Web Design and Hosting

No doubt about it, changing the font and font-size on your blog can make the world of difference to how it looks and your reader experience / response. One of the challenges that I have encountered when creating sites for clients is that they like to use ‘fancy’ fonts to enhance the look. Unfortunately, these fonts don’t always translate to a ‘web friendly’ website, which can be viewed as it is intended by the site owner.

The reason this happens is that when a webpage loads on a client (visitors) computer, the rendering (or display) of that page is processed by the client computer. This means that the layout commands are interpreted by the client computer and the browser in use at the time. This explains why there are variations between the different browsers, screens and computers.

Which brings us to Websafe fonts – what are they and how do they effect your web design?

Simply, a websafe font is a font that is most likely to be present on the visitors computer. When you receive your computer, or reinstall it, there are a set of fonts that are installed as standard on Windows and MAC computers – it is these fonts that are considered to be Web Safe.

By using a Web safe font on your website, you are ensuring that your website will display the way you intended it.

If you choose to use a font that is not considered ‘websafe’, the displaying computer will substitute a font for the display and the results will vary.

Even though these fonts are known to be websafe, care should should still be taken, as different computers can be customized to remove the ‘default’ fonts.

In order to accomplish automation of your sales and service
process, a database is generally needed so database hosting is
something to be considered when selecting a web host for your
internet business.

A database is nothing more than a collection of related
information or data that is stored electronically in a computer
for easy access. There are different types of database programs
that can be used to integrate various computer applications and
to create a central database that improves the efficiency and
effectiveness of business operations and business management.

Some database programs are turn-key applications that you simply
install and use, but for the purpose of automation, database
options generally have to be customized. Since automated internet
businesses usually integrate their database solutions with their
websites to automate web-based business functions, database
hosting becomes necessary.

When selecting a database hosting company, it is most important
that you choose one that has technology and software available
that meets your storage needs as well as your integration needs
as they relate to automating your business processes.

Before you can effectively evaluate and select a database hosting
option, you have to choose a database solution that will
integrate with your existing business systems, or revamp your
entire system to ensure compatibility and the ability to
integrate and automate business functions effectively.

Some of the widely used database programming languages that
provide automation capability include Oracle and SQL, though
there are many more. The database host that you select should
have the capability of supporting a database and automation
functions for the programming languages that are used by your
company’s computer applications.

Since automation and database programming is pretty specialized
and highly technical in nature, it is wise to seek consulting
services from a database programming professional or an
automation specialist.

Your computer applications, your database solution and your
database hosting all have to work together to effectively
automate your business processes for maximum efficiency.

Every business has its own unique business functions; however,
some of the basic business functions and business systems that
benefit from automation include point-of-sale systems, operations
systems, marketing systems, bookkeeping systems, and information
management systems.

Through the use of a database and database hosting, these systems
can all be integrated so that data is shared between them.
Automation through integration seriously improves business
functions and processes such as data entry, filing and research
which will empower your internet business to provide higher
levels of service and productivity with quicker and more
convenient access to the information you need when you need it.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an example of a
function that can benefit your business through the use of
automation and database hosting. Effective CRM systems enable the
management of a business to learn more about their customers and
prospects so they can build strong, long-term relationships with
them.

CRM brings together a plethora of information about customers,
prospects and marketing trends which can be used to improve
marketing and to build ongoing relationships with customers
through follow-up service. CRM systems which are enabled by the
process of automation and database hosting will empower you to
deliver the products and services that your customers expect and
deserve while facilitating cross-selling and referral building.

Information Management Systems are another example of a function
that employs the use of automated information sharing through
database hosting that gives management easier access to a greater
variety of information that can be used for business building
activities.

Without a doubt, automation benefits a business. Automation makes
standard business functions easier, less time consuming and more
efficient in terms of time and costs. The use of a database and
effective database hosting options makes automation possible.

Selecting your database applications and database hosting
provider is an important first step to accomplishing automation
and unleashing the full potential of your internet business.

The internet is one of the fastest growing networks in the world, and is arguably the greatest collection of information the world has ever seen. New websites are being created every day by the thousands, but many of these sites are designed without a specific plan in mind. This haphazard method of website design coupled with the fact that there are dozens of similar websites for a given type of site design make creating a unique and effective site particularly challenging. In this article, we’ll go over some general design tips that will have your site working fluidly while keeping it fairly original.

One of the most important aspects of website design is navigation, as this determines not only how easily users will be able to reach different parts of your site, but how search engines (which are the main way that people access websites on the net) index your site for search results pages. Most sites use a navigation bar at the top of their site for easy access to various aspects of the site, and users have come to expect this in some degree. Side bars are used less frequently, and frames are so archaic that they might actually count against you. Using a Java or Flash application as a navigation tool allows you to create expanding navigation bars for even easier browsing.

A frequently overlooked aspect of website design is sound and music. This does not mean that many websites fail to include sound or music, as these are relatively common features, but many sites forget to realize that embedded sound or music can drastically change the way someone sees a website. For example, a site dedicated to a movie or video game release can probably get away with embedded music, since people might be excited to see what music will be featured in the game. On a professional site for an online business, however, sound will likely seem out of place or tacky.

Website design does not dictate that a site has to be made a certain way, and originality mixed with functionality is always a welcomed change of pace. If you have a way to build a site that allows it to be easy to use and intuitive while also creating a new look that isn’t frequently used, you are likely to be rewarded with a greater number of users. Keeping these tips in mind is a good place to start.

As the technology advances, the expectations of the clients from the website designer also increases. This is mainly because of competition and up gradation in the knowledge of the client. The client, unlike the clients of yesteryears, prepares himself/herself through going through different websites and talking with other web designers. It is obvious that the website designer can strike a deal with these prospective clients if and only if he/she is able to satisfactorily answer their queries and proves himself/herself to be the best service provider.

Some of the aspects that the prospective clients want the designer to know are as follows.

Technicalities:

There are different coding languages that can be used for site design. Some of the prominent coding languages are PHP, CSS3 and JavaScript.

PHP:

PHP is one of the most popular design language. This is because it makes the process of web designing quite simple. The clients of a web designer hail from different backgrounds and their needs are quite different from each other. Some needs such as galleries of products and contact forms are most common among the clients. The clients want the web designer to know PHP so that the galleries can be designed to be lightweight and the management of the contact form becomes easy. Without PHP most of the web designing could become very difficult and nearly impossible.

JavaScript:

Day by day, the effects of JavaScript are becoming obvious because it makes the website designing bother efficient and effective. The quality of the web design is greatly improved by the use of the JavaScript. The difficult coding can be made simple and easy by using JavaScript Framework. The needs of the client can be best served through using any of the JavaScript frameworks that are available in plenty. As far as clients are concerned, it is not the framework that matters, but what matters most is the final effect of the website on the visitor and his/her conversion to buyer.

CSS3:

As the client becomes technologically literate, he/she realizes the advantages of CSS3. CSS3 is known by some to be not compatible with the Internet Explorer but if the clients of the website are using Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome then CSS3 can be very handy and effective. Rounded corners can be created and shadowing can be done with the help of CSS3. In this situation CSS3 can save a lot of time too. The use of this language offers a bit of flexibility to the client especially at recreating of the rounded corners.

Content:

After technology comes the content. There are two types of content; one is text and the other is visual. The illustrations and graphics are vital for any web design. The designer should know which illustration or graphic needs to be used because the website needs to be user friendly as well as search engine friendly. Usually the illustrations add weight to the website and decrease the downloading speed.

Creativity:

The designer needs to be very creative to make the web design appealing and interactive with the visitor. The design of the logo should be unique and able to convey something substantial about the business.

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With many different possibilities of web hosting companies on the internet, which one should you choose? The best way to choose is to analyze what type of features and services they offer. Knowing what some of these features and services are will help you narrow down your decision.

Disc Space

Disc Space, the more the better right? Not exactly. Having a lot of disc space is wonderful, but not necessary. A normal website might use 50 MB and a large website could use 2 GB. It really matters on how many pages and what type of multimedia files you are. Images, movies and flash application could take lots of disc space. Website page files don’t take hardly any space. Try to think of what you might need to your website, remember to think down the road. Find a web hosting company that can provide you with a desired space and a reasonable price. Don’t pay extra for space you don’t need. There are lots of shared hosting companies that offer unlimited disc space. If you are looking into a dedicated server, this can be expensive. On a dedicated server you will pay for different amounts of disc space.

Bandwidth

How much traffic are you going to have a month? Lots, little, not sure? When looking for a web hosting plan watch for how much data you can transfer in a month. This could get very expensive if you go over the quota. A regular website won’t have any problem going over the bandwidth quota. But keep in mind if your website expands. If your website has 20,000 unique visitors a month, you’re going to need a large amount of bandwidth and could be costly. What type of multimedia files are you doing to have? If your website has lots of pictures, movies and/or flash, you could be using lots of bandwidth to stream.

Domain Names

Most web hosting companies will give you a free domain name if you sign up for their service. The trick here is to see how many domain names you can host on one account. Maybe you have a main webpage, but you want to have smaller branches that will require a unique domain name. Some web hosting companies will limit how many domain names you can host on one account. I think unlimited is a good number. I don’t see why they should limit you to how many websites you can have on your account. If you have the disk space and the bandwidth, then there shouldn’t be a problem. There are a couple of companies that will offer a Free Domain Name for Life. A domain name for life is that the hosting company will pay the renew fee for your domain when you are using their service. Web hosting features to look for in the domain department is add-on domains, parked domains and subdomains. These different domain names will help you keep things organized and could help with usability.

Email Accounts

Your own email account from your website can look very professional. Web hosting companies will have an easy way to create and access them. But how many can you have and how much space will they allow for them? Do a quick look at how many email accounts you can have and how much space they will allow.

MySQL

If you are planning to have databases, ecommerce store or a content management system you will most likely need MySQL. Double check the company will support it and the web language you will be working with. Most companies will put a number of databases you can have on your web hosting account.

Extra Features

Everyone likes extras, right? See what else the hosting company can offer you. Maybe your website wants a photo gallery, blog, discussion board, shopping cart, or connections to third party companies. This could be valuable source. Not only for cost, but also time. These web applications are easy and quick. If you don’t have a strong web development background, this would be something to look into.

Support

Check their support options. See what hours they are available and how you can contact them. They should offer phone service and email service. Usually they will also have a live chat that can get you in and out. Web hosting support can be a headache of a lifesaver. If something goes down on your server or you mess something up. Getting quick and knowledgeable support can be priceless.

Other Stuff

Watch for what coding languages they offer, you never know what you might use or want to try. Give yourself the option to learn something new and expand what you know. If you know what coding language you are going to develop with. Look at what version they are offering. Make sure they are up to date, don’t fall behind.