Making Websites Work

Linux vs Windows

2008-07-23 18:53:21

When I started Oxford Webware in 2002, my experience with websites had been very Microsoft-centric. That is to say, my programming language had been Visual Basic, moving on to C#, against a backdrop of various Windows operating systems. Linux intrigued me, but I didn't know if I would take to it.

The process of finding fast, cost-effective hosting for customers meant that we tried out Linux hosting and PHP, the standard web programming language on Linux at the time, and now perhaps THE standard web programming language.

Linux hosting meant finding out how to mess with all sorts of settings files, examine log files using the command line, etc., grimacing but all the time knowing that there's no graphical user interface (in the case of our web servers) hogging processor time.

The downside of Windows has definitely been memory hogging by Windows applications, and the occasional service pack or security downloads killing innocent bystanders (like the MySQL database) in its wake.

Using Linux, though, means not being able to use c#, a most thorough and elegant language with a very well organised library of supporting functions.

So we do Windows and Linux, and we love it.

A new WYSIWYG editor for web

2008-07-21 04:25:45

We've been using FCKEditor for some time now, and we were very pleased to come across TinyMCE (http://tinymce.moxiecode.com/), a simple, highly-configurable and very clean editor from Moxiecode systems.

The editor is very easy to install - see the code here - http://wiki.moxiecode.com/examples/tinymce/installation_example_00.php - and just replaces all textareas with the editor tool (or named text areas if you prefer).

Getting Ideas

2008-07-11 08:21:32

Good designers need to continually search out places which will encourage the percolation of new ideas.

Do you ever look at a brief and think 'i don't know what to do'?

If you find yourself churning out one design after another with no other visual stimuli than your computer screen and office walls then it's time to get out there.

Of course design is everywhere. In the 21st century we are saturated by images. They whirl towards us in a storm of images as we walk down the street, stand at the bus stop, contemplate whether it's a normal latte, a skinny latte or a frothy caramel topped seasonal cappuccino day.

You don't even need to leave the house to find them as they pour through our letter boxes, shout at us from our zillions of tv channels or swoosh down our broadband connections.

The advantage of this immersion by image in our culture is that we are getting better and better at thinking visually. Practising mental visual gymnastics everyday by looking, seeing, and thinking means our responses to signs and advertisements and promotions is getting faster. So the designer can in turn develop their own ideas to create work which is more subtle, more thoughtful and more interesting as they know that there ideas will be met by an audience with a strong visual insight.

However there is also the danger of a complete visual shut down. Image fatigue.

It is a battle in this climate to create new innovative work which will stand out in all the good and the bad.

Vivienne Westwood's methods are an inspiration to me as her work is kept fresh and provocative because she feeds her mind with art - cycling around london visiting art galleries and museums finding influence from pictures in the National art library and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

As designers we can't stand still expecting our inspiration to rest solely on what passes infront of our eyes on the way to and back from work, taking whatever happens to fall into our laps.

We need to work at finding new and interesting sources for inspiration to keep our work fresh and innovative; to think about new ways of cutting through the visual clutter that surrounds us.

Clare

The help and the hindrance of Content Management

2008-07-09 04:54:51

Content Management is a fantastic tool for adding menu items, news, and other content to your website. But is it always helpful?

One problem with coming to content management from the traditional perpective of word processing and desktop publishing tools is that not everything translates.

There are some great tools for entering WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) type text into browser-based content management tools - FCK being the most prominent and most advanced (http://www.fckeditor.net/). However, HTML is not the same as the print formatting you get in word processing and desktop publishing tools, so users can get frustrated with even simple things like spacing and bullet points.

The ideal way to manage website content is to keep it very simple - and if items do need formatting in a particular way, or you need tables or unusual diagrams to be inserted - then use a web designer/developer to build a web page for you. They'll know how it's going to look on different web browsers, and how to keep it standardised and in keeping with the rest of the website.

How can a website reflect a business?

2008-07-03 05:15:03

Nearly everyone knows by now that most people who interact with an organisation on a meaningful level (i.e. any deeper than buying a low-cost commodity) will check out that organisation's website.

This of course includes customers, suppliers, staff, shareholders, and many other groups of people.

Sometimes without knowing it, these people are judging the organisation by its website.

So one way in which a website should reflect a business is by appearing as professional and trustworthy as the business itself.

But more than that, a website should reflect the processes of the business.

If customers buy from you, is there a way for them to do this (or to learn about it) on the website?

If you offer customer support, can the website help?

If your staff interact with customers, can they use the back end of the website to process those interactions? And so on.

Every time a business process is put in place, thought should be given to how that could be mapped onto the website.

Whenever this happens, there are potential savings in time and money, and potential benefits in terms of reaching audiences.