Staying on top of technology is part of my job in custom web design and development, and just when you thought you heard everything something new comes along. Designing sites for accessibility means making it easier for disabled persons to access your content. To my surprise, one site goes beyond simple text, and does it very well.

Here's what happened just recently. For one of my personal blogs I use FeedBlitz for readers to subscribe to posts, and I get emailed copies of their broadcasts announcing new posts, also. I file the announcements without much thought, but decided to read the latest. WOW! As expected, a story posted on my personal childhood storytelling blog was linked in the announcement email, but it included an icon for a pc speaker. Curious, I followed the link to find that my personal blog posts are being digitized from text to audio as an RSS feed, and available for listeners to hear!

Visit Growin' Up in Maine with the story of a photo postcard my Grandmother showed me when I was 6. Next, open up another tab in your browser and follow this link to hear the digitized audio of the story told with a female voice and matching the blog post perfectly word for word.

One aspect of web design that deserves more attention is website accessibility making the internet as equal as possible for persons with disabilities. For example, my web designs in xhtml with css are easier for screen readers to extract and present content spoken aloud digitally to blind persons. A very small percentage of web developers design websites for accessibility, and others may not care.

The voice tempo of the digitized version of my post was nearly human, and it was perfectly clear with fewer odd pauses than I would have expected. If you know a blind or vision impaired person who goes online, you may want to introduce them to this audio feed service from talkr.com that will allow them to listen to audio versions of written blog posts.



TAGS: advice accessibility audio blog text to audio web design

Labels: advice, audio, blogger, websites

                       

The latest podcast show comparing blog formats from Blogger and WordPress was launched today with advice for small business owners. If you're undecided about the benefits of blogging, or which format to select, the show gives comparisons of format, ease of use, and other features on these top blog formats.

The show features a review of a new custom matching blog done in WordPress for one of my personal sites, and features bonus tips for advanced plug-in options and themes or templates for WordPress. An integrated blog custom design to match your main site is one of the best search engine optimization techniques I can recommend. Contact me at any time for no obligation free advice about blogging for small business.



TAGS: advice blog blogger podcast small business advice WordPress

Labels: advice, blogger, podcast, seo, templates, websites

                       

A new custom web design featuring real estate vacation rental ads was launched earlier using CMS, a Content Management System, allowing the webmaster to add property without knowing HTML code. The site is a rent by owner USA vacation property ad directory for owners, property managers, and realtors to upload free or low cost ads for USA short term rentals.



As the site owner, another purpose of the site is to demonstrate CMS capabilities to realtors interested in real estate templates for a custom web design, also. The layout is suitable for property sales as well as rentals, or both.

Initially the site is in test mode with the first rental listing from Central Florida, and new USA vacation rental properties will be added in the coming days and weeks. Visitors may join as members to view vacation property details including rates, and save favorites, plus view bookings availability calendars.

Owners or managers of rental property may join as agents to immediately begin adding listings with up to 8 photos per rent by owner vacation ad. Ads for listings are available to upload or edit 24/7, and real estate agents or homeowners gain instant access.

In addition, the site features a Rent by Owner USA Vacations blog using Blogger and integrated with a matching color scheme which will provide advice and tips for tourists and owners. Both were done in XHTML with CSS for fast loading and streamlined code. Visit the main real estate vacation rental ad website here, and the rent by owner USA vacations blog here.



TAGS: blog template custom website design content management system real estate website launch

Labels: blogger, launch, templates, websites

                       

The latest episode of the Small Business Website Mailbag podcast features an updated tutorial for adding blog social bookmarks and matching graphics to blog posts done in Blogger whether hosted by them or hosted on your server. Each version includes a separate tutorial with bonus graphics, step by step instructions, and the actual code to add to your Blogger template.

This updated tutorial replaces one done a year ago that covered revised templates for the old Blogger and new Blogger (beta), and provides advice for alternate formats for WordPress, TypePad, and others. As usual, you do not have to register or give an email address to get your copy of the free download tutorials. Each zipped folder is 12Kb and includes a text tutorial, actual code for revising your Blogger template, and a set of free graphics of my top 12 social bookmarking services.

Readers are invited to listen to the Blog Social Bookmarks Tutorial episode and then download the free Blogger tutorials.



TAGS: advice blog template podcast Blogger small business advice tutorials

Labels: advice, blogger, podcast, templates, tutorials

                       

Time management as a small business owner is a matter of sorting tactical and strategic activities. The value of a blog is really a strategy with future benefits, not a tactical activity like other day to day tasks that require immediate attention. For me, building a reputation for my niche establishes long term traffic worth more than the value of any one post.

The tactical distractions in a small business that are time wasters need to be recognized. If you come across a link or interesting email that has you following an internet trail to oblivion, stop. We all do it, and it may takes hours away from real work. As soon as you learn to recognize those things that are fun yet don't generate revenue, you may find more time to dedicate to a blog.

For blog post ideas I subscribe to Google Alerts which delivers daily news on related subjects, and sometimes I follow my blog tags to view other opinions. A visit to the tag cloud on the Technorati home page may be a good source for what's hot and interests people for a given moment. Client feedback is another source of topic ideas for small business bloggers. I've even taken content from my emails to new prospects with advice that I wrote and use part of that if the advice makes a suitable blog post.

Blogs provide one of the most cost effective ways to promote your small business, and the seo or search engine optimization value is worth making blog time management a priority.



TAGS: advice blogging search engine optimization small business advice time management

Labels: advice, blogger, general, seo

                       

The advantages of a small business custom integrated blog have been covered many times on this blog. Previous topics covered advice about the benefits of blogging, my services for integrated small business blogs, blog writing tips, and blog promotion.

From reviewing a wide variety of blogs, one common error for many small business blog owners is still apparent. The purpose, function, and format of blog tags and labels is not completely understood, so the search engine optimization value of many blogs may suffer.

To further assist my small business clients enhance their blogs, I just released a new podcast episode with details and a lesson on blog tags and blog labels. I strongly encourage bloggers to visit the podcast and listen to this advice to help overcome any confusion comparing and using tags and labels.

Based on what you learn, it's okay to do edits on blog posts and republish each one.



TAGS: advice blog tags blog labels podcast search engine optimization small business advice

Labels: advice, blogger, podcast, seo

                       

From a chance encounter with a reader of my personal blog, Growin' Up in Maine, I recently completed and uploaded a custom audio production to allow readers to listen to this guest storyteller. The narration is by Larry Hall, 91 years old, and he agreed to having me record his story rather than just post it as text.

Visit the blog to hear this humorous tale Roping the Grammar School Bell in 1928, and a bonus story about the local sheriff's brand new Model T Ford. This is a unique piece about growing up in a small town nearly 80 years ago. Listeners are welcome to inquire about custom audio or video production for their small business blog or website, as well.



TAGS: audio custom audio blog audio production small business services

Labels: audio, blogger, examples, websites

                       

The Code Repair website was recently redesigned and turned over to my son, Roger Degerstrom, and the theme has gone from a design advice only website to commercial custom web design. The advice angle is not totally abandoned, as the redesigned site includes an integrated custom blog with web advice.

The CodeRepair.com website was originally launched in 2002, and with my current workload it was time to refocus my energy on loyal customers from this site, blog, and podcast. I will continue to mentor the growth of his website, yet with the gaining momentum of new clients the real focus for me is a higher level of service to new and existing clients.

The slogan for CodeRepair.com is "The next generation in custom website design" which relates to nepotism as well as the quality of advanced code using XHTML 1.1 and CSS2.



TAGS: blog news small business services website design website redesign

Labels: blogger, launch, websites

                       

For small business bloggers unaware of blog and ping promotional services, I assembled a list of blog and podcast pinging websites. These sites will broadcast your blog each time you make a post, and instantly notify a variety of search engines and sites that track blogs. Some offer special services for podcasts, niche blogs, and foreign language blogs.

Visit each to see which one best suits your small business blog. Each has checklists, so take some time on your first visit to review the list and avoid pings to unrelated promotional websites.

The list of sites with blog and podcast pinging services are in alphabetical order:

1. BlogFlux pings plus has a blog directory for registered members
2. FeedShark provides service for blogs, RSS Feeds and podcasts
3. KingPing pings 57 blog search engines, plus a podcast option checkbox
4. MyPagerank pings feeds to 25 networks that track blogs
5. Ping-O-Matic provides a simple and highly ranked pinging service
6. Pingoat easy one-button submission to 26 sites tracking blogs

The process is easy, and free. Select one to handle your promotion each time you make a blog post, and with a few clicks your blog is promoted to up to 57 different websites. This is fast and convenient with just 1 or 2 clicks after entering your blog name and web address, so total time should be less than 60 seconds.



TAGS: advice blog blog and ping blog promotion small business advice

Labels: advice, blogger, general, podcast, websites

                       

Small business custom website design clients often ask about making page one in major search engines as part of website design projects. My latest podcast episode just released over the weekend with audio advice to Add an Integrated Website Blog helps answer that question. Here's an excerpt from the show notes:

Listen to learn about case studies of new small business website blog integration, and the positive results others have experienced from this advice. The blog of a recent custom small business website launch that I designed made Google page one in 1 week.

Search engine results found in Google page one and Yahoo page one were emailed to me by some of my clients in as little as one week from the time their site launched. Having an integrated blog and posting often helps small business website owners get listed sooner, and obviously some are making page one in major search engines in weeks. Blogs add fresh content often which is one of the methods for search engine optimization that I teach.

My policy when describing my custom website design services is still no guarantee of page one results, yet following my advice and blogging certainly has proven worthwhile. Here's the link, again, to listen to case studies of new small business website blogs in the Small Business Website Mailbag podcast.



TAGS: advice blog podcast small business search engine optimization

Labels: advice, blogger, podcast, seo, websites

                       

A custom website redesign with matching blog was launched yesterday for The Gourmet Gift Shop, Inc. of Stockbridge, Georgia. The main website is an online store for this manufacturer of custom gift baskets for corporate accounts and individuals. The site meets W3C for valid XHTML 1.1 and CSS2 and features a new logo design, an integrated PayPal shopping cart, and a Gift Basket Expert Advice blog.



In addition, custom pages were created for 404 Error - Page Not Found, a customized thank you page for completed purchases, a cancel page for incompleted orders, and finally a custom htaccess file for 301 permanent redirects of all the old page file names. Key on page content and the streamlined xhtml code was also optimized for seo, search engine optimization.

Visit their new custom website and online store for gift baskets for a wide selection of unique gifts for Valentine's Day, all occasion, or fully customized gifts.



TAGS: blog blog template launch seo search engine optimization small business services custom website design

Labels: blogger, launch, seo, websites

                       

My commercial site now has the option for new small business clients for custom website design to pay for services online. The PayPal verified logo is included in the top banner on each page of the main website. Unlike some online shopping websites that have products at fixed pricing, customers for my services need an agreement for projects before proceeding.

A single payment button on the price list page is set in increments of $50 USD, and payments may be made through PayPal or using major credit cards from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. You do not need a PayPal account when using your credit card even though PayPal is the secure payment processor. No additional fees are incurred by the client for this method, so the amount for design services is all that is charged.

Besides custom small business website design, you may now pay for other design services including custom blogger design, custom graphic artwork, plus custom video and audio production, also.



TAGS: advice payment options PayPal Verified small business services website design

Labels: advice, artwork, audio, blogger, video, websites

                       

One day, perhaps, website developers will be able to create the perfect template to display blog pages that comply to W3C standards with perfect XHTML in Blogger blogs. The goal is currently impossible because of how the blog "engine" generates blog posts at the instant you publish.

Content generated external to the template and css that web developers design for blogs is the reason. This content includes hidden code that identifies the blog as shown below in this snippet of results from the W3C XHTML validation service for just one post on my blog:

g?blogID=38647469&postID=5457517960262

The highlighted and underlined content above is the culprit. The ampersand symbol is a special reserved character in XHTML, and to display properly without creating a code error it must have it's full ASCII 5-character code and not just the single character as typed from your keyboard. The highlighted text of &postID should read &postID to be correct per W3C.

Unfortunately, this small problem generates multiple instances and errors on each post, and it is completely out of the control of you or your blog designer. The only solution will happen when the technical team and programmers at Blogger choose to modify their system to insert the ampersand with the full ASCII 5-character code. Don't hold your breath. It's like pushing a glacier.

Does this really matter? From a technical point, no. From a practical point, yes, because the solution is easy. Your blog will look fine with 250 code errors, yet if browser companies and web developers are driven to comply with standards for zero code errors, it would be nice to have Blogger get on board, too.

Finally, if you follow a permalink to any individual post on this blog, and then validate per W3C, there are 28 code errors. Unlike my main site which displays the Valid XHTML 1.1 and CSS2 badges with zero code errors, the blog is doomed for now to being nice, not perfect.

The blog issue and other external factors used to create multimedia content use deprecated code, so my goal of perfect code has been revised to accept the reality of designing with near zero errors.



TAGS: blog blogger blog template website design xhtml

Labels: blogger, general, templates, websites

                       

In preparation of the release of another integrated custom website design and blog, the design for the SolarusUSA Awning and Shade Advice blog launched today. This manufacturer and distributor of custom retractable awnings and screens ships nationwide and internationally, as well as installing retractable awning systems in the South Florida area. Do-it-yourself kits can be shipped to customers and dealers in the USA, Canada, and South America.

The following screenshot of this custom small business blog is shown smaller than actual size.



The new main site for SolarusUSA should launch within a week and will include product information, pricing, a photo gallery, and two galleries of awning fabric choices from over 400 colors.

The web design technique for the fabric gallery uses xhtml and css to achieve a mouseover effect without using scripts. Placing 50 fabric swatches and photos of each on one page is very efficient allowing visitors to view all 50 photographs without scrolling down their screen.



TAGS: blog blog template launch small business services website design

Labels: blogger, launch, templates, websites

                       

For clients interested in adding audio to their small business website, custom audio player color schemes can be designed to match your site. The graphic below shows 6 players slightly smaller than actual size, and the code used to generate these meets xhtml 1.1 standards per W3C to easily integrate into your website design.


Colors shown are two tone versions with light and dark each of silver, green, and blue. The choices for custom color schemes to match your site are practically unlimited with up to 16 million colors. The top view of each audio player is how it displays closed and ready to play on your site, and each bottom view shows the view during play.

Audio can be used for introductions, customer testimonials, a small business blog, or even regular shows similar to my Small Business Website Mailbag podcast. The latest podcast episode comparing dynamic and static websites was released earlier today if you want to listen and view a tan version of this player.



TAGS: advice audio audio player blog podcast small business advice website design

Labels: advice, audio, blogger, podcast, websites

                       

I finished the design of another custom website in xhtml with css, plus matching custom blog template, and both launched this weekend for Ultimate Riddles, a Christian site about spiritual truths and Bible study with an accompanying blog documenting Bible study progress. An integrated blog allows adding new content often which helps with SEO, Search Engine Optimization.


This graphic of the custom website design shown above is a screenshot from the site smaller than actual size and the design graphics include a golden sunset background and elegant script logo. Most of my clients know that my life and business are faith based, and www.UltimateRiddles.com is a personal venture to share results of studying the Bible going back to the languages of the original manuscripts. Visitors are invited to comment.



TAGS: blog blog template launch seo search engine optimization small business services custom website design

Labels: blogger, launch, seo, templates, websites

                       

Today's announcement is the launch of the Small Business Website Mailbag podcast, a new feature with an audio version of small business advice so you can hear me rather than reading it. The first podcast Episode 001 is entitled Small Business Podcast Intro and includes the following outline in the show notes:

• My reason for starting this show
• The podcast content and outline
• Options for listener interaction
• My qualifications for offering advice
• Website quick tip of the day

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:45 Main Topic - Small Business Podcast Introduction
0:09:38 Tip of the Day - Writing for Blogs versus Websites
0:11:01 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:11:32 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 001

For those who have viewed my custom website video productions, the podcast includes the same theme song which reinforces my market branding.

All podcast shows focus on websites for small business owners with expert advice that you may now hear online instead of tolerating my (sometimes) long-winded phone calls. Please visit this new advice podcast for small business and post a comment or email me with feedback or suggested topics.



TAGS: advice blog design launch news podcast promotion reviews seo small business websites

Labels: advice, audio, blogger, launch, podcast, websites

                       

After experimenting with several audio players, I recorded Twas the Night Before Christmas in mp3 for my personal blog, Growin' Up in Maine. Adding audio to your website or blog can be a nightmare if you care about aesthetics and presentation. Here is the Christmas poem for the custom audio player demo.

Audio Notes (Press Right Button to Play)

Title: Twas the Night Before Christmas
Narration: Jim Degerstrom
Play Time: 00:04:18

Most blog services do not host audio files, so your recordings must be hosted elsewhere and linked from the external source. This blog is hosted on my server, so this post demonstrates a custom streaming audio player to test the function here. This simple player only uses MP3 format sound files which is my standard, so it's perfect for websites or blogs.

Having a player that is cross browser compatible requires overcoming the quirks of Internet Explorer which is the only browser still using the <embed> tag. As a result most designers code two players in the HTML or XHTML to display properly in all browsers. The preferred method to add audio or other multimedia and meet current standards in XHTML with a player that is cross browser compatible is to use the <object> tag.

This was fun to record and only required one take. If time permits, I may add a podcast to this commercial site answering small business custom website design questions featuring comments or emails from readers. Stay tuned for an announcement, or send in your questions now if you feel you might prefer listening more than reading my small business advice. That may prompt me to begin sooner.

In addition, small business website owners may want to consider adding an audio intro or testimonials for their site. I can help on the technical end including designing a player to match your website's color scheme, so call or email me with any questions.



TAGS: advice audio podcast website audio website design

Labels: advice, audio, blogger, podcast, websites