Looks like our theme was broken and so I have reverted the website back to the default theme. I will be changing it shortly, so please look past the generic style.
WordPress 3.2.1 Update broke the Arras Theme
– August 1, 2011Posted in: website
website Archive
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Tweaking Jquery AutoSuggest
– January 31, 2011Posted in: programming, website
I have been using the JQuery library for a long time now, and am still amazed at what people get it to do. One feature that the base libaray was really lacking was a good Autosuggest for a text input. It needed to be AJAX driven, and understand having multiple values.
I found a great example of what I wanted at Drew Wilson’s blog, complete with almost all the features I needed.
One thing his script is really lacking is a good way to show ALL the results. We have a huge category list, and want to let someone browse them all. In the base script, this isn’t going to work, since there isnt a way to make the look up fire off without input. I didnt want my users to have to enter in, one by one, each letter of the alphabet looking for what they wanted, so I settled on using a double click event to force the display of the entire list.
And here is how to make that happen:
In the js file (jquery.autoSuggest.js) you will need to make some changes.
~line 149 add:
}).dblclick(function(){
if (timeout){ clearTimeout(timeout); }
timeout = setTimeout(function(){ keyChange(); }, opts.keyDelay);
so it will look like:
}).blur(function(){
if($(this).val() == "" && values_input.val() == "" && prefill_value == ""){
$(this).val(opts.startText);
} else if(input_focus){
$("li.as-selection-item", selections_holder).addClass("blur").removeClass("selected");
results_holder.hide();
}
}).dblclick(function(){
if (timeout){ clearTimeout(timeout); }
timeout = setTimeout(function(){ keyChange(); }, opts.keyDelay);
}).keydown(function(e) {
This will pull up a list on double click. You can change dlbclick to just click for a single click response instead.
~line 226 comment out the lines:
if( lastKeyPressCode == 46 || (lastKeyPressCode > 8 && lastKeyPressCode < 32) ){ return results_holder.hide(); }
and
if (string == prev) return;
and
if (string.length >= opts.minChars) {
and then on ~line 252 comment out
} else {
selections_holder.removeClass("loading");
results_holder.hide();
}
You will also want to turn the option “resultsHighlight” false, when you create the instance.
Now, on double click it will present a full list of options.
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- JQuery 1.5 promises a better future. (renesd.blogspot.com)
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HTML Validation is (still) pointless!
– November 23, 2010Posted in: programming, website
Ok, so we all know that we should write “valid”* HTML, and yet, less than 5% of websites validate for one reason or another. Now this statistic can be a bit misleading as a comment from a user that didn’t use valid markup could invalidate the website, so granted, there is some play with the stats (per the usual), but let’s again assume that number is close.
Why? Why do we not write perfect HTML? Surely with the free validator on the authority’s website there is no excuse to write code that wont validate against the standard.
The answer there is simple, if and when all the major browsers (Firefox, Safari, IE, Opera, Chrome) all render a page according to the standard, then I will finally start caring about the validation of my websites. Until then, I will continue to write code that works across the board, and just not care if it is “valid”.
To be real though, most of the browsers work pretty well, however the 800lb gorilla in the room, IE, does not. Microsoft continually changes the standards by which they will render a page, like promising CSS 2 support in IE7 then bailing on that promise 6 months before release. And let us not forget the horribly pathetic Javascript rendering engine, JScript, that the rest of us just ignore because it can’t be trusted to behave reliably.
So, like even on this website, we find ourselves writing “valid” code, and at the same time having to redefine valid to mean “Code that works in all the browsers”, not “Code that the W3C says is valid even though it looks like crap in IE6″. Just to maintain a semblance of order and sanity, we use the handy IE CSS hacks where IE on Windows will actually arbitrarly execute code depending on the version of the IE browser being used. Does that sound like an admission of guilt on the part of MS to anyone else? OK Bill, repeat after me, “I know my browser sucks, so, instead of fixing it which would severely hamper my marketing and legal budgets, I will just allow hacks in order to ensure you nerdy web guys can still make pretty pages”. There, was that so hard!?
So, someone feel free to run the validate against any of my websites. Don’t bother sending me the results because I don’t care. The sites work, the code looks good, documented, and is maintainable, so, what exactly was the complaint?
*valid code is extremely subjective, but let’s assume here I mean W3C “valid” code.
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Amateur Web Design
There are a lot of amateur web designers out there. They post on forums, and advertise freakishly cheap prices, like $150 for a website. The differences between them and those of us that do this professionally are too many to be named. Obviously the pricing is a huge difference, they charge for an entire website what my hourly rate is. But then again, I don’t really make just the brochure 4 page websites, we actually write custom applications that do very complex things ranging from e-commerce to mission critical business processes.
Another huge difference is the professionals actually stick to standards and try to keep up with trends and new technology, unlike the 15 year old designers working from mom’s house. I found out recently about this “company” (LR Web Design). First, they call HTML “coding” which is a complete misnomer. And then talked down Dreamweaver, and yet their “code” is at least 10 years out of date. No CSS, inline font tags, UPPERCASE tags, image maps for menus, and tables for very basic positioning. Here is another one of their websites: http://knbcolo.webs.com/ . They don’t even use a true host, but a free website company. Let me fill you in, none of this is what you want your company to have on its website. It is unprofessional and doesn’t really put your best foot forward. But if you want a slow loading website on a free host with no custom anything, by all means go with one of these people. Otherwise, go with someone with training, experience, and credentials, as well as a portfolio with real clients you have heard of.
Like wine & cars, you get what you pay for with websites. I wouldn’t want my company looking cheap.
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Stop invading my ears!
– October 18, 2010Posted in: website
To everyone out there that thinks it is “cool” or “neat” to put music on your website, do the rest of us a favor, and don’t. While I understand the aesthetic nature of some sound, for the most part it is just annoying. When online, I usually listen to iTunes, and the last thing I want is some hideously encoded streaming .wav file repeating the same 6 seconds of music over and over again. Unless I really need to be on your website, I hit back on my mouse and try to immediately start repressing the memory that is your website.
At the end of the day, music requires a lot of bandwidth for those of you hosting the music files, a lot more than even a complex page (assuming your images are optimized, but don’t get me started on that today). And for every Pro:fx out there, there are a 100 Hampsterdance websites.
If you aren’t an amazing DJ, or awesome Flash/Shockwave/Silverlight developer, do us all a favor, and leave the music off your website. I like my thousands of MP3‘s, and I don’t force you to listen to them.
6
For the Love of God, Optimize those Images!
– October 7, 2010Posted in: programming, website
Time for another lesson in web design: Image Optimization! Yes, as we all know it is really pretty to have a huge header on your website. Hey, look at this website, I have large images on my front page. But, you don’t have to make that experience painful for your users, especially those on *gasp* dial-up!
The solution is simple: optimize your images. I use Fireworks, but Photoshop has it built in these days as well. It is basically a way of taking the image you want to use, and removes unwanted data, making the image size smaller, and hence, faster to load. The web is a horrible medium for images, the 72dpi resolution of most monitors is just not that great. But, it is all we have right now, and that is probably a good thing since anything more and the image just gets bigger and bigger.
By optimizing, your look stays intact, and everyone can enjoy it faster. And it is cheaper on your wallet since it requires less bandwidth and less CPU to serve a smaller file. Speaking of cheap, for those of you that do not have the Adobe suite, there is a pretty spiffy free online optimizer here. Enjoy, and for the love of all things holy, optimize!
If you want to read more on the topic: HTMLSource.
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4
SEO…It really isn't hard
– October 4, 2010Posted in: website
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) really isnt a new concept although the buzzword is fairly new. It is basically the process of ensuring your site has on it that which search engines (e.g. Google) index, hence making your search engine rankings higher and presumably driving more traffic to your website. I still remember doing this in the mid-90′s when we had a huge number of search engines ranging from Hotbot to Alta Vista to AOL that mattered and each one needed to be submitted to and then your site massaged in order to get anything resembling a decent ranking.
Times have changed, the index bots are much more sophisticated than 10+ years ago, and are far less likely to be fooled by the tricks (like using keywords hidden in your background by using the same color for both).
I often get asked, “How can I improve my search results?”. I usually try to resist rolling my eyes for two reasons: 1) the sheer amount of resources out there covering this topic are just overwhelming and 2) it isnt that hard! So, to those hosting with me and everyone else reading this, here are a few short tips on how to get your site SEOized!
Content, Content, Content
The more content you have, and I dont mean junk, I mean actual meaningful content, the higher your rank. So sharpen your pencils and start writing.
New Content, New Images, New Stuff
Daily blog posts or news releases will really help you get noticed by the bots. But again, dont post junk, otherwise your ranking will drop due to noone visiting.
Network
You must network your site. Join a few groups, post on them, use WordPress or similar software, embrace RSS, use MySpace or Facebook and link to your site. These will only drive traffic to your site, increase the relevancy of your keywords and get you the rankings you want.
Use decent HTML/CSS
I say decent, since I still think the entire validation thing is a scam (I will post more on that later). Your page should work in all major browsers, use alt tags in your images, name your pages something relevant, and avoid a lot of Flash or Images (for now) since they still aren’t fully indexed. Do not use an image for text blocks, it will not index!
See, not hard. Enjoy adding quality content, dont overuse images or the other spiffy technologies (Silverlight, Flash, etc…) and have fun watching your traffic come to you for a change.
3
Web Design at its Worst
I admit, I like to find gigs on Craigslist. There are horrible things on there, and some stupid requests (“I need a PMP certified Project Manager with 12 years industry experience that can start today for $12/hr.”), but every now and then, something decent appears.
I was browsing, wondering about competition and stumbled on this website : LeoScorp, LLC . What a bad name for a company, but when you first look at the site, you are amazed they claim to be in the website building business. Bad use of colors, background image is distracting, and let’s face it, picking something like Astrology to base your company name/theme/logo on could actually turn people off, especially down here in the Bible Belt.
Assuming you make it past all that, check out their About Us. Does anyone care they swam together at a public pool? Does that make them better developers/designers? If this was their homepage, sure knock yourself out, but on a business site, keep it professional.
Then go to the Services page, where they have a stupid little computer extremely slowing typing out the content. First, it is slow, I type much faster than that and read WAY faster. Let’s go already. I don’t have time to sit there and be annoyed at a little graphic you thought was cute. Furthermore, doing that stuff isn’t even close to SEO helpful, so maybe it is a good thing you are on Craigslist looking for jobs since Google just isn’t working out for you.
But let’s face it, no matter how bad a site is, it could always be worse.
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New Look for this.rand()
– January 19, 2010Posted in: programming, website
Well, it has been a while since I did a new look for our homepage, so here it is. What do ya think? This is a theme instead of the usual totally custom method I do, but I like it. It is a very magazine type of look, but it gets a lot more content on the front page, and uses the sidebars better. So it should drive a little more traffic, and be easier to use for those that do show up.
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Self Symmetry
My good friend Kat over at Self Symmetry recently posted a really nice blog entry thanking me for some work I did for her on that website. So here is the post, not to toot my own horn, but hopefully get some of our friends more interested in a great yoga teacher! ~ Ryan
With the help of an amazing IT guy, Ryan Meinzer, I am proud to announce the relaunch of my website. Actually, it’s just the shopping cart area of my site. BUT — I do hope you’ll check it out (and Ryan…he’s fast, efficient, easy to understand (he is an IT guy afterall), and can totally hook you up if you need any help in this department. And, he writes a really good blog too!)
Getting back to me…haha As you can tell by the name of my company, Self Symmetry, I’m all about finding balance. I believe that when you find balance; physically, mentally, and spiritually, that you are completely and wholly healthy! I’m also all about feeling good. If we can get ourselves feeling good all the time, then our lives will be free flowing and easy. (I’m not saying that we shouldn’t experience any other emotion, but just that our dominate state should be good and positive.)
With my strong belief in finding balance and feeling good I teach yoga, make jewelry, and now this blog. If you’re in Dallas/Plano, I would love to have you come take a class of mine. See my schedule for details. If you’re not in Dallas, then just go check out a class in your ‘hood. It’s really amazing, transforming, and healing.
If you’re interested in jewelry, browse around my new shopping cart. I hand make everything and use semi precious gemstones. Gemstones have healing properties to them. They are from the earth, so they hold all kinds of positive energy…making you look good and feel good! I attach a card to each piece of jewelry describing the stones used and what they do for you energetically. Because of this, they make awesome, thoughtful gifts (Mother’s Day coming up…hint, hint). However, if you don’t wear much jewelry, check out BE Charmed! Who can’t use some extra positive energy? Side note: Guys…I don’t have any man jewelry on my site, but I can make you something. I’ve made several pieces for guys so just email me and we’ll come up with something really manly!
If you’re reading this, then you found my blog. Congrats! I would say this blog is on the spiritual side. It’s about my attempt to live life to the fullest, and all the things that I’ve learned and am still learning.
So there you have it…my shameless self promotion. I hope you leave my yoga class (or any yoga class) feeling good. I hope you feel good wearing my jewelry (I know you’ll look good!), and I hope reading my blog leaves you feeling inspired, hopeful, and optimistic!
And Ryan, you rock! I can’t thank you enough!
Balanced and feeling good – Love, Kat
