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 For the past several years I have been programming websites almost exclusively in PHP programming language. Before that my primary web language was Coldfusion.
I have to say, when I learned Coldfusion (CF) I was just starting out in dynamic data. Just a “Green Newb”. So from the standpoint of a novice, it was a great language to learn on. CF taught me, in an easy to learn fashion, some of the fundamentals of displaying dynamic content on the web. Things like:
- Processing online forms
- Working with variables and session data
- Connecting with a database
- Tracking user activity
- Displaying content based on user page activity
- And much more
However, several years ago I was forced (by circumstances beyond my control) to move on into PHP. So after about 2 months of exclusively using PHP for website content, I was hooked and couldn’t go back.
What I learned very quickly is that CF and PHP share basically the same principals of data flow, but the main difference is that Coldfusion is primarily a tag based inline language. It mingles itself right along side of the HTML tags. So you’ll see code that looks like…
<table>
<cfloop query=”mydata”>
<tr><td>#name_of_data#</td></tr>
</cfloop>
</table>
PHP, on the other hand, is typically processed in a different location completely and then the specific data chunks are pulled in and displayed on the page. It might look something like this…
<?php include(‘processing code from a different page’); ?>
<table>
<?php echo $tableContents; ?>
</table>
I have to say, I really like PHP. When I try to go back and program using Coldfusion I find it difficult to get some of the processes that I do all the time in PHP to work in CF. Working with arrays, for example, is somewhat clunky and difficult. PHP just seems much sleeker and powerful in general.
I think one of the real reasons I like PHP better than Coldfusion is that it is FREE and community run. Sort of an open source type framework. So people are constantly contributing and making it better. CF is owned by Adobe. And while I really like Adobe products in general, CF simply doesn’t have the support base that PHP does.
So my conclusion… If you don’t know anything about dynamic data and want to learn how to interact with a database, display dynamic content, work with variables, etc… Coldfuson is a terrific option. I highly recommend it. But at some point CF will begin to feel too small for you. You’ll start to see some of the limitations. From there you’ll probably want to expand out to something else PHP, ASP, JAVA, C++, etc.
They’re both very good. PHP just seems to be more usable overall to me.
 Use the “Color Index” book and get it right every time
I find that when creating a layout for a client, they often have a certain primary color they want to use. Sometimes that’s accompanied by a secondary color. But rarely am I given more than 2 colors to work with and often I get suggestions like “Well, I really like purples and reds”. But as you can imagine this isn’t really very helpful in trying to come up with an overall color scheme.
Occasionally the client will give me a color logo or some other printed material which I can then take some color clues from. But then there are times when I simply draw a blank and don’t know even where to start.
When we consider that we need color settings for the fonts, the header graphics, any logos, links, visited links, text headers, and other detail design elements, we need more than just one or two colors to choose from. The last thing we want is a monochrome looking layout (at least by accident). And the other last thing we want are hideous colors that completely clash with each other and make visitors feel uneasy about being there.
What do you do in those cases where more colors are needed than what you have at your disposal? Grab the Color Index book by Jim Krause of course. This unique book boasts over 1100 color combinations for setting exactly the right tone for your project. I have to say, this book has saved my neck more than once and often sets me in the right design direction. Color is so important in the scope of the project.
For a web designer the Color Index is a must have. For each color combination it shows both the CMYK and RGB values for the colors represented. Truly a handy guide for both web and print media.
The book is one in a series of books that include: The Color Index 2, Layout Index, Idea Index, Type Index, Design Basics Index, Photo Idea Index, and perhaps more. All of which I’m sure are very helpful. If they are anything like the original Color Index, they are absolutely remarkable.
I highly recommend the Color index if you have any reason to be matching colors. Period.
 Moodle Classroom Once you “Moodle” you’ll be hooked!
One of my first projects in the Open Source world of software was installing and configuring MOODLE for a client. When I came onto the project (several years ago) I was largely unfamiliar with the whole free distribution program concept anyway. And I was certainly not up to speed on this piece of software. I had never heard of Moodle, I had never installed it, never used it, didn’t even know it existed. Boy was I in for a big surprise. A pleasant surprise.
So what is it? Why would anybody want Moodle anyway?
Moodle is a classroom on the web. Essentially it is designed for organizations or individuals who want to teach, offer courses, test their students, offer grading, allow for student interaction, and much more. This is a complete out-of-the-box solution for any educational or testing Endeavour.
Moodle has configurable options for the following features.
- Site Management – design, look and feel, languages, master email settings, adding more plug-ins, etc
- User Management – tracking of student progress, courses enrolled, courses yet to complete, profile settings, permission to access certain parts of the site, etc.
- Enrollment – restricted access to parts of the course(s), cross course user access management
- Course Management
- Assignments and tracking and student upload for assignment completion
- Online chat for inter-classroom conversation
- Configurable polls for research and general feedback
- User Forums for news, class discussions, posting photos or other collaboration materials
- Online Glossary where definitions can be created and discussed
- Lesson Module – The core of the online classroom including course pages, grading, progress bar, timers, and much more
- Quizzes – completely configurable quizzes can be created for each course or topic with multiple choice, T/F, numeric, and essay type answers. Scores are recorded and tracked for both the student and the teacher to review.
- Resource Module – a storage place for electronic content like Word docs, PDFs, Flash, video, audio, and more. Available to students according to the teacher’s desired settings.
- Surveys – feedback from students
- WIKI – web pages that anyone can edit (on a course by course basis)
- Workshop Module – Peer assessment of documents with teacher oversight.
- And More…
These are a ton great features that come standard with Moodle. But don’t worry. You don’t need to use them all to be effective. You can install Moodle and simply add the individual modules as needed. I know people who use Moodle just for the testing ability alone.
But the single greatest feature of Moodle in my opinion is the ‘Enrollment’ process. This can be as restricted as you desire. And there’s no limit to the number of courses you can offer. So for example you can offer one course for free and have another course (in the same installation) for $350. The enrollment cost can either be collected through your Moodle installation OR you can sell the enrollment key(s) through a shopping cart on a completely different site. It’s very flexible and very powerful.
Installation is not super easy though. You do have to know a little programming, but once it’s up and running… there’s no end to the classroom possibilities. And you can configure your courses with no programming knowledge
 For more detailed information on the features inside Moodle and what it has to offer, go here: http://docs.moodle.org/en/Features
To have Moodle professionally installed, contact AboutWD: http://aboutwd.com
If you have tried Moodle in the past, please let me know what you think of it. Leave a comment.
 You need a database Do I really need a database for my website?
In most cases the answer is YES. I can think of only a few websites that don’t use database these days. Many have more than one. And it’s not uncommon to have 5 or 10 or more all running at the same time on the same website.
If your goal is to show a couple pictures and display some text, then No you don’t need a database. But if that is the extent of your online goals, you probably aren’t going to be overwhelmingly successful either.
Here are some things to think about in regards to using a database in your website.
OUTGOING INFORMATION
The great thing about a databases is that they can take your website to a completely new level. Not only can you store and manage your entire site’s content in a database, you can organize it and display that content in completely interactive ways.
Example #1: Contextual Content. One thing I love to do is have images and ads in various places of a web page that change depending on the page topic, month of the year, how long the person has been on the site, or what pages the person has already seen on the site. For example, once the person has visited 5 or 6 pages on the site I may want to start showing them a 20% off coupon in the side bar. The only way to track and implement this kind of activity effectively is with a database.
Example #2: Minimize the work. I have built websites before that use only one page. The HOME page. The links in the navigation bar don’t lead to any other page, they simply lead back to the home page. The difference in this case is that each link tells the database to show a different block of content on the home page. The person visiting the site doesn’t know the difference. It looks like they are physically changing pages. But the page is actually pulling it’s information dynamically from the database. The site now is completely unlimited in what is can display. This one page site can now easily display 1000+ pages worth of content with not one additional HTML page being constructed. The content can be changed at any time, pages can be added or deleted, and the navigation structure is updated instantly. And it can be updated from anywhere in the world.
Example #3: Responsive links. One of my favorite features that I’ve created is a hit counter for each individual navigation link on the site. The navigation bar was set up to look at the hit count and display the links in popularity order. So as people browsed the site the links would float around to reveal the most popular link(s). The links that people most often visit became the top of the navigation and the ones that people didn’t care so much about sank to the bottom. This had amazing results and actually provided a ton of information about our visitors and their interests.
I could come up with dozens more examples of uses for databases and ‘dynamic’ content. Here are a few. Auto-responder series, test taking, student management, calendars, work schedules, shopping carts (of course), golf tallies, sports ‘winning’ team selectors, online polls, online registrations, application collection and SO much more.
INCOMING INFORMATION
Websites are incredibly interactive. To be successful we have to change our thinking about what they are capable of. Not only can you provide information and services TO your visitors, you can also gather highly valuable information FROM them. There’s literally no end to the things web surfers will give you. They’ll give you all sorts of video (YouTube), expertise (countless forums), opinions (blogspot), audio (iTunes), etc. It’s your job as a website owner to be able to get that information from them.
That’s were a database comes in. Once you get information from your visitors, you need a way to store it, and then more importantly you need a way to organize and retrieve the content. A database makes that easy. Once you know the needs of your web visitors, you’ll be able to provide even better products and services to them.
Here are some common things that databases are used for. (This is not an exhaustive list. There are countless uses for a database)
- Email mailing list
- User forums
- Incoming contact requests and information
- Booking and reservations
- Automatic email series
- Hit counters
- Gathering visitor statistics
- And so many more…
If you are thinking about setting up a website, you may want to take a few minutes and think about how a database can make your life easier. You can easily turn your new website into a tool that will work hard for you 24/7 rather than just a cute display of flashy graphics. A database can be just what you need to accomplish that.
Being in the web site construction business, I talk with people about their websites all the time. One of the most common statements I hear is “I want a ‘knock your socks off’ cool website that really looks good”. To which I reply “Of course – I can do that!”. But in reality what they’re wanting is VERY different than what they’re saying.
So I set out making an awesome looking site for this client only to find out that their REAL goal is to increase profits by making online sales, NOT having a flashy design. Having a great looking site and having a search engine friendly “selling machine” are two very different things.
Now, I’m not saying that you can’t have both a good looking site and a site with great selling potential at the same time. That’s entirely possible. I’m simply suggesting that before starting the important task of constructing an online presence, perhaps we should do some serious soul searching to find out what your real goals are. Here’s why…
There are three areas that are absolutely critical to the success of a website.
- The design. Yes you DO need a good looking website or you won’t be taken seriously by your site visitors. First impressions and company credibility rely heavily on the quality of your site’s design.
- Visibility. Most often that means search engine marketability. If people can’t find you, your site might as well not be on the web at all.
- The “close-ability”. Can your site deliver the goods, service, or information that the visitor needs? AND are those visitors becoming buyers, subscribers, users, or whatever else your goals might be.
The person that comes to me and says “I need an ultra-cool site” is often ignoring number two and three on the list. I can only think of one or two examples where the LOOK is the only thing that is important in a website. Usually visibility and close-ability are as important, if not more important factors in the end.
So the question remains do I need a great design? Or will an average look be fine? Here’s my suggestion. Great design is fine, and even recommended. But never sacrifice your internet visibility and ability to close sales in order to just have a trendy look. If you have unlimited funds to invest, well then, have it all and live large with the biggest and best of everything. But for the rest of us, we need to be smart about it and maybe decide to spend less of our resources on the raw design (and having cool little flashy thingies all over) and more on the usability or online marketing. That’s were you typically see true results.
Balance is the key.
 XOBNI - Outlook Plug-in Happy new year! I’m starting off this new year with a post about something I use constantly.
Imagine knowing how many times a certain person has emailed you. Or perhaps what hour of the day most of your emails come in from a particular client. Think about being able to actually see the face of people you have never met before as their picture is pulled automatically from their Facebook account and displayed right there in Outlook.
What if you could have instant access to every email and attachment from a person and have them all arranged and sorted by ’conversation’. How about being able to know in an instant who emails you the most and who you respond to the quickest on average.
Picture yourself hitting “SEARCH” and a list of emails INSTANTLY appears (no waiting 5 minutes for a simple email search).
Introducing XOBNI (“Inbox” spelled backwards.) The all-in-one plug-in for Outlook. It is the perfect solution for all those little (and big) tidbits of information you can’t get from outlook.
I have used XOBNI (the free version) for about a year and really like it. I have gone through several version upgrades and each one gets more stable and feature rich. When I first downloaded it, XOBNI was in a sort of BETA stage and had a lot of bugs. Outlook would crash, the computer would hang up and function VERY slowly, the CPU resources would be completely used up by XOBNI’s indexing function. It had some problems.
However, despite my early struggles with XOBNI, I kept reinstalling it and trying to make it work. Once I started using it, I found that I was relying on it heavily for information not available anywhere else. I have to say that most of those bugs have been worked through. I still have a little trouble closing Outlook from time to time (Now fixed – see comments below). But I’m sure that will be fixed with the next update and the usefulness of this free program far outweighs the little inconveniences that sometimes occur.
Download XOBNI here.
Try it out and then be sure and let me know what you think.
 Open Source WordPress Free is a very good price.
I have used open source web programs for years. Everything from Linux to OSCommerce to WordPress blogs (like this one). So I decided to list my top 5 favorite Open Source installations.
Thanks guys for these great products.
5. OSCommerce (Link) – PHP based. This has been a great shopping cart system. I have installed it many times and it works awesome. NOTE: OSC is now out of date. They have been working on version 3 now for at least 2 years. I don’t know if this software will survive or not.
4. Spark Messenger (Link) – Fantastic inner office messaging system that is highly secure and doesn’t use an outside service.
3. PHPBB Forum (Link) – What a terrific, easy to install solution for a user forum. I highly recommend this Open source solution.
2. Magento Shopping cart (Link) – PHP based. This has been a great option for e-commerce web sites. It’s not easy to install and it’s not easy to customize. But once you dial the features in and work through all the little customization bugs, this is a fantastic, feature rich solution.
1. WordPress (Link) – PHP based. This blog is created from Wordpress. Thousands of design templates, easy to customize, easy to update. With each update this software keeps getting better and better. Way to go Wordpress.
I also suggest other software like Joomla, Drupal, PHPCoin, GIMP, LINUX, and many more. I plan to write more about these in the future but I wanted to mention the top 5 Open Source programs that I use most.
 Computer Space (1971) I’m surprised at how many people still think that simply putting up a website will increase the sales of their business. I meet new clients constantly who have never considered that just having a website is not enough.
Typically when I meet with any client the first thing I ask, once we’re into the meat of the conversation, is “How do you plan to get people to your site?” Seriously, 9 out of 10 people just stare at me like I’m not speaking English. I have to go on and explain… “Just because you HAVE a site, doesn’t mean people will go there”. I would never make fun of my clients regarding this. I know deep down that I am the expert, not them, and that is why they called me in the first place. But I’m still amazed that they have never thought that through.
Personally, the more I design and construct websites, the more I realize that it’s a two part system.
- Design – The seriousness of a company will definitely be reflected in the calibre of their website. First impressions are HUGE and a great design is a must for any business that wishes to succeed.
- Marketing – Just having a website is not enough. You have to convince people to go to your site. This is an art and takes time.
So unless you have thousands of dollars to “risk” in marketing (which may or may not work), the best thing to do is build a great looking website, optimize it for SEO ranking and then relax, be patient, and watch your numbers grow over time.
It’s like a garden. Plant, water, and be patient.
(I know… there’s more to it than just that. This is a pretty simplistic view. But I’ll get into that in future posts. Don’t worry.)
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About WD Based in beautiful Beaverton Oregon, About Web Design is a unique internet design and SEO company that specializes in constructing and maintaining medium to medium-large size websites.
Right now you are reading our blog, but our primary business website is located at: www.aboutwd.com
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