Web Design and Drupal Development Blog

In my opinion the best way to keep up-to-date with industry news or what's going on in general is either with Twitter or an RSS feed reader. I use NetNewsWire on my iMac, iBook, iPhone and now iPad. It's a great app and one I use every day.

The only problem being is that I follow so many blogs, last count 60, is that it can be a struggle to keep the number of unread posts at a reasonable level. I'm probably not the only person who feels like this but the sight of 900 unread posts makes my heart sink!

I took the job, yes I used to see it as a job, of reading these posts quite seriously, keeping abreast of the latest goings on in the blogosphere, that was until I got the iPad.

To take a quick step back I used to open up NetNewsWire on my iPhone or laptop to read posts, mainly to get away from my main machine to stop my legs from thinking they were no longer needed! 

Yes that's right, I have an iPad, I can't quite believe it myself, I'm keeping up with the Fry's of this world!

This time last week I was only dreaming about getting one when they eventually come out here in the UK, luckily for me a great client was off to NYC to get their hands on one and managed to snaffle a second. Even better than that is the fact he didn't then put it straight on Ebay but instead offered it to me for a reasonable amount :o)

So enough of the fawning over actually owning one and on to the business of reporting my first impressions, which are blinking brilliant. Mainly because if you blink you miss it, the speed of the iPad is one of its stand out features.

The Basics

Speed is definitely of the essense when it comes to the iPad and start up doesn't disappoint. Opening and closing apps is as quick and efficient as you could ask for. Battery life so far is good although I haven't used it non stop yet!

Your website is live, people are visiting and interacting, you're probably thinking that's it surely, show me the money! Whether you're running an ecommerce or a regular business site, getting it live takes time, content creation, site designed and built, so when all this is complete it means the hard work is done, right?!

Wrong, I'm afraid to say that anyone can get a website live, via free services, diy or paying a web development company to do the work for you. But I'm afraid this only sets the foundations of your online business, poor foundations can have long lasting effects. However, how you build on top of these will develop your online presence into either an also ran, or a market leader!

I sometimes hear from clients that they are not getting the results they expected from their new website. I then have to reiterate that a website can develop from very little effort or promotion, but if in a competitive niche, more time and energy is required.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) has taken a battering over the years from web developers due to it not supporting key web standards. The added work to get a website displaying correctly in IE6 can prove a real headache and one of the main reasons why we want it banished.

In recent weeks Google has criticised its' lack of security and blamed the loophole that allowed China based hackers to attack them squarely at the foot of IE6. Subsequent to this even the German and French governments have requested their citizens should switch from using the browser.

As of the first of this month Google started phasing out support for IE6 as stated in their modern browsers for modern applications blog post.

Starting a blog can be difficult, especially if you're still unsure exactly what a blog is or how to use it for your business!

I want to first allay any fears that you have to spend hours every day blogging or tweeting on Twitter (micro blogging) in order to make it worthwhile. This isn't the case, a good blog doesn't need to be updated daily but rather when you do blog, make a concerted effort, no one wants to read a hash of a post!

So let's get started and by the end of this post I guarantee you'll be wanting to start blogging for your business straight away!

Blogging for Business Basics

What is a blog?
A blog is an online journal which many use to share personal information but in this instance we're using it for business. You've probably read a blog without even realising it, whether it be a journalist on the BBC News website or clothing retailer, personal opinion or experience has the ability to grab interest.

The picture to the left is of our latest recruit, Toffee, a deaf Jack Russell, from the Last Chance rescue centre in Edenbridge, Kent. She's a funny thing, preferring company and someone's lap to chasing a ball in the park!

Having had her 3 weeks now and getting used to her needs we've adapted our style of communication to compensate for her lack of hearing, although sometimes I get the feeling she's only playing deaf so she can ignore us!

This got me thinking about how your website should not just be designed to help the visually impaired, by for instance making sure your images have alternative or ALT text to describe the image to be read by screen readers. But also for those people who think in a different way. What do I mean by this?

Bia Brazil and Margarita fitness wear are two of the top designer ladies gym wear specialists from Brazil. We have been lucky enough to work with one of an exclusive number of retailers in the UK, Daisy Fitness, to produce a website to show their range of stylish workout wear.

The fitness wear from both Bia Brazil and Margarita are made form Supplex® by DuPont, the latest technical fabric to be used in workout wear. Daisy Fitness were eager to have an ecommerce website that displayed the quality and style of these designers, we hope you enjoy the result.