Choose the Best Host For Your Needs

July 19, 2011 By
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Whether you have been in the web site business for a long time and are looking for a new web hosting company or you are looking to host your first website, it is important to choose a company that will suit your needs.

Very few people have the desire or skills necessary to maintain their own host web servers, so they rely on hosting companies. Here are a few tips for choosing a company that will suit your needs.

Web hosting companies can come and go like the wind. When making a list of possible hosts, include only those companies who have been in the game for several years. This will provide you with some security that they can maintain satisfactory services for your website.

Select a host company that provides a larger amount of disk space, especially if your site is going to contain graphics or videos. There are a number of host companies that do provide unlimited space options — at a price, of course.

Determine that the speed or bandwidth of the company is sufficient; again, especially if you plan on stream videos or some similar action. A higher level of bandwidth will also serve up your pages to your visitors more quickly as well.

Make sure the company you choose has a 99.9 percent uptime rate. This translates to a downtime of no more than 45 minutes total each month. It is unsettling to you and your visitors if your site is not accessible for long periods of time.

Filed Under: Graphics, Web Hosting Tagged With: , ,

How to Improve your Website Traffic Bandwidth

July 9, 2011 By
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If you’ve done a great job designing your website, drawing traffic, and engaging your users, bandwidth can become a problem. Although you’ve accomplished your goal, the very traffic you craved can turn into a congested mess and result in slow results or even users who find they suddenly can’t connect. The only solution is to improve your bandwidth. Here are a few ways to do just that.

Enhanced Networking

If you are working with on-site equipment and your own line out the door, it might be time to upgrade your networking capabilities to include faster communication lines.

Dedicated Hosting

If you’re using dedicated hosting services, your service provider should be able to bump up your bandwidth with a quick call or email. In some cases, these third-party companies may even provide a self-service feature so that you can adjust this setting yourself. Of course, you’ll be expected to pay an extra charge for the additional resources.

Use the Cloud

When you host your website on the cloud, your bandwidth should adjust as your traffic volumes increase or decrease. With cloud computing, you don’t have to do a thing or pay for anything you don’t use.

Reduce the Flash

As a last resort, try to use your available bandwidth more efficiently. Although all those animations and cool graphics look nice, your users would rather have a faster, dependable site to visit.

No matter what you choose to try, increasing your bandwidth will improve your user’s experience and encourage them to return again and again. How will you make this adjustment?

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Boosting your Website’s Traffic: Three Easy Ways

May 2, 2011 By
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There are numerous ways to boost the traffic that your website is receiving, but by utilizing only three basic methods, you can see a difference in visitors in a short amount of time.

Gaining an improved ranking on search engines is crucial to improving your website’s traffic.  People use search engines frequently and only if your website is listed near the top will you see an increase in visitors.  Search engines understand and use software ciphers, called meta tags, as headings for your website within the search results page; therefore, make sure that you are not being repetitive with keywords that are already going to be listed because they can be found in meta tags.  Use few keywords, and make them distinctive.

If your website is available as a link on other websites, people are more likely to check it out than to search it out and visit it on their own.  Communicate with similar or relevant websites that would benefit by having your site linked on their page, and vice-versa.  Both of you can benefit from such an interchange.  But again, don’t overemphasize links to other sites, as this can detract from your own.  Keep the links on your page to two or three.

Lastly, you must design a website that has good, captivating content, and is free.  With millions of other websites available, people are less inclined to visit one that requires any kind of fee.  Your content needs to be innovative and updated constantly to keep people returning to your site and recommending it.

Filed Under: Web Design Tagged With: , ,

Unleash Your Potential with Cloud Applications

April 17, 2011 By

You may have seen the Microsoft adverts, “Go to the Cloud”…but what does that even mean?

Well, a cloud application means that you can house your applications on a web browser without having to install them on your desktop. When you receive updates these will just update on your web browser, saving you time and memory space on your computer. Great examples of cloud applications are the big, free personal email providers; Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail.  You have a personal inbox set up and an email address housing all your personal emails. However, the data contained within your account is not saved on your computer or server, it’s all safely housed with the provider’s offsite. You can access your data any time of the day, with great usability and updates whenever you need. You are also safe in the knowledge that should your PC be stolen or get a virus then your emails will still work just fine and no data will be lost.

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Cloud application services enable users to house music, movies, DVDs and other data-heavy files in “the cloud”, which can be shared and stored remotely. For businesses, cloud applications are beneficial. For example, if you operate through a cloud your customers’ I.P addresses and locations can be logged.  Also if your company has a seasonal rise in output, or a short term client comes on board, you can use cloud applications to take over and store the excess data coming in and out of your business.

It’s not often said that a cloudy day can be a good day! But when it comes to I.T. applications it’s time to “go to the cloud”.

Filed Under: Software Tagged With: , ,

The Webby Award Nominees You Should Get to Know

April 16, 2011 By
Webby Award

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Every year The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences combs the Web, plucking select residents from its vast universe of pages, blogs, advertisements, and videos for its Webby Awards. It’s the Academy Awards of the Internet so to speak, and citizens of the world are given the power to vote.

This year the nominees range from Martha Stewart’s website to the Pandora music app, serious current events to the downright weird. Unless you’re an Internet junky however, chances are good the Webby’s nominees are comprised largely of the best you’ve never heard of.

It’s time to broaden your internet horizons and see what you’re missing. Check these out for starters:

Wanderfly: Best Websites >Services>Travel

Doubtless you and Travelocity are “like this”, but Wanderfly is a pretty and easy new pal. Choose where you want to leave from, how much you want to spend, and what your interests are, and Wanderfly will hook you up with an adventure.

Attraction: Best Online Film & Video>Experimental and Weird

Attraction? It could be anything right? This Attraction is interactive anime brought to you by the French Ministry of Health and artist Koji Morimoto, designed to help teens understand the manipulation of tobacco companies. Not a teen? Unfamiliar with anime? Attraction still looks (and sounds) very good.

Jambalaya: Best Mobile & Apps>Games>Tablets

Tablets like the iPad are used more for gaming than anything else, and Jambalaya is one you may or not be spending time with. If not, it’s a word jumble game where you use your finger to mix letters together and create words. Soothing and still spicy, much like its edible counterpart.

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Want to Know How You’re Doing? Just Ask

April 13, 2011 By

Customer satisfaction is a primary indicator of how successful a service or product might be. Whether a company or an individual, gaining insight into what customers think and feel about your business will help determine areas in need of improvement. Using this knowledge will greatly improve the customer experience, and in turn, make your company stronger and more profitable.

Collect Information

Online surveys are a great way to collect customer satisfaction information. The best part about conducting a survey is that it’s easy to manage and access, right from your website. Encourage customers to use the survey by creating one that is appealing and easy to navigate. Customers are more likely to provide feedback if the survey is short and specific. Don’t forget to let them know that you value their time and opinions by offering incentives for completing the survey, such as discounts or prizes.

Put the Results to Work

Studies show that 95 percent of businesses collect customer satisfaction feedback. However, only 10 percent of those businesses actually put those results to work. To make the most use of the survey results, have a plan for implementing changes. This plan may include personally following up with customers who responded to the survey to get a better idea of why they are unhappy with your business. This will reaffirm that their feedback is appreciated. You may also want to hold a meeting with all employees to brainstorm ways to make improvements, and to determine if there is a need for more training.

In short, to learn what your customers are thinking, you don’t have to be a mind reader — just ask them!

Filed Under: Software, Web Design Tagged With: , ,

Typography in Web Designing

April 8, 2011 By

Typography plays an important part in the web design. Typography involves thoughtful selection of font, color, size, alignment, layout, and other important factor that largely impact the overall appearance of the website. There are certain important things that should be considered while choosing typography on the web. While choosing the text, certain factors such as color, size, contrast and readability should be considered.

Lower case ‘a’ from Adobe Caslon Pro, superpos...

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Web typography is greatly influenced by color choice and color theory. White background with black text is the most preferred choice as it provides the most contrast. Sans serif fonts is the most preferred one for the online text as it makes reading easier and does not strain the eyes. Mostly, sans serif is preferred in the body text while serifs fonts are used in the headings and headlines. Serif fonts are used in headlines as it is very easy to read in smaller quantities of text.

Size of the text is another important factor in typography. The smaller text is very tough to read and the larger sized text occupies too much spaces. Therefore, it is very important to choose a right text size that suits the design as well as very easy to read. The font sizes are usually represented in percentages, em, and pixels.

Choosing the web standard fonts is very important for the better control of the appearance of the texts. It is a good practice to set the font size, color, height, and family through CSS and it is also better to avoid fonts that look very similar.

Filed Under: Web Design Tagged With: , ,

All about OpenOffice

February 16, 2011 By

Purchasing the Microsoft Office Suite often becomes too expensive for several people. In case you are looking for a program that offers the same options as Microsoft Office and also provides you with maximum functionality, openoffice is the perfect product for you to download. There is virtually no distinction as compared to Microsoft Office, and Open Office offers the same amount of facilities to its users as the Microsoft Office. You get a powerful word processor for typing purposes, while a powerful spreadsheet program and a presentation maker are also included.
You can easily download Open Office from its official website. The freeware was designed by computer programmers who convened from all over the globe to make an office suite that would be capable of use by any one. Hence, this open source program can be easily altered by anyone according to their specifications, and you can also put forward your own suggestions and enhancements so that the Open Office team can work on them.
The good thing about using Open Office is that it is available for free, which means that you do not need to pay for anything. Especially for small businesses and companies, using Open Office is a great thing because it provides you with a similar set of options as compared to Microsoft Office, with the only difference being that this one is available for free.
Downloading Open Office is also very easy, and the program can be downloaded easily from the official website of Open Office.

Filed Under: Software Tagged With:

Technology for Web Designers

December 30, 2010 By

If you are a web designer, then you know the importance of using the latest and greatest technology. There are plenty of software programs that you can use to help make your website the absolute best on the market. Here’s a look at some of the software available to web designers.

Adobe Flash

This is one of the easiest and most cost-effective tools a web designer can use. Flash lets web designers incorporate animation and slideshows into a website. This can be a very powerful way to spread the word about your product or to promote a sale.

CSS

Cascading style sheets, referred to as CSS, are a great tool for web designers. You can use CSS files to set the look and formatting of a web page. It’s most useful for HTML-based web pages, but you can also use CSS for most XML documents.

Open Source Softwares and Code

If you’re looking for free tools to assist you in your web designing tasks, then you may wish to look into open source software. There is a lot of open source code and open source softwares available for web designers that can make your job much easier. The open source softwares are free, so you don’t have to worry about investing in expensive programs. Open Source programs like GIMP are a must have for any web designer. Not only GIMP but there are several other 3D animation and graphics editing tools like Blender that are known to make the job of a web designer much easier.

HTML Editor and a File Compresses

You may also wish to look into an HTML editor. You can try software programs like Dreamweaver for Windows and Mac. Designers who prefer to work exclusively on a Mac may like TextEdit. An HTML editor will make it a lot easier to get your website designed. Also, a web designer might need a file compressor to compress large image files in order to increase space on the hard disk. You may think about using 7 Zip to compress large folders and files.

These are just a few of the tools available to help web designers do their jobs better and faster. You can utilize the great technology available and help your website get the attention it truly deserves by using one or more of these tools.

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Computer Drawing Tablets Open Artists to New Worlds of Expression

December 28, 2010 By

Technology has always given artists new toys that allow them to explore their ideas. Computers have certainly done their share by opening up a new world of digital arts. Many artists, however, have kept their distance from computers because they don’t want to get sucked into an industry that does not allow them to draw freehand. Luckily, these artists can now feel comfortable using computer software by using drawing tablets.

What is a Drawing Tablet?

Drawing tablets are pieces of hardware that you can connect to your computer. Once the hardware has been connected to your computer, you can make marks on the screen by drawing on the pad. It is not exactly the same as drawing on a piece of paper, but it is much closer than using a mouse pad.

Software Matters

There is more to computer drawing tablets than just the hardware. The equipment, of course, is very important, but it only works as well as its software. Some of the newest software makes drawing and image manipulation much easier than older programs. They even have options that allow you to shade areas just like you would with charcoal or a lead pencil.

Finding the Right Drawing Tablet

The drawing tablet that you choose will probably depend on how much money you can spend. Some of the absolute best hardware and software will cost over $1000. That does not mean, however, that you cannot purchase very good products at affordable rates. Before you spend any money, though, read reviews of the electric drawing pads to help you decide which ones other artists have found useful. Once you have gathered lots of information, purchase an affordable tablet that you think suits your needs.

Over time, you might decide to upgrade to a more advanced piece of equipment or software. Starting with a well made, moderately-priced tablet, though, will help you decide whether you want to use it as an artistic tool.

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