It’s not easy being prolific.  WebCommons has worked on so many projects over the years that it’s difficult to distill what our best specialties are, and so on the Specialties page, it has ended up being a laundry list of most things WebCommons can do.

So this is a post to talk about the most notable current capabilities of WebCommons.

Well, first of all, and overall, WebCommons develops programmed websites and website features using the PHP programming language.  So what does this mean to you, the potential customer?  It just means that WebCommons uses an open, free and very common web programming platform to put together your website.  If you don’t already have a website, you probably don’t care about what platform your developer uses, as long as you end up with a great website (and you will with WebCommons!).  On the other hand, to be perfectly honest, if you already have a website and it’s not done with PHP — unless you’re wanting the site to be redone, WebCommons probably isn’t for you.  Of course we can review your existing site and tell you what platform it is utilizing.

Secondly, WebCommons has been working quite a bit with the following technologies and approaches these days (and this is just a sample):

• WordPress, a blogging platform that’s also usable for producing widget-filled websites, which may or may not have a page with a blog.
• jQuery, a fantastic JavaScript library that dramatically extends user interface and entry processing capabilities on websites.
• Visual website makeovers, because your site might be turning people away and you may not realize why — but WebCommons can analyze your site and tell you why.  And it’s not always about aesthetics — it can also be about navigation and coherence (are things balanced and does it make sense?).
• Advanced web forms and processing — when forms are designed with PHP and jQuery, amazing capabilities that used to be much more time-consuming to create in times past are easily doable.
• Image galleries — image display technologies have been really becoming advanced as of late, and their integration is increasingly being asked for.
• MySQL database design — If your website needs a database, we’re on it!
• Back-end data entry — when your website has the need to display well-formatted real-time data, it has to come from somewhere, and its entry needs to be sanitized (proper data design and validation) and secure.
• Installing, configuring and debugging plugins for WordPress-based sites.  Sometimes the hardest thing is finding the right plugin, and if your site already has a lot of them, making all the plugins work in an integrated manner and without problems can be rather trying.
  
• Retrofitting websites with new capabilities.  This may sound generic, but a lot of development requests follow along these lines.  And it’s not simple.  Adding a new website feature to an established site that’s seamless, maintains design balance, and introduces no bugs isn’t for the faint of heart.
• Fixing visual and functional bugs.  Maintaining websites can oftentimes provide the biggest headaches.  Let WebCommons zap those bugs for you and put your mind at ease!
• Helping people discover your website.  If you want potential visitors to maximally discover your content via search engines like Google, or via social networking sites like Facebook, WebCommons has all sorts of ideas for you.  Some ideas might require development tasks to implement, but not all.

Sure, not everything in the above list is sexy, but in reality, a lot of web development is “meat and potatoes” in nature, and it’s what a lot of websites need.  And WebCommons does what websites need.

Last, and never least, the greatest capability of WebCommons really has more to do with communication than working with web technologies.  WebCommons is good at helping customers navigate their way through the steps of a project, from figuring out the site requirements (what you want to do), through design, coding it up (showing you your site in mid-stages and addressing your feedback), and all the way through making your new site or site changes public.

WebCommons strives to use plain English in describing what’s going on, so that you’ll never feel like you’re in the dark.  You’ll know what you’re getting, and then you’ll get it!  (and frankly, in many cases, we deliver well above expectations!)

If what WebCommons does sounds like what you need, please contact us.

On edit: WebCommons is no longer in the business of doing web programming projects for clients.

The newest incarnation of the WebCommons logo

In response to a sponsorship advertising request for my company’s logo to display against a black background, I re-rendered the WebCommons logo by using a fiery back-glow to help with antialiasing and generating cleaner text for the “programming services” part.  The result looked so good (to me, anyway) that I decided to use it on this site and for other marketing purposes as well.

The fickle finger of fate (this time just a little request from out of the blue) sometimes leads to positive developments.

Speaking of positive developments, with the new logo inspiring me, along with the realization that I need to better present what I can do for web development customers, I started re-developing the content on the site.  I realize it’s a droll thing to say, but please pardon the dust!  Heh.  I’m sure that went over like a stale fart.  But I heartily assure you, the final result won’t be farty in the least. 

As always, let me know what you think of the ongoing changes.

A lot of the work WebCommons has taken on in 2009 has had to do with working on company/organization websites developed with WordPress.  One of these sites was even a complete conversion from an existing static site (a basic site with several pages of information) to a dynamic site using WordPress where it became a site with lots of built-in programmed features, such as a blog, contact form, events calendar, etc.

When talking to customers of websites, they frequently express how they desire the power to do most of their own content updating, without having to pay for a web developer like me to do it.  That’s indeed a very fair request.  Why pay a developer to type up your paragraphs of marketing material and other content that appears on your site?  Being frugal in this tough economy is definitely the way to go!

WordPress makes it possible for you to really own your website, with the ability to make most updates as you please.

WebCommons is especially skilled with working with WordPress sites, and possesses the skills to convert your old static website into something dynamic, using WordPress, usually for a very affordable price.

Even if you already own a WordPress-based site, WebCommons is very good at extending the power of your site, by locating and adding plugins — what WordPress calls its program extensions.  Of course, many power users can already do this, but can they also deal with programming conflicts or bugs in these plugins, and can they converse with plugin developers in the fixing of these issues?  WebCommons can!  WebCommons can even fix many of these bugs in cases where the plugin developer refuses to do so or has gone AWOL.  WebCommons can even develop a custom plugin for you when there isn’t one available that serves your purposes!

WebCommons is also adept at visually enhancing themes and fixing the many theme issues that can crop up, such as elements displaying strangely in particular browsers.  I recently had a customer who had a WordPress-based site that looked pretty good in Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari, but looked really whacked in Internet Explorer.  IE comprises a huge share of visitors to websites, so this was potentially reducing traffic (and thus, business) for this company.  WebCommons to the rescue!

To see a couple examples where WebCommons has made a good number of visual adjustments to WordPress themes, check out these websites:  Stephen A. Harmon Photography and KaZoing! Party & Play.

If you would like your static site converted to WordPress, or if you would like advice and/or an estimate on how to make your existing WordPress site look and work better, give us a ring or an e-mail.

On edit: WebCommons is no longer in the business of doing web programming projects for clients.

While revamping the WebCommons About page recently, I realized that I hadn’t ever really expressed what my company’s web design philosophy was.

So, I just took myself through a thought exercise, trying to drum up my guiding experiences and methodology for approaching my web work.  After 15 years of tinkering with websites, certainly I could think of a way of relaying this in a way where most anyone, especially potential clients, could understand what I’m driving at.  A true challenge, I thought at first, but I made myself do it.

The strange thing was that the words that formed this philosophy practically wrote themselves.  In many ways, I just repeated what I say to myself all the time when working on various web projects.

I broke down the philosophy into three parts:

1. A beginning, overarching thought about proper web design, which can be spread like a meme;
2. A bunch of statements that undergird the overarching thought, lending significant but not overwhelming detail;
3. And finally, a “formula for website health”.  This is where I distill everything I said before into a symbolic equation, that if followed closely by professional practitioners, should produce very well-designed, more potentially successful websites.

Here’s my overarching thought about web design:

At the outset, web design, like any visual functional design, is about controlling the “flow of the eyes.”  In the long run, web design is about capturing the ongoing interest, if not soul, of a significant many who visit the website.  Period.

And here’s the distilled WebCommons formula for website health:

Website Health =
Eye Control + Obvious Navigation + Convenience Functions + Simplicity
+ Modesty + Performance + Coherent Style – Nonsense

Check out the new page entitled The WebCommons Web Design Philosophy to read the undergirding statements in between.

What do you think of WebCommons’ web design philosophy, and the formula for website health?  If you are a web developer, what is your design philosophy?  Disagreement is welcome.  Philosophical differences in web development are the norm, and we can all learn a lot from these differences.

Note: In case you’re wondering, I didn’t include “Fresh, Compelling Content” in the formula because I see this as the purview of the website owner, not the designer.  A designer doesn’t create the content, unless it’s their own website they’re designing.  It’s not a “formula for website success”, which is part good content, part sufficient marketing, and part good luck.

Today, hopefully for your edification, I am going offer a rare glimpse of extreme honesty on a matter that I as a freelance web programmer, and I’m sure most other freelance web developers, have to deal with.  I am very sure that what I am about to unveil may lose me some work, but I can deal.  You see, people who freelance in web development and other fields don’t just work for money; we work for reputation as well.  That is, we know the perils of having our names (or our company’s names) associated with shoddy work — therefore, we will do anything we can to prevent that from happening.  We always have to keep our minds attuned to how our services are truly marketed — through the word of mouth emanating from the completion of quality websites.  That’s where most of my new work comes from, so I have to obey this reality.  No choice.

Now, you might be wondering: Is it fair to potential customers to reject work at all?  Ask attorneys that question, or ask anyone who performs very specialized services this question.  The reality is that when one specializes in any field, in order for them to run a business based on that specialization, they have to have rules by which they conduct business, or they will be overrun with serious problems, financial and otherwise.

I hope that my following list of top ten reasons to turn down web development projects will create a good picture of what people like me are looking for when clients approach us.  Whether you seek my services, or anyone else’s services, you need to know these things.  Believe me, with this list, I am trying to HELP YOU meet success when working with the webheads.

1. You don’t know what you want.

Seriously, are you going to go to Kinko’s and say “Print me a brochure with a few party-like graphics and text using these scribbled notes here” and get what you actually expect?  This also holds true for working with web developers.  You need to be as specific as possible as to what you want your website to do and what it should look like.

Now, certainly, I am dutifully available to offer professional feedback on your ideas so as to more finely tune what it is you exactly want.  But, I am also not a mind reader — I am not omniscient — I am no magician — You tell me what you want because you have taken the time to think about what you want.  Explore other websites.  Talk to your trusted friends about your ideas.  Think about what you want your site to accomplish.  After all, ultimately it’s your site; therefore, you have to own its concept!

People start businesses with a business plan, whether written down or not — Think of your website the same way people think of their own businesses.

I am the web developer, you are the web development client — I turn your ideas into reality with my technical skills.  So be specific.

2 through 10, after the fold… Read the rest of this entry »

Don't break this to pay for web programming services!

OK, so here we are in the midst of the Great Recession.  My business, like many others, is tight these days.  And yours may be as well.  I need to make more money.  And if you have a business or organization website (or need a new one), you want to get a good deal for your money when having a web developer service your needs.

Well, I’m not going to do this like selling Ginsu knives on the tee-vee, but here’s what I’m-a gonna do…  and this offer is good through December 31, 2009…

I normally make this offer in whispers to new clients, but I have decided to make it public.  My normal base rate for web development is $32/hour (already low in the web development community), but for all new web projects I start between now and December 31, I will do the work for 2/3 the rate ($21.33/hour) if you allow me to display an image-link back to this services site at the bottom of your site for at least six months (see an example at www.harmonweddings.com; by the way, he’s a fantastic photographer too!).  Let’s say it takes 20 hours to complete your web development project — Now it would cost $426.60 instead of $640.  That’s a pretty good discount!

In short, you let me market my wares on your site, and you get cheaper web development from me!

So, you’re wondering, what kind of web development does WebCommons do?  Well, check out my many web programming specialties.  Also, lately, I’ve been doing a lot of enhancements to WordPress-based sites or new developments of informational sites using WordPress.  Basically, if you feel your current site is too much like a flat brochure, let me enliven it with WordPress and add all sorts of programmed goodies, such as an integrated calendar, image galleries, contact form and more — believe me, the possibilities will stoke your imagination.  And what’s more, when your site is based in WordPress, it will be easy for you to update your content without having to pay a web dude like me to do it!

If you’re interested, just give me a ring (or an e-mail).  Thanks for reading!

On edit: WebCommons is no longer in the business of doing web programming projects for clients.