May
21
Bishop Seal and Church Crest: 15% off during May & June
At One Source Graphics, we strive to combine artistic vision and creativity with technical proficiency and expertise.
We feel honored that you have considered us to create a Bishop Seal or Church Crest for your ministry. At One Source Graphics, we will listen intently to your vision and try to crystallize your vision to the absolute best of our abilities. Every job is custom-made and thoughtfully designed to best represent your vision and your ministry’s. To show our customer appreciation, we are offering 15% off Bishop Seals and Church Crests through out the months of May & June 2012.
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Feb
09
We have been building stacks of ecommerce (online shopping) sites lately and I often get asked about the options for taking payment. This post will hopefully provide a good overview of the main considerations for taking payment online.
Manual Methods
The first consideration is automatic vs. manual. If you are dealing with high cost low transaction products this won’t be your biggest concern. However some businesses that are based on high volume low cost products (think EBay sellers or electronic stores etc.) wouldn’t survive if they had to manually take payments to automated is a must. The 3 main options used here are:
[dropcap3 variation="primary_blue"]1[/dropcap3] Bank Deposit – When someone orders you generally show a message and send an email with your bank details. You keep an eye on your account and once the money comes in you update the status of the order from pending to confirmed and you ship the product.
[dropcap3 variation="primary_blue"]2[/dropcap3] Cheque – as above but you have to wait till you receive the cheque and till the cheque has cleared in your account before shipping the order – this will take even longer.
[dropcap3 variation="primary_blue"]3[/dropcap3] Manual credit card processing – this is where you take the customer’s credit card number (either directly on the site or over the phone) and you process it manually using a portable Eftpos machine or another system your bank has given you access to (such as an online merchants system). You don’t pay for a gateway to process the card but it’s still manual and it results in the order being in a state of ‘pending’ until you manually process the order. If it fails you have to call the customer and work out an alternative. Also see the comments below about an SSL Certificate which apply if you are taking credit card numbers on your site.
All of the options above require manual steps and they result in orders being in a state of ‘pending’ until money is confirmed sometime after purchase. There are implications for you in the work it takes to process orders and for customers in the extra delays while you process the orders. But of course the more choice you give people the better so you may have some customer who prefer to work this way and don’t want to use the automatic methods below. In addition there aren’t any direct transaction costs which do apply to using gateways (see below).
Automatic Methods – credit card payment gateways
The other main way to take money online of course is to use a payment gateway where the customer pays money (generally from a Credit card) during the process of ordering from you and therefore ends up with a completed transaction paid and ready for shipping when they leave your site. This all happens without you having to do anything. The 2 main ways payment gateways are used in ecommerce stores are:
[dropcap3 variation="primary_blue"]1[/dropcap3] A hosted service where the customer leaves your site and is taking off to the gateway site (such as PayPal), pays the money and is then returned to your site. The fact that they are hosted on a 3rd party site means you don’t have to be concerned about the security of taking credit card numbers on your site. However it also means the user is taken off to the 3rd party site and its a less enjoyable purchasing experience with more room for drop-out. With PayPal the usual process is the order will come into your site it will be marked pending and then the customer will go off to PayPal and pay the money and when they are returned from PayPal the order will be marked as confirmed.
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[color_box title="About the Author" variation="primary_blue"]Dan Norris
Dan is the Director of Web Circle and has been since the beginning.
Recent posts by Dan:
eCommerce Payment Gateway Options
Using Hootsuite to manage your social media accounts
Sending Automated Message to Twitter Followers
It’s Friday who needs a massage? Check out ineedamassage.com.au
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Feb
08
In order to design an effective web page, you must attack it in an organized fashion.
First, decide what the goals of the website are. For example, will your website advertise a product or service, inform the public, or serve as a blog for your personal musings.
Next, based on the goals, determine who your core web audience will be. Your web design should speak to your websites goals and drive traffic from your core audience to the site. Before you begin using any web design program, I recommend getting out a pen and several blank pieces of paper. On one piece of paper, draw out a tree structure, where each branch represents a different page on your web site. For example, you may start with your home page and then have a page that goes into more detail about the purpose of your website or provides contact information.
Look at the tree you have made and take a step back. Do you need more pages or have you overcomplicated the site with too many pages.
Make adjustments accordingly. Once you have identified all the potential pages in your website, consider how you will want your audience to navigate from page to page. Will you incorporate a tool bar that goes to each page or require the user to click links from one page or another? Consider if there are some pages where your audience will want to get to easily or more regularly versus pages that might contain only specialized information. Identify the most important pages and use those for your navigation.
Next, start by designing a template by drawing it on a piece of paper. The template will appear on every single page. At a minimum, it should include whatever navigation you have chosen for your site, along with an area for page content. The template will help serve as a guide for the look and feel of your page, so you may want to do several drafts.
Now that you have designed your template, start to build each page’s content. This may be a good time to start using web page design software. Remember to consider other people’s copyrights when designing your page. In other words, do not steal images or content from others. Once your page has been built, consider different ways to monetize it. Will you sell ads or search for sponsors? Or perhaps you just intend this to be a non-profit endeavor. These days there are many services that provide easy ways to make money on your website.
[color_box title="About the Author" variation="primary_blue"]Claire Jarrette
Claire is the number 1 ranked “AdWords Trainer” in Google worldwide. This is due to the fact she has been running courses the longest, and also runs more than any other training company.
Her company Marketing By Web offer AdWords Management and SEO throughout the UK.
Claire recorded her AdWords DVD set in 2008 which was recently brought totally up to date and released her book “Successful Google AdWords Strategies” in 2009. Her book is now sold worldwide via Amazon as well as at many smaller publishers.
She is a specialist in the SME market, one of the toughest markets to crack due to the small budgets involved, and difficulties in competing against larger clients.
Orignial Article[/color_box]
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Feb
04
Byfield, MA (PRWEB) July 29, 2010
Establishing a strong internet presence has become an essential marketing tool for businesses. Creating a website for any business, no matter how big or how small not only immediately establishes credibility but also provides access for customers to readily assess information about the business.
Even antidotal evidence supports the fact that a business website exponentially increased the visibility and revenue growth of a stay-at-home mom’s craft business when compared to a similar work-at-home-mom’s small jewelry craft business.
Building a Business Website Establishes an Internet Presence
Marketing research confirms that it isn’t necessarily the size of a business website, but the informational content that reassures the legitimacy of the business for customers.
Internet Entrepreneur and owner of Web-Site-Building-Tips.com Sue Dolan observes, “The public has developed an expectation that when they search online for a business, product or service they expect to find results quickly. It a business does not have an online presence then they are literally turning away countless potential customers.”
Sue Dolan explains, “A website for any business can be as simple as an online version of a brochure to highlight the scope of a business, provide contact information, and showcase products and/or services.”
Without question, too many small and independent business owners become stuck with the mechanics of how to go about establishing a website or they simply do not have the time to devote to learning how to build a website themselves. With a plethora of website design services to choose from, the confusion of business owners actually increases. It is important to select a website building service that has a proven track record for both designing a website that professionally showcases the company as well as serves as a vehicle to advertise business online.
Based upon years of research, Dolan agrees with web design professionals that identifying a reliable web host and design web site service is critically important when contracting with a service to begin building a business website. Too many businesses needlessly throw away thousands and thousands of dollars on a website design that doesn’t include any of the features or web hosting support they will need as their business grows.
Dolan recommends, “My experience with the website design and hosting service I use for my own websites as well as to help a local childrens charity with their goal of building a business website is an excellent choice. Not only are the fees for the website more than affordable but the same company includes a hosting plan with a wealth of features and support services.”
The bottom line for building a business website clearly demonstrates that establishing an internet presence is not only the best internet marketing tool available for businesses nowadays but vital to establishing professional credibility and promote growth while also providing the most advantageous opportunities to advertise business online as we continue the evolution into the virtual age.
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[color_box title="ABOUT THE AUTHOR" variation="glossy_blue"]
SUE COOPER-DOLAN
Formerly a self-confessed technological “e”diot, Sue offers the instruction and guidance to help others create their own successful online ebusiness.
Open a World of Opportunity, Build an eBusiness
Learn how to create your own website ebusiness. Web-Site-Building-Tips shows you how.
Want to Build a Website but Need Help?
www.Web-Site-Building-Tips.com provides the instruction and guidance so even those most technologically “e”literate can create a successful website and online ebusiness.[/color_box]
Ready to get a website for your business? Haven’t looked at your own site in a while because you just don’t like it? We can help! Call One Source Graphics today at (800) 974-5580 and speak with one of our Design Consultants. Or just fill out our Web Design Request For Proposal Form and one of our Design Consultants will contact you.
Feb
03
The design and development work involved in creating a highly effective website begins with the first client review and continues until the site goes live. Unlike any other industry, custom website design is open to criticism by anyone. To streamline the creative review process, it’s important to follow your initial business strategy for your website. That is, what exactly do you want users to do… what is the number one function for your website?
Read More»Feb
02
An effective type of sales lead generation is typically circulating where prospects may be lingering, whether at Lions Club social events or after work social events with the goal to meet others in the business community. This featured blog describes how your company’s marketing folks should approach these categories of lead generation events. In any case, rubbing elbows with others does not generate sales leads. Networking should remain the framework to generate favorable connections at a later stage. This commentary illustrates how your company’s sales staff should chase down their networking activities to translate favorable connections into solid sales leads. Each IT Consulting Company in Anchorage, Alaska is a prime example to think of during this essay.
Pursue Your Leads
At no time squander opportunities. Sales lead creation is generally carried on by following up after the business event. If your enterprise’s marketing folks have taken your others professionally, then your corporation’s sales representatives have by that time leaped beyond their comfort zone — thus, they must not retreat back into their comfort zone and be negligent to make the follow up call. It’s commonplace to see Website designers in Anchorage, Alaska fail after they’ve completed the first meeting. But they are not the only ones.
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Read More»Feb
02
Custom Software Development Hiring Critical Success Factors
Software Design And Development – To Proceed Or Not to Proceed
Sometime in the life of a successful company you may arrive at the crossroads of continuing forward with the manual processes you have perfected, or hiring a custom software design and development company to write an application to automate these processes. The decision isn’t easy. You can see the clear benefits, but the costs can be significant or downright harrowing.
There are many potential benefits and cost savings to taking the leap, but your decision must consider all factors in order to avoid a project failure that can break the bank. Failure is usually not an option. A good roadmap to success is invaluable in making the right decision.
This post discusses many important factors in hiring a software development company to ultimately increase the chances of success and reduce your risk.
First Research Off-the-Shelf Applications
You should first consider that someone else has possibly already written this application. Research off-the-shelf (OTS) applications before undergoing the effort and cost of a custom software application.
Going the Custom Software Development Route
If you have tried OTS applications and they don’t fill your needs then you need to prepare for future discussions with software development companies.
Gather Requirements
Before you begin discussions with software development and database design companies you need to gather your requirements. This can be anything from a short but specific punch list of features to a document with all details of software features, reports and algorithms that you require.
There are many books on software design requirements so we won’t go into it in any detail here. It is, however, worth noting that you can’t get quality costs and schedules if you don’t have adequate project details.
Here is a minimal list of items to gather:
Features listed in a simple punch list
User groups and permissions descriptions
Reports – the number of reports needed and ideally examples in hard or electronic copy
Once you have this information you’ll be prepared to talk to software developers.
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
Before you discuss your proprietary information with anyone you should have them sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). This legal agreement assures you that the information you divulge in your discussions with the software companies is proprietary and protected, and if they release it to anyone else then you have legal recourse.
Request for Proposal (RFP)
Once you have a your requirements finalized, prepare an RFP that can be presented to contractors. Create a list of recipients for your Request for Proposal and provide the companies a reasonable timeframe to complete their proposals.
Don’t consider any company that won’t promise required costs and schedules. If you don’t find an acceptable company to design and build your custom software system then review the requirements and RFP, create a new list of developer companies and re-issue the RFP.
Selection Factors
Below is a discussion on the factors that you need to consider when making a hiring decision.
Years of Experience in Software Development – there are a lot of fakes
Who Will Do The Work – make sure key personnel will remain involved throughout the life of the project
What Technologies Do They Propose – use the interviews to learn about the technologies and make an intelligent decision
Designer/Architect vs. a Programmer/Developer – compare apples to apples – architects are different than developers
Risk Management – what is their plan?
References – get at least 3 from similar projects
Cost not always the first priority
Schedule – will they meet your required delivery schedule?
Prioritized Selection Criteria
If you just select the lowest bidder you can be making a huge mistake. You need to weight each of categories below based on your company’s priorities, score each company for each of the categories then select the development company based on their total score. The category list is below with the typical priorities first:
Your opinion of the company’s probability of completing the project on schedule and under budget
References feedback
Their technical expertise in the selected technologies
Their developer and management experience in the selected technologies
Demonstrated management processes like source code control, quality assurance, cost control, offsite backups, etc.
Credit rating and general financial stability
Their past performance on previous projects similar to your project
Quality and organization of their proposal
Cost
schedule
Availability of resources
Overall responsiveness and their general project interest
Results of resume review and interviews
Agreements
Once you have selected a company you start the engagement process. The following items protect your company and it’s assets. We strongly recommend that you hire an attorney in your own city and state that specializes in your particular type of business and one that is familiar with software companies and agreements.
NDA Agreement
As mentioned above, before you provide proprietary information to a software development company you should have them sign an NDA to protect your company’s assets and Intellectual Property (IP).
Non-Compete Agreement
When you engage the company to create your custom software application you should have them sign a Non-Compete agreement. This ensures that they can’t take the information you have provided to them and use it in a competitive environment against them.
Custom Software Development Agreement
This is the contract to do work. This agreement is the most important of all as it lays out the specifics of your relationship with the software development company. It should contain both parties’ expectations like:
Payment rates and terms
Who pays what expenses
Licensing information
Any expected warranty’s
Termination terms
Statement of work. The statement of work should be specific and ideally in terms of milestones so you pay as you see progress. Make sure that the statement of work is detailed enough to ensure you get all features you need for project success. Items omitted from the statement of work can be costly if they are added in later phases of the project
Changes to the Software Features
The cost of software changes goes up as the project progresses. If new features are added during the brainstorming phase then the cost may be negligible. If they are added after the requirements are complete then you may have to spend the time reviewing the requirements again to make sure change doesn’t affect them.
The thought to take away from this is that once you sign a contract you’re committed to exactly what you signed off on. Changes can be costly so make sure your statement of work is complete and accurate.
Engineering Change Order
If you do make changes after the process of specification or construction have begun then use a change order form that allows the requester to detail their request and have managers in both organizations sign off on it.
Once the software development company receives it they will put cost and schedule numbers to it. When both parties sign the document it becomes a legal document and an addendum to the main contract.
Web-Based Application Considerations
There are many considerations over and above those of a desktop system if your software will be deployed on the Internet. The largest of these is security. If the data in the system is mission critical then you must protect it. If the information in the database contains credit card or personally identifiable information then you must take even more precautions.
There are laws that govern efforts of Internet-based web design companies like HIPPA and Sarbanes Oxley. There are also standards put in place by industries like the PCI-DSS standard created by the credit card industry to ensure safe and secure eCommerce transactions. A discussion of these topics is beyond the scope of this paper, but if you are going to have sensitive or critical data and information on the Internet then you should investigate the potential laws and risks of having it online – and your developer should point them out.
Internet Application Security
This is a huge topic that is beyond the scope of this paper. Having said that, below are several factors that have to be in order when you create an online application.
Hosting
Self Hosting
If you host a web application yourself then you must concern yourself with all security issues of maintaining a safe network, application and database. You’ll need to continuously scan the server and network for vulnerabilities and keep all applications on it up to date with their security patches. If you are not prepared and capable of doing this then you should not host the application yourself.
Using a Hosting Company
Hosting companies are many times a very cost-effective way to get your web application online and ensure all security issues are covered.
Server Security
The server that hosts your application must have up-to-date security patches for the operating system, the databases and all applications installed on it. If this is not done regularly then you’ll be vulnerable to all of the miscreants that scan the Internet for weak and vulnerable websites that can be used as zombies to send their own messages of peril.
AntiVirus and AntiSpyware
Solid antivirus and antispyware applications must be run on the servers and their databases kept up to date.
Web Servers and Application Development Tools
The web server is a software application that serves the web pages to the browser. You need to patch the web server and all application development tools on the server.
Database SQL Injection
If the application doesn’t specifically write code that prevents Internet users from injecting database commands into the application that can change or delete data in the database them the system will be vulnerable to this type of attack. Needless to say, this can be disastrous.
Cross-Site Scripting
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a vulnerability where malicious code is injected into web pages which are then used in browser exploits and phishing attacks. This must be considered and thwarted in all web applications as it accounts for (currently) 80% of all website security breaches.
Secure Protocols
Secure protocols ensure that the data entered by you in your browser is encrypted between your computer and the web server that is hosting the application. This stops people from reading important login, financial or private information as it progresses through the Internet.
Technologies
There are many technologies and languages that play into an Internet application. If you want your application to be rendered consistently by web browsers and indexed by the search engines then you have to write the code so that it is error free and compliant with World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards, as they are the organization that defines the languages themselves.
HTML, XML and XHTML – we recommend using error-free XHTML 1.0 Strict
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) – use CSS to control your websites look and feel
Server-side Languages – for database interaction. There are many languages to choose from. The most popular are PHP, ASP.NET.
Content Management System (CMS) – allows you to manage your website content yourself instead of paying a developer.
Marketing
There are multiple ways to market your website.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is the process of structuring your site and it’s contents so that it will be found at the top of the search engine results pages (SERP’s) for your selected keywords.
Internet Marketing
Internet marketing is the process of promoting your website after you have SEO-optimized it.
Pay-Per-Click Marketing – get quick traffic and sales to your website
Professional Branding – present a professional front to the world if you are serious about business
Benefit-Oriented and Persuasive Copywriting – your site visitors are looking to solve their problem, not read about you. Be sure your content focuses on this.
Calls to Action, Conversion Funnels and Landing Pages – guide your visitor to the logical endpoint – a conversion
Code Structure and Integrity – make sure your code is clean and error-free for consistent cross-browser rendering and fast page loads.
Conclusion
If you consider the topics listed in this paper you’ll reduce the risk involved in hiring custom software development companies. If you don’t then you may place your company at a significant risk or incur inordinate costs. It is simply a matter of being prepared. If you start the process of talking to software development companies armed with this knowledge then you’ll be better prepared to ask the right questions.
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Feb
01
Here it is, the first in my training series for Twitter. This post will be covering the basics of what Twitter is and how it works, so if you’re already up and running with Twitter, bear with me while I get everybody else up to speed. We’ve got 10 more parts to go, and trust me, we’ll be getting into some more complicated things. But in order to get set up right, you’ve got to start at the beginning. And who knows, even if you’ve been using Twitter for a while, you still might learn something!
What Is Twitter?
Twitter is an extremely fast growing social media network with currently over 1 million members but this is expected to explode! All communications are limited to 140 characters, with no special coding or labeling, although you can use links (but the links are changed into smaller redirect links if they are too long).
Twitter describes themselves as a service for friends, family and coworkers to stay connected through the exchange of quick frequent answers to the same question – what are you doing?
In countries all around the world, people follow the sources most relevant to them and access information via Twitter as it happens—from breaking world news to updates from friends. Read More:
Jan
31
A business card may be the most overlooked advertising medium in the business world. But these simple rectangles of cardboard can be powerful tools to help any entrepreneur increase sales. Similarly, a poorly thought out or clumsily designed business card could be as much of a detriment for your sales as an “out of business” sign.
Business cards have actually been around for much longer than most people realize. The first ones, in the form of visiting cards or calling cards, were used in China about 600 years ago. They started being used in Europe approximately 200 years lager.
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Jan
27
It is the search engines that finally bring your website to the notice of the prospective customers. Hence it is better to know how these search engines actually work and how they present information to the customer initiating a search.
There are basically two types of search engines. The first is by robots called crawlers or spiders.
Search Engines use spiders to index websites. When you submit your website pages to a search engine by completing their required submission page, the search engine spider will index your entire site. A ‘spider’ is an automated program that is run by the search engine system. Spider visits a web site, read the content on the actual site, the site’s Meta tags and also follow the links that the site connects. The spider then returns all that information back to a central depository, where the data is indexed. It will visit each link you have on your website and index those sites as well. Some spiders will only index a certain number of pages on your site, so don’t create a site with 500 pages!
The spider will periodically return to the sites to check for any information that has changed. The frequency with which this happens is determined by the moderators of the search engine.
A spider is almost like a book where it contains the table of contents, the actual content and the links and references for all the websites it finds during its search, and it may index up to a million pages a day.
Example: Excite, Lycos, AltaVista and Google.
When you ask a search engine to locate information, it is actually searching through the index which it has created and not actually searching the Web. Different search engines produce different rankings because not every search engine uses the same algorithm to search through the indices.
One of the things that a search engine algorithm scans for is the frequency and location of keywords on a web page, but it can also detect artificial keyword stuffing or spamdexing. Then the algorithms analyze the way that pages link to other pages in the Web. By checking how pages link to each other, an engine can both determine what a page is about, if the keywords of the linked pages are similar to the keywords on the original page.
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Sep
16
Graphic designing has fast evolved into a budding field for online businesses. With a really huge number of entrepreneurs showing their interest in web businesses and their follow up action of getting websites rightly developed has clearly proven that the internet has got a whale to offer. Website designing and development is not just the end of the story. Ample amount of funds are now being spent for web promotion as well as product and service promotion. To stay ahead in the cut-throat business environment, all business owners are now implementing strategic and planned steps – SEO, aggressive branding, and viral marketing leading the roost. But in order to get all these things properly done, there are no alternatives for you than designing and developing a decent and easy-to-navigate website. A website that’s developed meeting all the web designing as well as search engine ranking parameters can really help you reach to those dreams that you have long been fostering on. And here comes the role of a reputed graphic design agency that’s capable of producing all types of graphic works and designs for websites. Such an agency is uses the most advanced graphic designs tools while working on clients’ projects. If you are confused about the selection process for a graphic design, you can always search the internet for complete information. graphic design firms are very easy to locate just through a small web research session. But while you are in the process of zeroing in on the services offered by one, always go for assistance of graphic design consultants or of people who you know and who have already enjoyed their services.
Graphic design agenciesare now offering state-of-the-art design works for websites at such prices that easily come under your budget. Depending on your business needs and mode, such agencies may also like to develop custom graphic designs for you. On many an occasions it has been noticed that sans custom designs, the real strength of a business would have never been revealed well in front of the customers. Hence, the custom designs play a crucial role in the success of a site.
[color_box title="About the Author" variation="glossy_blue"]
This article is written by a technical writer, working at SynapseIndia, A professional graphic design firms offering flash web design, flash game development, offshore software development and custom software programming services. For more information please contact us.
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Sep
14
OUR PASSION IS CREATIVITY and our goal is to use it to get the best design solutions you could ever imagine. At One Source Graphics we know that good ideas generate big sales, and that’s the final outcome we aim to generate for our clients in each project.
We don’t believe in appearances by themselves if they don’t come together with a concept applied to a specific objective. We build a unique idea that suits your needs and encourages your customers to do business with you.
Aug
08
Joomla is one of the top and most popular content management systems. Most of the Web design companies rely on Joomla to design cutting edge, powerful websites that are easy to manage, powerful and affordable. Joomla is the leading choice behind many new web design projects. On the other hand many businesses small or large with an already established web presence are migrating to Joomla based websites. This has led to wide spread in crease in the demand of Joomla web design services. Web design companies across the world are increasingly using Joomla for designing websites for a diverse clientele ranging form small businesses to established corporations.
Small businesses today are aware of the advantages a content management system offers over standard static websites. Content management systems provide websites with powerful capabilities that standard websites fail to deliver. It is widely accepted that businesses small or large need utilise a content management system if they are serious about realising the true potential of the internet. Joomla offers small businesses with a cost effective method of availing a powerful yet user friendly content management system at an affordable price.
Aug
05
Microsoft’s Office suite has long been the king of productivity software. And with good reason—it is the most full-featured office suite available. Not only is MS Office deployed extensively throughout enterprises, but many consumers rely on it for their day-to-day word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation needs, too.
But Microsoft Office isn’t cheap. Office Home and Student 2007 sells for $149.95 at the Microsoft Store (the 2008 Mac version is the same price). There are some discounts available for University students, but unless you’re in college you might be stuck paying the full price—which is why many folks are starting to look for alternatives.
Fortunately there are several quality, free Microsoft Office alternatives that are completely compatible with the famous word processor, spreadsheet, or presentation software. Each alternative product has its own strengths and weaknesses depending on how you prefer to get your work done.
If you’re looking for a free Microsoft Office download, good luck. However, we do have the next best thing. Here are our top choices for free Microsoft office alternatives:
OpenOffice.org
OpenOffice.org is by far the best desktop alternative to Microsoft Office. Oracle’s full-blown Office suite includes the ability to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, diagrams, databases, as well as HTML and XML documents. Microsoft Office users will be able to interact with your files, since everything is saved in compatible formats. Because the software and files reside on your hard drive, you don’t need to be connected to the Web to get work done. The interface and commands are very similar to what you may have experienced in previous versions of Office. The software is stable and can handle a wide range of productivity tasks.
If you are an advanced user, then you will enjoy taking advantage of the repository of extensions that are available. The developer community is pretty active, with options such as exporting your files to Google Docs and multiple templates.
The only downside is that some tasks take more clicks in OpenOffice than they do in Microsoft Office. And even though it is pretty full featured, from time you are likely to come across things that OpenOffice won’t do as well. But as alternatives go, if you want free desktop office software, OpenOffice is clearly at the top.
Google Docs
Google Docs is the most well-known online office suite. If you are a heavy user of Google services (Gmail, Google Chrome, Reader, etc.) then Docs will mesh quite well with your current ecosystem. The real strength of Google Docs is not as much in its feature set but its collaboration abilities. This is really ideal for students or anyone else who needs to work on a project with multiple authors. The entire group can work on the same document over the web without having to e-mail back and forth 100 different versions.
Google has lately beeen promoting Docs as cloud storage for all your files. Even if a file isn’t compatible with Docs, it can be stored in the cloud and then downloaded later at another location. By purchasing additional storage you could conceivably back up a significant amount of your files this way.
However, in its current form Google alone may not be a Microsoft alternative. It’s simply not strong enough to serve all of your productivity needs. The document editor especially leaves a lot of features to be desired with only a few fonts and very few capabilities for creating elaborate documents. Also, importing Office documents into Google Docs don’t always go smoothly. Often times the fonts, tables, frames, and other elements get a bit jumbled.
If you want to just bang out a quick file then Docs is great—but it’s not enough to completely replace your desktop software. So, while Docs is a fine online word processor and spreadsheet program, it can’t be truly considered a Microsoft Office alternative.
Zoho
Though not as popular as other options, Zoho offers the most comprehensive online office suite available. It is far more feature-rich than Google Docs and includes not only documents, spreadsheets, and presentations but also email, instant messaging, a job application tracking system, and other business and consumer oriented services. If you run a small business there is an upgrade package that can make Zoho the central hub for your businesses’s productivity.
Zoho’s interface is also a great hybrid between those who like the ribbon interface from Office 2007 and those who like the more traditional drop-down menus. The site is very stable and easy to navigate. The collaboration options are not as strong as Google’s, but it is the best set of features available if you want to do your word processing primarily on the web.
Office 2010 Beta
You might be wondering, “Wait, isn’t this supposed to be an article about alternatives to Microsoft Office?” Well yes, however the Office 2010 Beta is currently a free download. Sure, at some point this year it will probably self-destruct and Microsoft will force you to buy it, but that is no reason not to take advantage of the temporary freebie.
In fact, Office 2010 is very good and stable in its Beta form. Microsoft wisely replaced the ugly Office button with the File menu, so many users making the switch from older versions will be in for less shock. There are also some newer options for copying and pasting that help preserve formatting more effectively. But don’t get too attached—at some point the software will leave Beta and you will have to pay up.
Download or Cloud? Free Alternatives to Microsoft Office
Unless you are an Office devotee there are plenty of Microsoft alternatives that will get the job done. While Zoho and Google Docs do a great job of keeping your work stored in the cloud, you may have to consider if you want to rely on an Internet connection to get work done (there are options for working offline, but it’s still not as seamless as keeping files on the desktop). OpenOffice.org is an excellent option, though it won’t do everything that Office can.
In the end it may mean a combination of choices—using Google Docs or Zoho for online collaboration, and OpenOffice for desktop work. Either way, you will find there are plenty of free choices for getting work done.
What do you use when you need a Microsoft Office alternative? Do you have a favorite free Word Processor?
[...]
Source:Getting Work Done for Free: Best Microsoft Office Alternatives
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Aug
05
Hiring the best web designers is the very first step in undertaking to ensure that that you will get the best services and even higher quality of output. This will make your website top notch and ensure it has no flaws at all. It will thus enable you to deliver your products better to clients through the internet.
Getting it right will involve you to look for the graphic design company that has the greatest experience in designing web sites. The credentials of that company will speak for themselves as will have the expertise of the employees.
The best design will enable you to grow your client’s base faster and more effectively. You should therefore look for the most affordable services to ensure that you cut your costs of production while getting you some high quality designs to increase the traffic to your website.
You also need to look for a designer of these illustrations whose customer service is superb. This will give you an easier time in getting them to understand exactly what you want your website to include. In this way, the person you employ will make sure that your website concentrates more on what your website is all about.
Apart from the above, once you locate such a company, you will benefit from the best online strategies. This is especially if the company is experienced. They will be better placed to understand exactly how to make your website a brand that has the appropriate impact.
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Jul
28
Today the internet is jam packed with various types of web design articles. Just a simple search for the term ‘web design articles’ will yield tons of articles covering various aspects of web design. When it comes to web design there are only a handful of articles that I as a designer would endorse. The reason being that once you become accustomed with designing website and you get familiar with html and the layout process what a newbie really needs help with is coming up with design ideas. computer repair in wc1
If you look at how the majority of web design articles cover web design they don’t really walk you though the process of coming up with the concept. Their postulation is that you want to design a website exactly like the example they are giving you. What most professional web designers encounter are people and businesses who want a unique, professional, and good looking websites.
So how does a designer come up with something that is unique and professional even though he does know how to layout a website and draft out the html for it. Many people who read web design articles are already familiar with other programming languages including CSS. This means that getting familiar with the process and the slight programming required in CSS and html is not a big problem. computer repair in london
However still web design articles serve as an excellent learning tool for people who have never designed a website and want to learn how to do it and can be found in multitude by means of a simple google search. They also serve a good purpose for those who want to learn various aspects of website layout as each tutorial has something faintly different. However a useful web design article is not really going to cover just one aspect since web design is not just a single cell organism which can easily be covered.
Today there are things such as wordpress, drupal etc that further complicate the process of web design. Today being a top notch designer will not guarantee that you design websites and blogs that are a hit. You also need to be a technical person who knows the ins and outs of these somewhat easy programming languages.
Knowing a programming language is not something that will cover everything and knowing just how to design will not suffice as well if you want to design websites. This is why purely creative people go and take other aspects of design. Or they design the layout and appoint a person to do the programming. This allows them to laser focus their attention on what they do best.
We live in a multi-tasking world where its imperative that you know as many things as you can. Learning photoshop is relatively easy as many web design articles seem to cover that aspect pretty well.
With some imagination and a few high-quality tools you can start designing your own website. It might take you some time at first but the end result is a good income stream. Many people quit their full time jobs to become designers.
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Jul
27
Technology has made a lot of things happen, including making technology itself easier. With Content Management Systems affording web designers a faster and more systematic way of creating websites, tasks are done more efficiently. More than anything, this translates to both cost and time savings which then make CMS a much welcome development in the digital world.
More and more people are aware of the advantages of having a website and businessmen have never been as convinced about its necessity as now. For this reason, the birth of the CMS couldn’t be more appreciated.
There is no question about web design having evolved into a science and a form of art. It requires a high degree of creativity from the designer as well as skills in performing the technical aspect of the job. Traditionally, a designer had to be adept with web programming languages such as Java, PHP and ASP. Back then, it actually took someone with technical expertise to be able to create a website.
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26
Because of the importance of not only proper Web design but also appropriate website marketing, it is most essential to find a good web design company to make your desire website a reality. There are many web design companies competing for your business and most are highly qualified. Each of them have particular skills to offer as services. Often companies offer the same product or finished result. So it is crucial for you to should think the following before you begin hunting for a Web design service:
What is your financial plan, scope of your website short-term and long-term, and what are your website needs (content management, e-commerce, database driven, etc). Knowing these things in advance will help you in narrowing your search more quickly. When you start to look at website design companies you should first look at their portfolio and showcases, if possible, to see the website designers, prior jobs and experience. Any IT Consulting Company in Anchorage, Alaska can help you with this search.
You should take time to do an adequate amount of investigation to locate a reliable design service with affordable prices that fits your budget. Occasionally the best companies for web design can be found by words of mouth. If you get a suggestion from someone you are familiar it can be more reliable than eventually calling design companies.
With so many companies to decide from you, if patient enough, can find the most affordable web service for your needs. Once you select a few web companies, you should contact them to ask for a quote. They will give you information about the price, timeline and some ideas to work with. By the time have had contacts with the design company, you should be able to choose which Web design company is best for you. There are so many Website designers in Anchorage, Alaska that it is impossible to recommend only one.
An appropriately designed website can increase general business traffic that develops the end result of any business. Things you cannot see in the website but happen in the background. These we would mention to as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), is what drives the new traffic to the your website. This is an ongoing duty that you should continually focus on to keep your presence in the marketplace. You should ask the web design company to do this service for you.
Finally, when you have found a web service firm for your website, move ahead and try to contact them. Cooperate well with them to get the best results possible. Your website is valuable. It is your company’s presence on the internet. Choosing the proper Web design company will help make it stand out above the competition.
Also, your Web design company may also be among the region’s professional database management companies. They can also help with your newsletters and other marketing tasks.
Jul
25
Killacodes can easily be passed for promotion because the site is full of passing your time without a second thought. HTML codes from the cursors, words and graphics are easily derived and they can be pasted to your site any time.
Killacodes hosts graphics from other creators and owners, but the site is uniquely maintained with its unique features of graphics and pictures. For every other icon there are over 2000 categories, whether it is words, glitters, images/animation, backgrounds, cursors etc.
Cursors, words and graphics are not new to the internet industry but very few websites have such a unique lay out of their web with all these icons which can be interesting. We know nowadays even adults probably may be interested in some images, glitters just for fun, but children and youngsters love the graphics hosted on Killacodes.
The cursors or glitters are used on a large scale on Myspace.com and hence killacodes hosts these graphics so that people interested can use them on Myspace or Hi5 accounts. For Myspace there are layouts, contact tables, online status icon, tutorials and generators that again is linked to the Image slide, Glitter words, comment box, comment box in a bulletin extended network and auto-bulletin repost.
Killacodes.com is a likable website specially designed for those interested in adventure and finding out new stuff. It can be the best site specially for its collections of glitters, images/admin, backgrounds and its graphics.
I love graphics and really admire the talent of this website, with various features and way it is laid out. There are very few websites with similar features as killacodes. Killacodes not only has different types of collections but it also has the links to the other popular sites as Myspace.
There are links to some of the Hot Myspace accounts and that is interesting. Myspace is a partner link to killacodes, although it is not affiliated to Myspace.
Killacodes has considerable amount of wisdom in different categories and it can be given credit for the various collections of various galleries. Looking at the background categories there are over 19000 background categories with thirty three categories of animal, sixty one categories of animated graphics, fourteen categories of baby, eight of birthday and it goes on and on.
The other interesting features are different cursors and the making of words. You can make your own words using the software on the killacodes website.
Killacodes website indeed is one of the interesting websites and people should definitely visit this website to see the talent and different features on the website, its features are definitely recommended of people of all age groups and specially youngsters
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Grab realistic information about one week marketing – please make sure to study this site. The times have come when proper info is really at your fingertips, use this opportunity.
Jul
25
Whenever you went into a butcher shop and picked up some meat that was dirty and mixed together with some fresh looking meat, would you still buy it? If you were out looking for a new car would you go to a car lot who displays demolished cars up in front? I would not even give those companies a second glance and I’d guess that you wouldn’t either.
Why am I asking these questions on a Web design blog post? Let’s put it like this, your company Web page is analogous to a grocery store. Your website must put its best foot forward and supply your potential customers what they are yearning for. Your site should have a vibe that tells your would-be patrons that yours is a qualified company that is offering quality goods and services, as opposed to those who sell old meat and demolished vehicles. . Your site is a direct reflection of your goods and services and therefore reflects onto your business. This is the reason why having a properly designed Web page is so important. It can make or break your marketing future. Any IT Consulting Company in Anchorage, Alaska is a excellent example to think of during this article. If their web portal is shoddy looking, you probably won’t hire them.
One of the most overlooked aspects of Web design is “surfability”. You could have the coolest products with the most mind blowing services, but if your clients can’t figure out how to maneuver to those pages then having a Web presence will be just as worthless, if not worse, than not having one.
To demonstrate my point, take a moment and surf around on a few websites. Was one easier to look through than the others? Why was it easier? What made the surfing experience nicer than the others? Remember to keep track of your answers so you can provide them to your Web designer when you go over the details of your project. The main area to focus on in regards to “surfability” is the fact that when a customer goes to a site they have a goal for what they want to do on that website. The intent is usually either to get information or a product. If you make the client search for what they came to your site for, they will possibly just look for a company that is easier to navigate. You should always strive for a web design that gives the client what they want without sending them along on a wild goose chase. Some Website designers in Anchorage, Alaska fail after they’ve snagged a visitor.
Your homepage serves a vital function. It is the gateway to everything on your site, a avenue that helps your customers find what they are looking for. The homepage also serves as the location where first impressions are made. They can create loyal customers or negative feedback about your company. For that reason it is essential for you to design your business’ homepage to load quickly. Browsers will often click away to a competitors website in order to save time. All too often companies use images that are much larger than needed, which in turn will slow your sites loading speed. When you talk with your Web designers, make sure to tell them to optimize your pictures for the Web. When you use a database design company, ensure their products operate fast.
