August Interactive Blog

When we first sit down with a client to discuss search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising, and social media strategy, the first thing we try to explain is the difference between SEO and website optimization.  For us, website optimization is the first and most important step in creating a strong foundation for our keyword specific SEO strategies.

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In order for a website to use includes, you must use php calls.  Basically, the site is still an html website, with the exception that the html is created dynamically by parsing the php includes. If you view the source code for each page sent to your browser, you will not find the php script, only the html.  In order for the php in each page to be parsed, the file extension needs to be .php. You could write a mod to hide the .php extension, but I’m not sure if that is ever really necessary.

Websites are interactive media whose purpose is to allow a user to quickly access and interact with information on the web – and here’s the key point – from anywhere an Internet connection can be made.

Most website users are unaware that that the friendly graphics-based interface with which they interact is really a complex and harmonious compilation of thousands of lines of HTML and programming code.
Because of the complexity inherent in even the simplest website, there are innumerable opportunities for glitches and imperfections. When you consider that fact along with the reality that a site’s code is deployed in a quasi-controlled environment and accessed across a multitude of platform/ browser configurations, then it’s illogical to think that a site is “done” just because it’s been launched.

Any website – whether basic or complex — needs at least some level of maintenance. This could include:
- redundancy and back-up/restorations planning
- server and software monitoring and upgrades
- cross-browser compatibility monitoring and upgrades
- performance monitoring
- content monitoring and updates
The size, complexity, relative importance, and business value of the website will determine for each website owner what maintenance and support plan is necessary and with what level of cost/benefit relationship he or she is comfortable.

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A colleague of mine asked me recently to give him my thoughts on intuitive user interface design. What he got was an earful. Intuitive to whom?

The entire culture of information exchange was irrevocably changed with the invention of the internet. We are now a population of information consumers with a voracious appetite for instant communication gratification. As the expectation of expediency continues to increase exponentially (E3) with each generation, we are more and more aware as website users of how quickly we can find and access what we want. We express our pleasure of course by lingering on internet realty that delivers; and conversely cast our votes of displeasure by immediately leaving a website that doesn’t deliver within the first few seconds. And don’t think no one’s watching. With millions of these votes being cast every second, it’s no wonder user interface developers are infatuated with terms like ‘user intuition’. Continue reading »