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March 26th, 2010 in IT, Share by Peter Ellis
I was doing some late night research (what else is new?) and came across a very useful post by Carsten Cumbrowski, born in Germany, now living in California, specializing in website development and internet marketing.
This is a great overall check list that you should review prior to designing a website, and then again, prior to making your website live (to make sure that you did not miss anything). Even bouncing this list by your web designer/developer (hopefully its DIF Design) will be helpful. Its a good way to set goals and to follow through with them. So, thanks to Carsten, we have the following list.
Now, some of the points might now apply to you or might be to technical, either way, take a look for yourself.
Accessibility
- Is content structurally separate from navigational elements?
- Is the website cross-browser compatible?
- How compliant is the website with W3C coding standards? Valid HTML/CSS?
- Are ‘alt’ tags in place on all significant images?
- Are text-based alternatives in place to convey essential information if this is featured within images or multimedia files?
Navigation
- Are links labeled with anchor text that provides a clear indication of where they lead.
- Depth – what is the maximum number of clicks it takes to reach a page within the depths of the site?
- If a splash screen or navigation feature is provided in a Java/JavaScript/Flash format, is a text-based alternative also available?
- Responsive on Click feedback – Is a response given immediately (0.1 seconds) after a click is made on a hyperlink?
- Do clickable items stylistically indicate that they are clickable?
- How intuitive is it to navigate? Are signs obvious or obscured? Buttons/Links Like Text, that are not clickable and vice versa, links/buttons that cannot be identified as such
- readability (somewhat addressed already), type face, font size
- clear statement of PURPOSE of the site? Purpose must become clear within a few seconds without reading much or no text copy at all.
- Call to action on every page, no dead ends
- Is a logical site map available?, If not, is a keyword-based search feature available? Note: Large (multi-thousands of pages) sites should have a search form.
Design
- Is the site’s design aesthetically appealing?
- Are the colors used harmonious and logically related?
- Are the color choices visually accessible? (For example high enough in contrast to assist the colorblind and visually impaired in reading the site appropriately)
- Is the design audience appropriate?- The standard text size should be readable, for visitors who don’t know how to adjust their browsers.
- The fonts should be easily readable, and degrade gracefully.- Should look OK on various screen resolutions.
Content
- Is the website copy succinct but informative?
- Does the copywriting style suit the website’s purpose and ’speak’ to its target audience?
- Are bodies of text constrained to <80 characters per line?
- Can text be resized through the browser or do CSS settings restrict size alteration?
- Is the contrast between text and its background color sufficient to make reading easy on the eyes?
- Is text broken into small, readable chunks and highlighted using headings, sub-headings and emphasis features where appropriate to assist in skimming?
- Within articles, there should be links to more detailed explanations of subjects, or definitions of jargon terms. Are you doing that?
- Do you have an “about page” that identifies the author of the content, credits to source for content that was not written by the site owner himself
- Do you have testimonials and publish them on the site?
- Do you update the content regularly and don’t live by the phrase “set it and forget it”?
Security
- Any obvious security flaws?
- How resilient are forms to special characters?
- Private directories password protected via .htaccess?
- Are public non-document directories (cgi-bin, images, etc) index able or are blank index.html pages or appropriate permission settings in place to block access?
- Is customer data stored online? If so, is this database appropriately safeguarded against external access?
Other Technical Considerations
- Does the site load quickly – even for dialup users?
- Are all links (internal and external) valid and active?
- Are scripts free from errors?
- Is the website free from server side errors?
Other Marketing Considerations
- Is the website properly optimized for search engines (essential text emphasized, title tags relevant, title text presented in H1, outbound links reliable and contextually related, etc)
- Does the index page entice a visitor deeper into the site or shopping cart?
- Does the website contain elements designed to encourage future or viral visitation (i.e. a contest, newsletter, tell-a-friend feature, and forum with subscription option, downloadable toolbar, RSS feed or similar)? – Different Title for every page that start (or at least have it as 2nd or 3rd word) with the single most relevant key phrase that describes the content or function of the page the best. (if you have to explain what the page is for and can only use 1-3 words as Keyword or Phrase, what would it be?)
- Robots.txt configured?
- Site Map available?
- Is every page accessible at least via a single plain HTML Link (no JavaScript or Flash Link)?
- Does every page have at least some text in the content? (How much Text remains on the Page if you remove all Images, Videos, Flash, Java Applets and JavaScript Code? Anything? Is the remainder still states the pages purpose?)
- Is every individual page only accessible via a single URL or are several URLs available (and worse, used) to access the same page? Duplicate Content Issue, Canonical URLs.
Legal Stuff/Re-Assurance/Legitimization
- Contact Page with Real Address, Phone Number (Toll Free for Business) and Contact Form or Email available, basically a clear and easy to use feedback/contact mechanism? A visitor might not assume webmaster@ or you might want them to write elsewhere, or you might prefer to give them a form to structure their communications.
- DMCA Notice up? Terms of Use page available where you specify what you do and why and what visitors have to agree on if they want to use your site? This is to protect yourself from complains or worse regarding things that you cannot control properly, such as links to 3rd party websites or Ads from automated systems such as Google AdSense etc.
- Privacy Policy up (especially if you collect data, email, names, and web analytics tracking cookies)?
Feel free to add to the list by leaving a comment.
Also see on DIF Design’s blog
October 15th, 2009 in Business, Energy, Go Green, Share by Peter Ellis
Here is a great article I came across while doing some research online today. It’s written by Glen Stansberry on NetTutsPlus.com blog. This particular blog post is a part of Blog Action Day 2009 Climate Change.
Climate change is greatly affected by our carbon footprint. As web developers, it may not seem that we make huge “footprints.” We read our mail and news online (no paper), communicate with instant messenger and Skype (no stamps or letters), and many of us relax by watching video or TV shows online (no renting/buying physical DVDs). As a whole, web developers do a pretty good job reducing their carbon footprint.
Yet there are plenty of ways that we can reduce our carbon footprints even further and treat Mother Nature a bit better. After all, every little bit helps when it comes to becoming more environmentally responsible.
So here are the top twenty ways that web developers can reduce their carbon footprint each day. They’re simple changes, but in the end they make a huge difference.
1. Turn Off the Computer
While this may be the most obvious solution, it has a huge impact. Many of us leave our computer running 24/7 because it’s convenient. Even if your computer is idle or “sleeping”, it still needs the battery. Consider completely shutting off the computer when you go to bed at night. While you’re at it, switch off the monitor and sound system if you’re using them as well.
2. Turn Off your External Hard Drives at Night
People run backups at night because they don’t want to use computing resources when they’re actually on the computer. However, backup systems have matured considerably in the past few years, and often times a backup can go unnoticed. I run Time Machine backups on my Mac at hourly intervals and hardly ever notice any real resource consumption.
If you’re backing up your hard drives at consistent intervals during the day, you probably don’t need to run backups when you’re asleep as well.
2. Use Eco-friendly Light Bulbs
Energy Star qualified CFL light bulbs use 75 percent less energy than the standard incandescent light bulb and last ten times longer. Start powering your home office (and rest of the house) with eco-friendly light bulbs. It’s estimated each light bulb can also save $30 per lightbulb.
3. Use a Green Web Host
There are plenty of interesting green initiatives happening in the hosting industry. Some hosts are planting a tree for each account, others use alternate energy sources to power their servers. Here’s a list of eco-friendly web hosts and how they’re doing their part to reduce carbon footprints.
4. Switch to Hibernate when Inactive
Allowing your computer to hibernate or sleep when it’s inactive helps save resources and energy. Sleep uses a small amount of power to maintain the memory. Hibernate completely powers down the system and saves your settings on the hard disk. Sleep doesn’t save as much energy, but it allows your computer to “wake” faster than hibernate. Either way, using a power-saving state can reduce usage of unneeded power.
Microsoft has a great article on the differences between sleep and hibernate, and which situations to use them.
5. Switch to Linux-powered Computers
Did you know that Linux computers can save e-waste levels by 50%? There was a study done in 2004 that reported definite green benefits to running Linux-powered computers. The main reason: Windows systems had to change hardware every 3-4 years, where Linux systems only needed hardware refreshes every 6-8 years. (source)
While the study is five years old (an eternity in technology years), it still leaves something to consider the next time you purchase a computer.
6. Use Blackle
Heap Media created Blackle, an eco-friendly Google search engine. Based on the theory that a black Google could save 750 Megawatt-hours a year, Blackle is just that. It’s identical to the real Google with an energy-saving black color scheme. The monitor uses more resources to display white or light screens as opposed to black or dark screens, so the makers of Blackle may be on to something.
7. Switch to LCD
If you’re still using that old, clunky CRT monitor, consider switching to a more environmentally-friendly LCD monitor. CRT monitors require more energy and create more heat than LCD. Besides, what web developer or designer needs an excuse to upgrade their monitor?
8. Work from Home
If you can swing it, working from home makes a considerable dent on your carbon footprint. Driving to work uses fossil fuels, and even the bus system uses fossil fuels as well (though not as much as a car). Plus, if you work in an office space, there’s another building that has to be heated (or cooled) and lighted.
9. Increase the Life of your Computer
The longer your computer lasts, the less resources you have to consume buying a new one. Routinely checkup and run maintenance to ensure a long and happy life for your computer.
10. Manage your Bills Online
Many web developers already receive their bills online, but if you don’t you definitely should. Think about your office trash can and what makes up the major part of the bulk: mail. Junk mail, bills and more junk mail. While the junk mail is kind of hard to stop, receiving bills online can save quite a bit of paper usage. Try to get all of your bills and newsletters in a digital format and save a few trees in the process.
11. Use an Eco-friendly Font
I had to blink a few times to believe it, but there is actually an eco-friendly font that saves on average 20% more ink than other fonts. The makers of Ecofont remove small parts of the letter in order save ink. The parts that are removed are hardly noticeable in print. Ingenious.
12. Rely on Natural Lighting
Natural lighting is better than a lightbulb any day, and can add some warmth to the room as well. Open up those blinds and turn off those overhead lights. You’ll have to be careful where you position your computer to make sure there isn’t a glare on the monitor, but nothing beats a soft, natural light to fill your workspace.
13. Don’t use a Screensaver
Screensavers were initially created to add life to the monitor by keeping phosphors from burning images into an idle monitor. But modern computers don’t have these problems, and screensavers are now just a way to personalize your computer. Screensavers still use power, and can even keep your computer from going into a fully-saving power mode.
14. Turn off the Coffee Maker
For those of us that drink coffee, there’s an easy way to save energy: turning off the coffee maker. Turn off the warmer when you’re done drinking coffee. Oftentimes laziness keeps us from actually switching off the pot when we’re finished, and the coffee maker needlessly heats the coffee for hours afterwards. Not only will you save energy, you’ll also save your nostrils from the smell of stale coffee burning on the warming plate. Gross.
15. Put on a Sweater
For each degree you lower your heat, you’ll save up to 5% in heating costs. So consider dropping the thermostat a couple degrees and putting on a sweater. You’ll save money on your heating bill and use less energy and resources in the process.
16. Cut Back on Phantom Power
Phantom power is energy that’s wasted by appliances plugged in and using small bits of power while they’re not being used. You can use a smart powerstrip that cuts the power when the appliance is off, unplug things when you’re done with them, and use devices like the Kill A Watt to monitor energy consumption.
Learn how to reduce phantom power at Treehugger.
17. Make your Sites Printer-friendly
While most of us web ninjas laugh at the prospect of printing a web site, many people still do. If you don’t have a printer-friendly version available on all pages, this means that everything on the page is printed, using needless ink on things like design colors and images.
Fortunately, it’s pretty simple to add printer-friendly versions of sites. Many modern designs have a separate print stylesheet for printer pages.
About.com has an excellent article on what a print-friendly stylesheet needs to have.
18. Say NO to Styrofoam
If you work in an office, bring your own cup for your coffee instead of using the styrofoam cups. Styrofoam is awful on the environment, mainly because it doesn’t decompose like other materials. Even if you recycle the styrofoam, the process takes a very long time and is difficult. Also, styrofoam contains chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) which hurts the ozone.
In short: styrofoam should be avoided as much as possible. Besides, doesn’t a real coffee mug feel so much better in your hands?
19. Add a Plant (or two)
Plants can make a huge difference in a home or office. Aside from the health benefits, plants can improve air quality considerably. A company in New Dehli did a study and added 3 different types of plants to their office building, and found that they could literally “grow their own air”. The plants reduced eye irritation, headaches, lung issues, and respiratory system incidents considerably over the course of 15 years. The company also saved energy costs by around 15% thanks to the plants.
20. Use the Library
Instead of buying copies of paper books, check them out at your local library. Most libraries are hooked into an inter-library loan system, so you can find almost any book from your library. How often do you reread all of your books? If you’re like me, not very often. Most books are only read once (if at all), and typically just sit on a shelf for show. Instead, show your intelligence by saving paper instead of a filling a bookcase.
carbon footprint, climate change, eco, eco awareness, eco-friendly
September 17th, 2009 in Go Green, New Products, Recycling, Share, Software by Peter Ellis
This is to all of you, who have an iPhone. Yes, there should be a club for people like us, with a very cool name…may be something like – iClub (just kidding).
With over 50,000 iPhone apps available and still growing, iPhone is becoming everything to those who have one. Last night I was going through some apps on the AppStore, and found this one – iRecycle.
iRecycle is an app created by Earth911, an organization dedicated to Making Every Day Earth Day (that’s their slogan by the way). The app makes it easy to find recycling locations anywhere in the U.S. Find places to drop-off your old cell phone (or water bottle or motor oil or… well, you get the idea), get directions and find out what else they accept.
Here are some features:
- Access to over 100,000 recycling and disposal locations for over 200 materials
- Get directions to the nearest site from your current location
- Auto-complete saves time typing so you can spend more on finding a location convenient to you
- Check your search history to replay old search results
- Find additional information for each location like hours of operation, other materials acce pted (hey, maybe you can recycle all those plastic bags from under your kitchen sin k), their Web site, etc.
- Call locations directly from search results
Below are a few screen shots that I took with my iPhone of the iRecycle app at work.
If you have an iPhone, you can download the app here.
iRecycle, Recycling
September 10th, 2009 in Go Green, Share by Peter Ellis
Green America (www.greenamericatoday.org) just announced the Top Ten Nominees for 2009 Green Business of the Year Award.
What is this Award?
A celebration of the leaders of the green economy, and a challenge to corporate America to follow their path.
What are Green Businesses?
Companies that work to help – not hurt – people, communities, and the planet. Check out our National Green Pages™ to learn more.
What Businesses are Eligible?
Only businesses that have passed Green America’s screening process are eligible. Visit the National Green Pages™ to find a company to nominate.
You can see what consumers are saying about the businesses, check out their web sites, and then vote for your favorite before October 8, 2009.
green america, green business
July 24th, 2009 in Business, Marketing, Share by Peter Ellis
Myth – It’s NOT affordable.
Today, web sites are common. Getting your web site designed by a professional that does not use templates and does all their work from scratch is priceless (and affordable, I will explain). The presence of templated web sites on the internet made many businesses look a like. Every business owner knows, that you need to stand out from the rest (especially from your competition).
Here is a little horror story:
One of our clients, she is located in downtown Huston, purchased a template for her web site a few month ago. She paid a little over $800 for the template itself, and then spent over 30 hours customizing it. After all said and done, her investment was over $3000, not including her time.
Her main competitor (just a few blocks down from her), had purchased the same template for $800, but did not bother to make any changes/adjustments to it. As the time went by, our client started to hear from her customers that people we confusing her business with her competitor’s.
Stories like that are dime a dozen, because of two reasons:
- The stigma that its cheaper and easier to get a template for your site, rather then hiring a professional firm to design you one.
- Design firms that have not adjusted their prices, so they are still charging an arm and a leg, because that’s what they’ve done in 1998.
As I said before, web sites are common this day and age. That is why businesses need to realize that a cookie-cutter template is not going to do the job. After all, one size does not fit all!
Custom web design is affordable!
web, web design
July 15th, 2009 in Business, Marketing, Share by Peter Ellis
Myth – It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s cheap.
Did you know that in order to customize your template you must have knowledge of web development software? Did you know that in most cases the templates are very limited, and are not expandable? Do you have the time and money to waste in editing and customizing?
Although templates are often presented as the easier and cheaper way to have a web site, most of them don’t function properly with popular web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Safari. In last two months alone, Internet Explorer came out with version 8 browser, Mozilla Firefox came out with version 3.5 browser and Safari came out with version 4.
web design, web site templates
June 18th, 2009 in Business, IT, Marketing, Share by Peter Ellis
Myth – More (keywords) is better.
More isn’t necessarily better, but it is all about making your content relative. Search engine criteria changes constantly and what was beneficial to your web site 6 months ago, could ruin your visibility today.
Meta data (keywords and descriptions) is slowly but surely moving down on a list of importance. As of January 2009, Google only gives this information 1 point out of 10. Making your keywords and descriptions relative to your page titles, links and content will score much higher with Google.
You can stay up to date with search engine optimization through educational resources, user groups and industry insiders. There are definitely plenty of ways to optimize your site’s visibility on search engines, my suggestion would be, to talk to some one who does this type of work on daily basis. That way you will not have to spend hours upon hours of your time looking through the information and deciding where to start.
google, seo
June 15th, 2009 in Business, IT, Share by Peter Ellis
Myth – Registration of a domain name and web site hosting is complicated and expensive.
Registration of your domain name no longer requires web development knowledge, and shouldn’t cost you more than $9 a year. There are many ICANN accredited organizations that offer a user-friendly setup to register your domain name. GoDaddy and Network Solutions are two companies that I have personally used for over 5 years to register domain names. GoDaddy’s prices are a bit lower than Network Solutions’, but overall both companies offer great and reliable service.
There are many option for hosting your web site. Please be aware that the old saying still hold true – “You get what you pay for”. Cheaper hosting options might not take care of your needs or be expandible in the future.
hosting, web, web design
June 4th, 2009 in Business, IT, Share by Peter Ellis
Web sites. There are so many of them. It seems that everyone has a web site today, and if they don’t – well, then they should. Not having a web site in today’s visual world can damage or even ruin your business. As a web designer, I know that there are so many different option/solutions out there to create a web site. In my research I came across common misconception or myths about web design, and I would like to share them with you. This is just an introductory post to “7 Web Site Myths”. Stay tuned.
web, web site, web site myths, website
May 31st, 2009 in Business by Peter Ellis
Running your own business requires wearing many different hats. Business planning, customer service, hiring and maintaining employee relationships, new laws and regulations, taxes, accounting, marketing, sales, customer expectations…I could go on and on. Even an experienced business owner could use help. Good help is hard to come by and usually very expensive. That’s why knowing your local support organizations is extremely important.
In the Greater Springfield area, there are quite a few you can choose from. Here are a few I have personally had great experiences with:
Springfield Business Incubator (SBI) – visit web site
The Springfield Business Incubator provides comprehensive support services and a professional office environment for new businesses initiatives, enhancing and accelerating their growth and stimulating economic development in Western Massachusetts. Located at the Technology Park across a street from Springfield Technical Community College.
SBI has been instrumental in growing entrepreneurial spirit in Springfield. Business located in the incubator since its beginning are responsible for creating over 250 new jobs and producing over $20,000,000 in revenue.
Western Massachusetts Enterprise Fund (WMEF) – visit web site
The Western Massachusetts Enterprise Fund, Inc. is a nonprofit community development financial institution working to strengthen communities by creating economic opportunities for low- and moderate- income people in western and central Massachusetts.
WMEF helped many local businesses start or to continue their entrepreneurial ventures. Our business was started with a $12,000 loan from this institution.
Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) – visit web site
The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network provides high-quality, in-depth business advising, training and capital access which contributes to the entrepreneurial growth of small businesses throughout Massachusetts. Our services are delivered through a network of skilled professional staff supported by a federal, state, and higher education consortium as well as several partnerships.
I have personally utilized MSBDC’s services for other business ventures, and I have worked together with them on several related projects.
SCORE is a non-profit organization founded in 1964 and dedicated to entrepreneurial education and the formation, growth and needs of small business. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
SCORE offers workshops and one-on-one consulting to business professionals and entrepreneurs. They have many locations in the area, so its fairly easy to make an appointment. Visit their website, and remember to come back and visit it again in August or September, as our company, DIF Design, has been contracted to redesign the site.
dif design, msbdc, sbi, score, support, wmef
