I’ve turned on the ability to add comments to my blog posts so feel free to add opinions and ideas…
I am now able to offer web site hosting and email along with site development and design. I’ll be updating the web site to reflect this shortly but in the mean time if you would like to enquire about web hosting feel free to contact me.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Just a quick note to those of you who haven’t already volunteered for Mr X that there is still time if you want to participate.
And just to tug on those heart strings…
This year, Mr X has more than 4,500 kids across South West Wales on his list. “It does make a difference to people’s lives,” he said.
“We all know how magical a time Christmas can be, and those happy memories stay with you for life. Sadly, some children run the risk of not having that. It’s an appeal like no other,” he added. “It’s not a case of just putting in your hand in your pocket. Because people go out and buy gifts, it gives the appeal more of a personal touch. In doing that, it encourages people to think of those less well-off.”
“I know people’s spending is going to be tight this year, but I’m not asking for money. All I want is for people to buy presents, and they don’t have to go on a crazy shopping spree.”
“People can be creative — It’s really not about how much you buy, but the thought of all that joy you will be bringing.”
For more information on the Mr X appeal and contact details please click here, the article is from last year but the details are the same.
jQuery makes several things MUCH easier when adding scripting to a web site. With jQuery you can accomplish, with less code than what it would take with JavaScript alone, a lot of effects such as drop down menus, drag and drop elements, animations and form validation. jQuery is a JavaScript library which means the underlying language is still JavaScript but it adds usability and ease of use. Here are some of the reasons I use jQuery:
- First of all, it handles the vast majority of the browser compatibility issues, so you don’t spend large amounts of time rewritting code to work in every possible browser.
- The selectors allow you one simple way to browse the dom tree in a cross-browser compatible way that actually works. If you know how to select elements in CSS you know how to find them in jQuery!
- If you’re using AJAX it provides an easy to use method that works elegantly without having to code your own library.
- It’s easy to extend, and there are lots of add-ons that will handle most of the basic tasks you might run into.
If you have a understanding of JavaScript, jQuery will be easy to get a hold of as it adds easier to impliment functionality than hand coding everything in JavaScript.
How important is a domain name? After you’ve been to the site a couple of times you don’t need to pay attention anymore do you? It’s either bookmarked or you type it in without thinking about it. But what about your web site? Doesn’t your domain name need to be instantly recognisable as part of your business/brand/whatever?
I’m my humble opinion domain names fall into three categories:
• those instantly recognisable as part of a brand, for example google.com, bbc.co.uk and disney.com
• those where the domain name tells you what the site is about or what the product is – download.com, domain-name-ideas.com and tvguide.co.uk
• domain names that have very little or no relation to the product, service or web site theme – mazumamobile.com, quimble.com and amazon.co.uk.
Ideally we would all like to have the best possible domain name but that isn’t always an option – if you come up with a good one someone else will have already though of it and bought it.
There are a number of web sites out there that can help you find domain name “hacks“, this is where the domain name is also part of the suffix. For example dras.co.uk or del.icio.us. This type of domain name is very effective in terms of being easily remembered but can also cause confusion. How many times have you told someone a domain name only to forget if its a .com or .co.uk? Add a hacked domain name and you have the potential for confusion, so to be on the safe side do you also buy the .com and .co.uk versions as well? Doesn’t this defeat the object of doing it? I feel that if you’re going to use this style of domain name it should be very good like del.icio.us.
So what type of domain name should you use? In short it depends on the business you’re in, the contents of the web site and what’s available to purchase. The domain name should fit in with your identity. With the millions of web sites already out there a little creativity in you domain name can help you stand out from the crowd.
The new look website is up and running! I’d be interested to hear what people think about it…
So I guess the first question I should answer is why I didn’t write my own blog application, I am a developer after all…
Well before I can answer that I’ll explain why I’ve installed a blog in the first place. The good people over at Smashing Magazine write some very useful articles on web design, development and a whole host of new media related topics. One of which happened to be on how to get the most out of your portfolio web site. There is some excellent advice on usability and the tone that a portfolio web site should use. One of the points they make is to have a blog so that current and prospective clients can get a feel for the sort of person you are and the work you do. Which I feel is a good idea and not something I would have thought to do. As this is a personal portfolio web site the tone and feel should be on a personal level, I’m not a large design studio so should stay away from making the site have that look and feel – great advice but not something I would have automatically done. I think a large number of freelance designers/developers would fall foul of this.
They say that the last house a good builder does is his own.
I feel this is true for freelance web developers as well. After the day job is over and you’ve worked on client’s web sites, written applications, etc. it’s difficult to get motivated to put a state of the art web presence together. As long as your own web site “does the job” then there’s no need to work on it right? Well that was my opinion for a while.
My site needs some work.
It’s true; I put the current site together in a night which obviously isn’t good enough. So I’m taking some of the advice from Smashing Magazine and putting it to use.
So to answer the question of why I didn’t write my own blog application, it simply comes down to ease of use, installation and support. I ended up installing Word Press which is one of the most popular and widely supported free blog applications. There are a huge amount of themes and widgets available so the look and content can be customised as needed. I could write a blog but with such a well thought out and implemented piece of software I would be foolish to not take advantage of it.
Another motivating factor is that I can install an application on my mobile phone which allows me to blog while away from a pc. Blogger.com also allows you to do this via their mms and email post services. Although these are viable options, I like the control and level of usability I get from the application.
I’m going to continue blogging and hopefully I’ll write something people will be interested in reading!
This is my first post in my first ever blog! I thought it would be a good idea to post my thoughts and useful finds here.