Entries from 2011
WordPress, Why Do You Mock Me?
When installing WordPress there is one thing that always bothers me. If you look at your blog page after the installation process the tagline is set to "Just another WordPress site." I would imagine the WordPress developers didn't mean anything by it, but the message isn't very welcoming. [Continue reading]
Finding Keywords Quickly on Web Pages with Ctrl + F
When visiting websites, there's a good chance that you're looking for something specific. You may come across pages that look promising, but after an initial scan, you might not see the keywords you're looking for. Instead of going somewhere else or attempting to look closer at the page, why don't you give Ctrl + F a whirl. [Continue reading]
Setting Your Timezone in WordPress
When setting up a WordPress blog, remember to double check the timezone setting. Last week I posted an article late in the evening on February 28, but was baffled to see the post was dated March 1. After a little investigation, it turns out I never indicated my timezone. So my posts have been several hours off since the beginning. [Continue reading]
Increasing Productivity with Keyboard Shortcuts: Opening Web Links
This last week I needed to make sure dozens of links worked as expected. Normally, I would just click the links, but for some reason the browser would jump to the top of the page after clicking the back button causing me to lose my place. Instead of opening them in the same window, I needed to find an alternative for testing links. [Continue reading]
Are Your Google Services Too Difficult to Find in the Recent Redesign
As website developers, we should look for ways to make using our websites more intuitive for visitors. They should be able to use our websites without needing to think about how to accomplish what they want to do. For example, if you use services like Google Docs, Google Analytics, Google Calendar, etc., you've probably noticed that Google redesigned the navigation bar across the top of https://www.google.com/. The problem is that the link which shows all the services you're signed up for is a little difficult to find. [Continue reading]
Facebook Pages for Organizations Now Easier to Manage Due to Recent Update
In late 2010, I began maintaining Facebook pages for a couple organizations. Managing pages is relatively simple in the early stages, but I feared how difficult it would get as we posted more and when visitors comment more often. Unlike personal pages, Facebook didn't tell us when someone comments on our page…until now. [Continue reading]
Security Issues with “You Are Now Leaving Our Website” Pages
If you've visited a government website, there's a good chance that you've seen the "You are now leaving our website" message. The message, as you have probably guessed, is displayed when a visitor clicks a link leading to an external website. Now I don't plan to discuss the validity of this technique, but the potential security risk if utilized incorrectly. [Continue reading]
Avoid Getting Overwhelmed by Initial Client Requests
Early in my career, I used to get a little overwhelmed by requests like "Can you create a new website and have it online by the end of the week?" My mind would race with everything that's potentially required to develop a website from scratch. I would need to mockup a design; get it approved; build a template based on the mockup; work with the client on the content; populate the template; etc… On top of that, I still need to develop for and maintain all of our existing websites. [Continue reading]
Developing a Simple Website Template with PHP
When developing websites it's always a good idea to look for ways to make the final product easier to maintain. For websites which contain more than a couple of pages, it can be a real time saver if you build them utilizing a template. [Continue reading]
Making it Easy for Visitors to Share Your Content with AddThis.com
With how common social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter are becoming, I wanted to make it easier for website visitors to share our (the organization I work for) content with their colleagues. Instead of developing my own solution, I decided to utilize AddThis.com, which provides a customizable widget that can be embedded within a website. According to their website, the widget currently allows visitors to share content with more than 300 services around the world. [Continue reading]
