I recently started using Skype to call my family back home in the UK, resulting in a substantial reduction of my phone bill.
Its allows you to make calls over the internet, is easy to use and as an added bonus you can have a true video call.
To get started visit Skype.com, download the application and create an account. Calls between Skype users are free!
Today’s tip from the St Louis Web Designer
Do you have an online form that is being spammed?
One way to reduce the junk is to incorporate a CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) script into your form. A CAPTCHA is a program that protects websites against bots by generating and grading tests that humans can pass but current computer programs cannot. For example, humans can read the text shown below, but current computer programs can’t.
If spam is a problem on your web site contact us to see how we can help you.
The fall colors have been fabulous in St Louis this year. There is nothing like color in nature to inspire creativity.
1. Start with a colorful photograph
2. Sample the photograph to build a palette of colors
3. Use your palette to design a quick fun graphic
Todays tip from the St Louis web designer
Adding an interactive map to a web site can be a great feature. I am currently working on a new web site for Saint Louis Associates in OBGYN and needed to add a map for their two locations.
Google Maps allows the creation of customized maps and I tried this out for the first time today, successfully generating a map that delivers exactly what I wanted it to show.
You can view the map I created here
A client recently sent me a .RAR file which I was unable to open. A little internet research revealed that .RAR files are compressed archives similar to .Zip files. RAR has the benefit of creating an archived file which is 8 to 30% smaller than Zip archives.
Like .zip files, .rar files require a piece of software to extract or uncompress the data. There are lots of free solutions out there but this one from 7-zip.org worked very well for me.
When talking to our customers or potential customers about web design we try and keep the techno speak to a minimum. After all they are after an end product and generally it is not helpful to bombard with geek speak. The following phrases come up quite often so here is a brief desciption
HTML – Hyper Text markup Language
The programming language used to create documents for display on the Web.
CSS – Cascading Style Sheets
CSS provides the ability to separate the layout and styles of a web page giving more control on the way a web site can look.
CMS – Content Management System
CMS is a computer application used to create, edit, manage, and publish copy within a web site
SEO – Search Engine Optimization
Creating and improving a website so that it will rank high in the search engines and help potential customers or clients find the website.
Here is the link to download Google new browser Chrome. It is free
I am a huge fan of Google and was delighted today to see they are launching a completely new web broswer, built from the ground up.
They have produced a comic which describes in layman terms the features of their new system. The browser is due for launch today and I will be keeping an eye on the official Google blog for that magic download link.
The new browser includes:-
What kind of impression does your web site make, especially in those critical first few seconds? Are you engaging your users to explore further or sending them away? Recent studies show that if a web site has not captivated a user within 4 seconds then they will abandon your site.
Here are a few things to consider.
So is your web site meeting these simple criteria or failing and sending your traffic away.?
It doesn’t matter how much effort you put into search engine optimization, pay per click programs, internet marketing etc. If the first impression or your site is lacking your visitors will go else where.
“How much does it cost for a web site?”
This is probably our most often asked question, and not one that can be answered without going through our discovery process. If you went to a builder and asked how much it costs for a house, he would say it depends …are we talking a massive mansion or a 1 bedroom starter home. The concept is exactly the same for web sites.
During our discovery process we try to learn as much as we can about our clients, how they serve their customers, who are their competitors and most importantly what they want to achive from their web site. From this imformation we put together a comprehensive proposal which will help them achieve their goals. It is only after we have gone through this process that we can give them an accurate price.
With any web site there a two types of cost to consider:-
The intial costs will depend upon the size and functionality requirements of the site, whether it will be optimized for performance in the search engines (SEO ,search engine optimization), will it be integrated with a content management system (CMS)
The recuring costs cover things like domain name renewal, hosting costs, general web maintenance, additional search engine optimization, pay per click management etc.
Our discovery process and proposal preparation is always free, so if you are looking to cost out your next web project we would love to hear from you.
