Month: December 2006
December 26, 2006
One of the first things new web designers are tempted to do is add sound to a web site.
Many times though, this is a bad idea because sound slows pages down and often times, annoys people.
The rules of sound on a website:
- If it doesn’t help the web site to communicate the message – you should not have sound.
- Give users a choice whether to listen or not.
Like any other aspect of a website, the decision to add sound should be well thought out.
… just because you like the first few seconds from Dark Side of the Moon, that doesn’t mean looping the mp3 will help your home repair website.
But if (for example,) you had a home repair tip or two, then it would make sense to provide a few mp3’s that people could download – if they choose to.
The best two ways to add sound to a web page:
In a nutshell:
- Just link to mp3 files. This is the easiest way.
- Embed a Flash based mp3 player so that people can play mp3’s right in your web pages.
There are other ways (Windows media, Apple Quicktime) but the above two are universal and easy to work with, for both the web designer and website visitors.
One last point, if you use a Flash mp3 player to add sound to your website, this will prevent people from copying your mp3’s. Well, it will make it much harder.
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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December 22, 2006
Though Frontpage is dated (the last release was in 2003) it is still a widely used piece of software.
It has enough attention in fact, that many new web designers ask:
‘Is Frontpage still a program that you should to learn?’
The short answer: no
WHY NOT LEARN FRONTPAGE
The major reasons are:
- Frontpage generates dated code that is not considered acceptable these days by most web designers.
- Frontpage has just been replaced by Microsoft’s new web design software: Expression. As such, Frontpage will not be updated and Frontpage users will be left in the dust.
- Most professional web designers use Dreamweaver – that means most web design companies use Dreameweaver.
Of the above reasons, I think the fact that Frontpage has essentially been discontinued, is reason enough to not get into it.
WHAT SHOULD A STUDENT OF WEB DESIGN LEARN THEN?
This really depends on where you see yourself going: if you plan on working for a web design firm, then you probably need to learn Dreamweaver.
If on the other hand, you are more or less working for yourself, then any web design software will probably do – or even none at all!
That brings me to my last point: learn to build web sites by hand.
BTW: there was a little chatter about MS Expression on the forum recently.
CIAO,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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December 18, 2006
The ‘bargain hunter’ type of person, can sometimes be a reasonable sort of human being that respects you as a professional, and is only looking for a good value for their money.
… Then there is the other type; those who seem to have no respect for you and in the end, will just drain you of your mental and emotional energy.
PSYCHIC VAMPIRES
A long time ago, I read a strange (but entertaining) little book that warned of a type of person, a person that would drain you of all your energy just by being around them.
(We’ve all been around them before … after just a few minutes of seemingly light chatter, you feel tired and drained.)
The book referred to these people as ‘psychic vampires’ – leeches that suck your energy, much in the same way a vampire sucks your blood.
Bargain Hunters are often times psychic vampires, and should be identified and then avoided at all cost.
… it is better to be on the unemployment line, than to be in service of a psychic vampire client.
IDENTIFYING THE PSYCHIC VAMPIRE CLIENT
Everyone has their own thing, but there are some common characteristics found with this type of person:
- They ask a lot of questions – too many.
- They are whining passive aggressive whelps – little pathetic beast that will hound you endlessly.
- They will suggest that the work you do ‘isn’t that hard … really’.
- They will complain that your prices are too high … regardless of reality.
PSYCHIC VAMPIRES SEEK OUT THE WEAK
No matter how experienced you are, you have to always be on the lookout for this sort of person.
That said …
Unfortunately, these most vile of bargain hunters, tend to go after relative noobs to the game … the less experience the better.
They’re attracted to beginners, because they know that their chances of molesting a poor unsuspecting junior (web design) fool, are much better than if they targeted a crusty old web nerd, such as myself.
… So if you are new to the web design game, be extra vigilant!
CONCLUSION
I wrote this piece because I was just the subject of a psychic vampire’s attack.
Fortunately, experience has taught me well, and I was able to quickly identify the blood sucker, and fire his ass before he drained me too much.
Yes, it is OK to fire a client sometimes!
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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December 13, 2006
I’ve been asked this many times:
‘What are the steps to becoming a professional web designer?’
To make a long story short, you need web design skills (listed below) and lots of practice to develop your skills.
A NERD’S ROAD-MAP TO (BECOMING A) PROFESSIONAL WEB DESIGNER
- Learn HTML
- Learn CSS
- Learn basic design skills – how to make a page look good: color combinations, white space etc.
- Learn how to produce images for use on the web. Photoshop or something similar will have to learned.
- Build a portfolio of websites.
After you’ve mastered the techniques and technologies of web design, you will need to show your skills – that’s where the good portfolio comes in.
That means it is time to build websites for yourself, friends and strangers.
Practice makes perfect … with each new site that you build, and with each new ‘client’ that you work with, the better you will become.
ABOUT WORKING WITH PEOPLE/CLIENTS
You may have not considered it, but being able to work well with people, is just about as important as having good coding skills!
… You need to learn how to communicate well, because it is crucial if you want to get the job done.
I will get more into that in another article.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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December 11, 2006
Intermediate level book for active php programmers. From the book’s cover:
‘Recipes and solutions for PHP programmers’
This is a very good book, actually one of the best recipe books I’ve read period.
You can tell that the authors are still actively writing code – you can feel it as you read the chapters. The book consist of a series of techniques (they call recipes) that are commonly needed by php programmers.
Some example recipes:
- How to Sort Arrays
- Send HTTP headers
- Encode a string for use in a URL
… this book is packed with all kinds of php goodies. There is much more to be found .. I just never list too much from a book since you can easily look it up online.
😉
THE ‘QUICK HITS’
After a brief introduction, each chapter provides a bunch of micro-tips related to the recipes discussed in the chapter. They call these tips: ‘quick hits’.
I found the ‘quick hits’ to be very useful because they provide a very concise and easy to read look at aspects of the php language. I can see myself referring to this book often just because of the ‘quick hits’.
I actually keep this book nearby to flip through once and a while, just to give me ideas. It has already helped on a php 5 project I am working on.
CONCLUSION
This I think is a great book. It has lots of practical information and is without a doubt, one of the most useful books on programming I’ve read – and I’m talking all languages.
Buy the book if you work with PHP or planning to.
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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December 11, 2006
I was speaking with my cousin a few days ago and she showed me a letter she got in the mail recently.
It was an invoice (that looked legitimate) that stated that she had to renew her domain within the next 15 days or she could loose it.
Four things were disturbing about the letter:
- The company was unknown .. even to a nerd like me.
- The letter had a threatening tone to it – if you know what I mean.
- The cost for renewal was crazy high: $950 USD!
- The company was located overseas. Of course.
… She was wondering if this made sense and wasn’t sure what to do.
All you experienced nerds out there know this was (and is) an obvious scam. I guess the Nigerian inheritance story is loosing its’ charm.
Domain name renewal should cost you no more than the cost of buying them from a proper registrar in the first place – about $10.
If you want to be safe, log on to your registrars website and check the status of your domain.
–
So if you get this type of letter in the mail (or email,) just toss it in the trash.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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December 10, 2006
Ah, web designing nerds, you have studied hard, validated your pages and now you’re ready to leverage your skills for fame and fortune … ok, maybe for just a steady paycheck.
When it comes to the earning a living, what matters most, is what your potential clients are concerned about.
The musings of ivory tower nerds (who probably don’t get too many jobs) often times does not help to pay the bills!
… Code is not beautiful (a fat bank account is) and the Web standards means nothing to the people who put the food on your table.
(Now I’m in trouble!)
THE HIERARCHY OF CLIENT CONCERNS
When it comes to web design, I think the hierarchy of client concerns are:
- Price – everyone wants to save a buck!
- Design – a website has to look good. Remember the job is ‘web designer‘ and not ‘web coder’.
- Usability – though clients have no idea what ‘usability’ is, they just want the site to navigate easily.
- Google position. If you can make a site rank on Google quickly (even with obscure search terms,) you will be god.
Notice that Web standards and code that validates is not on the list.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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December 10, 2006
Web monkeys are web designers who make their living designing websites. That may seem like a redundant statement, but there are many out there who are just casual web designers …
I wanted to point that out because this article targets the full time web designer (web monkey) and not the casual web-nerd.
SWINGING WEB MONKEYS
Swinging web monkeys are those few smart web designers who don’t rest on the laurels – they continue to learn.
.. If you want to stay competitive and pull ahead of the pack (of nerds,) you ought to spend time learning new technologies, techniques and even be brave enough to graduate to ‘code monkey’ status.
CODE MONKEYS
I defined what a code-monkey is in a previous post. But in a nutshell, code monkeys are nerds who are inclined to code and not design.
For these people, I strongly suggest that they learn to program – especially PHP. But even if you are a great web designer, I still suggest that you become a little ‘code-monkeyish’ and learn some PHP – it will make your web design better.
SWINGING: CODE MONKEY STYLE
It is even better to learn several programming languages because with each new language, you will gain a better overall understanding of programming – and that’s just the half of it!
When you learn a new programming language you will:
- Gain a deeper understanding of languages in general.
- Learn new methods of solving problems.
I was reminded of this just recently when I took a serious look at Ruby. As a played with this nifty language, I found that it expressed concepts (that I had trouble with in Java,) in such a way that it was finally made clear.
.. Because I bothered to learn a little Ruby, my understanding of Java got better!
Beyond the conceptual level, I also picked up some practical programming strategies that I could apply to both my Java and PHP programming.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it; it makes sense to learn new techniques and technologies, if you want to stay ahead of the game.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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December 5, 2006
For those of you interested in PHP, I have a new article out in the December issue of Web Designer Magazine:
OOP in PHP.
It is a beginners article that targets total newbies … in terms of OOP (object oriented programming).
By the end of the article, you will have a good understanding of the fundamentals object oriented programming, and you will have enough knowledge to use and build your own objects in PHP.
CIAO,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
read more
December 2, 2006
Recently on the killersites.com forum a question was put the the group:
“Do you use a template as a web designer, it does save time, and you can add your own design on a template etc……”
You can read the other members comments on this, but for me, I found that templates are an essential tool in the web design process.
–
Back in the late 90’s, when I ran a web design firm, we actually developed our own set of web templates that cut down our production and cost considerably. At the same time, the web sites themselves became better and better since the code in the templates got more and more refined.
So if you are a web designer and you want to save time and money, build your own mini-collection of web templates or start shopping at a web template shop.
Once again, I’ve included a podcast / mp3 for those who like to listen.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
read more
