Let me first say that I design (xHTML/CSS/PHP), maintain, and SEO web sites. And I’ve done my share of them. But there are times when I run across great looking sites that have been designed by others. Ok, who am I kidding, there are TONS of sites I run across that I didn’t design. I bet yours is one of them!

And while other designers (and custom website design shops) all have their ways of coding, I’ve liked what I’ve seen at the Ann Arbor web design site. Their site would validate, but for unescaped ampersands. I can live with that. The site in general looks very professional.

They are in the marketing game all right, as they also offer services in graphic design as well. Not to mention print marketing. The designs are very Web 2.0 looking, and they have an extensive portfolio showcase on their site that you can check out.

I’m not sure if their designs are XHTML 1.1 Strict, but I’m sure they will be using the latest and greatest technologies for whatever their clients needs are. I know that if I paid for their design service, I would have high expectations for which I am sure they will live up to.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Martin :: May.08.2008 :: Semantics :: No Comments »

I have been searching for an all around good web site resource for web programming and web technology issues. And since the Internet is filled with sites on based on those niches, the “perfect one” had to contain something more. And the Stylish Weblog covers Windows issues as well as the programming and technology ones I’ve mentioned - and much more. It’s a great, cool design blog that has what I’ve been looking for.

Did you know that when dealing with user accounts on a Windows Vista system, you can actually turn off the UAC (User Account Control) functions? I knew how, but the blog post on Stylish Weblog was a refreshing reminder that I am not the only one highly annoyed by that OS (Operating System).

Or how about the Windows Defender anti-spyware program available from the Microsoft web site? Did you know that there is real advantages to joining their spyware community? I never knew of them until I read that great blog post.

There are other topics and blog articles I can mention on that site, but all in all, I would have to say that I will be visiting them regularly. RSS feeds are my thing, and I’ve signed up for theirs.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Martin :: May.08.2008 :: Semantics :: No Comments »

There was a discussion going on in one of the email group I belong to, regarding automated checking of websites for accessibility issues. One crowd was saying it was a good thing, while the other said it did not do enough.

I say, do it! It’s not the end-all to checking for accessibility, but it’s a great start.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Martin :: Apr.25.2008 :: Semantics :: No Comments »

I understand that POSH (Plain Old Semantic HTML) is “geeky” and all, but it works!

Popularity: 11% [?]

Martin :: Apr.24.2008 :: Semantics :: No Comments »

And you thought you enjoyed your privacy, read what they have to say about your ISP and your browsing habits:

Last July, a research team from the University of Washington released an online tool to analyze whether web pages were being altered during the transit from web server to user. On Wednesday, the team released a paper at the Usenix conference analyzing the data collected from the tool. The found, unsurprisingly, that ISPs were indeed injecting ads into web pages viewed by a small number of users. The paper is available at the Usenix site. From PCWorld: “To get their data, the team wrote software that would test whether or not someone visiting a test page on the University of Washington’s Web site was viewing HTML that had been altered in transit. In 16 instances ads were injected into the Web page by the visitor’s Internet Service provider. The service providers named by the researchers are generally small ISPs such as RedMoon, Mesa Networks and MetroFi, but the paper also named one of the largest ISPs in the U.S., XO Communications, as an ad injector.”

So you see, you are being watched…

Popularity: 14% [?]

Martin :: Apr.19.2008 :: Semantics :: No Comments »

I know SEO (Search Engine Optimization). And if you have been following along with the latest trends in SEO, you will know that one of the key factors in a high search engine placement, or SERP (Search Engine Results Position) is based on how many quality sites that have a back link to you. And one of the best ways to achieve this is in article marketing. I have been doing article marketing for a while now, and I can say that the optimization benefits are worth any effort that it takes to create uniquely written articles that will be useful for internet users.

I’ve run across a great website that offers article submission service, as well as a place to find great articles. You can find articles specifically on Microsoft Office, MAC related articles, and even Customer service information. But there is so much more categories you can select from. Doing a search of the topic, “web design” brought up 98 results from their site. And believe me, once I begin to post my articles on their site, that number will easily double.

The site itself is written in XHTML 1.0 Transitional, and it is very Web 2.0 looking. Very hot for a marketing site. And if you consider that the many articles they have had submitted on their site, I would say that they are much more than a marketing site for us Search Engine Optimization pros. But their articles are all very well written and informational. And if you are a visitor from a search engine - you will find what you have been searching for, with the tons of articles just waiting to be read.

From what I’ve read on their submission rules, you can place one (1) link back to your website within the actual article, and I highly suggest (love the sarcasm? I expect you to) you place that link.

So check them out and let me know the results of your article marketing with the Web Articles website.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Martin :: Apr.14.2008 :: Semantics, Usability :: No Comments »

Email Marketing is going to be one of those marketing blessings or marketing curses. I remember when I began to contemplate starting a campaign to reach opt-in members to one of my websites, I searched the internet for the right Email marketing services to use. And let me tell you, finding a company on the internet that offers these types of services to your clients and perspective opt-in members is not as easy as it first seems to be. Yes, you can find any old company that will send mass emails to a list, but how many of those fly-by-nights are flagged as spammers? Many of them, let me tell you.

And so while there very many website companies that offer email marketing, I have found a great service that offers both online marketing software and services that are affordable and reliable. And with two different plans to select from, they offer you a great way to ease into your campaign, or jump in head first.

Their first plan, the Campaigner, offers these services:

• Ability to create and send daily emails, weekly emails, or even monthly emails to your subscriber opt-ins.
• Personalize email templates that utilize customized tags for: “message greeting, the header, the body, the subject and from fields.
• CAN-SPAM compliant service.

The second of their services, the CampaignerPro, has these great services offered:

• True personalization and integration of email marketing - and that automatically run.
• Highly targeted and personal content utilizing these features: gender and geographic areas, and more attribute-based information.
• Automated scheduling of sending out the email messages based on certain contact information, dates, previous campaigns, and/or automated imported information from database systems.

You can check out their site for specific pricing, but as a whole, their online marketing software & tracking solutions for your email marketing is one of the best services you can receive.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Martin :: Apr.03.2008 :: Semantics :: No Comments »

I’m always looking for a one-stop shop that will do just about everything I need in a web design company. I’ve covered the topic of one-stops before, but I’ve found a great site that truly does cover it all. From ecommerce solutions to crm software, and of course SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and web design.

One thing I personally  look for in a company such as SiteDesign.net (the one-stop shop I’ll be writing about here) is if their site uses valid W3C markup. You know me and web standards! And guess what? The site, SiteDesign.net, is valid markup - and not to mention very Web 2.0 looking.

And for all of you SEM (Search Engine Marketers) professionals, more of their services include web hosting and branding and logo design. Just check out their portfolio to view some great examples of what they can do for your company. Even if you are a site owner that offers such services yourself, just think of what a partnership can do for your business. Just think of the outsourcing you can do with them, and how their quality work will speak volumes to your customers.

Their site even offers you some very useful guides, that you can download or read online that pertain to such topics as (web design birmingham), “Promoting Your Website”, and “What Is Search Engine Optimisation”.

All in all, I rate them very highly for both their quality work and their competitive prices, and would readily recommend them to you.

Popularity: 40% [?]

Martin :: Feb.22.2008 :: Semantics :: No Comments »

If all you’ve thought of semantics are the way web markup is written, then you’ve missed the bigger picture of using properly structured, correct (W3C) markup - and how it applies to better search engine ranking.

There are those who think that it shouldn’t matter whatsoever that a website riddled with depreciated, 90’s style tag soup should rank just as well as a semantically correct and valid site does. Well, in a perfect (or imperfect!) world, that should be the case, but if you put some common sense into your thinking then I hope you will see that this is not necessarily the case.

A site that is properly structured:

Main Page Title

Page Sub title

This is the content

This is a sub title

Points for sub title

Any SE will be able to translate what your page is about, and how much relevance your content is to a users search criteria. Why not make it easier for SEs to read your pages?

Popularity: 44% [?]

Martin :: Feb.13.2008 :: Semantics :: 2 Comments »

Creating great, professional websites can be done the DIY (Do It Yourself) way, but for those of us who need to portray our companies in a very professional light, it’s best to hire a respected web design and development outfit that has a great track record.

And if I may, let me shorten your search for your new design company. You see, Seattle based Visualscope Studios is that professional web design and consulting outfit. They specialize in web site design, search engine optimization, and e-commerce projects.

Even if you are not in the market for a firm to create or modify your current web site, VisualScope offers great web design articles for you to study at your leisure.

Popularity: 43% [?]

Martin :: Feb.13.2008 :: Off-Topic :: No Comments »