GoldVine Web Solutions

CSS for Beginners: Introduction

Matt Goldman — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 07:19:33 +0000

What is CSS?

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and it can be used to style your HTML files. HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is responsible for the structure of your document. HTML tags are used to semantically divide your page content into meaningful sections. These sections and elements are then styled, and given layout characteristics via a separate .css file.

The Benefits of Using CSS

The alternative to using external CSS files consists of styling individual elements within your .html page…but this poses one major problem. Imagine you start out with a simple website; a few headings, images and paragraphs (nothing too crazy). Then, a couple weeks later, you decide to add some more pages. You will find yourself restyling many elements which you’ve already styled in your other file. For example, the font sizes of headings, the spacing below images, the width of your sidebar, etc. Fast forward another couple months…and you decide to change the color of the links throughout your website. Without an external CSS file declaring the styles for your entire website, you will need to go through and change the style for each individual link. Let’s start with a few examples:

a {
    font-size: 12px;
    color: #FFFFFF;
}

Here, you can see an example of a style declaration within a .css file. You start with a selector, in this case ‘a’ which targets all hyperlinks. Then, you type a pair of curly braces, and within these braces you list off the specific styles you would like to apply to the selected element(s). As you can see above, I have set the size of my hyperlinks to be 12 pixels, and the color to be white (#FFFFFF).

You can also select elements based off of their class or ID. Here are some examples of assigning a class or ID to HTML elements, followed by some examples of how to style those elements:

This is a div tag with an ID.
This is an h1 heading tag with a class.

#sidebar {
    width: 310px;
    background-color: #EFEFEF;
}

.blog-title {
    font-size: 48px;
    font-weight: bold;
}

There are several other selectors which are more advanced and can target elements more specifically. I will delve into the details of these in a future post.

Lastly, in any .html file which uses CSS styling, you will need to link to the .css file in the section of the .html file. This lets the HTML document know where to look on your server for the styles necessary to display the page.

When this code is placed in the section of your .html file, the server will know to open the styles.css file and to apply any applicable styles to the current document.

PHP Function that Chooses a Singular or Plural Word based on an Input Number

Matt Goldman — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 05:55:30 +0000

The other day, I needed a PHP function to display a word either singular or plural based on a number referring to that word. For example, this could be used on a blog post which may have 0 comments, 1 comment, or 2 comments. Feel free to use this in your projects, or modify it as needed.

function word_choice($number, $singular, $plural) {
    if($number == 0 OR $number >= 2) {
        return $number . " " . $plural;
    }else{
        return $number . " " . $singular;
    }
}

//Implementation
$number = 32;

echo word_choice($number, 'comment', 'comments');
//This will show "32 comments"

$number = 1;

echo word_choice($number, 'comment', 'comments');
//This will show "1 comment"

Exclusive Promotion for Newsletter Subscribers

Matt Goldman — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 22:14:09 +0000

If you are currently receiving my monthly newsletter….congratulations! You get a free 1 year domain name registration ($24.95 value). Have you been waiting to register your business name as a domain name, or even your personal name? Now is the perfect time to reserve your favorite domain before someone else takes it!

Just call (619) 793-4645 or send an e-mail to hello@goldvine.biz and I’ll help you find an available domain name. This is the first exclusive promotion I’m running, and I’ll be running more in the future. If you haven’t signed up to receive my newsletter, I’m afraid you’re out of luck! But you can sign up below to be notified of future exclusives, and to stay in the loop on what I’m working on:

HTML for Beginners: Introduction

Matt Goldman — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:14:23 +0000

An article I was reading recently compared trying to build a website without knowing any HTML to attempting to build a house without knowing what a brick is. It’s extremely useful to know a bit about HTML even if it’s just the basics. In this tutorial series, I hope to give you a basic understanding of HTML and CSS, as well as to point you in the direction of several other great resources for learning about these topics.

So what is HTML?

HTML stands for hyper-text markup language which probably means nothing to you. It doesn’t mean much to me, either! Basically, HTML is responsible for taking the content you would like to display on a webpage and structuring it into semantic sections which can then by styled using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), which I’ll cover later in this series.

Structuring your HTML documents

Every HTML document starts with the same basic structure. The first thing on every page should be the DOCTYPE. This is a line of code which often looks like gibberish. It’s sole purpose is to tell your internet browser (Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, etc.) which version of HTML the page is using. Browsers have long struggled to operate under the same standards leading to a page being displayed consistently in various browsers. The DOCTYPE is the first stepping stone in ensuring cross-browser compatibility for your webpages. For this tutorial series, I will be using HTML5 which is fairly new and isn’t even fully finished or supported in older browsers. However, all of the major browsers can interpret HTML5 and it is fairly safe to use it in your projects from this point forward.

So the first code that should go into any of your webpages is the HTML5 DOCTYPE (which they finally shortened and made pretty easy to remember):

Now that you’ve told the browser that you’ll be using HTML5 to code your page, you can begin structuring the document. Every HTML file has the same basic structure:



     
          San Diego Pet Store
          
          
     

     
          This is a Sample Heading

          This is some sample text inside of a paragraph.  Dogs rule!

This may look a bit confusing at first glance, but it is actually fairly self-explanatory once you look at each tag individually:

: This tag surrounds all of the code in a document besides the DOCTYPE.
- : This tag includes several sub-tags which can do any of the following: declare the title of the page, associate keywords/a description/other meta information with the page, and include styles from another file which describe the layout/visual characteristics of the page.
  - : This tag is the only tag in the head section which will create a visual output. The title you set here will appear in several places such as the title bar of your browser, your taskbar (when you minimize the window), and as the default title if you bookmark the page in your browser. Also, it is used on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) as the title of your webpage. All other tags in the section simply describe the content and are invisible to visitors. Many of the tags either help search engines or internet browsers to classify your content.
  - : This tag was once very important in achieving high search engine rankings, and many still consider it to be important. But in reality, search engines don’t put much weight (if any) on this tag thanks to “black hat” deceptive practices by search engine optimizers. There is no harm in using the tag as long as the keywords you put in are reflective of the content on that specific page.
  - : The description tag is more beneficial than the keywords tag as long as you use it properly. When your website shows up in search engines, one of two things will appear below the title: a random snippet of text from your website that matches what the person was searching for, or the description set in this tag. No two pages in your website should have the same description, and your description should be a 1-2 sentence account of what is on the page and why someone should visit your page rather than someone else’s.
- : This tag holds all of the content which is visible on any page. It is usually broken down into specific sections which refer to the layout of the page such as: header, navigation, main section, sidebar, and footer. CSS is then used to define the sizes of each section as well as their layout, backgrounds, colors, font sizes, etc.

What now?

For the next post in this tutorial series, I’ll be going over some common tags in HTML and I will also help you write your first HTML document.

If you have any questions, or would like me to cover something specific in a future tutorial, please call (619) 793-4645 or send an e-mail to hello@goldvine.biz.

The Effect the Internet is Having on Communities

Matt Goldman — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 22:41:13 +0000

Times are changing, and it’s time for you and your business to adapt. There was a time when customer service wasn’t crucial because if a customer was upset, they didn’t have much reach to spread negative word-of-mouth about your business. Sure, they might have told a friend or two, but that wouldn’t crush your company. Nowadays, no matter who your customers are…with the internet, they can bring about dramatically positive or negative PR towards your company. And with the increasing use of smartphones, it’s even easier for consumers to share a negative (or positive) experience with thousands of listeners from anywhere in the world.

Here are some examples of some recent customer service blunders which gained much more attention than they would have a few years ago:

Southwest Airlines vs. Kevin Smith
United Airlines vs. Dave Carroll

The internet is growing at breakneck speeds, but it feels like it’s getting smaller…

Thanks to various online communities and social networks, the internet has broken down into smaller communities. This has taken away from the anonymity that existed several years ago, and it encourages individuals and businesses alike to develop and present their brand positively online. This can exist in the form of monitoring Twitter and other networks for mentions of your brand, writing a blog and teaching your customers something new, or even contributing to other websites and getting to know others within your industry.

Do you actually care that your customers are happy? Then show them!

The companies that are getting the most out of using social media are the ones who are genuinely interested in building relationships with their customers and others in the community. There isn’t any immediate return on investment that comes out of answering a random person’s question online, or recommending a useful service you’ve found. But who will that person consider when they need help with something you happen to offer. You guessed it, YOU! Can you think of anyone who has taught you something, and how grateful you were for their help?

Regardless of the method you choose, it is important for you to represent your brand online. And if you can interact with your customers, build relationships, and actually CARE about them you will be way ahead of your competition. In a world dominated with poor customer service, long wait times, and rude employees, customers who are active internet users are happy to blog/tweet/spread the word about a positive experience.

Are you working to provide positive experiences for your customers? Do you strive to go above and beyond what’s required to make a customer ecstatic…not just “satisfied?”

New Beer Promotion Effective Immediately

Matt Goldman — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:08:58 +0000

Today, I was thinking about how I could integrate my homebrewing hobby with my freelance business. After coming up with many ridiculous ideas, I’ve finally decided on a new promotion for all new website design clients.

Once you have hired me to design/redesign your website, I will also ask a few questions about your favorite beers. I’ll go on to craft a custom top-notch beer recipe and brew it while I work on your new website. Upon completion of your website, there’ll be one more deliverable that wasn’t included before (a batch of hand-crafted homebrew made just for you…..with custom labels and everything)!

Mmmm…..websites have never tasted so darn good!

Here’s a Quick Way to Improve Your E-Mail Campaigns

Matt Goldman — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 02:44:51 +0000

E-mail spam is something that everyone HATES, but as soon as they start sending their own e-mail campaigns, they don’t consider it to be spam. Sending to a list of random “leads” may be common ground for many businesses using direct mail, but should not be considered when using e-mail marketing. Here are some guidelines you can follow to make sure you’re getting the most out of your e-mail campaigns:

You should only be sending campaigns to people who fall into the following categories:

People who have specifically signed up through your website: For example, if one of the forms on your website has a checkbox where customers can opt-in to receive your newsletter.
People who completed offline forms & indicated they wanted to be e-mailed: For example, if the person filled in a competition form or a survey where they specifically agreed to receive email campaigns from you.
People who gave you their business card and asked to receive email: If someone gives you their business card and after hearing about your newsletter, they show an interest and ask to receive it…you can contact them.
They purchased something from you in the last 2 years: By purchasing a product or service from your store, the customer has implicitly agreed to receive correspondence from you. However, it is much better to get explicit permission from each customer.

The underlying concept here is that they asked to receive e-mails from you. I always say, “a list of 10 loyal fans of your company with open ears is better than 1,000 strangers who couldn’t care less about you.”

E-Mail is NOT Direct Mail

Technology has given anti-spam organizations the ability to track and attempt to prevent people from sending unwanted mail to massive lists. One of the reasons e-mail marketing has such a higher conversion rate than direct mail is that people have asked to receive correspondence from you. With direct mail, many people throw your mail away and become frustrated, linking that anger with your brand. But there isn’t anything they can really do about it. They could try calling and complaining, but would it really accomplish much? No.

With e-mails, people can show their frustration by either unsubscribing from your list, or worse…marking it as junk mail in their e-mail program. Each time someone marks an e-mail as spam, the e-mail marketing provider is notified and may suspend your account if too many spam complaints are received. Also, the reputation of your domain decreases the more you are flagged as being a spammy sender and this may lead to legitimate e-mails ending up in your customers’ junk folders.

So, when building your lists, always consider these guidelines:

Never buy a list of leads for e-mail marketing purposes: You will regret it. Not only will it lower the reputation of your domain name, it will also generate little to no revenue compared to a list of genuinely interested customers.
Don’t assume people care about you just because they’ve purchased from you: Yes, many e-mail marketing providers, including GoldVine E-Mail Marketing, allow you to send e-mails to past customers, but not all of these customers want to hear from you. You will experience a much stronger response rate if you ask your customers first. This is as simple as adding an option to sign up for your newsletter that they’ll see when they are completing their purchase on your website. Or if you’re selling out of a physical space, just tell your customers you have an awesome newsletter with promotions, hot news, etc. How could they say no to that?!
If it doesn’t feel right…it probably isn’t: In these sorts of situations, just put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. How would you feel if you received the e-mail considering the relationship you share with the customer? Would you mark it as spam, or would you be truly interested in reading what the person has to say?

What Every Business Owner Should Know About Website Maintenance

Matt Goldman — Sat, 29 May 2010 23:17:36 +0000

The benefits of website maintenance are measurable and are being proven daily by successful websites. These days it’s impossible to make a profit from your website if it doesn’t constantly feature fresh content. If you own an online shop, you should be adding new products or featuring different products with promotions. If you have knowledge to share with the community, you should be writing periodic blog posts or e-mail newsletters. Every website is different and requires a different type of maintenance. However, all websites do have one thing in common – if they aren’t updated with fresh content….they will FAIL!

Now the tricky decision is whether you need to hire a full-time in-house webmaster, delegate the new duties to current employees, or outsource the maintenance work to an experienced web development company.

Issues with In-House Website Maintenance

Training and Employee Retention

If you choose one of the first two options, you will need to either train current employees, or be sure to hire a qualified website expert. Both of these options can be expensive, and time-consuming. Also, when employees eventually leave your company, the process starts over and you need to train new employees. You may think that maintaining a website is simple, but without knowledge of multiple coding languages, how to develop with support for all browsers and operating systems, and the proper design skills….simple updates can become very complex and cause delays.

Fluctuating Levels of Work

Once your employees get used to managing your website, will they be able to handle increases or decreases in the level of work required? What if the website crashes? Or your database gets hacked? Will your employees have the time and knowledge to quickly take care of these issues?

Hardware and Software Costs

I have thousands invested in the necessary hardware and graphics software enabling me to design, market, and manage websites on a daily basis. Even if your systems are capable of testing and deploying new content to the website, do you have the software necessary to make these changes? Adobe CS4 alone costs $2,499, not to mention the time it takes to learn how to use these programs.

Staying Current with Trends and Technologies

This is by far the most important issue with in-house website maintenance. When employees are updating the website as a side project, they can’t dedicate their time to learning all about the internet. When your website isn’t treated as a high priority, the content and updates you publish won’t be high quality either. When you outsource your website maintenance tasks to a web development company, you know they will be staying current with market trends and technologies. It’s their job. It’s their focus. And the work they produce leads to stronger results for your business.