The first is by Jeremy Keith and discusses conditional loading of content for websites designed using Responsive Web Design techniques. The technique Jeremy describes allows you to have one web page for mobile devices and desktop browsers alike, show just the necessary content on the small form factor mobile web browsers, but show additional content for the larger sized browsers too loading that additional website content only when needed. This saves on bandwidth for people viewing your website using a mobile web browser allowing your site to load quickly and not cost them more time or data than necessary.
http://bit.ly/siNiYY

Two solutions to the RWD Image Problem. One challenge when designing using Responsive Web Design techniques is the issue of serving appropriately sized images for different devices. The basic RWD technique is to use the largest images required for any device in the HTML, and just change the scale at which the image is displayed to make it smaller for smaller devices. The problem with this basic approach is that it’s not very mobile-friendly. All devices would be downloading images with large file sizes. This is particularly an issue with mobile devices that are likely to have slower internet connections and caps on bandwidth. Your site will take longer to load than necessary and for users who are paying for every bit of data as they go, downloading all those large images can add up to a substantial penalty.

Techniques continue to be refined for downloading small images for mobile devices and the largest images only when appropriate. Here are two of the latest techniques available:

The first by Matt Wilcox is a server-side solution involving PHP, cookies, and Javascript on the client:
http://bit.ly/uEioLu

The second by Jake Archibald is a client-side only solution with fascinating benefits. But in the words of the author, it’s a dirty, dirty solution:
http://bit.ly/vJlbcy

Check them out and comment. Which method do you like better?

Remy reviews two HTML5 features:

1. Storage including localStorage and sessionStorage which are local data storage capabilites that surpass the capabilities of cookies (to say the least), and
2. Offline Apps: specific techniques so you can tell an offline browser to load required files for a web site or web app from a local cache, thus making the web site renderable or the web app functional without a connection to the Internet. Supported presently by Safari and Firefox though the applicationCache methods.

Pretty interesting stuff to keep an eye on. These capabilities alone are a good reason to me to start using HTML5 now. As more browsers support these features we can create web sites using just HTML5 and Javascript with capabilities of full blown web apps. And they’ll work even when not connected to the Internet. Awesome.

I’ve been fascinated with the idea of “occasionally connected apps” since Macromedia Central was introduced in 2003 (since discontinuted, Adobe Central Developer Support Center, Anatomy of a Central App, Central Blog). Adobe AIR is making good inroads as the present platform of choice for occasionally connected apps. It would be a major improvement to have this capability without the requirement of a proprietary pluigin, i.e. the Flash Player. I’m excited to see active progress in that direction.

At CodeGeek.net, we’ve used iStockPhoto for several years now for low-cost, high-quality stock photos for many of our web site developement projects. We were excited to learn that they now also carry royalty-free audio for web sites. Over 10,000 tracks are now available. This makes it easy to comply with copyright laws, help creative musicians make a living, and provide your web site customers with high quality content.

1. Preparedness: If interested in having a website developed for you, it is helpful that you are prepared to articulate your ideas clearly to your web developer – this includes design ideas, images, and/or content. We encourage you to research other websites, including your competitors, to discover what you do and do not want for own website’s development.

2. Team Work! Creating a successful website is a team effort and requires the participation of both the web developer and you, the client. This is because you understand your line of business best, while CodeGeek best knows the web development industry. The partnering of these two disciplines results in an exceptional website. At CodeGeek we value our business relationships. To find out more, click here. [link to the CG homepage, “Why choose CodeGeek?” section]

3. Providing Content: If you will be responsible for providing the content, it’s important to understand two factors. One is that this step is the longest part of the web development process. And two is that well-written content is imperative — it is the message and reputation of your business. Be sure to be conscious of the content-development-time-factor in the overall web development project timeline.

4. Understanding why a good web site costs what it does: Yes, it is cliché, but…you get what you pay for. Remember that the lowest bidder is the lowest bidder for a reason. CodeGeek puts quality effort into your website’s design, usability, functionality, content, coding, search engine optimization and any special requests that are specific to your site. It takes time and attention to create an exceptional website.

5. CodeGeek’s Design Capabilities! CodeGeek’s design capabilities are much broader than what our portfolio displays. The sites we’ve developed reflect each individual client’s particular needs and wants for their industry. The team of professionals working at CodeGeek is capable of creating any site you can imagine. Contact CodeGeek.net today to have your website vision become a reality!

Topics:

What makes a web site great? The best web sites take into account the visitor’s perspective first. For your web site visitors, the three most important factors are:

1. Content & functionality
2. Navigation & usability
3. Design

An effective web site will also achieve the business objectives of its owner. During this presentation we will discuss all of these elements and give you concrete steps to improve your own web site.

Ron Zasadzinski is the lead developer and owner of CodeGeek.net, a Fort Collins based web design agency serving clients from California to New York City.

All About Internet Marketing, or how to gain a solid foothold for your small business on line!
Are you wondering what Internet Marketing could do for your business? You’ve heard all the buzz about taking your marketing to the web, but do you need help understanding the New Media terms and what to do to improve your Marketing Mix effectively on line?

Laurie is someone who GETS the Internet and Web 2.0 modern marketing. She’ll explain Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how to have your small website win the ranking wars! She’ll examine the key components of a sure fire internet marketing plan and in a fun and open session explain all the terminology, tactics and trip-points of the online marketing wave. You’ll come away with easy- to- understand insights into the opportunities the web uniquely presents to small and medium sized businesses.

Price and Registration:
The cost to attend is $49. The class is presented as part of Adrienne Zoble’s Marketing Forum, and you can sign up for the class on her web site:
http://www.azobleassoc.com/buy.htm#forum

Scroll half way down the page to the Marketing Forums (Thursdays) or (Downtown) Fort Collins section.

Dates & Locations:
April 10 the class will be at the Compass Bank, 3131 S College Ave, Fort Collins 80525
April 17 the class will be at The Executive Center, 123 N. College Ave. Suite 200, Fort Collins 80524 (in the Opera Galleria building)

I hope you’ll join us!

http://www.insidecrm.com/features/101-web-site-fixes-031808/ 

Enjoy!

If you haven’t discovered Google Local yet, it’s an important way to promote your business and expand its web presence. You can set up an account by visiting http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter. Once your account is set up, you can enter a few sentences about your company, and have your business listed in multiple pre-defined categories that visitors may be searching for.

Local search is an integral part of Google Maps when you type in a location along with your search phrase. For example, go to http://maps.google.com and search for “web site design Fort Collins”. You’ll get a listing of web design agencies including my company, CodeGeek.net. Local search is fun – try “free wi fi Fort Collins” or “Italian Fort Collins”.

In many cases Local search is activated during regular Google searches too, when you include a location in the search phrase. You can tell you are being served Local search results by the heading “Local business results for [your search phrase]” above the first few listings.

Google Local, along with numerous other local search products including offerings from Yahoo!, MSN, and more, are there to provide targeted results when searchers are seeking services in a particular geographic area. As the web evolves, we are going to see more and more information based on location. Keep an eye on the larger field of geocoding and where it’s heading. Local search is truly just the first wave, so be sure to get on board today.

In addition to providing you space for ten images, Google Local allows you create coupons for your services that appear as a tab in the bubble above your business location in Google Maps. Your customers are using Google more and phone books less every day. Why turn down free advertising?

Finally, your customers can also post reviews of your business in your Google Local listing. Encourage your happy patrons to write a sentence or two about you and post it. We all know that word of mouth is the best advertising there is. This is the web based version!

Your web presence is more than just your web site. Stay on the leading edge by getting local.