Poor Coding Can Ruin Your Website

Posted on December 8, 2011 by dzineit

Website owners can build links, promote content and optimize their site for maximum success, but warns that all of that hard work can be negated with one line of bad code.

We all know that the search engines crawl a website, indexing the content within, to determine its place in the search engine results pages. If a website has been coded correctly, the search engine spiders will be better able to crawl that website quickly and easily and gain recognition for its quality.

Unfortunately, this does not always happen because website with messy coding or just one line of incorrect coding can result in a poor search engine rank or, in some cases, can result in a failure to be ranked at all.

One of the most common of these poor codes is the meta robots tag which can, in some cases, explicitly instruct the search engines not to index and not to follow the website at all. With these simple tags, websites could inadvertently instruct search engines not to list or rank them, which is the opposite of what most small business website owners actually want.

The idea behind search engine optimization (SEO) is that SEO is meant to drive targeted quality traffic at all times and for the long run.

It should go without saying that, when it comes to building SEO strength, you absolutely need to have a website that features a clean and crawl-friendly code structure so that the search engines can easily crawl and index your content. If your website cannot be crawled or indexed properly, you are essentially dead in the water when it comes to online marketing.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A
Specialty:
Digital Marketing; News; Web Programming

Cost-Cutting Measures in Website Development

Posted on November 11, 2011 by dzineit

Price is always a variable when it comes to developing a website for our clients. We do a lot of work for small businesses and all small businesses have budget constraints that make them sensitive to every dollar that they have to spend.

Because the cost of a website can vary so much, it is helpful to identify the items that can raise the price, before getting into the specifics. If your goal is to keep costs down, you need to consider the following:

Content Management Systems

A content management system (CMS) is software that allows you, the website owner, to make edits to your website without the help of a website development expert. A good CMS is important for websites that need a lot of updating. If your site will remain relatively static, you can do without a CMS. If that's the case, you might be able to save money by opting out of a CMS, but it may cost money down the road when you look to update your website.

Website Hosting

All websites need to be hosted, which simply means that you need to rent server space so that your website is visible online. Hosting is now cheaper than ever and a good mid-range, small website hosting plan can cost between $20 and $60 per month, depending on a few variables. You can go as cheap as $5 a month, but quality can suffer when you go that low. Take into account hosting costs before you move forward with the development of a website.

Software Integration

When you combine some operational elements of your business with your online presence, you can save a ton of money. For example, if you pay $100 a month for time-clock software and your website development team can add that feature to your website for $600, you have saved $600 for the year and you have consolidated your software so you only have to use one service instead of two.

These are not the only areas that can contribute to pricing. Don't be afraid to ask your website development team about other ways that they can help your business save money.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, Inc. website development All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A
Specialty:
News; Web Design Info; Web Programming

Does Your Business Need a Mobile App?

Posted on October 17, 2011 by dzineit

App mania has taken over the public's collective mind ever since Apple launched the iPhone in 2007. With app hysteria dominating the marketplace, many business owners assume that their business needs an app to stay relevant.

This isn't necessarily true.

Apps are great, but they aren't necessarily suited for every type of business. Before you throw thousands of dollars at an outside web development firm to produce an app for your company, think about what it is that you hope to accomplish.

Chances are it's not an app that your business really needs.

What seems to be fueling all this app mania is a staggering increase in the use of mobile devices. While a lot of clients ask for apps, it is up to those in the industry to decide whether or not they really need one.

A mobile app is an application, like Microsoft Word or Internet Explorer, that you run on a mobile device. It is essentially a tool that lets a user accomplish something.

When someone says they need an app, the next question should be, 'To do what?' If you are a manufacturer, you may want an app that allows your workers to scan product codes and track inventory, while a restaurant may want an app that allows people to place lunch orders through their smartphone.

All too often, however, most business owners don't have an answer to that question, which means that they probably don't need an app. What they likely do need, on the other hand, is a mobile version of their website.

With nearly 1.6 billion people around the world using smartphones to browse the web, it's becoming increasingly important for businesses to format their websites to display and load quickly on mobile devices. Instead of fixating on app development, business owners should first ensure that their website is friendly to smartphones.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, Inc. web programming All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
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Specialty:
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IBM Is Helping to Build Students' Development Skills

Posted on June 16, 2011 by dzineit

IBM is working to help bring more students into the world of collaborative software development with a new initiative that the company calls JazzHub. JazzHub is a free cloud-based software development service that will bring IBM's Jazz development environment to universities around the world.

The proliferation of smart products and devices is driving new levels of software design complexity and studies show that the demand for software development and engineering skills is expected to grow significantly. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that IBM wants to help train the developers of tomorrow.

IBM says that it is initiating three new communities to help diverse development teams work more efficiently, whether in a university environment or a traditional development group. These new tools can facilitate innovation across dispersed teams as they build software design and development skills.

The new JazzHub enables university teams to develop directly on IBM's Jazz.net Website at no cost, creating an open platform for students to build new and innovative software applications.

Software engineering courses are supposed to prepare students to design, develop, understand and maintain software in the real world, and the effectiveness of these courses has a tremendous impact on the software industry. IBM's continued commitment to provide collaborative tools, at no charge to students, will greatly improve the quality of their learning.

Various universities located in the United States, Mexico and Italy are taking advantage of the JazzHub beta program, which has, thus far, been hailed as a success.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, Inc. software development company All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
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How to Choose the Right Development Company

Posted on November 14, 2010 by dzineit

There are lots of web development agencies to choose from, but narrowing the field to just a few will help ensure a smooth process for small businesses venturing into the online world.

When choosing a development and design company, small businesses should first investigate the track record of firms that they are considering. It is important to check the portfolio of the web design agencies, as well as testimonials, and verify that they are legitimate.

The company's availability should play a big role too

Small businesses should always find out what employee will be managing their company account and make sure the company has a telephone number, not just an email address for contact. Business owners should also verify the turnaround time for responding to emails and other requests, as well as request a strict timeline for any projects.

Any web development agency that a small business hires to create its online presence should, ideally, be big enough to ensure that if the account manager is off sick or on vacation; the project is not put on hold.

Furthermore, having a large staff with varying talents is also a plus, because it offers a versatility that is necessary for the creation of an online presence. At dzine it, for example, we have developers, designers, SEO experts and copy writers all under one roof.

Of course, small business owners should get to know potential candidates prior to entering into an agreement to ensure that they are professional and easy to deal with. I also suggest hiring a company that does not outsource.

Business owners should not be afraid to ask to meet with the company's the design and development team. There are many cases of companies who have an in-house management team, and an outsourced development team. The problem with this scenario is the quality of the work can suffer. At dzine it, we always recommend against hiring a firm that outsources its work.

Copyright 2010 dzine it, inc. web development All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A
Specialty:
News; Web Programming

Apple's iPad Has Been Exploited by Black Hat SEO

Posted on February 7, 2010 by dzineit

In yet another example of the exploitation of search engine optimization techniques, our industry is buzzing about how the world's excitement over Apple's planned iPad has been hijacked by dirty black hat campaigns. Frankly none of us were surprised to learn that individuals were buildings scams around the keyword.

Criminals began hijacking search engine results even before Apple's official announcement of the iPad, using results for Apple's iPad and related keywords to spread a rogue anti-Virus application known as, 'Live PC Care.'

Once the buzz about Apple's tablet computer started to circulate, these criminals took advantage of the opportunity to exploit first the rumor, then the news and finally the expected surge in search terms on Google and Bing related to the release. They did so by launching SEO attacks that put their own phishing websites at the top of search pages.

Live PC Care, like most rogue antivirus applications, reports non-existent infections, while inundating the user with on-going pop-up prompts. The application then offers to clean the system once the user pays a requested price by submitting credit card data.

The download is a scam, however, and victims end up handing over credit card numbers and other personal information. It is unfortunate that there are cybercriminals out there who use good search engine techniques for malicious purposes.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A
Specialty:
Digital Marketing; News; Web Design Info; Web Programming
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