Monthly Archives: May 2011
Why We Choose PHP For Web Development
PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor, which is an HTML-embedded scripting language originally created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1995. It was designed for the use of web developers to allow them to create dynamic web pages and to make them more interactive & lively. It formerly stood for Personal Home Page. Much of its syntax is borrowed from C, Java and Perl with a couple of unique PHP-specific features. Now, PHP is widely used by web developers as it has many unique and advanced features.
Web developers choose PHP over other alternatives as it has many reasons to differentiate itself from its competitors, like -
- Gives its users, an expressive result and great experience.
- Extensive use in many programming like Array, Directory, Simple XML functions, FTP, HTTP and more other functions.
- Helps in creating dynamic web pages content and images.
- PHP group provides the complete source code for its users to build and customize for their own use.
- PHP 4 or PHP parser compiles input to produce byte code for processing by the Zend Engine, giving a whole new improved performance.
- It also supports multiple databases like MS Access, SQL Server, My SQL and Oracle.
- Over 20 million internet domains have web services hosted on servers with PHP involved, hence emerged as the most popular Apache HTTP Server module.
- PHP can be deployed on almost every operating system today.
- Provides more interactivity.
PHP has many versions like PHP 1, PHP 2, PHP 3, PHP 4 and PHP 5 among others. Every version of PHP comes with all new and exciting features. At present, PHP does not have native support for Unicode or multibyte strings because it is under development for a future version of PHP. This Unicode support will allow strings as well as class, method, and function names to contain non-ASCII characters.
5 Tips For Effective Ecommerce Web Designing
In today’s busy world, one prefers to do shopping by scrolling the mouse and clicking buttons instead of driving to the department store and waiting in queues. For this, E-commerce websites offer the perfect solution. Nowadays, companies design websites which inform the potential customer of the various items and choices they have and all the customer has to do is select the product and make online/offline payments to get the products delivered at their doorstep. To design an effective website thus becomes a necessity for any E-commerce company. Listed below are certain tips and guidelines to be considered while designing an effective ecommerce website.
- Just like in any real store, for good sales, the convenience of the customers is to be given priority. A webpage must be attractive enough to capture the customers’ attention when they are browsing various options.
- Similarly, the webpage must contain adequate information so that the customer feels comfortable. The webpage must be designed in such a fashion that even less tech-friendly people can use it. Comparing the virtual shops to a real store, the WebPages are designed so that the customers can easily navigate from one product to another.
- To encourage customers to visit again and again, the company can ensure that the webpage highlights attractive discounts and schemes. The webpage must showcase the variety in the products they have, so that the customers feel that they have a lot of choices to decide over.
- Just like the cashier who at the end of your shopping asks you if there is anything you need that was not available, or asks you to fill comment cards, a webpage can also request the customer for similar details. The webpage should offer the customer a sufficient number of payment options.
- The most important thing to be taken care of is that the delivery of goods should be done on time. There should be customer help lines available on the webpage, which the customers can use if they face any difficulty.
Such progress by technology gives the practice of shopping a complete makeover and one can enjoy the experience of shopping in the comfort of one’s home. Developers all over the world are realizing the various techniques to ensure complete clients satisfaction and are rapidly incorporating novel techniques to make this experience wholesome for the shoppers.
Web Development Lifecycle
Web Development Lifecycle, as the name suggests, refers to the framework for developing any website. It is quite different from general application development. It helps the client as well as the web development team to identify the status of any web development project. It also throws light on what is the next step to be taken. The process of web development is a simple one and can be easily carried out in ‘Three Simple Phases’.
First Phase
The web development cycle begins with the initial consultations to have a clear understanding about the scale of web development, web design & its feasibility, required delivery schedule and the cost of the project. Here, the project specifications including applicable business rules and outputs, implementation of the system and other business requirements that are effectively established between the client and web designing team. The documents finalized in this stage form an important element of the web development cycle.
Second Phase
This concerns the development of website architecture comprising of the software and hardware requirements for delivery of the web application, which can support the final website in a robust and reliable manner. This is done while taking account of the likely growth of data volumes, visitor numbers web traffic, and functionality. The important factors discussed in this stage are:
- Operating System
- Web And Application Development Language
- Database Management System (DBMS)
- Hardware / Hosting Environment that is most appropriate
During the web site design cycle, mock-ups or prototypes of the screens plus system walkthroughs are decided. These help in understanding the working of website from the point of view of the users and administrators. Then ‘collation of content’ then takes place, wherein the required graphic or textual content is developed as per the requirement of the client. Administration functionality is also included and defined.
Final Stage
It consists of testing and quality assurance which comprises of:
- System and volume testing
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
- Cross-browser and security testing
- Sign-off
This ensures the creation of a high quality website for the client. The last step in the cycle is the launch of the website. Herein the website is deployed to the production environment and opened to the relevant users. Clients are usually provided a period of warranty and a support agreement which is pre-decided with the consent of the client.
The process can vary in certain specific conditions but the basic Web Development Lifecycle proceeds as mentioned here. With latest techniques and platforms coming to the fore, the web development lifecycle is set to become even simpler and cost-effective than before.
Features of Web 2.0 Development
Web 2.0 has taken the web world with storm. Web 2.0 facilitates participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web. The term “Web 2.0” was coined in January 1999 by Darcy DiNucci, a consultant on electronic information design. It has lead to new innovations in interactions on the net. Web 2.0 includes social networking Sites, Blogs, Wikis, Video sharing sites, Hosted services and many other Web applications. It has made the web a very interactive medium.
Web 2.0 contains many applications for storage, creation, and dissemination of information which were not present before its arrival. It has the combined capabilities of client- and server-side software or technology, content syndication and the use of network protocols. It has changed the trend of passive website, which allowed user access to only the content displayed on the website. In short, information sharing has taken a huge leap with Web 2.0. The web browser technologies used to browse a Web 2.0 application are developed using Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax), Adobe Flash, and JavaScript/Ajax frameworks such as Yahoo! UI Library and Dojo Toolkit etc. Ajax programming uses JavaScript to upload and download new data from the web server without refreshing the entire web page.
Some Of The Features Of Web 2.0 Include:
- Searching functionality: By simply typing a keyword, the user can have access to any information.
- Extensions: This software has enabled the web to serve as an application platform as well as a storehouse of documents.
- Linkage to another world: Through the endless applications of Web 2.0, you can connect to a person sitting in the other corner of the world. It gives shape to a meaningful communication through the web.
- Authoring the Website content: Web 2.0 also enables you to author the web content by creating or updating contents on a website. Moreover, anybody can become an author through blogs.
- Tagging the Content: Using this feature, you need not depend on the pre-made categories and can simply ease the searching by adding one-word description.
Thus, Web 2.0 has revolutionized the World Wide Web by making communication easier, smarter and simpler in many ways. But this is just the beginning as the coming years will see more developments in this direction that will change the face of Internet.
Best Web Development Company
Today we are living in the era of the Internet, wherein Web Development has become indispensable for any business. The important thing to do for getting success from having a website is to select the best web development company. You must go for a company that not only offers development of a qualitative website but also web solutions meeting individual needs of different businesses. To choose the best web development company, the following points must be taken into consideration:
- Expertise: While selecting a web development company, you must ensure that the company has substantial expertise in this field. Go for a company which has executed some reputed and big projects as they will have the expertise to give you perfect solution.
- Enquire about the SEO strategies of the company: Search Engine Optimization plays a pivotal role in the promotion and hence the success of any website. A company with good SEO strategies must be chosen always.
- Avoid getting lured by heavy advertising by the web development companies: Many a times people choose a company which is highly publicized but does not give prolific end results.
- Experience matters: Innovation is good but don’t give your project in the hands of a first timer as it will most likely ruin your project.
- In tune with trends: Select a professional company which understands both your online and offline business needs. The company should have thorough knowledge of the market trends as well as the nature of your business and its needs. Only then, the company can develop an effective website for your company.
- Hunt for a good company: Get advice from a web consultancy which can guide you about the correct web designing company. An online search can also give you an idea about the different players in this field.
A company which understands your needs and develops the most user friendly website is the best web development company. But experience and skills in different fields along with market credibility also matter and you must consider all the profits and risks involved before availing such services.
Dynamic Web Design Advantages
Dynamic Web Designing has become a popular phenomenon these days. Unlike the static web design, dynamic web design provides content which keeps on changing for instance news updates. High end designs are used in the development of dynamic web pages, which guide the user through the site. A dynamic web page is a kind of web page that has been prepared with fresh information (or even layout in some cases) for each individual viewing.
The role of websites has changed tremendously in the past few years as they have become effective marketing tools. Here are some of the aspects that prove to be very advantageous for dynamically designed websites:
- Websites are no longer static mediums for one way communication, rather they are used for interacting with people through chat shows, live chat etc.
- Dynamic websites have provided a fast and user-friendly medium to the web users. Almost every business house or company has its own website for promoting business and for selling goods & services. This has been effectively accomplished with the help of dynamic web designs as they provide the option of ongoing interaction with your client.
- By using various programming languages like PHP, Java, CGI, PERL, etc. a dynamic web design enables multiple users to view web pages at multiple platforms. Such programming can support all the GIF images, videos, animations, auto response and interactive features of a website.
- Dynamic websites have a large database for storing information, which can be updated and edited anytime at a later stage.
- Dynamic web designing has become helpful particularly for the E-commerce websites where the users need to be guided on different stages of making the purchase.
- The programming of a dynamic website allows it to guide users through the registration process and for subscriptions to receive monthly newsletters and other promotional notifications. There is a backend process which stores information and is protected by a security password. The Home page and drop down menus of a dynamic website can have their content as separate links to other pages.
The look and presentation of a dynamic website is very neat and it has emerged as a very user-friendly medium. So despite the slightly higher costs involved, the dynamic websites have become more popular than their counterparts.
Top 10 Tips For Designing a Great Mobile Website
Mobile website design is a far cry from designing a desktop website. This is owing to the fact that Mobile web design faces many challenges, a significant one being that there is no uniform browser for mobile devices. Also, the different screen sizes are taken into account while designing a mobile website. But, it is possible to design a great mobile website by following these simple steps which are the following.
- While understanding the limitations of mobile phones, their capabilities such as phone, camera and SMS facility need to be recognized while designing the mobile site.
- Understanding the impatience of mobile users who want fast access to bite-sized content.
- Keeping it short and simple.
- Focusing on speed. As functionality is more important than style; large images, flash animation and video should be avoided which can slow the site down.
- Making it useful i.e. what a user on the move needs.
- Making the site compatible with all phones.
- Choosing a domain name that would make easier the search for the site.
- Site marketing to ensure customers finds the site. Investing time on SEO, paid search listings, operator portal and directory submissions is a good idea for marketing the site.
- Analysis should be done using a tool like Google Analytics to keep on improving the mobile website.
- Overspending should not be done. A simple start would bring the return on investments faster.
Summing up, designing a great mobile website takes only that much time as it takes one to breathe provided the above mentioned tips are followed in a meticulous manner with attention to the finest details. Thus, the creation of a great mobile website depends on the execution of a few simple steps. It is over and done with by the completion of these steps.
Benefits of PHP Web Development
PHP is very commonly used by web developers these days. A scripting language designed to produce dynamic web pages; PHP can be deployed as a standalone interpreter, on almost every operating system & platform and on most web servers free of charge. PHP is not considered as a very search engine friendly language but its use in web development has gained popularity in the recent years. Originally PHP stood for ‘Personal Home Page’; it now stands for ‘Hypertext Preprocessor’. PHP offers certain benefits which has made it a popular choice among the web developers. The benefits can be listed as:
- PHP does not require a framework for developing a website.
- It is a very safe and secure application.
- PHP offers one to choose a language that one is comfortable in.
- It supports different popular databases like, MySQL, Oracle, Sybase and others.
- PHP code can be embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted with a web server with a PHP module processor.
- It offers a fast turnaround time with a development cost that is very less.
- PHP requires very less codes in the development of a website.
- Helps in server- side scripting
- PHP can be deployed on most web servers, many operating systems and platforms, and can be used with many relational database management systems (RDBMS).
Thus, PHP offers several benefits which help in easy and effective web development. The safety and security aspect of this website is also very good as it is immune to a large number of vulnerabilities. The inherent advantageous features of this language will help to maintain its popularity irrespective of the new and more advanced ones that will be developed. That is why PHP is being increasingly incorporated for web development by many software companies nowadays.
Advantages of Custom Web Design
Custom Web design has emerged as the most prominently used web design techniques primarily due to the personal touch and feel attached to it. Success of a business depends largely on its relation with its clients and the perception of the clients about the business. This is true for an online business as well. The best way for an online and even an offline business with a web presence is to connect to its clients through its website. It therefore becomes very essential that the website is viewer friendly, informative and attractive.
Getting a website designed as per your specifications can add an extra appeal to your website that will surely reflect in the number of inquiries received. Custom Web Design offers certain benefits which help in promoting your business online, which include:
- Personalized Touch- Customized Web Designing gives a personal touch to your website which gives it a distinct identity. You may apply your creative and innovative ideas in to bring out a unique design.
- Edge over your Competitors- A website designed using the best tools and your personal guidelines is likely to stand out in competition and give you an upper edge over competitors.
- Cost Effective- Since more and more businesses are indulging in Custom Web Design the prices of packages for such designing have become very competitive. You can get a package that suits your pocket well and have great customized detailing about your business that makes you stand out in the form of products specific graphics, animation, structure etc.
- Unique Design- Since custom web design does not follow any set templates you will get a website that is unique. Besides, there are no chances of similarity or copyright issues.
Make sure that you incorporate all the necessary information in your site to make its viewer-friendly and attractive at the same time. Take care while using flash techniques and ensure that it causes no effect on the loading speed. This way a Custom Web Design can surely offer a great solution for your business.
