There are millions of web sites on the internet these days. The number of web sites on the World Wide Web is on a rise for the past several years. Never before this number has been as great as it is today. There is a strong trend of doing online business these days. Even those businesses which have a strong market share consider it important now to have your own web presence. In this situation, web site designing has emerged as a very important art and science.
If you want to create a new web site, you can do that your self or you can hire a professional who can help you in doing this. If you want to succeed in web site designing, you need to follow some key ways. These key ways will lead you towards a successfully launched web site.
1. The most important thing is that either you must be expert enough in web site designing your self; you should take the help of a professional web site designer. This will ensure that your web site will be a good one.
2. Use state of the art technology. The outdated versions will not be liked by the general public as well as your target market.
3. Keep the purpose of designing the web site in your mind and design accordingly. If your web site is meant for a library, it will be different than a web site meant for a shoe store.
4. Allow the use of social media in your web sites.
5. The selection of domain names is also important. This will help you in getting more visitors.
6. Your web site should be user friendly.
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Showing posts with label Web Development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Web Development. Show all posts
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Web Access for Everyone
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), established in 1990, has shaped how we all do business. The act states that people with physical or mental impairment may not be denied to participate and benefit from public accommodations. We're used to seeing wheelchair ramps or elevators available for multi-floor buildings, braille provided on bank ATMs, closed captioning capabilities on televisions, and parking lots with designated handicap spaces.
The ADA's requirements ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation and requires the establishment of TDD/telephone relay services. All businesses have to comply with the ADA. It's a Federal offense to refuse to comply.
So why have businesses overlooked the needs of their Web customers?
Over 15% of all U.S. residents has some disability such as blindness, partial eyesight, color blindness, deafness, and those who have limited use of extremities and can only use the keyboard or use voice commands. To navigate the Web, a disabled surfer needs assistive technologies such as a screen reader, a software utility that reads Web pages audibly. But Web pages must follow programming and design guidelines in order to be read by screen readers, and few businesses have ever followed accessibility guidelines, much less heard about them.
In 1997, The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international collective to develop technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential, established the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The initiative was set up to develop and improve the international standard of design and programming guidelines to increase accessibility.
And in 1998, Congress amended the federal Rehabilitation Act to require U.S. agencies, government contractors and others receiving federal money to make electronic and IT services accessible to people with disabilities and to develop those services along such thirteen guidelines are known as "Section 508". Because of Section 508, all U.S. government-related Web sites are currently Web accessible.
In October of 2002, Southwest Airlines was sued by Access Now, a Florida not-for-profit corporation and advocate for the disabled community, and by Robert Gumson, a blind individual who had difficulty using Southwest's Web site to make travel plans. Access Now claimed that Southwest's site was not accessible to people with disabilities, and that the site had not been programmed with alternative text that would work with a screen reader, thus denying Gumson full access. Although a judge ruled in the favor of Southwest Airlines, it was not a good source of positive publicity for the company.
As Web designers and developers learn more about the importance and how to implement Web accessibility, they can help companies better in educating and preparing their clients' Web sites. The goal to make any Web site accessible is currently a self-guided initiative, until additional legislation is created to enforce accessibility standards across all business Web sites created in the U.S.
The advantage for increasing accessibility on your site are many. Not only do you increase your reach to disabled users with assistive technologies, but customers experience faster download times, bandwidth savings, higher search engine rankings, easier Web site management and cross-browser compatibility.
An accessible Web site also becomes "forward compatible", meaning the programming increases readership with current technologies such as PDAs, mobile devices, Web TVs, and future versions of Web browsers which are scheduled to follow accessible standards in translating code. There will be no need to reprogram your site every few years to adjust it to new browsers.
The biggest benefit for increasing Web accessibility is that it allows your Web site to reach everyone, not just disabled users.
Rachel Elnar began her 15-year design career shortly before receiving her MFA from California State Fullerton University. Currently, she's a partner at Ramp Creative in downtown Los Angeles, where she collaborates with clients to help them launch brands, develop marketing campaigns, create annual reports and Web sites. She has taught interactive and motion design at Cal Poly Pomona and Art Center College of Design.
The ADA's requirements ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation and requires the establishment of TDD/telephone relay services. All businesses have to comply with the ADA. It's a Federal offense to refuse to comply.
So why have businesses overlooked the needs of their Web customers?
Over 15% of all U.S. residents has some disability such as blindness, partial eyesight, color blindness, deafness, and those who have limited use of extremities and can only use the keyboard or use voice commands. To navigate the Web, a disabled surfer needs assistive technologies such as a screen reader, a software utility that reads Web pages audibly. But Web pages must follow programming and design guidelines in order to be read by screen readers, and few businesses have ever followed accessibility guidelines, much less heard about them.
In 1997, The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international collective to develop technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential, established the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The initiative was set up to develop and improve the international standard of design and programming guidelines to increase accessibility.
And in 1998, Congress amended the federal Rehabilitation Act to require U.S. agencies, government contractors and others receiving federal money to make electronic and IT services accessible to people with disabilities and to develop those services along such thirteen guidelines are known as "Section 508". Because of Section 508, all U.S. government-related Web sites are currently Web accessible.
In October of 2002, Southwest Airlines was sued by Access Now, a Florida not-for-profit corporation and advocate for the disabled community, and by Robert Gumson, a blind individual who had difficulty using Southwest's Web site to make travel plans. Access Now claimed that Southwest's site was not accessible to people with disabilities, and that the site had not been programmed with alternative text that would work with a screen reader, thus denying Gumson full access. Although a judge ruled in the favor of Southwest Airlines, it was not a good source of positive publicity for the company.
As Web designers and developers learn more about the importance and how to implement Web accessibility, they can help companies better in educating and preparing their clients' Web sites. The goal to make any Web site accessible is currently a self-guided initiative, until additional legislation is created to enforce accessibility standards across all business Web sites created in the U.S.
The advantage for increasing accessibility on your site are many. Not only do you increase your reach to disabled users with assistive technologies, but customers experience faster download times, bandwidth savings, higher search engine rankings, easier Web site management and cross-browser compatibility.
An accessible Web site also becomes "forward compatible", meaning the programming increases readership with current technologies such as PDAs, mobile devices, Web TVs, and future versions of Web browsers which are scheduled to follow accessible standards in translating code. There will be no need to reprogram your site every few years to adjust it to new browsers.
The biggest benefit for increasing Web accessibility is that it allows your Web site to reach everyone, not just disabled users.
Rachel Elnar began her 15-year design career shortly before receiving her MFA from California State Fullerton University. Currently, she's a partner at Ramp Creative in downtown Los Angeles, where she collaborates with clients to help them launch brands, develop marketing campaigns, create annual reports and Web sites. She has taught interactive and motion design at Cal Poly Pomona and Art Center College of Design.
HOME::Internet-and-Businesses-Online/Web-Development
Have you ever clicked on a website only to get reach a page that says, "File Not Found," or "404 Error" or various other messages. It is always very annoying, to say the least. Now what if web page looked liked it belonged and fit in with the theme of the website.
It is possible to customize the 404 Error so that the page redirects to the home page, to a site map, or sales page. This would allow the visitor to navigate away from the 404 page and keep them in your website. With a generic or plain 404 page the visitor may get annoyed and leave your website.
To redirect visitors to a customized 404 error page requires just a few simple steps. In your file directory of your website you should have a file ".htaccess". If not, just create a blank text document and use your ftp program of choice and upload it to the website.
Open the file ".htaccess" and add the following line.
ErrorDocument 404 www."yourwebsite".com/404error.html
"Your website" is of course the http:// to your website. 404error.html can be any file name you want, but I like to keep it simple and something that I think will make sense to anyone looking at the file directory.
Now you can hand code or use your favorite web editor to create your custom 404 page. I would recommend keeping it simple and not include a lot of content. Use it get your visitor back to looking at your site.
Hopefully your visitors will not ever land on your 404 error page. If a visitor does find it, your website will look much more professional by taking this small step. If you have a website that is selling, by all means use this page as another source to expose your client to your sales pitch.
To see an example of a custom 404 "ERROR PAGE", look at the sample page I have set up at https://www.underwoodaffiliates.com/404errorpage/404pageerror.html
This is a small example of what is possible. Use your imagination and the possibilities are endless.
It is possible to customize the 404 Error so that the page redirects to the home page, to a site map, or sales page. This would allow the visitor to navigate away from the 404 page and keep them in your website. With a generic or plain 404 page the visitor may get annoyed and leave your website.
To redirect visitors to a customized 404 error page requires just a few simple steps. In your file directory of your website you should have a file ".htaccess". If not, just create a blank text document and use your ftp program of choice and upload it to the website.
Open the file ".htaccess" and add the following line.
ErrorDocument 404 www."yourwebsite".com/404error.html
"Your website" is of course the http:// to your website. 404error.html can be any file name you want, but I like to keep it simple and something that I think will make sense to anyone looking at the file directory.
Now you can hand code or use your favorite web editor to create your custom 404 page. I would recommend keeping it simple and not include a lot of content. Use it get your visitor back to looking at your site.
Hopefully your visitors will not ever land on your 404 error page. If a visitor does find it, your website will look much more professional by taking this small step. If you have a website that is selling, by all means use this page as another source to expose your client to your sales pitch.
To see an example of a custom 404 "ERROR PAGE", look at the sample page I have set up at https://www.underwoodaffiliates.com/404errorpage/404pageerror.html
This is a small example of what is possible. Use your imagination and the possibilities are endless.
Selection Of Content Management System
Content management system (CMS) - engine of a site allowing to operate textual and graphical content of a site, that is to change information on a site not caring about the internal mechanism of construction and output of web-pages. Some kinds of sites are extremely hard support without content management system.
Now content management systems (CMS) have found all-time popularity. There are new systems appear, popular old systems extend their functional set. A modern site without CMS it is the enough rare phenomenon. When create the site it is necessary to define at once what CMS will be use. Many design studios at once offer to use CMS with which they work. Today it is unreasonable to build a serious site without preliminary choice of the software for its support and updating. Static resources which require for development essential volumes of manual work promptly concede a place to dynamic sites.
It is not simple to operate a modern Internet resource. The constant updating of news, publication of articles, fast change of design - all this related with necessity of training of the personnel. The exit from the given situation can be served by implementation of a content management system. This product represents the program with which the user of any qualification can work. Deep knowledge in the field of web programming is not so necessary to use CMS. CMS allows quickly and easily create a site, and then support it without special efforts.
Today on the market there are several hundreds of content management systems. CMS market progress promptly its leaders can be replaced after several months. Constantly appear new systems and also new versions of already existing CMS are let out. There are a lot of qualitative products, which by virtue of small popularity and functionality or low characteristics do not occupy leading positions in this sphere, but thus are rather perspective.
Early or late any owner of a site comes to an idea, that content management system is necessary for him. When the amount of html-files passes behind some hundreds, operate with them begins difficultly. All complexities of content management undertake CMS.
On the present really universal CMS for all occasions does not exist. For this reason in the world there are several hundreds (or thousands) free-of-charge and commercial content management systems. Besides, there are a great variety of self-made systems made "for yourself", and not intended for a wide circulation (or not received it).
The selection of the necessary content management system in these conditions is not trivial and it requires sufficient knowledge and time. The selection most suitable CMS for the concrete project first of all depends on the budget, complexity of a site and technical maintenance. It is necessary to select CMS precisely under needs of a site.
http://cmsarticles.awardspace.com
Now content management systems (CMS) have found all-time popularity. There are new systems appear, popular old systems extend their functional set. A modern site without CMS it is the enough rare phenomenon. When create the site it is necessary to define at once what CMS will be use. Many design studios at once offer to use CMS with which they work. Today it is unreasonable to build a serious site without preliminary choice of the software for its support and updating. Static resources which require for development essential volumes of manual work promptly concede a place to dynamic sites.
It is not simple to operate a modern Internet resource. The constant updating of news, publication of articles, fast change of design - all this related with necessity of training of the personnel. The exit from the given situation can be served by implementation of a content management system. This product represents the program with which the user of any qualification can work. Deep knowledge in the field of web programming is not so necessary to use CMS. CMS allows quickly and easily create a site, and then support it without special efforts.
Today on the market there are several hundreds of content management systems. CMS market progress promptly its leaders can be replaced after several months. Constantly appear new systems and also new versions of already existing CMS are let out. There are a lot of qualitative products, which by virtue of small popularity and functionality or low characteristics do not occupy leading positions in this sphere, but thus are rather perspective.
Early or late any owner of a site comes to an idea, that content management system is necessary for him. When the amount of html-files passes behind some hundreds, operate with them begins difficultly. All complexities of content management undertake CMS.
On the present really universal CMS for all occasions does not exist. For this reason in the world there are several hundreds (or thousands) free-of-charge and commercial content management systems. Besides, there are a great variety of self-made systems made "for yourself", and not intended for a wide circulation (or not received it).
The selection of the necessary content management system in these conditions is not trivial and it requires sufficient knowledge and time. The selection most suitable CMS for the concrete project first of all depends on the budget, complexity of a site and technical maintenance. It is necessary to select CMS precisely under needs of a site.
http://cmsarticles.awardspace.com
Monday, July 16, 2007
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