Web Design Tips

Web Design is an art, yet following basic steps can help lead even a non-artist to a good design. For the novice or the expert, there is always more to learn with these web design tips.

Web Design Tips

1. Graphic Design of the Site

There is a saying “First impression is the last impression.” The design of the site is one of the most important aspects to be considered while creating a web page. If the design is good and easy to understand then visitors are more likely to view many pages of the site. An ugly, unclear site is likely to result in pages being closed without looking at the content at all. The layout of the entire site should be consistent and each web page should look as a part of one web site. The same content presentation style and color scheme should be followed throughout the pages of the site. The content of the site should be divided into logical sections. For purely artistic sites, there are obviously exceptions to these rules. For sites aiming to make money these guidelines should almost always be followed.

2. Limit the Use of Plug-ins Required to View Your Site

Try to avoid the use of extra components which the user needs to download to view the web page. People tend to avoid downloading unnecessary plug-ins and they might close the web page without viewing it if they have to download and install a new plug-in. However, some external components have become very common. Components such as Java Applets, Shockwave and Flash components, and Active X components are becoming standards for web development.

3. Avoid Unwanted Tools and Effects

Don’t use every tool that is freely available on the market. Page statistics buttons are common, yet most decent web hosts provide the same service with no advertisements required. People also use effects like fade-ins and outs, which can slow down a user looking for information. This is a potential source of irritation.

4. Clear and Concise Content on Web Site

In most cases, the content of a site should be clear so that the visitor knows from the very first page what the site is intended for. To reach the most visitors, the information should be clearly conveyed without the use of jargon that an average person might not understand.

5. Update the Site Regularly

If you want people to revisit your website then make it a point to regularly update your site. If visitors always find new information on your site then they are likely to visit again. If the information is always stagnant then it is very difficult to keep a visitor's long-term attention.

6. Limit the Use of Graphics

Using many images can cause page downloads to be slow. Slow web sites are irritating to visitors on slow connections and fast connections alike. Further more, search engines do not index text in images.

7. HTML Coding Standards

Proper coding standards should be followed for cross browser compatibility. For example, many people omit the use of alt tag for images and people with slow internet connectivity might have problems viewing the images. If alt tag is present then at least the visitor will know what is missing. Proper height and width attributes ensure the page is viewed correctly as the page loads. http://www.w3.org/ provides a widely used standard.

Web design tips can help you over a hump with a site. Use them to get the most bang for your buck.

Website Building - Do You Need To Master Web Programming?

If you are going to do business online, you need to have your own website. Although it is possible to make money online without it, your website is your identity in the world of Internet. Moreover, having your own site may open up many possibilities that you could never have imagined.

Nowadays, getting a website onto the internet can be accomplished very easily. Many hosting companies now provide website builders which are very useful to help you build your own website. Some even provide a collection of templates that you can customize with your own links and content. However, you still need to learn a little bit of HTML so that you will not depend on someone else in case you want to edit your works. This skill is very important to make your site stands out from the crowd.

It is nice to know a little bit of web programming language if you want to build a dynamic website. However, keep in mind that it is usually the concept or the idea and not a programming tool or language which can make you money on the internet. Unless you plan to become a professional web developer, there is really no need to learn coding. Just leave the development up to other experienced developers or use a content management system which can be installed for free.

Buidling a website with CMS means you do not even need to touch any HTML editor. There are some content managements systems which can be configured easily. Mambo, for instance, is already supported by many ready-to-install modules and templates. But you still need to become familiar with the script that you will use to run your site, both on the front end and in the admin area. Spend some time before launching your website to get to know how to make some important configurations properly.

Today, many web hosting providers have already provided a wide range of facilities in their hosting plans. Fantastico, for instance, is a feature that enables you to install various scripts very easily. But if you want to use a script which is not currently provided by your hosting company, you might have to follow the installation procedure provided.

Commercial scripts usually come with installation instructions, that can be a as simple as uploading the files to your server, setting the permissions for each file and folder, and finally opening the config file and setting the options to dictate how the script functions. Installing the script yourself is actually a handy way for getting to know how it works. In the future, in case the script needs to be updated with the latest version, you do not have to hire anyone to do it.

Having the very basic knowledge on the functions and the tags of HTML is actually enough for building a website. But depending on what you want to build, you might need to know how to setup a database on your server. With phpMyAdmin this can be accomplished easily. Additionally, commercial scripts usually have an ability to create required tables automatically. That means at the very minimum you only need to find out how to create a database and an authorized user.

How about other technical aspects such as configuring .htaccess file? .htaccess is a file that can be used to perform various tasks. One of the most popular uses of .htaccess is to make a website search engine friendly. But, although important, most of the time you will never touch the file. Many scripts today can create this file for you automatically so all you need to do is to follow the installation procedure as outlined in the manual.

In summary, building a website does not require you to be very knowledgeable about web programming and other complicated technical knowledge . However, at the very least, you need to be able to create HTML code and to utilize some features of your hosting service. Reliable hosting services will provide you with some useful facilities that you can use to create various types of websites easily.

Object Oriented Programming Part 1

Considering the fact that Object Oriented Programming is a common approach that people have utilized for software development over decades now; very few among us do actually understand the use and the philosophy behind it.

Now you will be thinking... Wow! here is another claim that I have understood the topic most. So if you think that it will be a lot better to leave this topic and utilize your time in a better way; However if you are beginner or just want to refresh your concepts, this Blog is for you.

Out of many definitions of OOP one of them is to program real-world objects, to provide the a facade to the reality of this world... oops... have I lost you.

Ok. Lets get real... Have you seen The Matrix!!! The character Neo wakes up from machine world into real world which have been taken over by the machines. Now think a human.. they very first human who tried to tell a machine that "THIS IS A CHAIR".

Now how can you identify a chair. Chair will only be identified by its characteristics which are physical in nature. Like it is made of Wood, it has legs and a back, Colour of wood is dark brown etc. This is we can call PHYSICAL CHARACTERS. You must be thinking what the hell I am talking about.. Trust me we will hit Computing hard with the same chair :)

On the same pattern we utilize this chair for some work. Common sense says sitting... Although trust me its uses are much more than that.

So there are two aspects of it, PHYSICAL PROPERTIES & UTILIZATION.

Loosely translated into a computing world

Physical Properties = Data
Utilization = Function

So to tell any dumb machine that this is a stupid chair, I can tell two basic things

1. What is its Data
2. What is its Utilization

Now if we replace the word its with OBJECT, we are talking Object Oriented Programming.

Going back to Matrix.. first thing you have to tell any Agent is that what every Object is like and what it does. So the basic means of doing that is called Object Orient Programming.

If you are good till this point continue reading... else !!!!!!!!!!!!

class Chair
{

Data: Height, Length, Colour, Weight

Functions: Used for sitting, Can be Used for Hitting as well.

}

So to tell this to a dumb machine we used classes and objects, although both have a slightly different meaning.

Every thing on this earth you see shall have DATA and a FUNCTION. Once you know what it is and you want to give machine that wisdom, the mechanism you will take is called Object Oriented Programming.

So Neo get ready to fly, we will cover more later.

Why More Women Should Consider A Career In Computer Programming

Everyone knows that computer programming is a heavily male-dominated field. I think this is unfortunate. Over the years, I’ve come to conclude that there is a great deal that women can contribute to this field.

Why is computer programming regarded as a primarily masculine discipline? I think that in part, it’s because men have a reputation for being more likely to tinker around with gadgets and gizmos. In part, it’s also because computer science is supposedly a very math-oriented field, and men are supposedly more inclined toward mathematical disciplines.

(Incidentally, I know that such generalizations would offend certain people. I’d like to emphasize that this is not my intent at all, nor do I wish to make excessively broad generalizations about either gender. However, a multitude of psychological studies do claim that men have—on the average—a greater aptitude for mathematics and mechanics than women do, whereas women tend to perform better at linguistics and communication. These tendencies coincide well with my own observations, so for now, I’ll assume that these studies are reasonable descriptions of gender differences.)

Anyway, people often claim that men make better programmers because they are more mathematically inclined. Personally, I disagree. It is true that computer science is very much mathematical in nature; however, computer programming often is not. It’s true that a software developer should understand basic concepts such as binary computations, round-off error and Boolean logic; however, for most programming tasks, there is little need for calculus, group theory or other advanced mathematical topics. For this reason, I think that the importance of a strong mathematical aptitude is largely overblown.

Indeed, I think that linguistic skill is decidedly more important. I’d say that in years past, about 90% of the programmers that I encountered produced sloppy code—software that is clumsily structured, poorly documented and difficult to understand. I’ve also noticed a strong correlation between linguistic skill and the ability to generate clean, legible code. And why not? Computer languages are, after all, just that—languages. It’s thus reasonable to expect that someone with a strong language aptitude will—on the average—produce cleaner, more understandable code than someone whose language skills are lackluster.

That is one reason why I wish more women would pursue a programming career. If it is indeed true that women have better language skills, then they are likely to perform well with computer languages as well. Again, this jibes well with my own experiences. I haven’t known many female programmers, but most of the ones that I do know have produced some rather outstanding work. (To be fair, I’ve also known some lousy female programmers; however, these individuals had little passion for their field, and only entered it for the sake of a paycheck. That’s a pretty good recipe for mediocrity, regardless of one’s gender.)

Breaking into this field may not be easy. I’m sure that many women will have to combat the prejudiced notion that software development is a man’s field, and that female programmers are mere dilettantes. Still, it is my earnest hope that more women will make their marks in this arena. If they have the right passion for this field, and if they understand their strengths, then I believe that they have much to offer.

Why More Women Should Consider A Career In Computer Programming

Everyone knows that computer programming is a heavily male-dominated field. I think this is unfortunate. Over the years, I’ve come to conclude that there is a great deal that women can contribute to this field.

Why is computer programming regarded as a primarily masculine discipline? I think that in part, it’s because men have a reputation for being more likely to tinker around with gadgets and gizmos. In part, it’s also because computer science is supposedly a very math-oriented field, and men are supposedly more inclined toward mathematical disciplines.

(Incidentally, I know that such generalizations would offend certain people. I’d like to emphasize that this is not my intent at all, nor do I wish to make excessively broad generalizations about either gender. However, a multitude of psychological studies do claim that men have—on the average—a greater aptitude for mathematics and mechanics than women do, whereas women tend to perform better at linguistics and communication. These tendencies coincide well with my own observations, so for now, I’ll assume that these studies are reasonable descriptions of gender differences.)

Anyway, people often claim that men make better programmers because they are more mathematically inclined. Personally, I disagree. It is true that computer science is very much mathematical in nature; however, computer programming often is not. It’s true that a software developer should understand basic concepts such as binary computations, round-off error and Boolean logic; however, for most programming tasks, there is little need for calculus, group theory or other advanced mathematical topics. For this reason, I think that the importance of a strong mathematical aptitude is largely overblown.

Indeed, I think that linguistic skill is decidedly more important. I’d say that in years past, about 90% of the programmers that I encountered produced sloppy code—software that is clumsily structured, poorly documented and difficult to understand. I’ve also noticed a strong correlation between linguistic skill and the ability to generate clean, legible code. And why not? Computer languages are, after all, just that—languages. It’s thus reasonable to expect that someone with a strong language aptitude will—on the average—produce cleaner, more understandable code than someone whose language skills are lackluster.

That is one reason why I wish more women would pursue a programming career. If it is indeed true that women have better language skills, then they are likely to perform well with computer languages as well. Again, this jibes well with my own experiences. I haven’t known many female programmers, but most of the ones that I do know have produced some rather outstanding work. (To be fair, I’ve also known some lousy female programmers; however, these individuals had little passion for their field, and only entered it for the sake of a paycheck. That’s a pretty good recipe for mediocrity, regardless of one’s gender.)

Breaking into this field may not be easy. I’m sure that many women will have to combat the prejudiced notion that software development is a man’s field, and that female programmers are mere dilettantes. Still, it is my earnest hope that more women will make their marks in this arena. If they have the right passion for this field, and if they understand their strengths, then I believe that they have much to offer.

PHP Programming Made Easy

Here are some helpful basics on PHP: Begin, at all times, a PHP page with . (a period) and never neglect to use ; (semi colon) at the close of a variable. Secondly, before manually starting phpmyadmin to make your PHP program run properly, be ready to set up PHP, PHPTriad first. Next, to enable your php program to function, bring a php page in a .php wing. And lastly, don’t forget that security is the main requirement in using this type of PHP language. In developing a page with PHP, high level of security is necessary.

It is also very important to note that if you really want your program to operate, follow instructions to the letter. With this type of system, accuracy is the key.

Contrary to common notion, programming is not really hard, at least at present. Compared to the earlier days of programming about more than twenty years ago when it was totally alien to most people, nowadays, almost anyone can learn this skill. It’s true that during the infant stage of programming there were learning books to assist those who wanted to study and train in this field. However, we are luckier now because there are tutorials, mostly online, that can help us in developing programming skills.

On the other hand though, undergoing tutorials either online or in actual location should be boosted by one’s perseverance and interest. Perseverance requires the learner to read tutorial lessons and later try out some actual programming work while interest pushes the person to really want to acquire and learn said ability.

Blogger is equipped with a superb interface used to tidy up blog entries as well as facilitate endorsement of a blog to attain a better position in its niche. This application only requires an uncomplicated SimpleXML set transported with an entire PHP system, along with some understanding of the Google Blogger API and a small part of PHP scripting to come up with the needed HTML code.

Blogger interface is so excellent that it should be put to full use when promoting a blog because with this method, one need not install blog software on a web server anymore since it is already inbuilt with Blogger. This way the web site owner saves time and effort, plus he is able to maintain his MySQL database allowance and set it aside for better and more advanced use in the future.

Mashup, in technological context, refers to a web application that makes use of a combination or mixture of data from two or more sources. This combination is then put together into one single device. A good example for this is the integration of cartographic data from Google Maps to real-estate facts, thus producing a different and fresh web service which is otherwise not provided by either or both sources. Consequently, the end-product of mashup is data or code that can be applied for software purposes.

Interestingly, mashup originated from a certain application in pop music, especially hip-hop in which a special song is created by combining two or more other songs.

Output Buffer is a process by which HTML or Javascript code or echo or print is produced in PHP with the information being sent to the browser and consequently to the web as an outcome. This is done by having the information stocked up on the server until the script is done executing, or by you doing something on the buffer itself.

To carry out this process, you should start the output buffer first. This should be done before anything else is fed to the browser. It is very important that you start it right after opening the PHP tag. You have to be very precise and sure that no prior action is done before the PHP tag is opened because even a lull or space can result to mistakes.