Adding to the Downloads Page

 
I confess, I had expectations of turning my downloads into design exercises, but that just isn’t going to happen. The time constraints are too great. Since the information is more important than how nice they look, I’ve decided to cut back and make them a lot simpler. Consequently, I’m completing them much more quickly.

I’ve updated the one on Advertising and have added a new one on Branding. There are several more in the original series I’d planned and I should have everything up within the next week or two.

An additional plus is that I’ve been compiling material on other subjects which – since I’ve modified my design standards – should be coming along quickly as well.

Finally, I’ve decided that the material ought to be available to anyone who wants it, so if you want to pass the files along, please feel free to share them with anyone you want.

More Challenges of Technology: Websites, HTML, and Ecommerce

 
Well, it’s been the technology week from hell, what with the computer crash, launching the website, and trying to set up my PayPal account.

This will probably sound a lot like whining – and it is – but hopefully, there will be some useful advice mixed in as well…

First, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. My computer’s fixed – now all I have to do is re-install all my applications and restore my backed up files. Here’s hoping…

I’ve also come to the conclusion that using a web host-provided template is not all it’s cracked up to be. Not that it’s terrible, if you don’t want to modify it very much and are just going to upload your own content. In that case, it should work fine. Although there will still be some nasty surprises.

The big one is HTML or HyperText Markup Language. The bad news is you’ll have to learn a little of it, even if you use a site template, and it can drive you crazy until you learn to think like it does.

If you’re lucky, HTML is the only programming language you’ll have to deal with because there are others out there and they make HTML look easy.

Then, you’ll have to figure out how the site development program works. There are tutorials, but I found that they only cover the basics and are sometimes out of date. No matter how you look at it, it takes time. This can either be your time – as I’m doing – or someone else’s time that you have to pay for. You just can’t get away from it.

And if you think you can get along without a website, forget it. When a dinosaur like Yellow Pages has an online presence, you can be sure you’ll have to do it too, or you’ll be watching your customers flock to the competition.

I’ve mentioned  before that I know enough about DreamWeaver – Adobe’s web development software – to be dangerous and I’m about to find out just how dangerous I really am. I’m really tired of being hamstrung by the constraints of my host-provided template when I know that the things I want to do can be done, with just a little know-how.

For example, anchors. Not the kind used on boats, although these perform the same function for spots on your web pages. You’ve probably seen one in action when you get to the bottom of a web page and there’s a link that says “back to top.” You click on it and that’s where you go.

You can also link to anchors on different pages, which is something I’d like to do. However, according to my host’s online support, I can’t do it using the template I have and they recommended that I find a good book on HTML. Thanks a lot!

I hit another glitch when I tried to install my PayPal buttons. Everything went fine until I tried to use the “Continue Shopping” button. I spent most of the day going back and forth with support and reading through the 384 page users’ guide. Do we really need anything so complicated that it requires 384 pages to explain? Unfortunately, we do because setting up your own ecommerce program will probably cause your head to explode.

I found the solution by accident and I’ll share it with you – as I did with the folks at PayPal – in case you have a similar problem.

First, they don’t tell you that you have to paste additional HTML (there it is again!) code into your link to redirect it back to your website.

Second, the instructions in the users’ guide are unclear and don’t match what their website shows in many cases. Not that I blame them; it’s easy to update the website and a nightmare to rewrite the users’ manual – believe me, I know.

Third, you have to past in the link from the website page you want shoppers to return to.

Finally, and this is what really drove me insane, the instructions show the sample code ending in “.html” but don’t you believe it. About 90% of my problem was the fact that the code I used included the “.html” at the end. I deleted it and – what a surprise – it worked just fine!

Now I’ll grant you that everyone I’ve dealt with in tech support over the last few days has been very nice and helpful. They just couldn’t figure out what my problems were or how to fix them.

So be prepared. You’ll have to endure a lot of frustration and figure out a lot of things for yourself, unless you’re willing to pay a professional.

Is it worth it? I think so. Technology is rushing along and the competition is using it. If we don’t, we’ll be watching our customers go somewhere else and won’t be able to do a thing about it.

Reader Comment Link May Have Crashed My Computer

 
I hope no one else clicked on a recent comment – which I’ve already deleted – referring to “nice name for a blog…” If you did and it caused computer problems for you, I apologize.

I was curious – a bad mistake – and clicked on the link, which I normally don’t do unless I recognize it. This time it took me to a suspicious-looking screen. I immediately closed the window, ran my anti-virus software, and shut down the computer, but it was too late. When I tried to restart later, it was fried, is now in the shop for repairs, and I’m working on my laptop.

So, the lessons I’ve learned from this are:

Back up your files regularly and frequently. I’m ecstatic that I started doing it every morning, so if all goes well, I’ve only lost a few dollars to repair the desktop unit and a few hours to reinstall the files and software.

If you rely on your computer for almost everything – as I do – it’s money well spent to have a backup computer sitting around. You may not be able to do everything you want, but it’s a great comfort.

And never, ever click on a link or open an email unless you know who it’s from!

Let’s all try to practice safe computing!

A Quick Note on Branding

 
As I was working on my post about social networking, I ran across a great illustration in support of branding. I cited a white paper from Vocus (www.vocus.com) and when checking the link, it occurred to me that there might be more than one Vocus. Unlikely, I know, but still possible. My fears were assuaged when I saw – in the upper left corner of their web site – the distinctive Vocus logo. I knew immediately I was in the right place.

Please, even if you only do a very basic job, brand your company and use that branding EVERYWHERE!

Paranoid on the Internet

 
You’ve probably heard by now about the latest big computer virus: Conficker.

Jordan Robertson on AOL News writes, “The fast-moving Conficker computer worm, a scourge of the Internet that has infected at least 3 million PCs, is set to spring to life in a new way on Wednesday – April Fools’ Day.

“That’s when many of the poisoned machines will get more aggressive about “phoning home” to the worm’s creators over the Internet. When that happens, the bad guys behind the worm will be able to trigger the program to send spam, spread more infections, clog networks with traffic, or try and bring down Web sites.”

Those in the know expect the date will come and go without any serious problems. They’ve been aware of the virus for months and have been working on it. If you remember the Y2K furor, you’ll probably be a little skeptical. I am, but I’m also paranoid enough to take all the precautions I can. After all, it’s my computer, my data and content, and my time spent to recreate it if something goes awry.

So, I’m taking the same precautions I always – well, usually – take to protect against a major data loss:

• Download the latest updates for my anti-virus software
• Download the latest Microsoft patches for my OS
• Back up all my files (which I don’t do nearly as often as I should)
• Run a sweep of my hard drive to detect any hidden problems

All in all, I’m feeling pretty comfortable about my situation. But I’m still paranoid. If I were working for a big  company on their computer, with their IT department, and their data, I wouldn’t care. Let it crash. Not my problem. Having to recreate all that information is just more job security – and we can all use more of that right now.

 However, since it’s my computer and my data, I’ll be taking a personal day tomorrow. I know it’s silly, but I just don’t want to take the chance. There’s plenty of work I can do either off-line or even off-computer.

Remember, the only impregnable firewall is to turn your computer off. So, take a personal day and tell your boss I said it was all right…