Candid Software Weblog -Web Designing, hosting, ecommerce, content and more!

Knowing the Site Page Load Time from Different Locations

2009-06-24T06:59:50Z

Page load time is crucial for a website, as a lesser time interval indicates that you value your visitors and don't want to keep them waiting at any cost. Candid knows the importance of Page Load time and always ensures that it uses tools like WatchMouse Web Monitor in the web designing services to give your site a lesser page load duration.

Whether it is the page size or the number of elements present on it, we check out everything to give your website the lowest possible page load time. This expertise of ours is getting us more clients who are looking for advanced website designing solutions.

If your website has a page load time of .00X seconds, it will fall into normal category. But a site with a lower page loading time takes the lead position.

If you are still confused about how to know the time taken by your website or blog in loading up at different parts of the world, use the WatchMouse Web Monitor Tool. It will tell the accurate load time, connect and download time along with the download size of the page. You will also get to know if you encountered any error while accessing the site.

Check out the WatchMouse Tool.

Know more about our Custom Website Designing Service.

WordPress 2.8 Beta Version Released

2009-05-21T05:37:57Z

The release of WordPress 2.8 is a good news for testers and early adopters, as they can now download the Beta 1 version that promises to make the WordPress more powerful & better. Candid has extensive experience of working on WordPress platform and is excited about the new launch. Our team of builders have an in-depth knowledge of 2.8 Beta and are recommending the new version to clients looking for WordPress blog customization service.

WP e-Commerce: A Fully Integrated WordPress Shopping Cart Plugin

2009-05-12T04:32:35Z

WordPress, an open source application is a great way of brand positioning and doing business on the World Wide Web. There are numerous plugins available that make WordPress even more resourceful application for businesses.

5 Best Open Source and Alternatives to Photoshop

2009-04-20T13:58:00Z

Adobe Photoshop is the most popular tool amongst designers as it comes with lots of photo editing tools and versatile features. But, the biggest problem in front of any designer who wants to own Photoshop is its price. There are numerous open source and completely free programs that are loaded with features similar to Photoshop and some times even more.

We at Candid have expertise in providing ultimate website designs by using photoshop and open source tools. There are various alternatives to photoshop, which are not only equivalent but sometimes have more advanced features than the famous photo editing tool. In order to provide better web designing solutions to clients, Candid also uses some of these tools for handling projects. Let's have a look at 5 best open source and free alternatives to photoshop that are selected by our designing experts for a hassle free and advanced photo editing experience.

GIMP

GIMP means “GNU image manipulation program”. One of the oldest and well known program, GIMP is a perfect alternative to Photoshop. It might not have all the features, but most of them are included in GIMP. This cross platform is supported by a large community.

If you still find GIMP lacking in many features, then there is an alternative GIMPShop based on GIMP. It is similar to GIMP and the only difference is that the layout is very closely structured like Photoshop to give users right at home feeling.

Download

Paint.NET

This open source tool has gradually grown out of being a simple replacement to well known MSPaint to a fully featured open source image editor. Showcasing a wide support base, users need to have Windows to run Paint.NET.

Download

Pixia

The program was originally designed in Japanese but it now has an English version also. Although Pixia is a very capable editor but the main focus was kept on anime/manga. Users might get disappointed by finding some of its features a litter counter intuitive, but with lots of English tutorials you can give it a shot. Pixia also works for windows.

Download

Picnik

This is a web based photo editor with all the basic features and some advanced ones like special effects and layers. Picnik has recently taken off because of its partnership with Flickr. This editing program is cross platform as you only need a browser to run it.

Download

Adobe Photoshop Express

This is a free web based photo editor of Adobe itself. Photoshop Express comes with all the basic functions and some advanced ones also, but it does not have layers. The editor interfaces with different photo sharing websites also and is again a completely cross platform.

Download

Powerful Combination of Ubercart and Drupal for Online Store

2009-03-10T04:57:36Z

With lots of open source shopping carts available in market, it is often confusing to judge an appropriate one for your business. To make things pretty simple, we at Candid use Ubercart, a shopping cart suitable for the business of every client. This open source e-commerce package fully integrates the online store with Drupal. Ubercart with Drupal is an ideal combination for those who want to build a community around a product, sell access to their premium content and offer paid downloads with many more features.

Online .htaccess Editor: A Perfect Mode to Create .htaccess Files

2009-03-09T07:17:49Z

The best part of having a .htaccess file is that it enables the user to customize the configurations for requests to a particular directory. The experts at Candid know that web servers and most commonly Apache have .htaccess as the default name in the configuration files of directory level. But, creating a .htaccess file can be a time consuming and tedious job. In an attempt to improve upon our web development services, team Candid creates .htaccess files with online .htaccess editor.

Reviewing the Quality of Web Page with YAML Debug

2009-02-26T14:22:23Z

The new YAML Debug Tool is really handy for web designers who want to leave no flaws in their work. The assistive tool allows one to quick review the quality of code and semantic structure during website designing. The tool also helps in testing the site against common oversights.

Here are some features of YAML Debug:

Webpage Information

Based on the detected Doctype, YAML Debug informs you if the webpage will be rendered in Quirk mode or in Standard mode. It can detect the content encoding as well as count all the external style sheets, images and script elements on the page.

Code Quality Test

With YAML you can check a webpage against missing or empty alt attributes in deprecated HTML elements, in elements, find empty elements as well as the elements containing inline styles.

Stylesheet Options

The stylesheet options are also available in YAML Debug, where all the external and embedded style sheets are listed in source order. You can disable or enable a stylesheet by clicking on it. Along with this, every external stylesheet can be viewed and send directly for the W3C CSS validation service.

Accessibility Test

The features of YAML tool can help the web developers to detect the various accessibility issues on their webpage.

The versatile features of YAML Debug helps in rectifying the problem with a webpage before it gets worse. It is becoming the most preferred tool of web designers for doing an error free job.

Online Web Designing Tools that you can Rely On

2009-02-26T13:55:10Z

Web designers usually find it handy to have tools to make the task of design and development easier. From forming word clouds, creating effects on images, to sharing screenshots of web design, these tools can go a a long way to simplify the process of site creation. Here are the top 20 tools, that you should be relying on.

1. Are My Sites Up

This simple tool lets you know if your sites are down. You will receive messages via email or SMS text, regarding your site status. It performs site checks 25 times per day. Check it out at: http://aremysitesup.com/login

2. Wordle

This little tool creates “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds highlight the frequently appearing words in the source text. You can create clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes, according to your preferences. You can find it at : http://www.wordle.net/

3. ScrnShots

This tool enables you to find and share screenshots of web design. You can find scores of screenshots and add them to your account, place your screenshots in a cache for ease-of-access and explore many more helpful features. Check it out at: http://www.scrnshots.com/

4. EmChart

Constantly reaching for a calculator to compute the correct EM value can be quite a hassle. EmChart is comes in handy for calculating bottom margins, line-heights, top margins, and top/bottom padding. It’s also great for keeping font-sizes straight. You can find it at: http://aloestudios.com/code/emchart/

5. HTML-Ipsum

This tool provides a Lorem Ipsum application compatible with Mac. You can have a look at: http://html-ipsum.com/

6. Lovely Charts

Lovely Charts is an online application that enables you to make great-looking diagrams such as flowcharts, sitemaps, wireframes and more. Check it out at: http://www.lovelycharts.com/

7. Pixastic

This tool offers many features, such as creating attractive effects on images using JavaScript. Also comes in handy when editing an image without a computer. You can find it at: http://www.pixastic.com/

8. Down For Everyone Or Just Me

Enables you to find out for any site, whether it’s down for you only or for everyone. Check it out at: http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com/

9. SmushIt

Smushit.com is a service that uses image optimization tools to compress the images without compromising on their effect or visual quality. Try it out at: http://smushit.com/

10. SifrVault

An online Repository of sIFR fonts. Go through it at: http://www.sifrvault.com/

11. Snipt

Snipt provides a helpful collection of often used commands or code snips. You can check it out at:http://snipt.net/

12. ShiftSpace

ShiftSpace is an open source browser plugin for editing and shifting the web. Check it out at: http://www.shiftspace.org/

13. Wappalyzer

A Firefox add-on Wappalyzer tells you what software is used on the websites you visit. It lets you know about the usage of most CMS, e-commerce software and wiki and message board systems. Check it out at: http://wappalyzer.com/

14. Favicon generator & editor

This tool offers a convenient method to convert any GIF, PNG or JPEG to ICO. It also enables you to design your own favicons with the help of an online editor. You can find it at: http://favicon-generator.org/editor/

15. BgPatterns

This tool helps you come up with tiled patterns when time is of essence. It enables you to easily change a wide range of patterns, change its color, size and more. Try it out at: http://bgpatterns.com/

16. Kuler

This Adobe application that helps you create and share color themes such as Monochromatic, Triad, Complementary, etc. Users also have the option to share color themes according to preset color formulas or even create your own color shades by using the interactive color wheel. Go through it at: http://kuler.adobe.com/

17. FontStruct

This helpful tool lets you develop fonts based on geometrical shapes, arranged in a grid pattern, like tiles or bricks. You can find it at: http://fontstruct.fontshop.com

18. Vector Magic

Helps you convert bitmap images to vector images in a jiffy. All you need to do is to upload your image on Vector Magic. Try it out at: http://vectormagic.com/home

19. Picmarkr

This tool enables you to add a custom watermark (image or text) to your images for free. Comes in handy if you are worried about copyright infringement or just want to add comments to your photographs. Check it out at: http://picmarkr.com/

20. TweetDeck

Helps by and breaking down twitter feeds into smaller bite sized pieces. By using TweetDeck, one can easily split his/her main feed (All Tweets) into topic or group specific columns enabling you to get the broad picture of the feed. Find it at: http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/

Do check out these tools, see for yourself what they can do for you and you'll find yourself hooked in no time.

Create Amazing Web Designs with Wordpress Theme Generator

2009-02-26T12:51:51Z

Candid likes to share with its readers tools, wordpress themes and other technology we use to make our work easier. The cool features of Wordpress theme generator has made us talk about this tool, which minimizes web designing task to a matter of few seconds. We have been using this tool with great results and find it really handy. The credit for the many amazing web pages we have designed for clients, goes to the wordpress theme generator.

With the unique Wordpress theme generator, you don't have to look out for different tools as it gives freedom to create your own theme. There are different options available for selecting the size, background, font style, column size, header/logo, font colour and other features in the theme generator. After choosing the options, you just need to click on the save button which will lead you to download page compressed to ZIP format.

So, if you want your own blog and want to create your own design, use this helpful Wordpress theme generator launched by Yvoschaap.

10 Reasons Why SEO Is Essential For Your E- Commerce Website

2009-02-25T12:28:34Z

Recession is at its peak. Companies are getting indulged in cost cutting exercises and lay offs. But is this the ultimate solution? It is a fact that clients are vanishing off and companies don't have any other choice but to lay off their employees. But will it solve the purpose? What about the clients? You still will not get customers until and unless you think out of the box and do something special to boost your business. At the end of the day, a business wants loads of clients to boost its sales! What is a business without its customers? Nothing! It does not matter whether you are a small business owner or you have a big enterprise working under you, if you don't have a good customer base or an exciting traffic at your door step, your business venture holds no meaning.

That's where the role of SEO comes in. Almost 99% companies have their presence in the web world. In this highly competitive world, it is extremely important for an online business to be at the top amongst its competitors. SEO is a technique that looks after all your business related needs and the promotion of your website, a gold mine in itself, you just have to make an investment in the beginning and get fruits.

If you want your site to rank well and generate business, then an SEO firm is the answer for your needs. Here are a few benefits of hiring an SEO service for your e-commerce site:

If you get your e-commerce website worked upon by a credible SEO company, then there are chances that your website will get noticed by a majority of high-class search engines like Google, Yahoo! and MSN. An SEO company makes sure that your website gets top rankings in the result pages of these search engines. It is a fact that visitors, in general visit websites that are placed in the first three or first four ranks. So naturally your site will remain in front of their eyes every single time. Can you ask for more???

SEO can increase the number of visitors who are actively looking forward for the service or product that you have got to offer.

Internet being a global medium, SEO can help you brand building process and give your website a high international profile.

Naturally when your site will get registered in some of the popular search engines, then who can stop the traffic from flowing to your site? And the terms “revenue” and “traffic” go side by side. Where there is traffic, revenue will follow immediately.

You have an e-commerce site - fine, but what additional methods have you implemented to boost your sales and satisfy your visitors? An SEO firms provides a diverse range of ideas to attract your target audience to your site.

SEO is just like your personal marketing and promotions company that works exclusively for you and that too at an affordable price range.

SEO can expand the reaches of your business, leading to unprecedented growth and enables you to market better, targeting your niche audience in an effective manner.

An SEO firms directly or indirectly acts as a marketing tool for your website and helps in boosting its sales by a huge margin. By being SEO optimized, you site will always remain in some of the top positions as far as the search engine rankings are concerned. As a result, your website will always remain in front of your visitors and they will be loyal towards you all the time.

After getting your website optimized by a credible SEO company, you will not find the need to cater the expensive services of an advertising firm. An SEO company will provide you with all the “advertising and marketing” services under one roof! What else can you ask for in this recession? (Otherwise also)
“The best part is that you don't have to spend thousands of bucks that you would have otherwise spent in case of an advertising firm.”

Every e-commerce site has the sole motto of getting ROI (Return on Investment), and what better way to gather loads of ROI then a reliable SEO service.

Tip: Make sure it's a CREDIBLE SEO firm!!