Hi,
The media is painted in hues of red, blue and white with a sprinkle of stars afloat. The world watches with bated breaths as the Presidential elections of the United States gets hotter.
And as I spoke to my cousin in Florida yesterday, I realized that the air is all the more fervent there. With tons and loads of online space donated to cheer and berate both Obama and Hillary, I thought I might as well steal a glance at their websites. But the glance took a little longer and I found myself devouring the technicalities of their designs.
And boy oh boy... its frenzy out there. Not being a political person dissuades me from commenting on my preference over either candidates, but their websites … yes I am ready to speak.
Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, brought up in the lap of political regimen has a website that emits the same. Wearing the traditional color schemes of the US flag, her website www.hillaryclinton.com boasts of a regal air.
Browse down to Barack Obama’s site, www.barackobama.com and you will be greeted by a splash of fresh dreamy blue, perhaps a symbol of the freshness he claims to bring into the US government with his election!
All the tips and tricks I tell you about here on this blog find perfect examples in these sites. Both the sites are designed with utmost care and attention. Optimization would not have been an issue though ;-)
Hmm…Let’s make it interesting. If I take both of them and put them in a boxing ring… lets see who wins.
Round one: Color Riot
Hillary’s site uses loud colors, something that is not very advisable by the website designing rules. But it is pardonable considering it is complimentary to the American flag. The Republican sure knows how to waive her patriotism!
Obama the poster boy…ahem man of the youth with his dreamy hues. The first thing that I felt was freshness. It was as if I could breathe light. I guess it’s the plentiful whitespace and the soft blue palette that did it to me. The site has a soothing appeal. It is intended to I guess, for it targets the tech savvy youth of America.
Round one goes to Obama!
Round Two: Layout
The Queen Bee makes it a little hectic here. The content comes out all bold. With the text in caps and that too defined by sharp lines, it becomes a little too messy on the whole and the over impression spells clutter. Like when I entered the site, I became finicky. There were just too many elements shouting for attention. Take a ride and you will know what I mean. This was exactly what I mentioned in designing don’ts.
Pair this opposite Obama’s and you can see contrast. There is absolute harmony. With all the elements neatly arranged this is what I call a neat and clean layout
Obama, the winner again!
Round Three: The Link Saga
Hillary has her site compact. The links clearly done, I could just jump to any page that I wanted.
Obama decided to stack up. A strict no-no when it comes to designs. I had to roll that cursor down and down through all the events and features. It is too long, literally! Take a cue from the first lady and get some on links on top boy!
You have round three Mrs. Clinton!
Round Four: Extras
The Queen Bee talks. Yeah she does. It’s campaigning after all. She has on her main menu a link titled ‘videos’ that has several video slides of her life and works. Now this is great. Hillary supporters just have to refer to this link for any evidence they might need to testify their cheers.
But Obama has it planned to. I just loved the playful tools that he has squeezed in on his site. There is Barack TV Obama mobile, action center and a link to my.barackobama.com, an online portal that for personal blogs and messages. He targets the young crowd of America and has got it right for all the tech savvy supporters out there. And an add-on… What stands out on the site is the hit counter that counts records the number of people who have donated, irrespective of the amount. (BTW it was some 1,000,153 when I last saw. Goshhhh!)
I was bowled over by the counter, but then let’s call it a draw here!
So that was heavy! The winner is declared: Barack Obama! Sure he wins in my boxing ring. Let’s wait and see if he does to the White House too.
But I hear he’s anti-outsourcing. Huh? Will get you more on that in my other blog on KPOs.
Bye
Friday, February 29, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Web Design Myths – Busted!!!
Hi,
Just yesterday, I was browsing through the net for some articles on web design and development and literally all of them yell out the same tips and tricks, of course in different language styles ;-)
Talk about plagiarizing plagiarism!
But what I noticed is, in their efforts to save mankind from creating ‘non-ideal’ websites; they have given way to some myths that now rule the roost.
If you haven’t already, just try Googling out some web design articles. Literally, all of them seem to propagate the belief of “All content and less or no animation” supposedly that’s the magic key of having a neat and popular website.
Don’t rule me out for this. I know content is the king! N that’s what gains the site its credibility. Also adding animations like sounds, java applets and graphics will slow down the loading process. And yes, visitors seldom wait more than 8 seconds.
But take a break, and think about it. All work and no play made Jack a dull boy. And all content and no graphics will no do better to your website.
A kid who logs into Disneyworld.com will not be amused to find info on the what-when-how of the company. He’d rather search for his Mickey and Minnie.
You know better what your site demands than the free articles on the web. Play smart and know where to use the animations and where to prioritize content. The trick is to maintain a steady balance between the two! Use animations sensibly as and when required and go low on the image size.
Now comes the question When is it appropriate?
Well sometimes applets are needed for some sort of processing.
All the Disney characters who swing and dance for the kids on the Disney website make use of the applets. The loading time too is not an issue because the image sizes are abridged to accommodate the screen space. And what is Disneyworld without music and songs? I’ll hate to walk in to a bland and mute Disneyland. Wont you?
In the same way, animation and sound might be appropriate for sites that feature online comics, online gaming, etc.
Talking about my own website that deals with website design services and all. You as a customer would not even wait to ponder if not for the graphics that illustrate my work. Let me share a secret. Many potential customers see your site as an example of what their site can become. And playing Plain Jane here will be no help. Chuck the content, its illustration that the customer demands.
And then the age old myth of "Good Web Design is in the Graphics"
I stumbled upon this site and took two minutes to realize that the large psychedelic structure staring at me was actually an attempt of the web designer to beautify the site. God bless the designing schools!
Designer graphics are cool and they serve to cut through monotony and bring in more vibrancy. But please don’t ruin what they born to do. Size does matter. Trust me does. I suggest you limit the size of the graphics so they complement the subject of the site without overshadowing it altogether.
And as for that designer... I can only hope that he stumbles upon this blog!!!
Hear all that is on offer, but when you get down to doing things, put in a little of that grey matter too.
Happy designing!
Just yesterday, I was browsing through the net for some articles on web design and development and literally all of them yell out the same tips and tricks, of course in different language styles ;-)
Talk about plagiarizing plagiarism!
But what I noticed is, in their efforts to save mankind from creating ‘non-ideal’ websites; they have given way to some myths that now rule the roost.
If you haven’t already, just try Googling out some web design articles. Literally, all of them seem to propagate the belief of “All content and less or no animation” supposedly that’s the magic key of having a neat and popular website.
Don’t rule me out for this. I know content is the king! N that’s what gains the site its credibility. Also adding animations like sounds, java applets and graphics will slow down the loading process. And yes, visitors seldom wait more than 8 seconds.
But take a break, and think about it. All work and no play made Jack a dull boy. And all content and no graphics will no do better to your website.
A kid who logs into Disneyworld.com will not be amused to find info on the what-when-how of the company. He’d rather search for his Mickey and Minnie.
You know better what your site demands than the free articles on the web. Play smart and know where to use the animations and where to prioritize content. The trick is to maintain a steady balance between the two! Use animations sensibly as and when required and go low on the image size.
Now comes the question When is it appropriate?
Well sometimes applets are needed for some sort of processing.
All the Disney characters who swing and dance for the kids on the Disney website make use of the applets. The loading time too is not an issue because the image sizes are abridged to accommodate the screen space. And what is Disneyworld without music and songs? I’ll hate to walk in to a bland and mute Disneyland. Wont you?
In the same way, animation and sound might be appropriate for sites that feature online comics, online gaming, etc.
Talking about my own website that deals with website design services and all. You as a customer would not even wait to ponder if not for the graphics that illustrate my work. Let me share a secret. Many potential customers see your site as an example of what their site can become. And playing Plain Jane here will be no help. Chuck the content, its illustration that the customer demands.
And then the age old myth of "Good Web Design is in the Graphics"
I stumbled upon this site and took two minutes to realize that the large psychedelic structure staring at me was actually an attempt of the web designer to beautify the site. God bless the designing schools!
Designer graphics are cool and they serve to cut through monotony and bring in more vibrancy. But please don’t ruin what they born to do. Size does matter. Trust me does. I suggest you limit the size of the graphics so they complement the subject of the site without overshadowing it altogether.
And as for that designer... I can only hope that he stumbles upon this blog!!!
Hear all that is on offer, but when you get down to doing things, put in a little of that grey matter too.
Happy designing!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Crossing over to get compatible!
Hi,
Has it ever happened to you that you have chanced upon a real good web application and were bowled over by its features and functionality, and then to your dismay discovered that it’s all but compatible with your operating system!
If this has a déjà vu affect on you? Then I am sure you’d be a happier soul after reading this.
I concluded my last post with a promise that I’ll get back with more information on web tools and applications, and here I am to let you know all about cross-platform compatibility! Though a little late! But hey... Better late than never. And perhaps the break gave me more time to ponder over the intricacies of these applications.
Interoperability or platform-independence as it is popularly called refers to the ability of devices or software applications to work with more than one hardware platform or operating system. Broad compatibility with various systems guarantees a larger market for a product by reaching your entire user audience. Interoperability is critical in achieving that critical mass of users, especially in groupware and other such internet applications, where two or more people interacting with one another will require some level of compatibility in order to communicate or share data.
I have seen many users who are forced to give up on their favorite operating system just for the sake of some frequently used application or software that fails to run on that. Now is it not cruel?
I read a piece some days back that said companies using Microsoft Office on both Macintosh and Windows PCs will have to deal with cross-platform compatibility issues with the new Office 2008 productivity suite. When the Office 2008 productivity suite will be introduced for Mac OS X, companies that rely on Visual Basic for Applications scripts and macros on Macintosh and Windows clients will lose transparent cross-platform compatibility. The reason behind this is Microsoft is abandoning VBA script and macro support with the introduction of the new productivity suite.
Moreover, the recently released Office 2007 for Windows introduced a new default file format, the OOXML (Office Open XML) .docx format, which is not compatible with Office 2003 on Windows and Office 2004 on Mac OS X. OOXML will be the default file format for Office 2008 also. As a result, Microsoft and others are scrambling to offer options to regain at least a limited degree of compatibility for future Office users. Now does that give you a scare?
Let me share with you some basics of creating a cross-platform web program.
First, choose the right development language. You can write cross-platform C++ code. But then you will have a hell of a time working with the different C++ compilers. You may be tempted to use GCC for all platforms. But that can’t always be possible. C++ programs can be tough to maintain for cross platform compatibility, though I might as well inform you that it is possible by all means. Another hurdle in your way would be to work with the build system. Not all platforms will compile IDE for C++. Worst of all, you may even have to browse through the Makefiles. Now that I have scared you enough, I might take the liberty to proclaim that C++ is not a good choice for cross platform development.
Rather, I would suggest you to go with Java or Python because both of them can scale across platforms pretty well. But playing the devils advocate again, don’t be assures that you have all the features of the language on all platforms. Read the docs carefully before implementing obscure functionality.
A good graphical user interface is imperative for an ideal application. Be sure that you make a correct choice for a cross-platform GUI. Astounding it may seem, but don’t you undermine its importance. A score of GUIs and libraries claim to be cross-platform. Be smart and run them for a check on functionality by making prototypes. My experience says that there is no easy answer when it comes to choosing the right GUI. And now I just cant resist telling you about wxWidgets bindings for Python called wxPython. It is damn easy to use and supports a ton of functionality. And yeah of course it is Python.
FireFox browser is the project that I can illustrate to you as a great execution of cross compatibility. Another promising project is the Mono project. Going by what it claims. It provides the necessary software to develop and run .NET client and server applications on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Windows, and Unix. My analysis has shown that GUI is still in beta versions. Another thing that I have observed is that Mono consistently lags behind Microsoft’s .NET framework. That is to be expected, since Microsoft will lead in .NET implementation and try and keep its version ahead of the competition. But nevertheless, Mono seems a serious contender for any cross-platform development.
Phew … Now that was pretty long. I guess now you have a fair knowledge of what cross-platform compatibility is all about. And the next time you cast your eyes on that cool application, don’t be skeptical. In all probability it will go well with your OS!
Has it ever happened to you that you have chanced upon a real good web application and were bowled over by its features and functionality, and then to your dismay discovered that it’s all but compatible with your operating system!
If this has a déjà vu affect on you? Then I am sure you’d be a happier soul after reading this.
I concluded my last post with a promise that I’ll get back with more information on web tools and applications, and here I am to let you know all about cross-platform compatibility! Though a little late! But hey... Better late than never. And perhaps the break gave me more time to ponder over the intricacies of these applications.
Interoperability or platform-independence as it is popularly called refers to the ability of devices or software applications to work with more than one hardware platform or operating system. Broad compatibility with various systems guarantees a larger market for a product by reaching your entire user audience. Interoperability is critical in achieving that critical mass of users, especially in groupware and other such internet applications, where two or more people interacting with one another will require some level of compatibility in order to communicate or share data.
I have seen many users who are forced to give up on their favorite operating system just for the sake of some frequently used application or software that fails to run on that. Now is it not cruel?
I read a piece some days back that said companies using Microsoft Office on both Macintosh and Windows PCs will have to deal with cross-platform compatibility issues with the new Office 2008 productivity suite. When the Office 2008 productivity suite will be introduced for Mac OS X, companies that rely on Visual Basic for Applications scripts and macros on Macintosh and Windows clients will lose transparent cross-platform compatibility. The reason behind this is Microsoft is abandoning VBA script and macro support with the introduction of the new productivity suite.
Moreover, the recently released Office 2007 for Windows introduced a new default file format, the OOXML (Office Open XML) .docx format, which is not compatible with Office 2003 on Windows and Office 2004 on Mac OS X. OOXML will be the default file format for Office 2008 also. As a result, Microsoft and others are scrambling to offer options to regain at least a limited degree of compatibility for future Office users. Now does that give you a scare?
Let me share with you some basics of creating a cross-platform web program.
First, choose the right development language. You can write cross-platform C++ code. But then you will have a hell of a time working with the different C++ compilers. You may be tempted to use GCC for all platforms. But that can’t always be possible. C++ programs can be tough to maintain for cross platform compatibility, though I might as well inform you that it is possible by all means. Another hurdle in your way would be to work with the build system. Not all platforms will compile IDE for C++. Worst of all, you may even have to browse through the Makefiles. Now that I have scared you enough, I might take the liberty to proclaim that C++ is not a good choice for cross platform development.
Rather, I would suggest you to go with Java or Python because both of them can scale across platforms pretty well. But playing the devils advocate again, don’t be assures that you have all the features of the language on all platforms. Read the docs carefully before implementing obscure functionality.
A good graphical user interface is imperative for an ideal application. Be sure that you make a correct choice for a cross-platform GUI. Astounding it may seem, but don’t you undermine its importance. A score of GUIs and libraries claim to be cross-platform. Be smart and run them for a check on functionality by making prototypes. My experience says that there is no easy answer when it comes to choosing the right GUI. And now I just cant resist telling you about wxWidgets bindings for Python called wxPython. It is damn easy to use and supports a ton of functionality. And yeah of course it is Python.
FireFox browser is the project that I can illustrate to you as a great execution of cross compatibility. Another promising project is the Mono project. Going by what it claims. It provides the necessary software to develop and run .NET client and server applications on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Windows, and Unix. My analysis has shown that GUI is still in beta versions. Another thing that I have observed is that Mono consistently lags behind Microsoft’s .NET framework. That is to be expected, since Microsoft will lead in .NET implementation and try and keep its version ahead of the competition. But nevertheless, Mono seems a serious contender for any cross-platform development.
Phew … Now that was pretty long. I guess now you have a fair knowledge of what cross-platform compatibility is all about. And the next time you cast your eyes on that cool application, don’t be skeptical. In all probability it will go well with your OS!
Friday, December 14, 2007
Choosing The Appropriate Web Technology – Which One To Pick?
Hi,
I have designed scores of websites in the last ten years of my association with the web designing and web development. But, still it’s quite difficult for me to say if a particular platform is the answer to the choice of a website development. When I say platform, it essentially means the server, database, and language that one needs to deploy for developing a website. At the cost of making a clichéd statement, I would say it largely depends on the nature of business, budget allocated for the website development & designing, your targeted and prospective customers and so forth.
My experience as a website developer and designer has taught me an eternal truth – each new website to be built is unique in it requirements and has the potential to throw challenges you would never have faced before. But, that’s the most exciting part of being a web programmer, developer or designer. Like any other areas of learning, web development and designing also teaches you constantly as you go on creating new websites.
Now, I must tell you whatever I really feel when it comes to making the choice of platform designing and developing a website. My experience tells me that most webmasters I have designed and developed websites for are not really aware of different web development & designing platform options and, more importantly, the individual benefits thereof. But, why would they know? That’s the job of web developers, designers and especially, the IT consultants.
But, you should never undermine the importance of choosing the right web platform for your site as you will only be ruing over your decision in the long run if you ever make a wrong choice. Well, let me tell you why.
First of all when you talk about choices of web application platforms, I just can’t help coming up with two names such as .NET and Linux. These two applications are being predominately used all over the world at the present moment for building new websites. Both have their respective edges over the other and limitations too. Having said that, the only way to make a perfect choice of web development platform is to analyze and understand the specific present and future needs of your business operations.
If you are budget-oriented, Linux could be great for you. Some of the most popular scripting codes that can be categorized under Linux are PHP, CGI, Perl, Python etc. Linux is basically, an open source code which is also less prone to virus threat. On the other hand, .NET is one of the Window platform scripting languages among ASP, ASP.NET, C#, C old Fusion and so forth. Talking about the database servers Linux supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, Sybase and the like. Windows platform also offer database server options such as MS SQL Server, MS Access, Oracle which are pretty popular.
Let me illustrate why making an absolute choice between these two is so difficult. For instance, if you wish to develop a discussion board, PHP could be the better pick. Whereas ASP would be a more holistic option for e-commerce application development. However, PHP is also capable of being used in developing e-commerce applications. So basically, the decision to choose either one hinges mostly on your specific business requirements and, of course, budget.
As I’ll discuss on cross-platform compatibility in my upcoming post, you will get to understand more on this since these web tools and applications are all so interrelated, aren’t they?
I have designed scores of websites in the last ten years of my association with the web designing and web development. But, still it’s quite difficult for me to say if a particular platform is the answer to the choice of a website development. When I say platform, it essentially means the server, database, and language that one needs to deploy for developing a website. At the cost of making a clichéd statement, I would say it largely depends on the nature of business, budget allocated for the website development & designing, your targeted and prospective customers and so forth.
My experience as a website developer and designer has taught me an eternal truth – each new website to be built is unique in it requirements and has the potential to throw challenges you would never have faced before. But, that’s the most exciting part of being a web programmer, developer or designer. Like any other areas of learning, web development and designing also teaches you constantly as you go on creating new websites.
Now, I must tell you whatever I really feel when it comes to making the choice of platform designing and developing a website. My experience tells me that most webmasters I have designed and developed websites for are not really aware of different web development & designing platform options and, more importantly, the individual benefits thereof. But, why would they know? That’s the job of web developers, designers and especially, the IT consultants.
But, you should never undermine the importance of choosing the right web platform for your site as you will only be ruing over your decision in the long run if you ever make a wrong choice. Well, let me tell you why.
First of all when you talk about choices of web application platforms, I just can’t help coming up with two names such as .NET and Linux. These two applications are being predominately used all over the world at the present moment for building new websites. Both have their respective edges over the other and limitations too. Having said that, the only way to make a perfect choice of web development platform is to analyze and understand the specific present and future needs of your business operations.
If you are budget-oriented, Linux could be great for you. Some of the most popular scripting codes that can be categorized under Linux are PHP, CGI, Perl, Python etc. Linux is basically, an open source code which is also less prone to virus threat. On the other hand, .NET is one of the Window platform scripting languages among ASP, ASP.NET, C#, C old Fusion and so forth. Talking about the database servers Linux supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, Sybase and the like. Windows platform also offer database server options such as MS SQL Server, MS Access, Oracle which are pretty popular.
Let me illustrate why making an absolute choice between these two is so difficult. For instance, if you wish to develop a discussion board, PHP could be the better pick. Whereas ASP would be a more holistic option for e-commerce application development. However, PHP is also capable of being used in developing e-commerce applications. So basically, the decision to choose either one hinges mostly on your specific business requirements and, of course, budget.
As I’ll discuss on cross-platform compatibility in my upcoming post, you will get to understand more on this since these web tools and applications are all so interrelated, aren’t they?
Monday, November 26, 2007
A New Identity To Serve You Better
Hi,
Change is the law of nature. Everything in this world is subject to change irrespective of their gender, size or stature. And, we are no different. At Day Robinson Services (DRI), we have come a long way in terms of offering our services in a relatively short span of time. We are going from strength to strength and now, we are going to give ourselves a new identity as well. Yes, Day Robinson Services is now going to be known as LeXolution IT Services. It might occur to you – why this change? Well, like every other company on the surface, we also aim to expand our business verticals by embarking into new business opportunities. It requires some structural expansion and a change of name of the present organization as well.
When we started off in November last year, we hardly knew we would achieve so much within such a short span of time. However, thanks to the consistent, dedicated and smart effort of our high-caliber staff, we have gone places since our commencement. We offer a broad-range of web application and KPO services to many of our off-shore customers across the globe. Now, we want to expand the range of our business operations and add a whole new array of services to cater to the demand of niche market of both web application and KPO services. Our experience tells us that there are many more business opportunities lying which we need to tap.
A new identity doesn’t mean that we will change the way we operate – our level of dedication, plan, strategy, promptness, and performance will all remain as they are. In fact, they will go up as we take up fresh responsibilities. Although, we exist for only one year, we have reached many milestones and set many benchmarks as well. And we will continue our endeavor in future also. The encouraging comments of our satisfied customers propel us to do more and they really stand testimonial to our success. As far as our blog is concerned, we continue to share our innovative ideas with you and expect the same back from our readers as well.
Maneet Puri
Web Developer India
Change is the law of nature. Everything in this world is subject to change irrespective of their gender, size or stature. And, we are no different. At Day Robinson Services (DRI), we have come a long way in terms of offering our services in a relatively short span of time. We are going from strength to strength and now, we are going to give ourselves a new identity as well. Yes, Day Robinson Services is now going to be known as LeXolution IT Services. It might occur to you – why this change? Well, like every other company on the surface, we also aim to expand our business verticals by embarking into new business opportunities. It requires some structural expansion and a change of name of the present organization as well.
When we started off in November last year, we hardly knew we would achieve so much within such a short span of time. However, thanks to the consistent, dedicated and smart effort of our high-caliber staff, we have gone places since our commencement. We offer a broad-range of web application and KPO services to many of our off-shore customers across the globe. Now, we want to expand the range of our business operations and add a whole new array of services to cater to the demand of niche market of both web application and KPO services. Our experience tells us that there are many more business opportunities lying which we need to tap.
A new identity doesn’t mean that we will change the way we operate – our level of dedication, plan, strategy, promptness, and performance will all remain as they are. In fact, they will go up as we take up fresh responsibilities. Although, we exist for only one year, we have reached many milestones and set many benchmarks as well. And we will continue our endeavor in future also. The encouraging comments of our satisfied customers propel us to do more and they really stand testimonial to our success. As far as our blog is concerned, we continue to share our innovative ideas with you and expect the same back from our readers as well.
Maneet Puri
Web Developer India
Friday, November 23, 2007
How To Decide An Appropriate Layout For Your Website
Points to consider while designing the website layout
Simple website layout is not only user-friendly, but also search engine compatible. Complex navigational links built out of complex scripts or images are not properly viewed in different browsers. Further, search engine crawler finds it tough to crawl your site links if it involves poor navigations. Minimize the bulky images that take for eternity to load. Also, use small icons to attract visitors’ attention.
You should use a standard font size to enable the visitors read the content with ease. If you are using style then you can keep the font size between 11 to 12 pixels. The font face should be professional –Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Sans-serif are some of the most commonly used font faces. However, you should avoid using fancy fonts such as Comic Sans unless the website is personal. Further, ensure that the lines are properly spaced out to avoid clumsiness. Keeping the space around 12 pixels will help.
Use web-safe colors that are pleasing to eyes. Using loud colors with an outlandish combination ensures the visitors vanish in no time. The choice of colors is crucial and reflects the image of your site. As a webmaster or designer you might go with your own choice; however, it is much wiser to request others for their feedbacks on the same before making your site live.
Keep track of the dimension of the webpages. Limit the width and height of the webpages in such a way that the most vital part of the content lies within the top 600 x 600 viewable area without scrolling. If you want to avoid a horizontal scrollbar, set the page layout to expand and shrink with changes in browser window size. This often interferes with the image and text positions relative to each other and throws the layout structure out of sync. Ideally, the best practice is to limit the width by placing a table with a fixed width of 750 or 775 pixels. Make sure the page height is not more than 4 scroll lengths. Try to limit the content of the page; however, if more content is required then move it to the new webpage offering a navigation link to the next page and a link back from the next page. It not only facilitates greater page views but also allows you do add more advertising space.
World Wide Wait!!!
Typically, a webpage is defined by the total size of the text and the number of images and supporting files including java scripts, flash etc. that are downloadable from the server. Page size is critical from the loading standpoint as high volume of website requires high bandwidth net speed to load faster. Research says that most visitors leave sites that take longer than 8seconds to load. It should be ensured that the volume of webpages should be kept to minimum so that they download faster from the server. This is because most people net users around the world use slow modem of 56k to access the internet. Successful websites such as Google and Yahoo! do not have very high volume pages or too many images making their sites load faster. There is a trade-off between making your webpages look nicer by using graphics and making it load faster as well. Ensure that the volume of the cover page is below 35k. However, this may not be feasible for the e-commerce sites as they have to present multiple product images.
Maneet Puri
Web Developer India
Friday, November 16, 2007
Developing and Designing A Website – Know The Techniques Inside-out
Well, we are celebrating the anniversary of our organization, Day Robinson Services on Wednesday (14th of November) and there couldn’t have any better occasion to tell you how we have come this far. We have designed and developed many robust websites for our clients adding value to their business and helping them boost their revenue model. I must tell you that it feels really wonderful to be appreciated for your efforts and association with your clients. Indeed, a great deal of commitment & hard work has made us reach this milestone.
Developing and designing a website is akin to developing a business – both require comprehensive analysis, thorough planning, expertise in your field and execution of well-devised strategies. Let’s take a look what the basic components of developing a websites are:
- Clean Site Lay-out Design
- Choosing the Appropriate Web Technology For Your Website
- Browser Compatibility or Cross-platform Compatibility
- Good Resolution
- Search-engine friendly
- Fast Loading
Clean Site Lay-out Design
Forget about the clichéd maxim, “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”! If your website doesn’t have a clean lay-out design, rest assured to lose visitors big time. A lay-out design smeared with crimson color will hardly soothe the visitors’ eyes. Besides, you can’t expect your visitors to patiently put up with a lengthy webpage and click on the link that is placed literally at the rock bottom of a seemingly unfathomable webpage. If you know what I’m talking about, it is safe to dispense with any loud color, cluttered look and lengthy description of website content. After all, they say, “God lies in cleanliness”.
Choosing the Appropriate Web Technology For Your Website
You can use any programming language depending on your specific requirements. However, only a professional designer would tell you what difference they make when they are used in isolation. If you look ten years back, websites were being developed largely on html or dhtml. But as we know, php, .net and the like have changed the face of website development. They have made websites incredibly efficient, dynamic, feature rich and visitor-friendly.
Browser Compatibility or Cross-platform Compatibility
Interestingly, there are many webmasters who have been running their business for quite a few years but, they do not know that different browsers behave differently. There are sites that are compatible with Internet Explorer but not with Fireforx and vice versa. Though most people are using Internet Explorer around the world, you should develop your site on a platform so that it becomes compatible to almost all frequently used browsers.
Good Resolution
No matter how much effort you have put in to make the website look attractive, all will go in vain if you ignore the resolution part. The developer has to make sure that the site being developed does not lose its style or layout when being viewed on screens with different resolutions. It is always safe to use larger resolution while developing a website. Modern websites can be compatible with the resolutions screen like 1024 X 768, 800x600 with the help of cascading style sheet.
Search-engine friendly
Unless you are developing a website for social cause having no commercial objective in your mind, you should ensure that you have conformed to all the principles of search engine optimization. Visibility is the sole objective in online business. There is no point in making a good-looking website that is not visible to your prospective online buyers. For instance, many believe that using Java scrip hurts the SEO process. However, no one is asking you to make a complete sacrifice. You can always strike a healthy balance between satisfying the SEO criteria and making your site interactive and visually appealing.
Fast Loading
Do not test the patience of your visitors by offering them a website that takes forever to load on their computer browsers. By doing this you are doing a world of favor to your competitor and giving your visitors a very good reason to move on to the next link on the SERPs. Many websites have been found committing suicidal attempt of abusing Flash and Frames on their websites. Make sure your pages load faster than your visitors vanish out of sheer frustration.
Actually, it’s not so tough to design and develop a website. Neither is it tougher to make your business a success. All you need is expertise in your field to stay afloat in the sea of competitive marketing. No kidding – our expertise in web designing and web development has helped us sustained ourselves. We wouldn’t probably be here to celebrate the anniversary of our organization otherwise.
Maneet Puri
Web Developer India
Developing and designing a website is akin to developing a business – both require comprehensive analysis, thorough planning, expertise in your field and execution of well-devised strategies. Let’s take a look what the basic components of developing a websites are:
- Clean Site Lay-out Design
- Choosing the Appropriate Web Technology For Your Website
- Browser Compatibility or Cross-platform Compatibility
- Good Resolution
- Search-engine friendly
- Fast Loading
Clean Site Lay-out Design
Forget about the clichéd maxim, “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”! If your website doesn’t have a clean lay-out design, rest assured to lose visitors big time. A lay-out design smeared with crimson color will hardly soothe the visitors’ eyes. Besides, you can’t expect your visitors to patiently put up with a lengthy webpage and click on the link that is placed literally at the rock bottom of a seemingly unfathomable webpage. If you know what I’m talking about, it is safe to dispense with any loud color, cluttered look and lengthy description of website content. After all, they say, “God lies in cleanliness”.
Choosing the Appropriate Web Technology For Your Website
You can use any programming language depending on your specific requirements. However, only a professional designer would tell you what difference they make when they are used in isolation. If you look ten years back, websites were being developed largely on html or dhtml. But as we know, php, .net and the like have changed the face of website development. They have made websites incredibly efficient, dynamic, feature rich and visitor-friendly.
Browser Compatibility or Cross-platform Compatibility
Interestingly, there are many webmasters who have been running their business for quite a few years but, they do not know that different browsers behave differently. There are sites that are compatible with Internet Explorer but not with Fireforx and vice versa. Though most people are using Internet Explorer around the world, you should develop your site on a platform so that it becomes compatible to almost all frequently used browsers.
Good Resolution
No matter how much effort you have put in to make the website look attractive, all will go in vain if you ignore the resolution part. The developer has to make sure that the site being developed does not lose its style or layout when being viewed on screens with different resolutions. It is always safe to use larger resolution while developing a website. Modern websites can be compatible with the resolutions screen like 1024 X 768, 800x600 with the help of cascading style sheet.
Search-engine friendly
Unless you are developing a website for social cause having no commercial objective in your mind, you should ensure that you have conformed to all the principles of search engine optimization. Visibility is the sole objective in online business. There is no point in making a good-looking website that is not visible to your prospective online buyers. For instance, many believe that using Java scrip hurts the SEO process. However, no one is asking you to make a complete sacrifice. You can always strike a healthy balance between satisfying the SEO criteria and making your site interactive and visually appealing.
Fast Loading
Do not test the patience of your visitors by offering them a website that takes forever to load on their computer browsers. By doing this you are doing a world of favor to your competitor and giving your visitors a very good reason to move on to the next link on the SERPs. Many websites have been found committing suicidal attempt of abusing Flash and Frames on their websites. Make sure your pages load faster than your visitors vanish out of sheer frustration.
Actually, it’s not so tough to design and develop a website. Neither is it tougher to make your business a success. All you need is expertise in your field to stay afloat in the sea of competitive marketing. No kidding – our expertise in web designing and web development has helped us sustained ourselves. We wouldn’t probably be here to celebrate the anniversary of our organization otherwise.
Maneet Puri
Web Developer India
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