1. wait for Adobe to launch CS6
2. Upgrade now

11th April 2011 OK So here we are as promised a followup regarding the upgrade of CS4 to CS5. Just two weeks after buying the upgrade for CS5 Adobe today released news of their CS5.5 update.Still lucky as I am eligible for a post release upgrade as I purchased my upgrade only a few weeks ago.

4th November 2011I have now been using Adobe Creative Suite CS5.5 since April and can report that there is not much difference between this and any previous versions. The look and feel is the same, there are some small updates that are useful but really should have been updated along the way for CS4 rather than including them in a major release of CS5 or even CS5.5, seems to me Adobe just want to continue to squeeze us for more money but not deliver on the goods.DREAMWEAVERSome of the new features that are useful, but still not worth the upgrade fee, do help with general designs and markup. Help text for jQuery and some new CSS codes included but by no means extensive, this does need some further work.DEVICESDealing with different sized browsers and devices is worked in very well, but has some issues regarding refreshing, most of the time the display shows as though no style sheet is available, resizing or reselecting the window size seems to sort this out.STYLE SHEETSAlong with the refreshing of display types, the refreshing of the style sheets themselves seems to me to be a bit hit and miss. Many times I have updated a style sheet and found Dreamweaver has changed the name of another style making my design look very strange or completely wrong. If the style sheet remains open this is easy to fix as a simple undo will remove whatever happened, but this has to be one of the most annoying and frustrating ways to deal with style sheets.FTPAlong with the style sheet issue there are still issues regarding their FTP access, accessing servers via your FTP is the most important part as this is how you send your design to the world. The majority of my time now seems to be taken up waiting for server, running any other FTP software processes my files immediately, Adobe do not have a clue about how to manage FTP and need to sort this out rather than dismissing it with each version upgrade.OPENING FILESOne of my biggest issues with Dreamweaver is opening a file and seeing the beach ball spinning continuously with no timeout and therefore no error messages to let me know what the issue is. This usually occurs when opening a file containing an external javascript or other file. Forcing Dreamweaver to close and reopen does not resolve the issue, sometimes I just leave the spinning beach ball and come back after making a cup of coffee and hope for the best. In some cases I have edited the file using Textwrangler or other text editor and removed or remarked the line containing the external file, then reopen it in Dreamweaver, after shutting it down and reopening of course. This works so it definitely has issues with external files.So far these are the issues that have affected me, since upgrading to Snow Leopard problems have been mounting. Maybe it is time to forget about Adobe and move on to something a little more reliable.News of CS6There have been rumours that some parts of the new CS6 are in beta at the moment, it would seem that CS6 maybe released mid 2012. Don't hold your breath though, and don't expect miracles that this version will solve all the problems, in my opinion this version will be even fatter and more bloated than before and may not even be able to drag itself out of the box.

20th December 2011So Adobe have now told us they hope to launch the new version of their software in 2012, probably spring 2012, the name has not been confirmed but will be known as and called CS6 by most people.The news also gave some detail regarding upgrades and pricing, which would only allow one level back for upgrade, for all other versions a full price will be paid. So if you do not have CS5 or CS5.5 then full price will be charged for CS6 (or whatever it will be called). This will outrage people who leapfrog versions or are happy with their CS2 or CS3 and would like the opportunity to upgrade. It does feel like Adobe are forcing and upgrade path to give them the biggest return, as proven with their monthly payment scheme.We shall see as these are all speculation as Adobe have not actually said anything for certain and it is all just their thoughts and plans, we all know what happens with those at Adobe from time to time.More updates when I get them.Read the transcript here.

24th March 2012Adobe have now released a Beta copy of Photoshop CS6 for download from their labs pages, go here labs.adobe.com/technologies/photoshopcs6/ to get your copy for testing.Be aware that this maybe full of bugs and could crash your system but from previous experience the worst that could happen is that you lose the image your are currently working on, so save regularly.I think it is a shame that Adobe spend all their time enhancing and promoting Photoshop as if it is their only application, they seem to forget about Dreamweaver and Fireworks, adding only minor enhancements along the way.

21st April 2012Adobe are to release CS6 on Monday 23rd April 2012, that's 3 days time. Here is a pointless little 20 second video that Adobe have released;www.youtube.com/watch?v=21LFZyHNaqgWell it seems on 23rd April that "creativity is to be set free" and what is all that about Adobe & the creative cloud? Will the software be a free upgrade? or are Adobe free to charge what they want? Are they moving everything to the cloud whether we want it or not? I don't know, but we will learn more on Monday, I am sure of that.

23rd April 2012OK So Adobe have now launched CS6 and the Creative Cloud; a service that allows them to extract from your bank account every month for the rest of your poor designers life, that is if you want to continue to use their software, and if you stop paying them at any time then the software will stop working at the end of that monthly term. If you want access to the Creative Cloud then you will have to pay almost 50 per month, or if you are in America then $50, which is strange as the exchange rate is not 1:1, this should be around 30 in the UK if the current exchange rate is used. Yet again England gets shafted by its so called American "FRIEND".Discount is available if you are a "loyal customer" and have anything from CS3 to CS5.5, which reduces the monthly fee to 28 per month for the first year only.If you take a moment to read their terms you will find that fees can change without warning, so possibly if no-one goes for these extortionate service then they may increase them at will to make up any shortfall. The alternate option is to purchase the retail boxed version of the software and continue as before.Adobe have threatened us though; if you sign up to the cloud then they will update the software weekly or monthly, so you will always have access to the latest software and all their software, not just the parts sold with the retail pack. This is the only good thing about the cloud.Let us know your opinion about the Cloud and CS6. Are you buying retail or subscribing? Is it extortion or is it value for money?Please comment below and give your experiences of upgrading Adobe software in the past.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/When_will_Adobe_release_CS6? Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:42:00 GMT Fireworks, Adobe CS6, Adobe CS5, Upgrade, Web Premium http://www.dradept.com/When_will_Adobe_release_CS6? 12 Things People Will Hate About Your Website by DR Adept of Basildon
As a website designer and inbound marketing consultancy, it is our responsibly to advise our clients against including anything in their website which will annoy the visitor. We thought we would extend this advice to our readers and have listed a few of the most annoying things people will hate about your website. 12 things people hate about your website:1) Pop-Up AdsPop-ups are seriously annoying. Why distract your visitor from carrying out the action they came to your site to do. All you are achieving is interrupting the consumer and annoying them with your pop up. Instead convert visitors into customers with well written content and compelling call to actions. 2) Automatically Playing Multimedia Content When a Page LoadsDuring the week the majority of your website visitors are probably browsing the internet from their desk at work. It could be their lunch break, or it could be a sneaky bit of downtime. Your visitor thinks he is having a quite look around the internet, he lands on your website, and suddenly there is noise coming from his PC. Now your visitor is in a panic because he doesn't want his boss to hear your music or talking, alerting his boss he is doing something he shouldn't be. It is far easier to click the back button away from your website than trying to locate the mute button. In this instance your visitor feels embarrassed and it's your fault. Let visitors choose to play your multimedia content; don't force it on them.3) Generic Stock PhotographyIt's always best to use photos of your staff, your products and your customers. They look far more realistic and truthfully tell a story of who you are and what you do. Any website designer worth his weight in gold will be able to design visuals which directly relate to you.4) Including a 'Contact Us' Form in Lieu of Contact InformationPeople like to contact companies in different ways. A contact us form does not address the needs of visitors who may want to contact you urgently or who would like ongoing communications with you.A contact us form is fine but it should not be the only means available to your visitor for contacting you. Let people get in touch with you via email, social media and telephone, make that information available on your website.5) SEO-Driven CopyWe've all seen websites with bolded text and the same word repeated over again.It makes no sense to the visitor to your website, if the visitor can not read your copy they are not going to convert into a customer. Check all the copy on your website, make sure it makes sense, answers your visitor question or solve their problem. A word of warning! Google no longer tolerates over optimised content.6) Not Including Social Sharing Buttons on Your ContentThere is nothing more frustrating to a visitor who loves your content and wants to share it with their community than not being able to find your social sharing buttons. Social sharing buttons make it easy to share your content with one click, saving your visitor the time it takes to copy your URL, shorten it, and compose a tweet.Include social sharing buttons with all your content. It will help your visitor spread the word about your website, in turn helping you rank better within the search engines which will lead to more traffic to your site, and more lead generation opportunities.7) You Don't Have a BlogAbout us pages are no longer enough. Consumers are doing research before they purchase. They want to know who you are, what you do, why you do it and what you had for breakfast. OK we are lying about that last bit. No one wants to know what you had for breakfast or what you're drinking right at this minute.Be open; let your visitor know as much about you as possible, keep it professional and show case your expertise in your industry.8) Titles and Content do not matchMany website owners concentrate on their rankings for their keywords. The visitor sees these keywords within the search engine results, it is exactly what they want (4 Star Hotel in Cambridge) they click on the link to a website and land on a page which does not match the description they just read. Instead they are brought to a page about 'Well used tent for rent in Darby'. The visitor will click back on the browser leaving the website behind and feeling a bit frustrated because they were lied too.It's important to capture your audience attention with great titles which encourage the person to click through to your content. Avoid disappointment by delivering a page with content that is unrelated to the titles.9) Your Call-to-Action Copy Doesn't Align With the OfferThe same rule applies to your call to action. Your call to action has to match the offer 'download our FREE SEO guide'. You are saying by clicking this call to action you will be able to download a SEO guide at no cost. Not a website design guide for 100.00. The consumer will feel you are trying to cheat them, it will kill your reputation, and the conversion rates for your call to action and landing pages. 10) Sliders That Take Forever to LoadSliders are a great way to showcase multiple images and they look great if done correctly. If your slider loads images quickly and does not load a new page every time the user clicks, great! You've got it right and your sliders don't annoy. There are many sites out there, every time you click the arrow the next image takes a long time to load or you are taken to another page, it is too time consuming and frustrates the visitor.11) Using FlashFlash looks stunning when used correctly. But search engines can not read it, so your site is not going to get indexed. When visitors come to your website they are usually looking for something specific, it's very annoying when you have to wait 10 seconds or longer for your visual intro to load. More often the visitor will leave your website than wait.12) The Worst Offender: I Don't Know What to Do.The most important thing your website should be doing, is telling the visitor what you do and how they go about making a purchase. Include clear headlines, copy your visitor can understand which describes the value of what you do, and one primary call to action per page showing the visitor what step to take next, such as subscribing to your blog, getting a free trial or calling you.Many of the above mentioned 'irritants' create a poor user experience, high page abandonment, and low visitor to lead conversion rates as well as poor organic search listings.Although we give this advice, many of our clients, on the recommendation of a 3rd party, usually a friend, will insist on having one if not all of the items listed above, added to their website.What website components drive you nuts? Share them in the comments!The DR Adept Team
]]> http://www.dradept.com/12_Things_People_Will_Hate_About_Your_Website_by_DR_Adept_of_Basildon Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:12:00 GMT Web Designs http://www.dradept.com/12_Things_People_Will_Hate_About_Your_Website_by_DR_Adept_of_Basildon 8 Ways to Improve Your Landing Page Quality
Your landing pages must do a number of things correctly in order to be successful. If your landing pages are not converting the visitors into leads then they are not successful. You have done the hard bit and got the visitor to come to your web page, now they are there you need to keep them interested and get them to complete your call to action. Be that filling out a form, buying a product or downloading a free eBook.Here are a few pointers to help you improve the performance of your landing pages and convert those visitors into leads.1. Improve Your Headline: Your landing page headline is likely to be the first thing your visitor sees. It needs to be interesting and compelling enough to keep your visitor on your landing page to read what is on offer. Accurately sum up the content of your offer to your visitor. Try and be catchy, clear, and concise, not boring and vague. 2. Align Your Image With the Offer: Every landing page needs an image. That image needs to also describe what is on offer. If it is an eBook, then have an image of the eBook. If you are offering a free trial of some software show a snap shot of your software. If you are giving away a free fluffy toy, an image of the toy would be appropriate etc. The image will help motivate the visitor to carry out the action you want to achieve.3. Shorten Your Copy: Never give a detailed description of what you are offering and why the visitor has to buy it. A landing page should be as short as possible. Your visitor wants to know quickly what the offer is, what they will get out of it, and why it is worth completing the form and giving you their information. Answer these questions using enticing yet simple copy. Using bullet points to break up copy can get the message across very quickly.4. Shorten (or Lengthen) Your Form: The decision to shorten or lengthen your forms depends on your goals. If you have plenty of traffic coming to your landing page but not filling in your form then you need to ask for less information and shorten your form. If you have plenty of traffic coming to the landing page and plenty of prospects completing the form but you need to identify a better quality lead then you will need to ask for more details from the prospect to enable you to qualify them. 5. Include Social Sharing Buttons: Including social sharing buttons on your landing page enable's your visitors to spread your content to their connections, expanding the reach of your landing page.6. Demonstrate Value: People hate filling out forms, they hate giving out their personal information. You have to show them the value of the benefit they will receive if they complete your form. Make sure your page clearly explains the value of the offer and explain the benefits.7. Make Your Call-to-Action (CTA) Compelling: You need to make it clear to the visitor what it is you require them to do. You might want them to 'download', 'register' or 'sign up', but you need to make it clear, and make it stand out against everything else on your landing page. Tie your call to action to your offer.8. Remove Multiple CTAs: Keep it to one call to action per landing page. Remember what it is like when you are standing in a sweet shop trying to choose between two or three different chocolates. Do not make your visitor choose, because they chose they may make is to leave your landing page without completing your call to action.Comment below if you know of any other changes you would make to improve a landing page.If you want to find out more about prices and what is included in our landing page designs then click here : One Page WebsiteThe DR Adept Team
]]> http://www.dradept.com/8_Ways_to_Improve_Your_Landing_Page_Quality Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:04:00 GMT Landing Pages, Call to action, marketing, design http://www.dradept.com/8_Ways_to_Improve_Your_Landing_Page_Quality 10 Important Places You Need to Put Your Call To Action
Are your landing pages generating a high conversion rate but not creating many leads? If so it sounds like your content quality is fine but your content promotion is a problem. You probably are not getting your offer out in front of enough people.It will help greatly to make sure you firstly have call to actions on your pages, secondly to add more of them to various parts of your web presence.Here are 10 places we think you should add your call to action buttons;1. Your BlogAdd a call to action in your side bar and always add a call to action to every article you publish. You can even add call to actions within the body of your content.2. Your Email MarketingMake sure your email marketing message have a clear call to action enabling your subscribers to get at more of your content or offers.3. Facebook PageYou can get your call to action out there via a custom business page tab, using Facebook Ads or Sponsored Stories.4. Your TweetsUse your Twitter bio and add your call to action. Although not clickable you could add a short and simple URL to the background of your Twitter page background design.5. Your LinkedIn Company PageAdd call to action in your products tab within your LinkedIn company page. 6. Every Page of Your WebsiteCall to actions should be on all of your website pages, other than on your landing pages. Your landing pages will already be designed well to draw the visitor to the action you want. Don't confuse the visitor by adding a second call to action. Match your call to action to the information on the page. If a visitor is looking at your product details and prices, it is appropriate to put a "buy now" call to action in. If a person is only looking for information about your product, lead them to the appropriate information.7. eBooks and WebinarsYour visitor may have already given you their details before they downloaded the eBook or viewed your Webinar. You now want to move them to the middle of the funnel. So again include your call to action within your eBooks and webinars to keep nurturing your visitors into leads.8. PresentationsIf you speak at industry conferences or events and the events guidelines allow for it, include your call to action within your presentation.9. Email SignatureIt all helps, add your call to action to your personal email signature, even better ask all of your sales and marketing teams to do the same.10. VideosInclude a call to action within all videos you produce, keep it short and simple and easy to remember.Now you can enjoy a higher conversion rate.If you know of any other suggestions we may have missed please use the comment box to let us and our readers know. Find out more about landing pagesThe DR Adept Team
]]> http://www.dradept.com/10_Important_Places_You_Need_to_Put_Your_Call_To_Action Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:08:00 GMT Call to action, marketing, design http://www.dradept.com/10_Important_Places_You_Need_to_Put_Your_Call_To_Action 9 Tips for the Perfect Landing Page - See Your Conversions Increase
Website landing pages are one of the most important elements of lead generation. Most companies still do not use lead generation pages, but concentrate on stuffing as much information about their products or services within their website pages. This often leads to confusing the visitor.Studies show that the average conversion rate for the majority of websites is between 1% and 3%, whereas landing pages have a 5% to 15% conversion rate because they are targeted and tell your visitor what to do.For years business owners have sent traffic to their home page without knowing where that traffic comes from. Now business owners can use email marketing, social media and pay per click (PPC) advertising and drive traffic to landing pages designed to turn that visitor into a lead. These landing pages also let you know exactly which marketing channels are working best for your business.The job of a landing page is to tell your visitors what you want them to do and why. Your homepage, although still an important element of your website, serves the masses and has to get a lot of general information across to different types of visitors, whereas the landing page will be targeted to a specific type of visitor, often coming from your advert, your social media account or from an email you sent out.As mentioned above landing pages can achieve a 5% to 15% conversion rate. Check out our tips below and start creating the perfect landing page today.1. Do not use your home page as a landing pageHome pages typically have too much information on them, containing directions to all your other pages or most important pages as well as Twitter feeds, news and events and other information, this makes visitors feel lost. Do not use your product or service pages either. Dedicated landing pages work far better.2. Must Haves for a good Landing Page

• A headline and (optional) sub-headline
• A brief description of your offer
• A supporting image or short video
• Testimonials, customer logos or security badges for secure payments (all optional).
• Most important! A form to capture the visitor's information. If you can't include a form use a large call to action button which stands out and directs the visitor to the next step.

• 11% of adults already own a tablet computer of some sort.
• Almost half of tablet users get news on their tablet every day.
• Three-in-ten tablet users say they now spend more time consuming news than they did before purchasing their tablet.
• 77% of tablet owners use their tablets every day.
• Tablet owners spend an average of 90 minutes on them per day.
• 53% of tablet users consume news on their tablet daily.
• 54% of tablet users send email on their tablet daily.
• 39% of tablet users use their tablets for social networking daily.
• 30% of tablet users use their tablets for gaming daily.
• 27% of tablet users use their tablets for reading books daily.
• 13% of tablet users use their tablets for watching movies and videos daily.
• Tablet news users say they prefer tablets over traditional computers, print publications or television as a way to get quick news headlines and to read long-form pieces.
• Approximately two-thirds of tablet users have a news app.
• The majority, or 40%, of tablet news users say they get their news mainly through a tablet web browser (compared to a news app).
• 21% of tablet users get their news primarily through apps.
• Just 14% of tablet news users have paid directly for content on their devices.
• A large majority of those who haven't paid for content are reluctant to do so, even if it's the only way to get news from their favorite sources.
• 23% of tablet news users get digital access of some kind through a print newspaper or magazine subscription.
• Of those tablet users who haven't paid directly, just 21% say they would be willing to spend $5 per month if that were the only way to access their favorite source on the tablet
• Of those who have news apps, 83% say that being free or low cost was a major factor in their decision about what to download.
• 90% of app users went directly to the app of a specific news organization compared with 36% that went to some sort of aggregator app like Pulse.
• 81% of those who went through their browser accessed news headlines via a direct news website (compared with 68% who went through a search engine, and about a third 35% that went through a social network).
• 90% of tablet news users now consume news on the tablet that they used to access in other ways.
• 8 in 10 tablet news users say they now get news on their tablet that they used to get online from their laptop or desktop computer.
• 59% of tablet news users say the tablet replaces what they used to get from a print newspaper or magazine.
• 57% of tablet news users say the tablet takes the place of what they used to get from television news.
• Nearly 9 in 10 (88%) of those who read long articles in the last seven days ended up reading articles they were not initially seeking out.
• 43% of tablet news users now spend more time getting the news than they did before they had their tablet.
• 85% of those who get news on their tablets said they had talked with someone about a long article they had read there.
• 41% of tablet news users say they share news through email or social networking at least sometimes.

• High standard of website design
• Excellent, fast, prompt and efficient service
• Always meet your deadlines
• Website will be search engine friendly on launch
• We can create a mobile version of your website
• Easy to use Search Engine Optimisation features within our content manager system
• We are here 24/7/365 to ensure your website is running
• Full in house managed hosting.
• Unique designs by us, no pre-purchased templates used

• Technorati - Use the search box at the top of the site - search for popular posts or blogs using specific keywords covering particular topics.
• Alltop - Alltop pulls in feeds from blogs on a variety of topics. You should have no problem finding a blog on a topic you want to comment on.
• PostRank - If you are after some analytics, visit PostRank and search for your topic. It will bring up a list of blogs that are tagged with that topic in order of social engagement, including comments and shares on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Delicious, Myspace, and more.

PageRankIf you are blog commenting to increase your websites PageRank, you should be looking for blog posts relevant to your subject, have PageRank themselves and preferably allow dofollow links. Dofollow links allows some of their PageRank to flow through to your website.It can be a bit hit and miss searching for directories and blogs with dofollow blog lists as their PageRank information maybe out of date, or they may have been a dofollow once but have changed to nofollow in recent months.I find Seoquake's extension is quite a good way to find blog posts with high PR. When you install it, go to the Tools Menu > Seoquake > Preferences > SE plugins, tick the Enable box under Google as well as change Load parameters to 'by request' so you don't overload Google and Yahoo with requests as they will ban you from using their search engine for a couple of hours, it happened to me when I first started out and its painful.You can then search in Google using your keywords plus additional phrases to find blog posts. You will be able to sort the results by PageRank by clicking on the PR:?. Up and down arrows then appear, click on these to sort the results from highest to lowers PR.Be warned, quite a number of blog commenting systems will require you to register to be able to leave a comment, but as you are serious and not a Spammer this shouldn't be a problem for you.SERPsFor boosting SERPs for your keyword phrases, you will need to find relevant blogs with dofollow links, you will also need to use anchor text within your link. To ensure you can leave anchor text within your comment or heading, check through the comments and see if anyone else has used anchor text and how they have gone about doing it and implement the same strategy. If there is no anchor text the moderators of the site probably removed them from the comments before they are posted.Do not SpamThankfully many blog sites have spam filters or moderators keeping an eye on comments. So please do not comment if you are not going to add anything of value just so you can gain a link, you probably will not get past the moderators and you do not want to get flagged as a spammer. However, if you do want to comment and want to stand out from the spammers and be seen as a legitimate commenter you can try out the following:AvatarsStand out from the spammers and use a Avatar. It makes your comment more personal and show's you want others to know who you are. If by any chance you end up in the spam filter at least you will stand out as spammers do not tend to use Avatars.ProfilesSome sites will require you register before being allowed to submit comments. It takes a couple of minutes to create a profile where you might as well sell yourself as much as possible. Spammers are not going to bother doing this properly if at all.Subscribe to commentsSpammers usually comment on the highest PR post they can find, or they hit as many posts as possible and never come back. I would recommend you only comment in two or three posts, relevant to your subject to start with and subscribe to comments enabling you to be notified via email if the blogger has responded to your comment allowing you to go back and answer. ModerationYou might think you have got past the moderator, but I would recommend you come back in a few days to check your comment or links are still there. If not it's a good sign you are considered a spammer and you will need to approach the moderator to prove you are a serious business person and not a spammer.Getting Links in the Body of the Comment ApprovedProbably the biggest spammer red flag are comments with a link embedded in the body of the comment. If the blog allows you to add a link in a website field, I would go with that first over adding the link to the body of the comment to get it approved. But if you don't have that as an option, you have these options.

1. Include the link as your "signature" like you would in an email. Sometimes this will slip by moderation.
2. Include your link only if it answers a question from the blog post or another commenter. If the blog post says "where can I buy dog food at a good price" and your link is a discount pet food supply store, then it might be welcome.
3. Include your link only if it somehow adds value to the post. If the blog post is about website analytics (preferably a comparison of services out there and not simply an advertisement post about one service), and your link is to an analytics service, you can include it as an additional resource for people to check out when comparing analytics programs. Listing some differences and benefits of your analytics program compared to the ones listed in the post would also be a plus.
4. If none of this work for you, find blogs that have approved comments with links in their comment text. Chances are, they will be spammy, but if others have spammed it, you probably can too. Just make sure the other links aren't really trashy and you should be in ok company.

Above all your link should always add value to the conversation.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/A_Basic_Guide_to_Link_Building_via_Blog_Commenting Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:41:00 GMT Link Building http://www.dradept.com/A_Basic_Guide_to_Link_Building_via_Blog_Commenting Creating a mobile website for the iphone
The iPhone is one of the most popular smart phones allowing an easy way of connecting to the Internet and visiting websites, it would be silly not to embrace this technology and make sure your website is capable.The iPhone does not like Adobe Flash, but that is not a problem as the new HTML 5 standards allow many content types such as video to be displayed without the need for this old and cumbersome technology.Also JQuery is now enhancing websites and doing some amazing things originally only possible using Flash, slideshows and popup modals all look fantastic when created with JQuery, and the advantage is that the iPhone loves JQuery.

Starting your mobile steps

The first thing to do when creating a mobile version of your site is to reduce everything to its essence, navigation is key so start there.Make a list of all your pages that need converting to mobile, not all information may be required depending on what you want your mobile site to achieve.

Navigation

List your menu navigation options.If you need sub menus then you may want to use a nice jQuery slider to make the menus slide open nice and smoothly, while not cluttering up the display.

Layout and code

As the mobile devices are slim everything will probably look better in one column.The iPhone standard uses a window size of 320 x 480 and this can be displayed in two modes; portrait and landscape, so you need to work with both widths to get the best from your site.In the header section use viewport meta name to specify the layout and wether the page is scalable or not.

In the body add your container

Inside the container add your content.First add your header section with logo and then your footer with information and quick contact information.

The H1 tag can then be configured using your Style Sheet to display a logo etc.Follow this by your menu with links to your specific pages, this can then be used to navigate to each of the pages once you have created them.I always use a bulleted list to make it easy to modify and add features.

Then add your area for content.

Finally add your footer information.

Once you have created one page you can either use that as a template or save this page several times for each page you require, then edit each of these pages to add your content.designers work differently than developers so what you do next is up to you, but I tend to ensure the content is displaying on the appropriate pages and then work on my style sheet, but some designers like to work on the style sheet first and then add their content, either way is fine.Test and retest is the key, and if you have a mobile device such as an iPhone then try it live as you go to ensure everything works as you expect.

Final stage and technical bits

I use PHP as my primary web server and this is great for working out what browser is being used and what to do about it.This simple piece of code determines whether the browser being used is an iphone.

Placing this code on the index page will look for the web page mobile_index.php and if it exists it will load that version.There are a few alternatives such as using sub domains like i.mydomain.com and create a standalone set of pages for the iphone or using .htaccess to determine browser type and loading pages appropriately.View our new Mobile site at www.dradept.com/index_mobile.php and please leave us your comments below.if you would like your site converted to a mobile site specifically for the iphone or other mobile device then Contact us
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Creating_a_mobile_website_for_the_iphone Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:23:00 GMT Mobile,iPhone,design http://www.dradept.com/Creating_a_mobile_website_for_the_iphone Link Building
Your search engine optimisation is in place, although you have seen improvements to your websites ranking it could still do better, this is where you need to start implementing link building and content creation if you haven't already started.Content and content promotion

• It is well worth the time and effort to write excellent content instead of just decent content. The more informative, giving real worth to the reader the better. Great content creates more traffic and interest in your website. It shows off your expertise in your industry, creating trust in your products and services. If other's rate what you are saying they may even link to you. I have found a number of articles I have written for our blog or for our clients websites and blogs have seen an increase in traffic and inbound links.
• If you think you have discovered something unique, write about it and use social media to promote your article.
• I would always recommend keeping the article on your own website and use services like Technorati, Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else you can publish your sites RSS feed to promote the article. Once the visitors are on your website give them an opportunity to bookmark or share your content via social media.
• Keep advertising, such as Adwords to a minimum and preferable under the fold. Your aim is to get links and other web owners want to link to great content not making you money from adverts.
• Do not hide the relationship between the content and the commercial aspect of your website you could end up looking deceitful.

• Good quality directories still work. Ensure they are human edited, avoiding directories that allow every submission in.
• If you can not be bothered hunting around the web for quality directories you can always use an SEO tool such as WebCEO helping you do auto submissions to many directories. It also has lists of directories you will need to do manual submissions to.
• A couple of general directories you may wish to look into are:-

1. DMOZ
2. Yahoo! Directory
3. About.com
4. Best of the web
5. Free Index

• I have found guest blogging seems to really help bring in traffic and create quality inbound links. It is also a good way to create brand awareness. Make sure the website you are going to guest blog for is relevant to your website and is of a high quality. If you create a good relationship with a complementary website or blog you can start getting great content for your own website as well.

• There is nothing wrong with reciprocal linking, yet website owners have become more reluctant to do this. It is ok to reciprocal link but ensure you investigate the website where the link will be placed, make sure it is reputable and of high quality and relevant to your website.
• Many Search Engine Optimisation Consultants will tell you not to purchase links, it comes under the heading Black Hat SEO. Google also do not like purchased links and say they can detect them. It is entirely up to you if you wish to start off with purchased links then work on acquiring links for yourself and removing the purchased links as you go. I have never purchased links so have not tested whether they work.
• Keep comprehensive records of your link building campaign, how do you know what is working and how many links you are gaining through different avenues without keeping records.
• Ensure the site you want a link from is of a high quality, high ranking website with relevant content or same topic as yours. Gaining Anchor Text within their website using your keywords is better than being listed on a links page with hundreds of other companies.
• One link from a highly ranked website is far better than hundreds of links from low ranked websites.
• Evaluating the trust of a website involves reviewing its link neighbourhood to see what other trusted sites link to it. More links from other trusted sites would convey more trust. MozTrust at SeoMoz is a very useful tool for a quicker way of finding out a websites trust rank.
• Source Diversity is also important, get links from directories, social media sites, university sites, media websites and social bookmarking sites etc.
• Check out who is linking to your competition and see if you can also get a link.
• The more outbound links a page has the less valuable it is.

• Search engines (like Google) mostly update their algorithms to do one of two things: to increase the relevance of the search results and to battle spam in their index. If you keep things relevant and avoid spam tactics, your rankings should remain intact as long as there is not a fundamental shift in how websites and pages are ranked.

• SEO is still very important, but it needs to be used along side remarkable content that people want to read.
• Social, Real-time and Video content are critical components of today's content and optimisation mix. If you are not already doing it, now is the time to start.
• There is no point obsessing over Page Rank or the SERP number, you need to learn which keywords will drive traffic to your website, creating leads and sales. As each searcher will have a different experience you can not guarantee placement, but you can measure improvements in the business metrics that matter. E.g., bottom line.

• What is it you want to gain from having a website?
• What do you want to tell visitors?
• What information do you want to make available to your visitors?
• Do you want client logins and/or member only sections where some content is locked away from general visitors and the search engines?
• How do you want visitors to contact you?
• Do you need complex forms to gather information and then email through or just a basic comments or feedback form?
• Do you need animations to show the processes involved in your business?
• Do you need high quality photos or images created specifically for the website?
• Do you have a colour scheme, logo set or layout you wish to use, maybe in line with your corporate image?
• Are there any specific details the web designer should know before starting a design?

Whatever technology you choose and whichever hosting option you select make sure it is correct and appropriate for your website. There are many websites using a specific design just because it is what they want rather than what they need to make their website great.Cloud SourcingIf you have no idea what type of design you want, or would like to keep your options open, Cloud Sourcing could be the right choice for you. Cloud sourcing is a great concept involving you having access to many designers who will all look at your brief and come up with a design, you then get to pick and pay for the best one. Websites such as design99.com allow you to specify your design criteria for a fee, then many designers attempt to win your money by creating a design they think will work for you. After you view all the designs you can choose the best design and your fee gets passed to the winning designer.The disadvantage is you have to choose a design. The website designer may not offer other services such as hosting, and they may be a great designer but not good with the coding that actually makes the site work for you and your type of business and customer.The advantage is there are some great designers out there building their portfolios who will use design99.com to build their business.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Web_Design_Essex Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:55:00 GMT website, redesign http://www.dradept.com/Web_Design_Essex Getting top rankings without any visable SEO work
Whats going on with local search? I'm finding more and more new companies/websites appearing at the top of the search results, when they clearly have not under gone any seo work, have very little content and hardly any back links, not to mention I have been unable to locate them in Social Media.Every rule the SEO industry tell us to follow seems not to apply right now, where as two years ago doing basic SEO would see immediate results.Has anyone else noticed this?I continue to test SEO and only implement what I know works. But my findings lately concerning local search does have me scratching my head.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Getting_top_rankings_without_any_visable_SEO_work Thu, 08 Apr 2010 09:45:00 GMT CMS, SEO http://www.dradept.com/Getting_top_rankings_without_any_visable_SEO_work Cancellation of our 0870 number
We have been using the number 0870 7019990 since we started business in 1998, not to make any money from it but to make it easier for our clients to remember.The 999 bit was important to us as we dealt with website and computer problems.Our monthly statement showed the phone calls we received, not that many, and how much we had to pay for the line, always £0.00 as it was paying for itself due to the 10p per minute charge on the line.Just after Christmas we had a bill for just under £3.00 so we phoned Telewest Business to find out why we had been charged as it was a free service, they told us due to ofcom changes they had to charge for the line now so we requested that the line was cancelled.Now after 3 months of contacting them and the bill going up to just under £7.00 they have finally cancelled the number and cleared the charges.We will consider a new 0844 or possibly an 0800 number but for now we are happy with our direct number 01268 456274.Skype is another option but we would like an actual number that works throughout the UK and Europe, any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.If you try our old 0870 number it will not work and should be out of commission for at least 6 months.Need to talk to us call us on 01268 456274 we like a chat.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Cancellation_of_our_0870_number Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:11:00 GMT phone, national rate http://www.dradept.com/Cancellation_of_our_0870_number SEO Friendly Content Manager
We started learning SEO nearly 3 years ago. Fortunately our web designer David is fantastic at coding, and was able to implement the SEO requirements into our content manager system.I am able to create unique title tags, page descriptions, keywords and content for each page without having to go through the web developer. It has been made so easy; I can view the page I'm working on and click on a small button which takes me to a content editor so I know I'm changing the right page.All of our clients who have had websites designed by us also have our content manager, which I use for SEO purposes.Now I am starting to work with new clients with their own content managers, I've realised I've been spoilt. I constantly come up against a brick wall because their content manager can not deal with the changes required. I often have to stop myself spluttering on the phone "What do you mean it can't do it".Has anyone else found content managers that deal really well with Search Engine Optimisation, I would be interested to hear from you.Christina RadisicSEO Consultant based in Essex
]]> http://www.dradept.com/SEO_Friendly_Content_Manager Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:33:00 GMT CMS, SEO http://www.dradept.com/SEO_Friendly_Content_Manager Spam and Scam emails get serious
Scams are part and parcel of the Internet, we are used to spam and scam emails now, we delete them without thought, and pay no attention to them like the adverts between our favourite programmes on TV and the ads on websites.Spam filters work hard and try their best to remove the garbage from our inbox, unfortunately spammers and scammers learn the ways of the filters to prevent their emails from being trashed.The new wave of scam and spam is the phishing scam to get control of your email account or web servers, once they have control of these they can use your domain to send more spam and scam emails.Anyone who runs a website should understand their support system and know who is responsible for supporting their domain and servers, what email address is used when dealing with support issues.You should only ever accept support emails from those email addresses you recognise as real support emails, and never accept what the email states, always contact your support directly either by phone or via your email support direct contact address to confirm what any email has told you.Most scam or spam support emails will use an administrator @ yourdomain.com or similar as they know nothing of your web hosting company and usually this would not be the email being used by your support company.Below is an email that I received this morning and I have now been told by several clients they too have received similar emails.Beware as if you follow links in the email you will be asked for specific information regarding your account and if you fill these forms in your domain security will be compromised.All support services would rather you contact them to confirm the details than to have to deal with the clean up after the problems arise from believing the emails.When reading this email notice the bad English, the bad grammar and the dodgy link to a dodgy website that has nothing to do with the domain in question or the hosting company being used.*** ORIGINAL EMAIL WITH LINKS REMOVED ******This message was created automatically by mail-delivery software. Do not reply to this message.*** Hello!Your profile will be locked in response to a complaint received by the Administration 29.01.2010.According to "paragraph 8 of the user agreement, dradept.com reserves the right to suspend or terminate the provision of services dradept.com, promptly notifying the user. Refute the statement may be, following this link:1bankofnevada.usIf the application is not rejected within 7 days, your e-mail an account will be blocked.It has a number 582428172667310. In the near future we will contact you.It takes up to 3 days to process your request.Thank you!--------------------------------Sincerely,mail support servicedradept.com
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Spam_and_Scam_emails_get_serious Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:04:00 GMT scam http://www.dradept.com/Spam_and_Scam_emails_get_serious Top Nine Positive SEO Ranking Factors

• Keyword use in title tag
• Anchor text of inbound link
• Global link authority of site
• Age of site
• Internal link popularity
• Topical relevance of inbound links
• Link popularity of site in same community
• Keyword use in body text
• Global link popularity of sites linking to your site

The important piece of this link is updata-1.net as this is the actual web address that is being visited.From here it is then asking to load a patch file which may give this website owner details of who the link originated from, you and your computer.The giveaway is the end bit .exe which is an executable file containing the nasty virus or spyware, you should never load these from the Internet unless you know the source is genuine and valid.It sometimes is possible to find out who the owner of a domain is by checking with a domain registration company such as 123-reg, for the domain updata-1.net I found it was registered in Leningrad, Russia. To be safe use the latest Norton Anti-Virus or Internet Security system.Be aware and be careful.UPDATEA client has contacted me to say they received an email similar to the one I mention above, the email appears below but I have replaced my clients details with my own.

As you can see it looks like you are visiting a page within xxxxxxx.xxx (or your domain) to allow you to make some changes to your settings.As this is a HTML email it can hide the link, the displayed text is slightly different from the actual clicked link, looking at the link that is visited when clicked you get http://www.xxxxxxx.xxx.nerrasssx.eu/owa/service_directory/settings.php?email=xxxxx @ xxxxxxx.xxx&from= xxxxxxx.xxx&fromname=xxxxxThe only difference in the displayed link and the hidden actual link is in the first bit;Displayed link: http://www.xxxxxxx.xxx.nerrasssx.euVisited Link: xxxxxxx.xxxThis is a big difference as the displayed link looks like my domain but the visited hidden link is to a totally different website.Break this down as before into each of the parts;http://www.xxxxxxx.xxx.nerrasssx.eu - The domain/owa/service_directory/ - folder location within the websitesettings.php - name of web page to load?email=xxxxx @ xxxxxxx.xxx - passes the email address to the web page&from= xxxxxxx.xxx - passes the domain to the webpage&fromname=xxxxx - passes the name of the user to the webpageThe actual domain being visited here is nerrasssx.eu but the inclusion of my (or your) domain at the front http://www.xxxxxxx.xxx.nerrasssx.eu makes it look like your domain and therefore more valid. Same technique used for all phishing scams.FURTHER UPDATE

Another new email has been received by several clients today. Thanks to Barry for contacting me before opening.Barry said that he thinks this is a distinct advantage having direct contact with Dr Adept is that he can phone at any time and ask any question and get an immediate response, not having to rely on support tickets and email system as the email he received looked genuine.Here is the email:

This email looks genuine enough again, simple and easy and believable, and comes with an zip attachment which if opened produces a file called utility.exe, this file will undoubtedly install spyware, scareware or virus on your system most likely to turn your computer into a spam zombie to send more of these infernal emails.Stay Safe and don't believe any emails of this kind, always check with your techies or support team direct before installing any attachment.David Radisic is an Essex based web designer
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Beware_tech_support_emails Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:07:00 GMT Scam http://www.dradept.com/Beware_tech_support_emails Communicating effectively
What sets you apart from the competition is your ability to connect. Here are a few simple tips.Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that reads, "Make me feel important".Seek out a common interest. People want others to be like them.Don't work from a script. I personally find a natural conversation works better; One script does not fit all.Remember the remarkable. I find it quite easy to remember most things my clients talk about. However, it often helps jotting down their comments, so next time I talk to them I can ask "How did the holiday in Canada go? Was the Prince Of Wales as good as you thought?" This not only makes my clients feel important, it shows I'm listening to them.Cultivate curiosity. Too many people fail to realize that real communication goes in both directions. Do you actually stop talking and just sit back and listen. It can be a real eye opener.Act like a good listener. Make sure your body language portrays someone who is open and receiving. Remember your face gives away a lot.Resist the urge to be a one-upper. We all do it, intentionally or not.Ask effective questions. Think about what you're hoping to learn, and remember that an open-ended question is almost always more effective than one that elicits a simple Yes or No answer.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Communicating_effectively Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:05:00 GMT CMS, SEO http://www.dradept.com/Communicating_effectively Teleporting does exist
Yes it may be a revelation to some but a lot of us do it every day without blinking an eye.Some of us have embraced Teleportation having our work teleported directly to our home office or laptop or internet enabled phone so we can work from anywhere at any time.It amazes me that we still have to travel to and from dirty smelly city's considering no-one enjoys it and it is definitely good for the environment.Commuting was something I always told myself I would never do, I don't care about the money it's all about the enjoyment of the job and I have to say I have enjoyed all my jobs and have happily never commuted except for the 1 day a month commute to Cambridge when I worked at Camputers on their Lynx project, but you can't call that a commute as it was fun as it was not in rush hour and involved a night in a 'lovely' hotel or guest house, breakfast included.Now we are in a position to work from anywhere as we have internet access anywhere, iPhone apps that allow access to files, video and messaging systems to enable us to choose how we work.I know what is holding us back, it is what has held us back for a long time, middle management, yes those people who separate the workers and those that make decisions and run the 'company', those people who have been placed there to keep people busy no matter what the cost. Middle management have no idea how to handle these teleportation devices, how is it possible to manage people they cannot see? They tell themselves things like; If people worked from home they won't do any work! They will all sit around in their underwear scratching their collective ass watching TV! These middle managers have no vision but it is easy to see that we are in the future, the future is now, we have the technology and we can save the world if everyone worked from home.There of course are those of us that cannot work from home as their jobs requires them to be somewhere else, such as firemen, nurses, doctors, road workers, policemen, builders, and so on but if those of us who could easily work from home, given the chance, then we would allow those that had to commute to do it with less stress and more space, less people and more time.I don't think things will change anytime soon, but we live in hope. Just seems like the more things change the more they stay the same.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Teleporting_does_exist Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:36:00 GMT work, commuting http://www.dradept.com/Teleporting_does_exist SEO Fee
11 years ago small businesses expected to pay high prices for websites, yet over the years this has evened out and prices are set at more realistic levels.So why is it so many small businesses seem to believe SEO is worth around 21 for 35 hours work. Is there anyone living in the UK who can work for 21 a month? I would love to hear from you.DR Adpet set prices as reasonable as possible, but we have to charge enough to stay in business. We have a proven track record of increasing out clients sales.If you would like an seo quote please remember SEO takes months of work, no SEO can possible stay in business if expected to work for 60p an hour.And yes you do get what you pay for, even from a good SEO, if you can't pay them enough then they are limited to what they can achieve for you.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/SEO_Fee Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:09:00 GMT CMS, SEO http://www.dradept.com/SEO_Fee Search Engine Optimisation Happiness
Its fantastic when you receive an email message on a Monday morning from a client telling you they are really happy with the work you have been killing yourself over to get them more leads through their website.Just makes me want to work even harder for them.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Search_Engine_Optimisation_Happiness Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:27:00 GMT SEO http://www.dradept.com/Search_Engine_Optimisation_Happiness Another day another scam
It is a fact of life these days being scammed, seems like everyone is doing it.Today I received a domain renewal email from a company called ISP DOMAIN NAME SERVICES for a domain that had been renewed last month.Clicking on the link shows a website that looks quite genuine but if you look closely at the bottom you will see ISP Renewal SIA, Maskavas 55, Latvia;Looking at their contact page it shows London phone numbers which are not available;If you are caught by these scammers you will be paying $79.95 for just 1 years registration and up to $699.95 for 10 Years registration.Considering registration for a .com domain is around 20-30 for 2 years registration that is a huge amount of profit, and then you have to ask yourself will they even actually renew the domain anyway or just take your money and run?Don't be taken in by these scammers, check with your web designer, ISP or whoever registered your domain originally to ensure your domains are renewed correctly and on time.Would be good if the authorities had the power to shut these people down as they waste so much time and cost so much money, but they are always outside the country and in most cases outside the law.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Another_day_another_scam Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:53:00 GMT Scam http://www.dradept.com/Another_day_another_scam Page counts and Visitors
Have you ever received an email from an advertiser or marketer claiming that they have thousands of hits per day and that this proves beyond doubt that they are the most popular website around?We all have, they say that 19,000-30,000 hits per week, or even per day, is typical and therefore if you advertise with them you will be seen by all these people.Well lets break it down and work out what those hits actually mean shall we.Firstly the most important thing is to understand what hits actually means.'Page views' or 'Page hits' actually shows how many times a page has been viewed on a website, whether by thousands of people viewing one page or just one person viewing lots of pages.If you find a website with a page counter try refreshing or reloading the page a few times and see what happens, the page counter most likely will increase every time you do this. It is counting every time the page is being loaded or refreshed not how many visitors there are.A page counter is worthless as it is no indication as to how many different visitors there have been to a website.This can only be derived from a unique visitor counter, this is where every visitor is tracked and counted only once, this kind of counter will show the count as 1 no matter how many times you refresh or reload a page.There are many analytic systems that do this, also known as web statistics or web stats systems, the most poular or well know is Google AnalyticsThese vary in complexity and accuracy but most break down the visitors into categories.As equally important is how many bots or search engine robots are visiting a site to spider or 'have a look around' as these are not interested in your adverts or articles, they just gather information for use on another website.Most good analytic or stats systems differentiate between bots and browsers by counting the known browsers as these are used by people rather than bots.Another very important factor is how long someone stays on your site, this is known as the 'bounce rate', someone visits a site, takes a quick look and finds it is not for them, then leaves without really visiting. Should these even be counted as visitors?As a web master it is good to know how many 'Page views' your site gets as this impacts on the server and bandwidth costs, but it is of no use to anyone who wants to advertise on a site.Another factor is spammers who visit sites to either submit details to a form or forum linking back to the spammers website or to add a referrer link to that sites stats system which looks like a genuine visitor has clicked on a site link from the spammers website. For this reason it is not a good idea to count contact or form pages in a unique visitor count as many of these spammers use random details to look unique each time they visit.Unique visitors using a browser who stay longer than 10 seconds are important as these are real people who may click on your advert.If you want to advertise on a website then an important question to ask is how many unique visitors do you get, not how many page hits.Hope this helps.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Page_counts_and_Visitors Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:11:00 GMT Stats, Advertising http://www.dradept.com/Page_counts_and_Visitors Does this scam actually work
I thought that these scams would die off but I suppose the thing about the Internet is that there is a never ending flow of new people coming onto it who could be fleeced for everything they own.What can you do about these scams. I think the best thing is to ignore and delete as if you start a conversation with them you are likely to draw attention to yourself.Sometimes I like replying and tell them to give all the money to their favourite charity.I checked the domain bnl-uk.org and whois shows that it has privacy protection so no valid contact available, a good indicator of a scam.I am publishing the scam email exactly as I received it just so others can learn.------------------------------------------------------- WARNING SCAM ALERT - ORIGINAL EMAIL-------------------------------------------------------From: Fry, Timothy [mailto:timfry @ moore.sc.edu] Sent: 03 September 2009 14:39To: winner @ bnl-alert.co.ukSubject: Confirmation Ticket Number:56475600545299Confirmation Ticket Number:56475600545299You have won 850,000.00 in this Year British Email random selection. Contact Mr. Frank Arthur. Tel: 4470111 83202 , 4470111 83206 447031994752, 447031978650 for your claim and forward the below winning information along with your, 1.Full Name:2.Home Address: 3.Age: 4.Sex: 5.Tel: 6.Occupation: 7.Country Of Residence: 8.Nationality: 9.Amount Won: Reply to this E-mail to: claims @ bnl-uk.orgit is important to note that your award information was released todaywith the following particulars attached to it.Below are your Winning Information's:REF.NO: BEG/2551256008/07lucky numbers of 09-22-37-39-41-49-2-7Batch No 3-12-30-8-42-10Ticket number 56475600545299 Award No 16-4-38-32-84,serial number 3214-07. Please note that all winning must be claim not later than 30 working daysFailure to meet the date will be invalid.Thanks,Fry, Timothy,Promotion CoordinatorNB Please Note do not mail back through the alert email contact Mr. Frank Arthur via email: claims @ bnl-uk.org
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Does_this_scam_actually_work Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:36:00 GMT scam http://www.dradept.com/Does_this_scam_actually_work New CMS Guide website
We are furiously working on our new how to guide website at www.CMSguide.co.uk to help people understand our Content Manager System.Rather than work on the site behind the scenes we thought we would make it live immediately and add details as we get the chance.We will be posting information on the site over the next few weeks and months, there is a lot of information to include so bear with us.If there is anything you would like to see in the guide then please comment and let us know, we will try to include all requests as best we can.Also we like feedback so please let us know what you think as we go.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/New_CMS_Guide_website Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:19:00 GMT CMS, How to... http://www.dradept.com/New_CMS_Guide_website 6 SEM Tips
1. Domain NamePurchase a domain name that is easy to remember, tells the customer what you do and can be expanded in the future along with your business and location.Others maybe able to copy your PPC advert but they can not use your domain name.2. Direct Search TrafficEnsure your advert links to the landing page relevant to your advert and not just to your home page.This ensures the searcher goes straight to your product or service, the less clicks they have to go through to purchase or find your product the better.3. Link BuildingTo rank well within the search engines you have to link build. Use the free tools from firefox and look at the links your competition have. You will need to obtain around as many as they have.Use your keywords to back link to your site. Don't just stick to your main keywords use other relevant variants.Again do not link just to your home page, each page on your site should be used in full to sell your products making it easier for the searcher to find what they want.Create good copy which people will want to link to and market it to the right audience, enabling you to pull in natural anchor text.4. Directory SubmissionsDo you link to thousands upon thousands of free web directories, they will probably be of low quality which will drag your own websites ranking down with it.If your website is new go for quality linking, later on you can start putting a few lower quality links in but only a few.5. Multiple AdWords campaignsDo not rely on one advert to achieve all of your sites goals. Create individual adverts linking directly to Seasonal offers, events, special offers, downloads etc.6. Site StructureHave a strong site structure which is easy to navigate.Set up site categories and sub-categories that use keywords people are searching for.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/6_SEM_Tips Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:45:00 GMT 6 SEM Tips http://www.dradept.com/6_SEM_Tips Be careful with your domains
Domains are important part of your business as they allow customers to easily identify you on the internet. You may have the same name on the internet as you do in the real world but in some cases you may have a totally different name depending on whether your domain was available, whatever your domain name you need to protect it as it is important.Many domain registration companies try to scam people out of their domains or obtain money by deception by making you believe your domain is about to expire unless you pay them a lot of money.Domains vary in prices depending on the TLD or Top Level Domain so a .co.uk would cost around 8 - 10, .com would be around 25 - 30 and this is for 2 years registration. Some of the scammers ask for $75 a year and also make it look attractive and worth your while saving money if you register for 10 years.Dr Adept include domain renewals in all hosting agreements and do not charge extra for this, pay your hosting fees on time and Dr Adept renew domain without any worry on your part.Here is an example of an email I received recently telling me in no uncertain terms that I needed to renew my domain or it would be cancelled.UPDATEAnother email received for domain service notice asking to fax 1-646-385-7542 before your domain expires.A new fee as well; lifetime for $999.00 WOW what a bargain...Worded to sound like you have to register to be found on the search engines. They cover themselves by stating "You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated below unless you accept this offer." and that the payment is for "Search engine subscription includes domain name search engine submission."So you are not paying for domain renewal but for search engine submissions.Another problem with these companies is that they never use a real email address, it is almost always a random Hotmail, Yahoo or Googlemail email address. So they cannot be traced or spammed themselves. This time the email address was Domain Services - domainsy220@hotmail.com which changes each time.Beware. Delete the emails and never respond.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Be_careful_with_your_domains Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:18:00 GMT scam, domains http://www.dradept.com/Be_careful_with_your_domains Had a relaxing week for a change
Well last week was very relaxing, decided to take it easy and get some bits done around the house but mostly relaxed.Went to London on Thursday to see the sights and visit the Taste of London show, which was easy going and tasty. Saw Boris Johnson there trying the food and being swamped by cameras, he looked like he enjoyed himself though, we all know how much politicians love free food.A squirrel thought we had food and got very nosey, must have been famous as suddenly it was like the paparazzi as blokes from all over the park started taking snaps of it.Went up the London Eye for the first time, loved it although it was little shorter than I thought it would be, but well worth the trip.London took it out of our legs which felt like they were falling off by the end of the day, shows how unfit we are now.now back into a new week and ready and raring to go.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Had_a_relaxing_week_for_a_change Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:35:00 GMT London, trips, time out http://www.dradept.com/Had_a_relaxing_week_for_a_change International Camp Re-design
It has been a few years since redesigning International Camps website but it definitely needed it.It is always a good idea to tidy up a site or at least bring it up to date in some small way every so often. People get tired of seeing the same old site and want something new to look at.It was time for International Camp to be renewed and also a lot of the dead wood to be cleared.www.InternationalCamp.co.uk had a lot of pages and contained a full members management system as well as a shop. A lot of pages were not viewed that much during the year and so were removed and due to Social Networking sites such as My Space and Facebook most people were not using the Members system so this was removed also.The shop has been closed but will reopen at the end of the next Camp to sell the newest Picture CD / DVD.The new site is a lot less cluttered and uses style sheets to enable quick and easy updates.Still based on our Content Manager System it is quick and easy to add new details and pages so when the shop is opened again later this year it will only take a few moments to update and start selling.So far feedback has been good, and the site is using less bandwidth and getting more visitors so therefore costs less which is always good.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/International_Camp_Re-design Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT New Site, CMS, Re-Design http://www.dradept.com/International_Camp_Re-design New Web Designs go Live
Wow, been a very busy few weeks, sorry I haven't posted anything on my blog although I have tried to post little twitters here and there as I had the chance.As you can see I have started the new web design for Dr Adept. This is an ongoing project as I get the chance in between other jobs. Next phase is adding more photos to the header, as well as a complete redesigning of the header and footer areas.New sites that have now gone live:www.Apics.org.ukhttp://www.TrainWithAlans.co.ukhttp://www.EandBSecurityShredding.co.ukhttp://www.EssexFans.comhttp://www.Marketing-Methods.co.ukOther projects about to complete include:www.AmbientElectrical.comhttp://www.IngatestoneHall.comI am still working on several personal projects including and will be updating these over the next few months:www.StreetGames.co.ukhttp://www.TreasureHunRally.co.ukhttp://www.MadRats.comhttp://www.MyPhotoBooth.netI have several domains which are now for sale, if I do not get a chance to update or alter them then I will try to sell them or auction them.Hope you enjoy the new sites, any feedback is always welcomed.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/New_Web_Designs_go_Live Tue, 12 May 2009 15:56:00 GMT Web Designs http://www.dradept.com/New_Web_Designs_go_Live Yellow Pages Suck
Don't use the Yellow Pages to advertise, they ruined my ad last year giving us 55% of our money back and due to their incompetence we have had nothing but time wasters and idiots contact us.I reckon half of those that called us were set up from Yellow Pages themselves and were not even real jobs in the first place, most of the callers being called Steve.Fortunately Google and our clients recommendations has kept us very busy, we will never advertise with the Yellow Pages again.Up till last year we had always took a full colour 2 column ad.Ignore the hand writing, we used this ad to adapt ready for the new ad.We were happy with this, as it showed was bright and eye catching, we checked with their print department if our black on blue would work and they had no problems with this. Proof reading looked fine and we went with it.We had some good feedback on our ad.The last year we decided to cut down the size of the ad and use the savings on Google and other alternative advertising.As you can see it was real bad as they did not use a solid 100% black but rather a dark grey which does not work on a blue background. I phoned Yellow Pages and talked to a customer services bod explaining that it would affect my business as a designer who could not design his own advert, he eventually agreed we could have a refund of just over half so it was like paying for a black and white version of the ad.As a result of this we will not be advertising in the Yellow Pages again as the ad, as I predicted, did nothing for us.We will be offering a Yellow Pages Special; If you are thinking of advertising in the Yellow Pages then don't do it and use that money to create a website instead, if you show us your quote from Yellow Pages and we will match it and create your website and carry out a full SEO on the site to get it as high as possible in the search engines. Just ask for our Yellow Pages Special.The difference is that we will not only get the colours right we will run your site for a year and it will cover the entire world not just be restricted to the Southend-on-Sea area.If you have had any similar problems with yellow Pages then please leave a comment.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Yellow_Pages_Suck Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:11:00 GMT Yellow Pages, Advertising http://www.dradept.com/Yellow_Pages_Suck New CMS features
What a busy week and it is only Wednesday. WoW!Added new import to members list from CSV file, update or add new member, also export members list as CSV file.Members details can be exported, edited in a spreadsheet and then imported back updating the information only where changed or new.Members details now also have longitude and latitude for mapping or mashups.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/New_CMS_features Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:40:00 GMT CMS, mapping, import, export http://www.dradept.com/New_CMS_features Making money using Google Adsense
Just wanted to take a moment to explain a little about making money using affiliate schemes like Amazon and Linkshare among others and comparing that to Adsense.First if you search for Adsense or making money on the Internet you will find hundreds maybe thousands of people claiming they are earning 1,000's of dollars a week using Adsense, YouTube is full of people showing their cheques or logins to Adsense with their amazing earnings.Looking into the background of these sites it seems that most of them set up websites on how to make money and generate leads, and post videos and blogs to get people to visit their sites.As everyone who visits these sites wants to be a millionaire it is not surprising that they make money through Adsense as when visiting you can't find the answers unless you sign up and so you click the other ads on their pages making them money.But looking at the ads that are posted on these sites they are from similar sites so in effect they are all paying for each others Adsense.What these people don't show you is their Adwords bill each month, maybe someone earning 1 million dollars a month has an Adwords bill of 999,000 dollars and so are only actually earning $1000 a month.Also they seem to all run multiple sites, maybe a few hundred in some cases so they may be earning $10-$20 per site per month but they are paying out for domains and hosting each year or two so it is never as good as they say it is.My experience of Adsense is that it works well, and can pay towards a sites running and compared to other affiliate schemes it pays out earlier and is more consistent.Amazon is a great affiliate system but needs a lot of work, people do not just buy things because there is an image and a link they need a reason to buy, so supplying a positive review along with your affiliate link works better.My wife says I can have a Mac book Pro when my earnings from Adsense and Amazon pays outright for it. I am sure there is a catch but I am working towards earning more and will write details of how I did it and how you too can earn more in upcoming blogs under the category of Adsense.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Making_money_using_Google_Adsense Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:20:00 GMT Adsense, Affiliates http://www.dradept.com/Making_money_using_Google_Adsense String content along
Now content can be attached to other content, forming long lists or multiple pages of content.Useful if you have too much information to show and need more room or wish to make content indexed.If there is more than one piece of content in a particular content type then it will show all other content headings as an option to attach to.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/String_content_along Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:46:00 GMT CMS, attaching, indexing http://www.dradept.com/String_content_along Category selector
Now content types that can be categorised will show if each piece of content has been attached to any categories.This makes it easy to ensure that every piece of content is attached to at least one category and so therefore that piece of content will display under that category.If content does not have a category then it will show as grey and a category can be selected.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Category_selector Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:43:00 GMT CMS, Categories http://www.dradept.com/Category_selector Time Waster or just stressed
Looks like I had a time waster at the end of last week, asked for a new logo and now after a week of work has said that I am not doing it right and she is going elsewhere.After working over the weekend and supplying no less than 10 logos and alterations as requested.Only time will tell if it is that they are stressed and taking it out on me or whether they were out to waste my time all along.Warning to other designers; always always get deposit or payment up front as you never know if you have a time waster. It is a rule of mine but I thought I was doing them a favour as they had an urgent requirement. Never again.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Time_Waster_or_just_stressed Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:23:00 GMT Logo Design http://www.dradept.com/Time_Waster_or_just_stressed Busy busy busy
Lots of updates and fixes for the CMS, including new display features and survey options.Been a short week as we have kept very busy.Christina is always working on SEO for our site and that is working great as our sales are up by 20% which is fantastic.Keep up the good work Christina and we should get that holiday I keep promising...
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Busy_busy_busy Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:19:00 GMT CMS, SEO http://www.dradept.com/Busy_busy_busy Import and Export features
Import and export now work together.Export will export all data or specific content to CSV file format which can then be edited in Excel or other spreadsheets.Once edited the data can then be imported back in and update, only those fields that have been changed are updated.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Import_and_Export_features Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:04:00 GMT CMS, Updates http://www.dradept.com/Import_and_Export_features Maintenance Update
Added new Maintenance update to allow sites to be shutdown while work is carried out. Shows all visitors a maintenance page which can still show content if required but will not allow any activity throughout the site.If admin logs in then they can view the site as normal while they work on the details.Useful for major updates etc.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Maintenance_Update Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:01:00 GMT CMS, Updates http://www.dradept.com/Maintenance_Update Satellite or microsite domain management
Now when logged in to a satellite site the content manager will show the content associated with that domain.It is still possible to edit site wide content but showing just satellite content makes it so much easier to find and edit content for those sites.Now also possible to add multiple domains to satellite sites.If you are interested in a satellite or micro site, which is good for showing specific content and can help with SEO work, please Contact us
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Satellite_or_microsite_domain_management Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:59:00 GMT CMS, Updates http://www.dradept.com/Satellite_or_microsite_domain_management Image insert on button bar
Another new feature of our button bar is to allow direct insertion of images, this allows images to be inserted at any location in the document using a number of options.This will be re-written using Ajax as soon as I get the chance as I want it to be as flexible and helpful as possible.This image was inserted using the new button bar feature which prompts for alt text and class.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Image_insert_on_button_bar Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:50:00 GMT CMS, Feaure update http://www.dradept.com/Image_insert_on_button_bar Display code if check is valid
Another new feature of the CMS is information can be displayed if certain criteria are met.An example of this is where values of items are above a certain value then different information needs to be displayed or if value is zero the display a Not Available image or such like.This is used with my guide books, if you select our SEO guide its value is 0 so it displays a download this now option whereas if you select a guide that costs 5 then it will show the payment options.Simple but effective. Also very easy to control any content and any field.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Display_code_if_check_is_valid Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:54:00 GMT CMS http://www.dradept.com/Display_code_if_check_is_valid Table calculator
Phew, had a bit of a headache working on calculations based on table data.For those who want to know how I dealt with the PHP coding for this, here is a basic description.First sorted all table information into field data variable $cells[][]Then calculated each cell individually starting from top left and working across and down.ie in cell B3 != H1 * 25.5 / 1000Get that calculation from the cells; $calc = $cells[2][3];Split the calculation using; $calcs = split(" ", $calc);Now we have each part of the calculation in array variables $calcs$calcs[1] contains "H1";$calcs[2] contains "*";etc.First calculates H1 * 25.5H1 is converted into the field location 8 x 1So we can load that into our variable; $a = cells[8][1];So now $a contains the value of this particular item say 21000So now calculate 21000 * 25.5 and get an answer; $answer = $a * $b; $a = $answer;We loop until all the calculations are used up;$a now contains 535500$b gets the next calculation from $calc[] which is 1000$answer = $a / $b$answer is 535.5 Store answer in the cells. $cells[2][3] = $answer;Thats about it.All working.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Table_calculator Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:48:00 GMT CMS, PHP http://www.dradept.com/Table_calculator Some great new facilities for our CMS
Working on two major new add-ons for our CMS;First is the newsletter system to allow visitors to subscribe to your mailing lists and then for you to be able to send newsletters as often as you like to all or part of your mailing list.Second is a new guide to using the CMS, I know I have not spent as much time on this as I should. This new design will allow updates to be added quickly and easily as well as allow feedback to be sent direct from the guide, it will be like a massive growing FAQ all about the CMS.As usual I will keep you all updated via these blog pages as well as through my Twitter account at Twitter.com/dradept
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Some_great_new_facilities_for_our_CMS Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:46:00 GMT CMS, Updates http://www.dradept.com/Some_great_new_facilities_for_our_CMS Intergrated CMS for all
Happy New Year to all and in 2009 I have started to introduce CMS with all designs that I host.That's right, every design I create and host from now on will be content managed as part of the package. This will allow for much faster updates and control so will benefit me as well as all new clients.Also for those who need to upgrade to this I am offering a full update to a content managed version of your site for only cost 500.00 rather than the usual 1500.00As I have added so many new features over the past few years I will be creating a complete detailed list soon to make it easy to understand. If you have any suggestions or ideas for the new CMS then please Contact us
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Intergrated_CMS_for_all Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:43:00 GMT CMS http://www.dradept.com/Intergrated_CMS_for_all More New codes Added to CMS
New code feature allowing more Search Engine friendly links to be used instead of the click here and more... links to jump to articles.[#php_page:idh] will now show the heading of that content as a link, so [#fonts:327h] shows Logo as a Font which links to the article number 327 for Logo to Font.This is great for Search Engine Optimisation as it is always a good idea to use call to actions that mean something rather than just non-descriptive words like read more or click here. Every piece of content has a unique code to display that piece of content as a link or call to action, and it can be displayed in a number of ways, ie;Content 325:[#fonts:325] Shows as more...[#fonts:325r] Shows as read more[#fonts:325c] Shows as click here[#fonts:325d] Shows as download[#fonts:325v] Shows as [#fonts:325v][#fonts:325h] Shows as
]]> http://www.dradept.com/More_New_codes_Added_to_CMS Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:55:00 GMT CMS, SEO http://www.dradept.com/More_New_codes_Added_to_CMS Security feature upgrade
During all future backups the CMS will check all files against a reference to ensure that the files are up to date and have not been tampered with.All details are then sent out with the latest email stats, making it easy to ensure all files are current and upto date.Another great security feature added to the DR Adept content manager system.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Security_feature_upgrade Sun, 21 Dec 2008 11:43:00 GMT CMS http://www.dradept.com/Security_feature_upgrade Stats details enhanced
The stats are very important if you are trying to work out where your visitors come from and where they have been while on your site.Originally the stats showed anyone visiting with no referrer and anyone clicking around your site as direct links, but now this will show separately, so you will now see referrers from within your main domain. Useful because you can now see how many pages people are clicking on once they find your site.More enhancements to the stats will be made over the coming months, any suggestions or requests please Contact us and let us know.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Stats_details_enhanced Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:42:00 GMT CMS http://www.dradept.com/Stats_details_enhanced First Guest Posting
What a busy few weeks it has been, working to complete several sites and power down for the Christmas festivities.Was very excited to be asked to "guest post" on Jason Slaters website www.jasonslater.co.uk regarding SEO, this is my first time of posting an article of this kind and I enjoyed it a lot; please visit Jasons site and read the article; let me know what you think, the link is JasonSlater.co.uk.Does this make me a semi-professional blogger now???As the New Year approaches we are working on new ways of marketing and pushing forward, especially in ways that can help our clients get more hits and especially more leads to enable hopefully more sales for them (and us).Incorporating the MadRats newsletter system into our CMS is almost complete now and ready to go live, I will send a newsletter out before Christmas and if all is well this will be followed by a CMS update to allow all of our clients to manage their mailing lists within the CMS.Good news then for marketing and keeping in touch with customers comes at the right time, as trying to manage the MadRats mailing list as well as your CMS can be a bit of pain, keeping it all in one place makes sense.Whether this means I offer MadRats.com for sale or keep it running as a separate service remains to be seen as does our FirstAidforComputers.com service.if anyone knows of a business who would like the FirstAidforComputers domains including .com, .net and .co.uk as well as fafc.mobi I am considerring a sale of the entire set.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/First_Guest_Posting Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:18:00 GMT CMS, Domains, blogging, newsletters, mailing list http://www.dradept.com/First_Guest_Posting Domain Names
One of the most important parts of your online presence is your domain name, this is crucial to all activity, here are some guidelines on how to choose a name and how to register it.Selecting a nameFirst thing to consider is what to include in your name; do you need hyphens? should your complete name be used or just part of it? is it a good idea to include keywords?Consider your visitors firstAre they going to be able to remember your domain? Try to find a domain that is easy to remember and not confusing such as containing words that end with the same letter the next word begins with.Try not to use hyphens as people forget to type them.Come up with one or two words to start with then try three or four or longer word domains, the shorter the domain the more likely people are going to remember you, although sometimes longer domains can be easy and also obvious such as www.FirstAidforComputers.com Consider the Search EnginesThe search engines do consider the domain name when categorising your site, so if your domain contains a vital keyword then it can be beneficial.Search engines like hyphens as it separates words and is easier to identify keywords.If you can find a domain name that covers both these criteria then you may be on to a winner.Now you need to register the domain.Registering the domainUse a reputable management company to register domains on your behalf or register it yourself using one of the many registration companies such as www.123-reg.co.uk or www.uk2.net.uk domains cost around 8 for two years and .com's cost around 20, some companies charge a small fee to register domains for you. When registering ensure that the domain is your property and not held in the name of the company or person registering it. When Dr Adept registers domains for our clients the domains are the property of the client and can be transferred or sold on at no extra cost.Beware some companies register domains in their own name and then charge a lot more for you to use the domains but they retain ownership, this is like leasing domains and in our opinion is wrong.Setting up the emailOnce you have registered your domain you need to use it either for email or point to your website or both.You should be able to set up email accounts, forwarding accounts and web forwarding although some of these features may cost little extra.Forwarding email is the most common setup which allows email addresses to be forwarded to other accounts such as to a Hotmail or Googlemail account.Actual email accounts are boxes where emails are stored until you retrieve them using an email client such as Outlook or using webmail services if available.Catchall accounts can be set up to send all emails no matter what the address @yourdomain.co.uk to be forwarded to another account, or the catchall can be set to delete or bounce emails, we at DR Adept prefer to delete catchall accounts as this reduces a lot of spam.DR Adept can register your domain and setup basic email services for as little as 60.00 a year which includes webmail accounts for you to retrieve and send emails from any Internet based computer. Spam filterring options are available at an extra cost of 30.00 a year.Setting up the websitePointing your domain at a website can be done in two methods;Changing your DNS or name-servers to point to a web server so www points directly to your website.Forwarding the domain to your website can be done either using frames or a jump. Frames show your actual domain inside a frame that keeps your domain showing in the address bar of your visitors browser whereas jumping to your website is like your domain retyping your actual web address in the browser address bar. These methods are good if you have free ISP webspace that you are using but not so good for the search engines listing your site.DR Adept host websites from as little as 180.00 per year which includes all management and minor alterations to designs.If you need any advice on registering a domain or setting up a website then please Contact us. We like to talk.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Domain_Names Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:45:00 GMT domains, websites http://www.dradept.com/Domain_Names Proud sponsors of BDSC
Dr Adept is proud to announce support for Basildon District Swimming Club by creating their new website and members portal at www.basildonswimming.co.ukHopefully this will be a long and happy relationship for both of us.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Proud_sponsors_of_BDSC Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:53:00 GMT websites http://www.dradept.com/Proud_sponsors_of_BDSC Dr Adept CMS to integrate MadRats Newsletter
I am in the process of integrating my MadRats newsletter system into my CMS so everything can be done under one package.Mailing list subscription managerContacts managerNewsletter Sending and TrackingInitial tests are positive and have sent my first newsletter tests out yesterday.Once ready I will run it out across my CMS managed sites and let everyone know by sending my first official newsletter direct from www.DrAdept.com rather than www.MadRats.com .
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Dr_Adept_CMS_to_integrate_MadRats_Newsletter Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:23:00 GMT Newsletters, ezines, mailing list, CMS http://www.dradept.com/Dr_Adept_CMS_to_integrate_MadRats_Newsletter Crack the Clues Continued
With thanks to Jason Slater and help and advice on his blog about the Intel puzzle, it has now been well and truly cracked like my brain.Was enjoyable but was very devious and although I had the answers in all cases it only took a slight difference in case, leading zeros or spaces and it all went wrong.Good luck to Jason and aBi and all the other commentees who helped.I finally managed to complete with a little help also from my friend Warren over at EUHostMe who entered me into the competition as my computer refused to show me the final page justkept going round and round in circles.Will learn from these mistakes and problems when I start my little treasure hunt in the new year...
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Crack_the_Clues_Continued Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:19:00 GMT puzzles, cypher, codes http://www.dradept.com/Crack_the_Clues_Continued Crack the clues 2
Was reading the weekly computing paper when I came across a red page with just a small print in the bottom right edge, in reverse it said Genius Wanted search for Crack the Clues 2. So I did.Found Intels Crack the Clues 2 puzzle.Now I love puzzles and could not resist this challenge.4 puzzles to solve using a blog by a guy called Cypher, and his answers to a stupid competence assessment.Puzzle 1 was easy as I created a Cypher Decoder ages ago which I used for the old Perplex City puzzles. Basic alpha shift or Caeser cypher.Puzzle 2 is a little more complicated but there are hints;View source?View the source of the assessment and you will see a list of things on line 22.MOLAR, ANODE, CAUSTIC, ENTROPY, SATURATED, ENDOTHERMIC, SUPEROXIDE, NOBLE, CATHODE, ISOTOPE, ALKALI, COVALENT, TITRATION, HALOGEN, PASCAL, ALLOTROPE, COLLOID, ACTINIDE, ELECTROLYTE, XENON, HETEROGENEOUS, EFFUSION, ISOMER, ANHYDROUS, ION, CATALYST, PRECIPITATE, SUBLIMATION, ACETIC, HYDRAZINE, OCTANE, ANALYTE, REDOX, AXIAL, EQUILIBRIUM, LANTHANIDE, SIGMA, HYDROFLUORIC, VALENCE, INERT, AMORPHOUSWhat happened to Cypher last night? Have you seen someone else who may be suffering a similar ailment?Cypher's eyes went red and there is a red eyed man in the background of the Assessment page.Why is it 'column after row', rather than just 'row after row'? Perhaps he's trying to point to a location?Opening this in PhotoShop revealed that the red eye was at position 38x22.I did also check position 38x22 on Google Maps and it is the Red Sea.Item number 38 in this list is HYDROFLUORICCharacter 38 is the letter S of SATURATEDAfter some ASCII manipulation, I'd nearly cracked it.Is this another code? What kid of ASCII manipulation???ASCII code for S is 83ASCII code for H is 72Don't forget the answer to the assessment - which question number is it that's right?Answer to the assessment question is 1. Intel Active Management Technology.Something stands out in the blog - what does it refer to?Looking in the source code of the blog shows that some words are coloured differently;both tasks added upOK so putting this together we get;A list of stuffThe number 1And possibly the word; HYDROFLUORICWhat next....Still pondering....
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Crack_the_clues_2 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:51:00 GMT puzzles, cypher, codes http://www.dradept.com/Crack_the_clues_2 Search Engine feature added to CMS
The new search engine feature has now been added, allowing you to see exactly what search terms have been used to find your website.Everytime someone clicks to your website via a search engine the details of the search they performed are sent along and stored in our stats database.I have now filtered these important details and set up a list on your stats page. Login to your CMS and select Full Statistics.Search Engine Searches shows all search terms used, the page they found along with the search engine they came from.These details will also be emailed out to those with the weekly site stats report.Enjoy, any suggestions or feedback please let me know.David
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Search_Engine_feature_added_to_CMS Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:23:00 GMT CMS, Search Engines, Stats http://www.dradept.com/Search_Engine_feature_added_to_CMS New Stats feature added
When our CMS emails us weekly stats details showing all the relevant details over the past 2 weeks it can show many things, one of which is the searches made on the site.Sometimes these can be useful to see what your visitors are searching for once they get to your site.But how did they find you in the first place? Did they use one of the search engines? and if so what did they type in to eventually find your site?Well now wonder no more, it is a feature of our CMS to show you the search engine results. This information has always been stored but not used or filtered.I have now created a filter and added it to the stats system to store those searches.Useful? I think so. Let me know what you think.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/New_Stats_feature_added Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:58:00 GMT Stats, CMS http://www.dradept.com/New_Stats_feature_added Is CS4 worth the money?
Having just forked out another £500 for an upgrade to Web Premium CS4 I thought I would let you all know if it was worth the spend.DreamweaverWell there have been some minor changes that make using Dreamweaver easier, these small changes make a whole lot of difference; speeding up some tasks and just fixing some bugs that were always irritating in CS3.The best thing about the upgrade is that it doesn't feel much different, so I can continue working as normal until I get the time to play with the new features.The added features are good and I will eventually start using them more fully, but for now I am happy that everything seems to be working well.Spry features are great, especially the connection tools which allows data to come from XML as usual but now allows tables found elsewhere in your site to be used as a data source.Another spry feature that is worth having is the form submissions check feature that checks that a form is filled in correctly before allowing submissions. So easy to use.FireworksMuch better, lots of new styles and the layout of the screen makes everything standard across the CS range. New features work well especially the 9 slice tool.Photoshop ExtendedFantastic, new adjustments buttons allow quick addition of filters in a totally non-destructive way, I always forgot to add a layer before playing with a filter, now I don't even have to think; play with a filter and switch it off or delete it if the result does not look the way you expected. Easy.CS4 Web Premium comes with a whole bunch of other stuff which I will play with over the next few weeks (when I get the chance).All in all a good package and well worth the upgrade price. My mac has never been happier.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Is_CS4_worth_the_money? Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:52:00 GMT Adobe CS4, dreamweaver, Fireworks, upgrades, Software http://www.dradept.com/Is_CS4_worth_the_money? I have it in my hot little hands
Yes CS4 is now mine all mine.Unfortunately it arrived the day before I was out at a clients so I only had time to install when I got back, not had a chance to play with it yet...Next day I went to the Adobe CS4 tour in London and saw the MacExpo. Was a good presentation, showed a bit of what is new and some new features worth playing with.Now just got to find a way of implementing them for my customers.Weekend is here and now I have time to play with my new toy. Do not disturb until Monday.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/I_have_it_in_my_hot_little_hands Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:18:00 GMT Adobe CS4, Software, Upgrade http://www.dradept.com/I_have_it_in_my_hot_little_hands Adobe CS4 on its way
On its way, it's being delivered, hopefully today, by UPS, CS4 Web premium upgrade with all the great new features.Having played with the Beta for the past few months I am looking forward to getting my hands on the real thing.
]]> http://www.dradept.com/Adobe_CS4_on_its_way Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:58:00 GMT Adobe CS4, Software, Upgrade http://www.dradept.com/Adobe_CS4_on_its_way New codes added to CMS
Yes even more codes but I think they are useful and will be used a lot.[DIV#div_id_name] [EDIV][DIV.div_class_name] [EDIV][SPAN.span_class_name] [ESPAN]Just replace the name with the class or id name you wish to use.[PULLQUOTE]Allows you to create those quote effects that so many blogs use.[/PQ]