Archive for the ‘websites’ Category

Everyone with an email address has experienced some type of email virus alarm or online post warning you to “forward this message to everyone you know” to protect them from dire consequences. It’s time to remind readers to take a trojan virus reality check and get the facts before forwarding any alarm email or message.

In most cases you can determine if the warning being passed on is real or a hoax in a couple of minutes. Otherwise, you could be wasting resources by perpetuating an online chain letter effect, or hurt your reputation for being like Henny Penny (“…the sky is falling”) if it’s a hoax and not real.

Here’s an example of a recent post on Facebook about the koobface virus.

Virus spreading like wildfire on FaceBook! It is a trojan worm called koobface. It will steal your info, invade your system and shut it down! DO NOT open the link Barack Obama Clinton Scandal! If SmartGirl15 requests you, don’t accept it; it is a virus. If somebody on your list adds her then you get the virus too! Please copy and paste to your wall.

There is a virus version of koobface circulating on Facebook (and MySpace), yet slightly different than described in the post. Here’s a link to details on Urban Legends at snopes.com which is always a great place to check out any alarming messages about virus threats.

After documenting details of the real threat, the last paragraph explains the Obama/Clinton and SmartGirl versions were each a variation and hoax of the real virus. The “do not open” advice given in the post is still excellent any time you encounter something suspicious.

Think twice and take that trojan virus reality check by doing a search on Urban Legends before you forward any email warning alert.

A quality web design with seo search engine optimization will help attract backlinks from other websites. Achieve links you earn and deserve naturally and avoid the dangers of being tempted to trade, buy, or sell links. I never accept link exchange requests.

Most emails for link requests go to Dear Webmaster, or something like that and very impersonal. Toss those emails without reading past the greeting. The best links are those links you earn and deserve without any correspondence or request between sites. A site that links to you voluntarily without contacting you or expecting something in return is the ideal backlink.

Two-way links are also called reciprocal links and those are more or less useless for boosting your seo ranking. Three-way link agreements may seem ideal, yet they are not best practice: Site 1 links to site 2 who links to site 3 who links to site 1. It gives the deceptive appearance of independent “votes” for sites worth linking to. The truth is Google supercomputers look for the 3-way link schemes and they get zero value or perhaps a negative penalty if widespread and blatant.

The best links to your site are those you earn and do not ask for, pay for, or solicit in any way. If your business is truly outstanding and a related site links to you (one-way only) then those have seo value when found by Google.

Years ago you could pay to have ranked sites link to you and Google would mistake those paid “votes” as voluntary endorsements and assign very high value for site reputation. The paid link schemes fell apart in 2007 when en masse Google banned those sites to oblivion who were using deceptive seo methods by trading in buying or selling links.

The phrase “add original quality content often” is still the magnet to attract natural links and positive Google search results. Provide an exceptional visitor experience and the backlinks from other sites will come naturally. For web design and seo success the best links are still those links you earn and deserve.

Recent completed web design work includes multiple cms and blog conversions done for the Mountridge LLC family of websites including: AdamsHomeownerServices.com, MainStreamMemorabilia.com, and AdamsFloridaServices.com.

Both Adams sites were converted from static pages to a custom cms content management system which allows the owner to add, edit, or delete content 24/7. The MainStream Memorabilia online store website was updated with a bolder look. All 3 Mountridge LLC websites include custom matching WordPress designs that were converted from Blogger.

Visit each blog for news or advice about products and services from the following links, and then use top navigation to view the matching look of their main websites.

Adams Homeowner Services handles Florida vacation or long term rental property, the MainStream Memorabilia e-commerce store offers movie and tv star autographed memorabilia, and Adams Florida Services specializes in residential or commercial Orlando area landscape and lawn service.

Inspiration for writing website content as part of web design, and especially the pressure for new blog post content, can be relieved somewhat if you recognize opportunity. Earlier today I had that type of experience involving web copywriting, and decided the topic was worthy of sharing here as the anatomy of a published article.

Ever help someone with a problem as part of your job by providing free advice? The good will generated is worth donating that solution with no strings attached, yet take it another step and document the story as a blog post so others know just what you did to make a difference in a person’s life.

If you’re away from the computer when inspiration strikes, jot down a short note as a reminder of the new blog post topic for later. Do that often during the day and you’ll never run out of ideas for blog posts. Here’s what happened today, and the timeline.

8:43 a.m. – Replied to an email with advice for writing effective blog post content
9:00 a.m. – Used notes from the tips I sent earlier to begin a formal advice article
1:15 p.m. – Article finished and began submitting it to my top 20 article directories
2:27 p.m. – Email confirmation received from EzineArticles.com acknowledging receipt
4:03 p.m. – Email message confirms EzineArticles.com approved and published my article*

Acts of kindness in business may be repaid by others who become new customers by observing or learning about how you treat people. I think of that whenever I’m doing custom cms web design and offering free advice.

What began as a helpful email reply to an acquaintance early this morning evolved into a full article submitted, approved, and published by the end of the day. That article will generate backlinks and site traffic because I recognized the opportunity to share expertise relating to web design.

Curious? Read the article entitled My Golden Rule Writing for the Web with advanced tips about writing website content.

*Footnote: For authors wondering about an article being submitted and then approved and published in just 96 minutes, those are true times down to the minute. EzineArticles.com gives expedited reviews to Platinum level authors like me. Read about another benefit of being a platinum author here.

This month marks one year since my son Roger launched the custom cms web design for Haggetts Aluminum in Florida. Just last month the owner mentioned how pleased they are with sales coming from the website. It makes my day to get happy web design client feedback since Roger chose a career in website design and took over the CodeRepair.com site.

The team at Haggetts is very busy and they credit the performance of their website as the key reason.

A quality web design with proper optimization will attract traffic from search engines. The real goal is to make a positive first impression so those visitors stay and become customers. It’s great knowing my son, who’s slogan is “The next generation in custom website design”, has made a difference for Haggetts Aluminum.

Check out the custom home page awning factory video tour showing how they manufacture custom aluminum awnings. That 2-1/2 minute video presentation is a dynamic sales tool 24/7 with the factory tour, background music, and narration.

Does your website attract search engine traffic and make a positive first impression? If not and you’re ready for a new custom cms web design or makeover of an existing website, contact us today for a prompt review and quote, or follow the link in the first paragraph to check out Roger at CodeRepair.com.

The rule for acceptable domain names allows letters, numbers, hyphens, and periods only. For corporations and especially attorneys who include the & symbol in their name, the ampersand you use on your letterhead must be written out as “and” if you want that in your domain name. Ampersand is not allowed in domain names.

The ampersand is a reserved character in html used in code for displaying special characters and symbols. While it may not be used in a domain name, it can be displayed as text on a web page. Most people type each instance of ampersand as a single character located above the number 7 on your keyboard which is pressed while holding the shift key.

To properly display the ampersand in web page text it cannot be typed as a single character. The code to indicate the single symbol to mean the word “and” is &. Otherwise, browsers encounter just the symbol & in the html code without the extra 4 characters and it signals a special character follows immediately.

To get the & to display properly in that last paragraph of this post I actually had to type & and post in html mode. Each time just & is used in the html it is a code error per W3C, so enter it properly where it is allowed and remember the “and symbol” is not allowed in domain names.

Bonus Tip: Protect your brand when choosing a domain name. Here’s a tip if your company name includes the ampersand & symbol and you decide to use the company name but leave out the word “and” in your domain name. My advice is using the one you like yet get both, as well.

To illustrate, AT&T originally chose just the ATT.com domain, and so a squatter grabbed ATandT.com likely thinking it was a gold mine. Follow this link to read the details and the ruling in the AT&T complaint filed 8 years ago. They prevailed. It took less than 90 days. Following atandt.com automatically forwards to att.com.

Squatters typically inflate the price to transfer a domain for less than the legal cost of arbitration. They’re hoping you do not have the inclination, budget, or attorneys on staff to fight. So while it’s true ampersand is not allowed in domain names, you may still want to register the company name using the word “and” to avoid potential headaches later.

In anticipation of the production release of a stable version of WordPress v3.0 soon I registered a new domain and launched a WordPress live demo website earlier today. The initial design uses the pre-production WordPress v3.0 RC1 version (release candidate 1) introduced one week ago on May 28, 2010.

The following bonus extras included with a custom WordPress theme design from us in our standard package have been installed, tested, and passed functionality on the new demo website:

All in One SEO to optimize posts for search engines, Sociable to insert social site icons and links automatically on every post, WP dB Backup to automatically backup your WordPress installation plus email it to you, and finally SI CAPTCHA to place an anti-spam code and input box at the bottom of every post to help fight comment spam.

Follow this link to the new WordPress Road Test website that will eventually allow privileges for new customers to practice making WordPress posts and let them study advanced blog and cms tutorials. The site is not for v2.x or older WordPress installations. The May 2010 RC1 replaces the BETA version and is the next step towards release of a stable production version v3.0 of WordPress later in 2010.

Other than adding the plugins named above and a footer link to the WordPress design services on this site, the look and layout of the WordPress Road Test site use the default out of the box theme from WordPress v3.0 RC1. All that may change as the www.wpRoadTest.com site evolves.

This entire website underwent a makeover recently with a cms redesign and blog conversion. I decided to stay with a similar beige color scheme to keep things familiar. The main site for custom cms web design, the custom cms websites advice blog, and the website design mailbag podcast were all redesigned. The advice blog and podcast were both converted from Blogger to WordPress, as well.

While a fresh look for this site is considered every 2-3 years, the blog format for the advice blog and podcast needed more immediate attention. Blogger announced a few months ago that they would no longer support ftp publishing of new blog posts effective May 1, 2010 which left some site owners wondering what to do.

I created custom WordPress blogs for several clients in the past, and one advantage of WordPress over Blogger is the open source software package that runs the blog is on the owner’s server. The real concern was for future changes in Blogger that would force some blog owners to redesign (again), so my advice to clients was moving from Blogger to WordPress to retain complete control over publishing.

In addition, I expanded the custom search engine (CSE) from Google to all pages in the top right sidebar of the main site, blog, and podcast. This advanced function allows visitors to search over 500 pages of content with advice for custom cms web design and related services.

Does your business involve visiting your clients to perform a service, install a product, or perform repair work? Consider your digital camera for WordPress blog ideas. A camera may be the perfect tool for collecting content for your website. From personal experience, many of my clients for custom cms web design with matching blogs need to invest more time in making blog posts. That camera may help.

My advice for creating new WordPress blog content is taking photographs. Before and after shots of the benefits of your product or service will make a great sales tool on your blog. Show prospects what you’ve done for customers. If you have techs or a repair staff, arm them with digital cameras to collect content, too.

Perhaps your business is all service providing intangibles like consultations, so you wonder if using photos makes sense. Consider a photo to illustrate the benefits showing you and the client in a meeting, and perhaps use the graphic for a testimonial. You might consider having them take a photo of you giving a presentation.

Maybe none of this seems appropriate for your business. Instead of photos, carry a notepad or voice recorder and take notes with as little as a simple phrase to remind you of a benefit or success that helped a customer. Use the real situation and write about it to show potential clients what you’ve done for others.

Ask your clients. You may find your happy customer would love to have their story told on your site, and maybe volunteer to have their photo accompany the blog post or testimonial. Make it easier for them. Take your camera for a ride.

Finally, online success does depend on adding original quality content often, so a cms web design or matching WordPress blog allows you to do just that, and easily. Add photos or graphics to keep your site more interesting.

Here’s a simple test to look for duplicate or stolen content taken from your website or blog. I’m big on writing free advice for publication, so it works for advice articles written for syndication, too. As the original author you want credit for your work, so looking for duplicates may uncover stolen content that requires action.

You can look for duplicate content by searching a phrase from what you wrote placed in quote marks so Google will search for the words verbatim. I use the same technique to find out where some of my syndicated content gets published to make sure they credit me as the author. To see an example of one that was written as an analogy of attracting search engines, Google the phrase “crawlers and stray cats”.

That search returns over 5000 results that all point to publication of a syndicated advice article on different websites that I wrote in 2007 entitled “Google Crawlers and Stray Cats”. It compares 1) stray cats fed a chunk of meat every day, or even less frequently, who will return daily, to 2) providing new content on your site or blog for Google, and they will return to your site every day, as well. Feed either Google or that stray cat often enough and you become great friends.

The technique to discover duplicate or stolen content requires picking a unique phrase with enough words to avoid common instances. It’s easier with practice and you can edit your searches with longer phrases as necessary, or pick an entirely different one until you get what you need.

If you find violations of your content, you can email the owner to request removal or proper credit, or in worst case situations requiring stronger action Google the phrase DMCA Takedown Request to learn more.