Paula G. Web Design

Just recently a major upgrade to one of the most popular browsers was released. Firefox 3  is now available (and of course remains free). There was also an upgrade to the browser Opera 9.5.

So, my question to you is — do you know for sure your website works in these new browsers? Whenever I launch a new website I always test it in Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 7.  There are definitely differences and if you’re not careful your site can end up looking, well, not quite like you hoped.

I wasn’t expecting Firefox 3 to pose any major challenges, since it is one of the most standards compliant browsers out there. Yet, I found, much to my chagrin as I was doing some developing that it was not working in Firefox.  Usually it is Internet Explorer that gives us web folks fits.  I ultimately resolved the problem but it got me wondering what else out there might be breaking.

That is when I stumbled upon a major website for my industry no longer works in Firefox.  Now this is a worldwide site used by thousands and thousands.  Suddenly none of the links on the home page work.  It works fine in Internet Explorer 7 but I am left stranded like a plane crash survivor when I try to use the site in Firefox.

As far as Internet Explorer is concerned, a new one is in the works. However, many people STILL aren’t using Internet Explorer 7, they stay stuck in the age of the dinosaur with Internet Explorer 6 which quite frankly has an unpleasant way with websites built properly according to current standards.  So, I can say that Leah MacLean took the words right out my mouth when she said on her blog this week:

In my book there is no reason for anyone to be using Internet Explorer 6 anymore (it is 7 year old technology)!! In fact if you or anyone you know still uses IE6 then let them know it is time to upgrade.  Even if they don’t want to move away from the Internet Explorer brand to a better browser like Firefox or Opera, then at least to Internet Explorer 7 (IE7).

Absolutely! It is free and will make your online life much easier.

As a business owner who wants a website that works for you, why should you care about web standards? I’m all about a plain English approach so while I don’t expect you to have to understand or navigate the world of standards, validators, and well written code, I do expect you to care about what’s under the hood.

Before I give you some hard and fast reasons why what’s under the hood of your website matters, let me give you an analogy to help you understand what I am talking about. Because, after all, if you’re an end user of a website, and not a programmer, it is possible that you have no idea what code standards are or how they could affect you.

Let’s say you are in the market to buy a new car. You want one that not only looks good but also feels good. You want safety, reliability, and to feel a sense of pride when you drive. Business has been good to you so you decide you are going to splurge and buy a new BMW. Nice! Those 3 letters say a lot. Now, let’s say that instead of going to a reputable dealer, you decide to buy it from a random friend. The papers are signed, and you’re all ready to drive away in your new piece of materialistic bliss. Off you go. Feels good to you. What no one told you though is that while it appears to look and feel good, in fact the engine was built by a 12 year old who had a class in machine shop and assembled all the parts according to a cliff notes guide he bought on eBay. Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re updating a blog, website, or sending out an email newsletter, one of the great things you can do to personalize your message and make it look good is by adding images. It doesn’t have to be difficult or complex, but you do need to edit and save them appropriately if you want them to look good and work well on the web and in email. That means no more:

• Funny cropped picture
• Incorrect file types
• Incorrectly resized photos that look horribly unprofessional
• Massively large image files that grind your email to a halt

Working with images can be a career unto itself. Many fancy software programs exist for experts to do magical things. However, for the average person it is total overkill. For those quick do it yourself situations consider using a tool like Google Picasa. It is free and easy to use for your most basic image tasks. Read the rest of this entry »

Technology comes flying by us at crazy speeds. While we sleep at night it seems like little gremlins are out there toiling away creating new and often better things for us. Perhaps it’s just the fact that so much development (especially in the open source community) is done globally that makes it seems like no one sleeps. Either way, we are each faced almost weekly with the question Shakespeare never got to ask “To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade?”.

Even though web standards don’t change frequently (that’s why they are foundational, right?) the other goodies that help make our websites and online marketing run do change. An example of that is the recent announcement of the new 2.5 version of the popular blogging platform Wordpress .

So, let’s use this new Wordpress release as an example. Should you run right out an upgrade? Read the rest of this entry »

Often times clients will come to me frustrated and at the end of their rope because the formatting of text in their blog posts or web updates is all askew. Or, they might be working with PayPal (or other shopping cart) and find that their “Buy Now” buttons don’t work when they cut and paste them into their site.

The solution is often very simple, but unless you have an intimate knowledge of working with computers, text, and code, it would never even cross your mind. In fact, I can remember the first time I did some web programming about 12 years ago and no matter what I did it wouldn’t work. Was it my code? Nope. It was the way I was handling the text.

In a nutshell … Don’t use Microsoft Word to cut and paste any text on blogs or your website. Feel free to use Word to write your articles and compose, but you need to take an intermediary step before you post it to the web. Why?

Microsoft Word often inserts stray hidden characters or dirty code behind the scenes that makes everything go awry when browsers and blogging software interpret the text. Read the rest of this entry »