Web Design Tips

TuneCore Music Player

2009-03-12T07:09:00.001-07:00

TuneCore

Google Chrome

2008-09-05T05:21:00.000-07:00

Have you had the chance to test drive Google's new web browser, Chrome?

We downloaded Chrome yesterday and spent a few hours hours browsing and testing many of the browser's features. At first glance, Chrome's visual appeal is basic and uncluttered. Several of our favorite features include:

The one box for both: Chrome has only one box for entering a URL or search term.
The Incognito browsing feature: You are able to open a new "incognito window" from the Tools Icon and browse without having your browsing history trails left on your machine.
The tabbed browsing feature: If you open a new tab and decide that you want two windows open, simply grab the tab and drag it to a new open window.

Since its debut, Net Applications' Market Share has been tracking Chrome's hourly usage that indicate a growing number of users are test driving Google Chrome Beta 2. What are your favorite Chrome features?

Official Google Blog: A fresh take on the browser

2008-09-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Google released the beta version of its newest wonder, Chrone. I've spent the last few hours test driving Chrone and have been extremely impressed with the simplistic design and new features.

For more on Google's new browser, see: Official Google Blog: A fresh take on the browser

Official Google Blog: Knol is open to everyone

2008-07-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

The search engine giant, Google, opened the door to its newest phenomena, Knol, last week. Knol is an information platform for authors to share their expertise in the form of authoritative articles.

Knol, a word coined to stand for "unit of knowledge", has authorship as the guiding principle. Those who are experts in a specific field will be able to write a quality article and include their name with the article. It will be considered their "knol" or their opinion or voice on the subject.

Ready to start your knol? Simply log into the web interface at: http://knol.google.com and log in with a Google account such as Gmail. The Knol authoring suite is similar to a blog's interface with a WYSIWYG platform. Knol's will be available in search engines and will be ranked by popularity and reader ratings.

Each person has an opinion, an area of expertise. Knol is a spring board to share your knowledge about a subject in a easy-to-use Google stage to enrich and inform the world.

For more, see: Official Google Blog: Knol is open to everyone

Google Learns to Crawl Flash

2008-07-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

The search engine wonder, Google, has officially announced that Googlebot is able to crawl and index Flash files. This phenomenal announcement is welcomed with opened arms by website owners and developers.

For more, please visit Google Learns to Crawl Flash.

Official Google Blog: Keeping kids safe in a digital world

2008-06-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Google!! Google's Fight to Keep Kids Safe

Google's engineers didicated 20% of their time last year addressing some of the technology challenges in the effor to keep our kids safe. For more, see:

Official Google Blog: Keeping kids safe in a digital world

Inside AdWords: Introducing Google Ad Planner

2008-06-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

Google Introduces New Ad Planner Tool

Google, Inc. introduced a beta version of its new Google Ad Planner on Tuesday. The new tool is currently available by invitation only and will assist media planners by helping them plan where to display online ads.

For more, see: Inside AdWords: Introducing Google Ad Planner

Official Google Blog: Our agreement to provide ad technology to Yahoo!

2008-06-13T03:55:00.000-07:00

Google announced a non-exclusive advertising agreement with Yahoo! Inc. on June 12, 2008 that will provide the Internet icon with Google's AdSense for search and content advertising programs on the company's U.S. and Canadian web properties.

The two companies will be working to enable to the interoperability between instant messaging services that will provide users with better and border communication online. For the full story, see:

Official Google Blog: Our agreement to provide ad technology to Yahoo!

Google Online Security Blog: Safe Browsing Diagnostic To The Rescue

2008-05-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

Google & Browsing Security

Google's safe browsing diagnostic feature is making searching safer in the fight against malware. The safer searching solution warns viewers of a potential malware threat on flagged websites by inserting a interstitial warning page stating that "visiting this web site may harm your computer!"

Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware). Malware is short for malicious software. Malware is software designed specifically to disrupt a computer system. A trojan horse , worm or a virus could be classified as Malware. Some advertising software can be malicious in that it can try to re-install itself after you remove it. hms.harvard.edu/hmsit/pg.asp

For more, see: Google Online Security Blog: Safe Browsing Diagnostic To The Rescue

Official Google Blog: Google Sites now open to everyone

2008-05-22T07:09:00.000-07:00

Google has announced that the FREE Google Sites are now available to the publice in their Official Google Blog! The Standard Version of Google Sites is available for anyone with a gmail account. The Premier Addition is available for a 30-day free trial. Thereafter, the fee for the Premier Addition is $50.00 per year.

For more on Google sites, see: Google Sites Open to All or Google's announcement at:
Official Google Blog: Google Sites now open to everyone

Official Google Blog: Yahoo! and the future of the Internet

2008-05-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

On February 3, 2008, Senior Vice President of Google relayed Google's reponse to Microsoft's univited offer to take over Yahoo. For more, see:
Official Google Blog: Yahoo! and the future of the Internet: "Yahoo! and the future of the Internet"

Official Google Website Optimizer Blog: Our Optimal User Community

2008-05-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

Official Google Website Optimizer Blog: Our Optimal User Community

Official Google Website Optimizer Blog: Testing is not just about Technology

2008-04-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

Official Google Website Optimizer Blog: Testing is not just about Technology

Official Google Website Optimizer Blog: Is a Picture Really Worth a Thousand Words?

2008-04-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

Official Google Website Optimizer Blog: Is a Picture Really Worth a Thousand Words?

Official Google Blog: Gadgets for a cause

2008-04-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

Official Google Blog: Gadgets for a cause

Official Google Blog: Developers, start your engines

2008-04-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

Official Google Blog: Developers, start your engines

Official Google Blog: Opening Google Docs to users and developers via Gadgets and Visualization API

2008-03-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Official Google Blog: Opening Google Docs to users and developers via Gadgets and Visualization API

Official Google Blog: Keeping up with Google Apps

2008-03-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

Official Google Blog: Keeping up with Google Apps

Official Google Blog: Our solutions for ad serving

2008-03-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

Official Google Blog: Our solutions for ad serving

Web Design Tip: The Importance of Cross Browser Consistency

2007-12-19T06:35:00.000-08:00

The phone rang and a near-frantic gentleman asked if R & R Web Design LLC charged extra to make sure that the websites we design can be viewed on multiple browsers. Apparently, this person’s designer was going to charge an additional fee to make certain that his Web site could be viewed on a variety of browsers.

Our answer was an uncompromising yes.

Why is testing a Web site on multiple browsers important?
Not everyone uses the same browser. The W3 Schools, a reputable is a web developers portal, publishes comprehensive Browser Statistic by month that analyzes browser trends. The following statistics were reported for November 2007 on the browsers people are using to surf the Internet:

Internet Explorer 7: 21.0%
Internet Explorer 6: 33.6%
Internet Explorer 5: 1.6%
Firefox: 36.3%
Mozilla: 1.2%
Safari: 1.8%
Opera: 1.8%

If a website is designed and tested in only one browser, for example, Internet Explorer 7 only, it may not be viewable in Firefox. The testing of a website is on multiple browsers is a fundamental step in the design process and is imperative. Test, test and test again for cross browser consistency.

R & R Web Design LLC is a Chicago Web Design area company offering custom web design, webmaster services and natural search engine optimization.

Web Design Tip: How To Choose Website Colors

2007-12-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

The Internet is filled with countless web design tips on various aspects of designing a successful Website. One fundamental choice that may be overlooked is the selection of color.

The first step is to choose the site’s background. Research proves that black or dark text on a white background is preferable as it is easiest on the reader’s eyes. One may like to select colors that compliment a company logo and build from there. It has been suggested by marketers that three basic colors be used for maximum effect.

A color analysis of several top successful Websites reveals an interesting color combination trend. Consider the following colors on a few major Websites:

Adobe.com – Red logo, white background, black text and light grey.
Yahoo.com – Red logo, white background, black text and blue/grey.
Google.com – Multicolor logo, white background and black text.
CNN.com – Red/black logo, white background and black text.
MSN.com – White logo with multicolor on blue, white background, black text and complimentary shades of blue

The color choices for a Website is a basic step in design and one that should not be overlooked.

R & R Web Design LLC is a Chicago Web Design area company offering custom web design, webmaster services and natural search engine optimization.

Web Design Tip: Plagerism

2007-11-27T07:24:00.000-08:00

Website Plagiarism

Website plagiarism is an ever present stinging thorn in the side of a website owner. You have most likely seen the topic of website plagiarism in a large number of articles, discussed repeatedly in web design forums, and blogged about in an array of blogs. Plagiarism, as defined by Wikipedia, “is the practice of claiming or implying original authorship of someone else’s written creative work into one's own without adequate acknowledgment.” When one copies the work of another and does not credit the original author, the work has been stolen. It is the stealing of words.

Practical Tips To Fight Plagiarism

Have you ever had your work stolen? There are a number of practical steps to take to have the offending party remove your work. The following is a list of sites that offer practical tips:

5 Steps to Fight Website Plagiarism

Dealing With Website Plagiarism: When Someone Copies Your Blog Content

Google - Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Plagiarism.org : Learning Center : Plagiarism Definitions, Tips on avoiding Plagiarism, Guidelines for proper citation, & Help Indentifying Plagairism

Web Design Tips

2007-07-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the R & R Web Design LLC web design tips blog! R & R Web Design LLC is a Michigan Web Design company that was founded in the Chicago, Illinois area in 1990. We will be posting an assortment of practical tips dealing with an array of web design related topics.