One more (very good) reason to have a Responsive Website

All hail Googlebot!

A while back I wrote this post describing why your business should have a responsive website. In the article I included the standard reasons, i.e. your website is optimised to give the best impression on a wide range of devices, it's easier for visitors to use your website regardless of which device they are using,  you don't need to have a separate website for visitors using smartphones to access your site – if you want the full story I'd suggest you read the post. In any case there’s now another, very valid, reason to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly.

The boys and girls at Google have decreed that, in addition to relevance of content, frequency of updates, keywords, age of website, amount of site traffic, and inbound and outbound link quality a new factor will be added – whether or not the site is mobile-friendly. If your site is not responsive, or does not respond well to queries from different media, it will not rate as well as a responsive site does. The result is that the Page 1 position that you have worked to maintain on Google could well be gone at one fell swoop, and the only way to regain it is to upgrade your website to responsive design.

It’s a sad fact that while responsive design has been around for a few years now the majority of business websites are designed for computer systems only and do not cater for alternative methods of viewing web content such as smartphones, tablets or smart TVs (yes, at the current time this is even true of this blog!). During this time the number of media queries from the new generation of web capable has grown exponentially so it was really only a matter of time before Google decided to take this step.

In short, if you have a business website and it is not responsive on different media devices, now is a very good time to talk to your web design team about a site upgrade.

Not sure how your site is seen by Google? Check and see if your site passes the Google ‘mobile friendly’ test here. If it fails and you want more information or would like assistance we invite you to contact the team at mhdesign.

IE does it again!

A picture is truly worth a thousand words. And this one cracked me up! It neatly sums up everything that web designers love about Internet Explorer. I want one for the office wall...

Spam you? I don’t even know you!

I’m more than slightly disturbed by the amount of ‘bounced’ emails that are returning back to my ‘generic’ email address.
The reason that I find this more than slightly disturbing is that I never sent the originating message. I don’t use this address to send email. The ‘generic’ email address is for generic enquiries. Nothing more. I reply to genuine enquiries from my personal email address. I only ever send email form my personal email address. So you see my dilemma. If I never sent the originating message, why am I getting bounce-backs as undeliverable?

It's all down to those pesky ‘spambots’, of course. Unfortunately, while I've taken every care, it would seem that one of the little bastards has harvested the address. I don't know how or when this happened but my generic address is ‘out there’. And now that it is ‘out there’, like all things on the Internet, it’s very hard to take it back.

So what can I do about it?

I had a spam problem a few years back which got beyond a joke. In the end I thought I would knock the problem on the head once and for all. So I took all contact email addresses from our website. I disabled the contact form (replacing it with a very clear explanation as to why I had taken this action and underlining this with my personal view of all spammers and all things spam). And, as I had already predicted would happen, all this did was turn the website from a point of dialogue to a monologue. Our message was still out there but I had effectively removed the most important part of the interactive experience of our website. It did mean that the spambots weren’t able to put their crap out through our contact form but this benefit was completely outweighed by the fact that potential clients were no longer able to contact me through the website.

When you are visiting a website you're already in ‘online’ mode. Chances are, given the choice of a form or email link you’ll click either over a telephone number (unless, of course, you were looking for a telephone number in the first place).

About the only thing I can think of this time round is to change this particular email address. This would mean, of course, that any business stationery that carries this generic address would need to be updated. I may yet do this. But, unfortunately, it won’t ever stop the spam. Although it will stop me getting the bounce-back...

Anyway, what I'm really trying to say is if you got spam emails from mhdesign.co.nz it wasn't me. And it wasn’t anybody else. Really!

FIREFOX eats INTERNET EXPLOITER!

I HATE IE! Yep, I’ve said it before, and along with hundreds of others I’ll no doubt say it again... Why do we develop Standards-Compliant websites that work in all ‘standard’ browsers, and then develop separate stylesheets or an arcane series of ‘hacks’ and workarounds to try to make our pages render sensibly in the Microsoft’s non-standard Internet Explorer browser?

Because far too many people believe Microsoft when they say that they control 135.48% of the web browser market, and can therefore call the shots regarding what passes for ‘standard’ on the internet. Their arrogance is breathtaking.

To be fair, Microsoft isn’t all bad. They did bale Apple out in the 1990s and the latest version of IE is a definite improvement on earlier efforts. But there are still far too many old versions of IE in daily use out there, from the why-don’t-my IE-hacks-work-like-they-used-to IE7 to the absolutely non-standard stuff-you-we’re-Microsoft IE6 and the plain awful IE5.

The main reason IE has such a stranglehold is that it comes bundled as part of Microsoft’s ubiquitous Windows OS, and Windows users simply don’t think of upgrading to something better. There’s a lot to be said for an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality. However this is overlooking the fact that IE is (always was) seriously “broke”.

which is why this graphic I came across today really took my fancy.

For crying out loud people, do yourself a favour and download Firefox! It’s miles better than any version of IE, it actually works and displays websites they way they’re meant to look – and even better, it’s absolutely, 100% FREE!

The dangers of Content Managed (CMS) Websites

Today I read an online article about the dangers of relying on a Content Management System (CMS) driven website to present your business to the web world and potential clients therein. It gave me something to think about. My initial view was that the article would be all about online security, hacking attacks and the like but, in fact, it was really about design and content integrity.

The thing is, setting up a content-managed website nowadays is not the huge financial expense that it once was. There are some great off-the-shelf CMS packages out there now such as Jooma!, WordPress and even New Zealand’s SilverStripe. There are a wide range of template designs available, many for free and others at a nominal cost. There are free blog services (yes, even blogspot.com) which are easy to use and can even be configured to connect through individual domain names. So why do we need to hire web designers? What’s to prevent your average small or mid-sized business downloading one of these packages and uploading the contents to a hosting server or opening a blogspot account, setting all the necessary passwords and permissions and publishing their own web content?

While the obstacles of designing and coding a website can be effectively bypassed, there are still definite security concerns when using an off-the-shelf CMS. The very fact that these packages can be downloaded and easily configured means that hackers can also download copies and look for ‘xploits’ – weaknesses in the code that can be exploited to enable the hacker to take control of installed copies of the software. The companies that write the CMS packages are constantly on the watch for this kind of activity and, as is common practice for software companies, release patches and updates to address new security concerns. However if a site is running on an older version CMS it is are potentially at risk. Do the site owners have the technical smarts to upgrade the CMS to the latest version without losing site content? And if they are running third-party extensions to add functionality to their site, are these compromising the integral security of the site? Are these extensions the latest and most secure versions?

Security concerns aside there are also design concerns. Is there a template available that fits in with the company image and branding? Can the company logo be displayed on the site pages, and can it be displayed ‘correctly’ (note: there is much more to this than simply having the logo appear on a page)? Are the colours a match to brand identity? What about typography? How many other individuals in cyberspace are using the same template? How much time is it going to take to do this work (in business nothing is ever ‘free’), and who is available to do it? Could their time be better utilised? And above all, how many design compromises should be made in the interest of having a ‘free’ website design?

It is here, of course, that the web or graphic designer comes into play. An industry professional can design a website that addresses these concerns for a one-off fee, and connect it to an easy-to-use CMS. They will include the company’s brand identity and logo, taking into account design considerations such as clearspace, typography, use of web-safe colour matches to brand colours, and introducing the special touches that embellish and enhance a brand and make the website a unique and logical extension of the brand. They can be contracted to provide site hosting, take care of security and keep the CMS version up to date. And the business owner can take it from there.

There are other considerations, however. The integrity of site content is every bit as important as the integrity of the CMS or the site design. Writing for the web is an art in itself, it is different to other written forms of communication. Web content should be split in to small, easy to read ‘chunks’. It is often less formal than heavyweight corporate documentation. It should be written in the same ‘voice’ - consistent use of language and written style. And, perhaps most importantly, it should contain keywords and phrases that help in search engine queries.

Site owners editing or changing these keywords and phrases can adversely affect search engine results. Careless editing by inexperienced persons can result in uneven or irregular formatting and paragraph spacing. Images might be uploaded that are ‘cheesy’ stock images used elsewhere that are inappropriate to the visual integrity of the site or that are simply too large (in terms of file size and download times) to display well. New site content should always be checked against the rest of the site to ensure that the writing style and language match it is in keeping with published content. Is the meaning of the content still clear or has it been compromised by excessive jargon or stock industry phrases? Is the subject matter clearly, simply and completely explained? And finally, there’s also grammar to be checked and the essential spelling checks to be made.

Any shortcuts in these areas can result in the design and content integrity of the website being compromised, with the initial investment in the site being drastically reduced. The site simply doesn’t perform as well as it should. It loses value as time passes. And eventually it becomes worthless. Worse still, in time it can actually work against it’s owner. Badly-designed and badly-maintained sites diminish the owner’s credibility with potential clients.

That’s not to say that I am opposed to Content-Managed sites at all. In fact CMS systems are a great tool that enables the site owner to keep their site fresh and current – always important when publishing information online. But appropriate care needs to be taken when site owners assume responsibility for site content.

Finally, it always pays to keep the site designer on-side to perform special tasks that might be slightly outside the ordinary. And get them to periodically audit site content as a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ to ensure that everything is still on track!

CMS or static pages? You decide!

What do you want from your website?

No, really. Do you want an online brochure that presents your company and its services? Are you more interested in featuring current news and events? Are you planning to frequently update your content? Perhaps most importantly, do you have the necessary skills?

Many people would say that a website should include a Content Management System (CMS). These websites can have all the latest features, blogs, RSS feeds, etc plus an administration console where a site administrator can edit or add content to the site. Sounds great, doesn’t it? No HTML or coding knowledge required! With one of these sites you can do your own updates and there’s no need to go back to your designer or web developer everytime you want to change something.

However it pays to be careful. Having a database-driven website can open the door to all manner of security issues, not the least of which is having someone ‘inject’ malicious code into your database, corrupting it and allowing them administration access to your files. How would you cope if this happened? Who is responsible for backup and restoration of your data and how often is this done? What do you know about site security? If your site uses a complex CMS with lots of features, do you have the knowledge to operate it properly?

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not opposed to Content Managed websites at all. I build and administer both static-content and CMS sites and can see that CMS interfaces are a great way for site owners to maintain their own websites. But each CMS is different and they’re often a ‘one size fits all’ solution. If you stick to creating and editing text content, fine. But if you have a need that’s even slightly outside the scope of what the site is capable of, you’re stuck. Unless you can find a workaround (which usually involves a bit of old-fashioned HTML know-how).

If you’re not into constantly updating your web content and you want a stable site that can’t be compromised with the flexibility to modify pages to look the way you want them to, good ol’ HTML, with a smattering of CSS, can still be the best way to go!

Blogging – the voice of someone shouting in the desert?

Why do people start blogs? Why do they spend time updating them? Does anybody even read them?

It really depends on the purpose of the Blog. Sometimes this is obvious – the blog is a commentary on the interests, or even, shall we say, professional interests of the writer. These blogs can include comments on politics, sports or media. ‘Professional’ blogs can also include examples of work, or tutorials on specialised subjects. The value of these blogs, of course, is directly proportional to the experience and skill of the writer.

Does a Blog need to be on a single subject? Not necessarily. Blogs are often written spontaneously and often include subject matter that, in the opinion of the author, is topical or simply seems to be a ‘good idea at the time’. However it’s important to remember that whatever is posted on the internet has the potential to be around for a very long time. Once your thoughts are out there in the public domain there’s no taking them back. It’s also a good idea to label your posts so that readers can follow your material by topic. Relevance is also important!

Does presentation, grammar and spelling matter? Well, as an aspiring Blog author, do you wish to be taken seriously? Why do you think so many online Blogging applications include a spell-checker? Enough said.

What happens once your post is ‘out there’? People should normally have the opportunity to comment with their views on your post. Should you moderate comments before they appear? Absolutely. Should you remove comments that contradict your view? Never. Moderation is about separating the spam from comments but one of the key ideas behind blogging is open lines of communication between writer and audience. Remember you always have the right of reply. But before you flambé some ignorant imbecile take a deep breath, try to stay on topic and be objective. Blogs are not the place for ‘flame wars’. Once again remember, once it’s published you can’t take it back!

Will a Blog help my business? Hard to say. What a Blog will do is give a human face to the person (or people) behind the business. Blogging can present a person as an expert in their field. It also gives business owners another opportunity to interact with customers or potential customers.

Will a Blog replace a business website? Unlikely. A professionally-designed website is still the best way to present a business, together with it’s products and services. While a well-designed Blog should complement a business website it should not attempt to replace it.

New image lightbox gallery online

Visitors to our website mhdesign.co.nz may have noticed the updated illustration gallery. While I'm still working on new content, I have improved the interface from a CSS/Javascript popup to an easier-to-use 'lightbox' format.

A quick search on the internet led me to Lokesh Dhakar's Lightbox2 JavaScript application. Lightbox2 is easy to install and configure. Thanks Lokesh!

Flash 8 in 24 hours?

Well, perhaps a little bit longer than 24 hours. I've been using Macromedia Flash for some years now, though I've always been too pressed for time to look into its more advanced features. But, having had a little more time than usual on my hands lately, I found the aforementioned book in the Library and am working my way through it.

If you want to learn how to get the best from Flash I thoroughly recommend this book. Phillip Kerman does a great job taking you through from simple animations to more advanced topics and while he only scratches the surface of what can be achieved with Actionscript (this is a 24 hour course, remember?) I know a lot more about Flash 8 now than I did before!

I've looked at Flash books before but this has to be the best one I've found. Check it out or visit the author's website www.phillipkerman.com