote about the Google Philosophy in searving up search. I highly recommend reading this if you are one of our clients, or interested in search. Two main points stood out in my mind. First, “Best locally relevant results served globally”. As someone who is heavily involved in not only search, but local search, this really good to hear. Also the “No Manual Intervention” stands out as I have been working on a Ripoff Report recently.
Just a quick plug here - Art Institute of California, Inland Empire is holding a week-long series of workshops and seminars next week, including a speech by the great April Greiman. All of it is free and open to the public. This is a great (and very unusual) opportunity for those few of us in the creative community in the Inland Empire.
For more information, check out the Invasion of Infinite Creativity website!
