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We recently added the “ShareThis” feature to our blog, allowing you to take full advantage of social bookmarking. If you’re not sure what social bookmarking is or why it’s such a great tool, check out this video and then click our “ShareThis” link after each post to take advantage of social bookmarking!
Would you agree with this list? Which websites would you have chosen?
According to Wikipedia, “Open Source is a set of principles and practices on how to write software. Literally ‘open source’ means the source code is available to the users. The Open Source Definition, which was created by Bruce Perens[1] and Eric Raymond and is currently maintained by the Open Source Initiative, adds additional meaning to the term. One should not only get the source code but also have the right to use it. If the latter is denied the license is categorized as a shared source license.”
Many popular web applications. software applications and websites are open source. Here are just a few examples:
osCommerceOpen Source web applications should be considered by any web entrepreneur in that they can present significant advantages over their commercial, closed source alternatives. Open Source software typically has a large, vibrant, and more dedicated group of users supporting and communicating about the product. The software usually has less time between flaw discovery and a fix. Additionally, because the source code is available, you can analyze everything yourself and be confident in security. On the flip side, commercial software is typically supported regularly by a company and there is more of an incentive and guarantee that updates will occur. Additionally, by not exposing the source code, hackers can’t easily learn the application’s security flaws.
In my opinion, Open Source is also great because you are no longer relying on one company to provide support and updates. No longer are you hostage to the feature updates they they think is worthwhile. With Open Source, the power is placed in the hands of the users, so updates are typically more frequent and widespread.
Open Source shouldn’t be chosen simply because of cost (free!). It should be stacked up against its competition and rated based on cost, community, features, etc… More often than not, an Open Source solution can be optimized and enhanced to meet your needs while providing a lower cost of entry. For instance, if you are looking for a comprehensive and powerful e-commerce system, you could install a highly optimized version of osCommerce, an Open Source e-commerce system, and your end-result could end up more powerful and very different from the stock Open Source system, but now you have an application that can be supported by a wide number of developers and companies. It’s what we call “Open Source Optimized Solutions” and we use solutions like these for content management systems, e-commerce systems, etc…
Related Reading:
From the staff here at Epsilon Concepts, we’d like to wish everyone a warm and very Merry Christmas tomorrow!
-RB
Static (e.g. stale) websites are a thing of the past. By adding a widget or two to your website, mySpace page, Facebook profile, eBay store, etc… you can easily and affordably enhance your web presence.
According to Wikipedia, a “web widget is a portable chunk of code that can be installed and executed within any separate HTML-based web page by an end user without requiring additional compilation. They are derived from the idea of reusable code that has existed for years. Nowadays other terms used to describe web widgets including: gadget, badge, module, capsule, snippet, mini and flake. Web widgets often but not always use DHTML, JavaScript, or Adobe Flash.”
Here’s a list of some of the widget resources out there (e-mail us if you think something should be added to this list!):
A note about widget selection: remember, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Exercise care and judgment when choosing your widgets and remember, less is still usually more. So only add a widget or two when it actually enhances and adds value to your web presence instead of distracting or overwhelming your visitors.
Related Reading: Widgets Are The New Black
A Sample Widget:
-RB
Another excellent video courtesy of Common Craft.
By nature, designing and/or developing a website involves the efforts of at least several people relating in one way or another using numerous components. Plus, bugs happen, systems crash and many other bad things happen. Sometimes problems can be taken care of in five minutes and other times it takes 10 days.
This adds significant urgency to properly managing a project and using the most efficient methods possible so everyone can focus their energy on what they love to do.
Enter Basecamp, the revolutionary online Project Management tool developed by 37signals we use to manage projects, communicate with clients and colleagues, share files etc… The beauty of Basecamp is not only that it is really easy to use and allows us to manage virtually every aspect of a project, but that it is accessible anywhere there’s an Internet connection, whether from a computer or phone. 37signals has more on how we use Basecamp at Epsilon Concepts.
Some of our favorite features at Epsilon Concepts are:
Overview
The Project Overview page serves as the project’s “dashboard” and lets you see what’s late, what’s due soon, what’s just been posted or commented on, what’s recently been finished, and when everyone who is involved in the project has last logged in. It’s a one-stop-shop that gives you the high level details you need to know. Each project has its own project page.
Messages
Messages are the foundation of Basecamp and work just like email. Just like email, messages can contain attachments and when you post a message, you have the option of notifying other project members of your message or comment by email notification.
Milestones
Basecamp lets you track important project milestones and note who is responsible for each one. Basecamp automatically categorizes milestones into late (shown in red), upcoming (shown in yellow) or completed (shown in green) milestones.
Chat
Campfire/Chat is a simple web-based group chat tool that makes it easy to chat about a project from within the projects page. Using Campfire further ensures that all pertinent information is housed in a single location and no details fall through the cracks since transcripts are saved for the duration of the project. This also ensures that communication is transparent.
Files
Basecamp allows us to upload, share, and store files. Basecamp automatically links all files within each project for easy download and can be uploaded on their own or as attachments to messages.
-FT
Seen one of these lately?
If you’re wondering: “What’s all the fuss about ‘standards compliance’? And what does W3C stand for?” then this post is for you!
I’d like to define standards compliance and point out some of the benefits. Here at Epsilon Concepts, all of our coding is standards compliant (W3C validated and certified) because we believe it’s worth taking the extra time for. I thought I’d share just why it’s important to us and why we feel it should be important to you too!
Standards compliance means compliance adhered to by websites in terms of coding to a set of standards proposed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Standards compliance also is used for stressing that proprietary methods or features be avoided whenever possible for the sake of extensibility, inter-operability, and availability and affordability of maintenance/future changes.
Here are the benefits:
As you can see, standards compliant code is very important and should be given adequate consideration when designing or developing any website.
Related Article: Buy standards compliant Web sites (written by W3C)
Full Disclosure: Epsilon Concepts is a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Contributing Supporter
If you’re having a difficult time fully understanding how a website’s various pieces work together, we recently prepared this helpful and easy-to-interpret diagram to illustrate the different layers of a typical website and how they work together from both a visitor and administrator point-of-view.
If you were to have a simple, “static” website designed, it would primarily consist of only HTML/CSS coding and there wouldn’t be any applications, a database, or CMS (content management system) functionalities available as outlined in the referenced link. A static website is more of an informational website and resembles a more of an online brochure than a changing, dynamic, and interactive web presence, which would look very similar to the following illustration:
There is a popular phrase that goes “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” This phrase certainly is applicable to many things in life, but more than ever in the world of marketing, it just doesn’t ring true.
Your business or organization can have the best story in town and can literally be invaluable by fulfilling a need in a remarkable way, but if the story or experience is hidden inside of your “company book” and not showcased on the “cover”, many prospects will be lost or won’t fully realize just how remarkable you really are and why they should care.
There are many moments during the customer acquisition process where prospects get tangible experiences that help them form ideas and conclusions about your company or product. Let’s face it, we’re all strapped for time and therefore we each go by the little experiences to form our judgments. Some of these things that help prospects form judgments are: websites, brick’n’mortar store design, proposals, product packaging, the tone of the customer service rep on the line, a thank you card, etc…
Now, the goal is not to design a fake or inaccurate “cover” that misrepresents your company or attempts to grab customers who will subsequently be disappointed when they find out the “book” (your company or product) is not nearly as exciting or doesn’t match the cover. Just like with any New York Times Bestseller, the cover needs to represent the story while grabbing attention and helping the prospect form a judgment about the story. To really have impact and traction, though, when the book is purchased the story much match the cover. In this case, a complete customer experience has occurred and the customer gets an authentic experience while not having to deal with disappointment.
Now, to shoot off on a rabbit trail, here’s a small package I received from American Express. American Express does a fantastic job of creating covers that match stories, as evidenced by the following pictures:
What normally arrives in a small white envelope from a Plain State arrived in a sleek box. Upon opening the package, I couldn’t help feeling twangs of excitement and pride about my new credit card. Even after already deciding to sign up for the card, this unconventional product packaging for a credit card “sealed the deal” and because AMEX is generally authentic (their story matches their covers), it worked and it worked well.
The point here is that each and every day in the life of your business or organization, your prospects are seeing a myriad of “covers” to your “book.” Take the time to create covers that are compelling and authentic, at various stages of the customer acquisition process, and prejudice can shift from a bad behavior to a good one.
-Robby
Greetings:
Starting in 2008, we will be posting videos, blog entries, and comments frequently for our prospects, customers, friends, and anyone interested in tuning in.
Please stay tuned as original, helpful, and entertaining content is only weeks away!
-Robby
A: I believe that in the context of designing/developing a remarkable website (a website worth talking about), a content management system or simply “CMS” should be an indispensable member of your website’s “must have” feature list. A CMS empowers you to add/edit/delete the content of your website. With a CMS, you can go from computer idiot to savvy web editor in seconds (simply by logging in).
In order to understand what a CMS is, it’s important to first understand the difference between a “dynamic” and a “static” website. A static website is a website that is simply HTML. There is no programming and no special functionality… it’s more of an online brochure and usually more limited in nature. A dynamic website is a website that has programming and/or special functionality. Typically it is comprised of a programming language (e.g. PHP), a database (e.g. mySQL), and HTML/CSS. With many dynamic websites, content (e.g. page contents like text) is housed in a database and is “pulled” in real time to show on the appropriate page. A CMS, therefore, is a dynamic website in that the content is stored in a database and using a programming language is pulled. A CMS also includes an administration panel where administrators can add/delete/content inside of preset areas of the site. Typically, a CMS would allow you to change menu options, add page contents in the body area, and change specific sections or elements of the website. The overall layout, colors, styles, header, and footer are usually hard-coded.
Now that I’ve explained more on what a CMS actually is and does, I’ll point out just a few of the benefits of getting it for your website. First of all, content is king on the search engines. Content more than likely will “make or break” your website as it has search engine implications, builds credibility, grows community, builds a following, sells a product, markets a service, and the list goes on… Without a CMS, you’ll be stuck with stale content more often than not with the barriers to entry of using many web designers for small, quick tasks. Secondly, a CMS will save money over the long run. Stop re-designing your website every time you want to change content! Stop paying your web designer decent sums for quick and easy work! Thirdly, a CMS will ensure your website is fresh. Because a CMS is so easy to use by just about anyone, news and fresh content that should be placed on the website IS placed on the website, because it will only take 5 minutes rather than using a web design program and uploading changes or waiting on your IT department to get to your task. And finally, a CMS works well if more than one person will be editing your website. A CMS can have different user accounts with logging and it ensures that whatever content you are working on is always the latest content.
Below: A screen shot of one of our CMS’s to illustrate what a CMS is and does
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