Novatech Design

So, what makes a website good?

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:39:11 +0000

There is an endless amount of information (and misinformation) about what makes or breaks a website.

Thick and heavy textbooks have been written on the subject, only to become obsolete within just a couple of years of their publication.

Nevertheless, there are certain key principles that have remained unchallenged ever since the very first website made its debut on the World Wide Web and we’ll try to cover them here, briefly and concisely.

A good website is one that satisfies the needs of its visitors while meeting the objectives of the owner. It should load quickly, be user friendly (easy to navigate), and be compatible with every major browser, and be tailored to your targeted audience.

MORE SPECIFICALLY, A GOOD WEBSITE IS ONE THAT . . .

Looks clean and uncluttered
Has a good balance of colors
Uses fast-loading, good-quality graphics
Is centered on the screen
Has its own domain name
Uses ad-free hosting
Is easy to browse
Presents no obvious bugs
Is free of broken links and missing images
Provides information clearly, concisely, and coherently
Makes good use of grammar and spelling
Explains its purpose
Provides contact details

Naturally, there are many other aspects that influence the quality of a website. But overall, if it meets the criteria outlined above, then it’s definitely a good website!

So, what’s bandwidth anyway?

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:01:27 +0000

In plain English, bandwidth is the amount of data transfer (up AND down) that you use in any given month. Common sizes for a monthly bandwidth allowance are 5GB, 10GB, 15GB, 50GB, 100GB, and so on.

Still lost?

Let’s say that this webpage, the one you’re looking at right now, weighs 200 KILOBYTES including all images and text.

If we received 1000 visitors per month and each one of them viewed this page alone, then we’d be using 200 MEGABYTES (200KB x 1000) of bandwidth. On top of that, we must add all the e-mail traffic which includes the e-mails that you SEND OUT from your hosted domain plus all the e-mails you RECEIVE IN your mailbox (you@yourdomain.com).

AND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I EXCEEDED MY BANDWIDTH ALLOWANCE?

In short, the website would go down and all users that have mailboxes at your domain will be unable to continue sending and receiving e-mail.

HOWEVER, if you’re hosting with us, you’ll be able to see how much bandwidth you have left. You start out with a set amount, and if your usage dictates that you need more, we’ll double it at NO COST to you. If you still need more bandwidth by the end of the month, we’ll double it again, and again, and again. The amount of times you can get your account upgraded for free is unlimited.

Now, how cool is that?

The Magic of WordPress

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:40:34 +0000

WordPress is an open source blog tool and publishing platform powered by PHP and MySQL.

It has many features including a plug-in architecture and a template system, and has grown so robust that nowawadays, it is often customized into a Content Management System (CMS).

Formerly regarded as just a blogging platform, WordPress now uses a template processor that can be applied to all kinds of websites; not just blogs.

Users can re-arrange widgets without editing PHP or HTML code, and they can also install and switch between themes with the simple press of a button (most of the time).

We chose to build this website from a WordPress template to make it easier for our clients to understand its advantages.

IS IT EASY TO USE?

The learning curve may be steep for some people, but learning how to use WordPress as a front-end user is far easier than learning HTML, CSS, PHP, Scripting, and Photoshop. For website owners who only need to update text and images on their pages, WordPress provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring the services of a webmaster each and everytime you wish to make a homepage announcement.

While making a WordPress theme work for a new website may not always be a walk in the park, the benefits often surpass the time and energy required to turn an existing template into your own website. Templates can run anywhere between $65 and $3000, depending on whether you choose exclusivity over the design.