websitedesignby.com

TropicBird Ecotours

Ross — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 13:17:33 +0000

Patrick Higgins came to us looking for a ‘bespoke’ design for TropicBird Ecotours, a sailing charter specializing in a personalized experience for visitors wanting to explore the rare beauty of the 10,000 Islands National Wildlife Refuge and Rookery National Estuarine Research Reserve under sail.

We took some inspiration from the original 2005 addesignconcepts.com design, nature photography from our own collection and other local sources. WordPress was used as a CMS and a custom theme was developed according to the design specifications. Fortunately TropicBird Ecotours had it’s own wealth of high quality photos and well written content that made the creation of this website a pleasurable and inspiring endeavor.

In a addition to the TropicBird Ecotours website we also set up and linked a Facebook fan page. Here is what Mr. Higgins testimonial following the launch of his site:

I choose Ross for my website design because it was clear from the outstart that he was completely up to date on electronic media, he understood the brief, would be sensitive to my message and would be able to guide me on appropriate content. He delivered my site on time and on cost with the minimum of revisions and was very responsive throughout the process. I have no hesitation in recommending him.

Video Player

Ross — Sat, 07 May 2011 13:56:58 +0000

We now have a demo up featuring a video player developed by Ross Sabes.

This player utilizes a full featured custom back-end video database management tool.

Each video title can support multiple files in a variety of formats (FLV, MP4, Ogg, WebM, etc…) and settings for maximum compatibility and performance across the widest possible array of devices. The player can be customized to detect the users bandwidth and play the most suitable Flash format available. If the visitor is using an iPad, iPhone or iPod the player is programmed to use the compatible MP4 format with both high and low bandwidth options if available.

Videos can be assigned to multiple pages by the administrator.

Select pages for the video to appear on.

Videos can also be tagged for search engines and other custom functionality.

Visit the front-end here
For a demo of the back-end contact us.

This program was developed using:
MooTools
MediaBox
and MooFlow

Minneapolis Orthopaedics

Ross — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:37:19 +0000

When Dr. Becker asked us to have a look at his website for Minneapolis Orthopaedics, we were more than happy to provide detailed suggestions on how the existing website could be improved. Our suggestions covered content recommendations such as deeper and richer content as well as design and functionality requirements such as iPad and iPhone compatibility. The result is a website that exceeded the client’s expectations.

Dr. Becker provided the following recommendation on LinkedIN:

Ross performed a complete makeover of our site; www.mplsortho.com. The original site was a little bland and dated and used older coding. Ross, at www.websitedesignby.com not only updated it, he transformed it into a modern, interactive, aesthetically appealing, and informative site. He worked days, nights and weekends and kept incorporating any changes I wanted. He had fresh ideas that we implemented and he used the latest coding techniques known. He was even able to make our online video compatible with IPhone and IPad and streamed different resolutions of the video based on available bandwidth on the user end. He researched several topics and found additional sites that he linked and embedded seamlessly. He was always available and responded within 24 hours to every Email I sent. He works very fast and is incredibly detailed oriented. I am thoroughly pleased with the worked Ross did on our site and will be telling friends and other companies about his abilities. His pricing is very reasonable and he stays on budget. Our web site turned out better than I had even hoped for and in the few short days since its launch, I have gotten uniformly positive feedback….and new business

View the complete website at mplsortho.com.

K is for Kids®

Ross — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:08:28 +0000

When K is for Kids® Foundation approached us to assist with a redesign of their existing web site, we were more than happy to reorganize their content and develop a custom WordPress template that would allow them to continue to grow.

The template redesign was only the first part of an ongoing relationship that websitedesignby.com continues to provide support and maintenance as K is for Kids® Foundation continues to evolve and grow in its mission of helping promote reading for children everywhere.

Here is a letter from founder Karen Clawson:

Dear Ross,

Thank you for joining our Foundation’s “reservoir of bright minds” by serving as a member of our K is for Kids® Advisory Council and donating your valuable time and skills supporting our cause.

We also appreciate your role as webmaster, although that title certainly does not due you justice. Indeed, our organization feels fortunate to have found someone with your formidable talents: As a website designer in tune with current trends who easily combines the technical skills and know-how of a computer programmer, your ability to apply creative vision is only topped by your business skills to deliver results quickly and efficiently. We appreciate how you took our content and graphics and made them better; how you adeptly reconstructed our website then steered us through a seamless transition to a “new” launch; how you met and then surpassed our goals; and most of all, how you succeeded in building KisforKids.org into a powerful communicator of our cause as well as an engaging community for others to visit.

In short time, Ross, you have filled a critical role in the advancement of our goals to promote children’s literacy and leadership by creating a website that reflects the spirit of our philanthropy and volunteerism while focusing on those we benefit. On behalf of the thousands of children who have been given more books to read and more opportunities to lead, we give you our deepest gratitude.

Very truly yours,

Karen D. Clawson
Founder & Executive Director

Deazzle.com

Ross — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:39:37 +0000

Deazzle is a custom designed ‘Deal of the Day’ web site. Deal information is entered and scheduled using a content management system. This web site also features a business directory, coupons, WYSIWYG content editor and many other features that are continually being updated and developed.

Working with websitedesignby is a truly amazing experience. I had worked with 4 other website development groups previously for other websites or projects and I have never been as pleased with the high level and quality of service that I get from websitedesignby. Ross has design talents as well as being analytical. He not only listened and developed what we were looking for, but he presented ideas and solutions to make the website/project better. Working with websitedesignby is a pleasure and I would recommend them to all my business associates regardless of the size of project.

MediaBox / Flash Safari Issue Solution

Ross — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:55:54 +0000

MediaBox is a very cool MooTools based JavaScript modal overlay. It has a bunch of bundled in features for displaying various types of media and galleries.

One issue that Google would not help me solve was embedded Flash not appearing in the media box in Safari. I could switch tabs then switch back and the Flash would magically appear. I assumed it was a display conflict Safari was having when everything fired at once with the loading of the MediaBox and the Flash embed. A more elegant solution may involve a listener object on the mediabox, but this seems to resolve it.

My solution was to simply delay the swfobject flash embed by half a second using setTimer();.

Here is the version that does not work in Safari (mac):
http://www.websitedesignby.com/mediabox/mediabox-flash-notimer.html

Here is the fix with the timer:
http://www.websitedesignby.com/mediabox/mediabox-flash.html

Direct link to box content containing hack/fix:
http://www.websitedesignby.com/mediabox/mediabox-flash-box.html

Big Boy EXPO – Punta Gorda

Ross — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:36:32 +0000

I had a great weekend at the Big Boy EXPO in Punta Gorda. I am happy to have met a diverse group of people there. I am the developer of the web site for Big Boy EXPO at bigboyshow.com and help with online marketing so I use this opportunity to participate and meet the show exhibitors and visitors.

That was my first time in Punta Gorda, a nice little harbor town in Charlotte County on the Gulf Coast between Sarasota and Naples. It’s good to see this town is alive and vibrant these days. I vividly remember Punta Gorda being directly under the crosshairs of Hurricane Charley when it made landfall in 2004. The area today seems unscathed. I should mention another one of my clients Naples Soap Co. recently opened another store location at Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda.

The event took place at the new Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center. This is a great facility for EXPOs, events, conferences, concerts, sporting events and more. I was very impressed with the level of organization and professionalism of the staff at the center. They seemed to be on top of all aspects of the event and everything seemed to go flawlessly. Marlene Rivello, the president of Shell Marketing which runs the Big Boy EXPO did an amazing job of putting this all together with help and hard work from her sales manager Dede.

View Larger Map

Congratulations on another successful show. See you at Germain Arena in October.

RegEx Testing

Ross — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:35:18 +0000

Here is a simple little regex tester I made: regular-expression-lab

Driod is an iPhone Killer

Ross — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:32:24 +0000

I recently replaced my iPhone 3GS with a Droid2. While the iPhone certainly was easy to use, I consider myself a fairly adept technology user and ‘easy to use’ will only get you so far with me. I am also looking at features and interoperability. I always felt iPhone was holding me back a little bit with iTunes standing at the gate.

Android 2.2
Android is a much more sophisticated operating system than iPhone OS. I admit it was a little unsettling at first to break out of the cocoon of simple elegance the iPhone offers. After getting over the initial shock I now appreciate the sophistication, abundance features and openness of Android. Android offers a few more screens and options to navigate and customize according to your mobile digital lifestyle. There’s simply a little more to it than screens with rounded-edge buttons.

Apps
One thing I like about Android 2.2 is the inclusion of an office application (Quickoffice) out of the box. Seems like a no brainer to include some kind of office app with a modern smart-phone but is oddly missing from iPhone. Granted I am not planning on writing a manuscript or doing an annual budget on my cell phone, but I appreciate the ability to create and edit documents beyond a grocery list on a yellow lined pad. Of course all of the usual apps I need for social networking, messaging, web browsing, e-mail networking are all there. The Android market passed 50,000 apps in April and will only continue to grow as developers continue embracing the Java-based Android platform.

Music, Files & Storage
The ability to simply drag-and-drop music, video, photos and other files from any computer to my phone using it’s native operating system is a liberating experience without having to go through the iTunes firewall. I think you must be a former iPhone user to be able to truly appreciate this feature. No more being tethered to a single computer. I am now free to move files from laptop to desktop, from home to office, etc..

Syncing
Android syncs with your Google (gmail) account. If you don’t already have an account with Google, you will be prompted to get one when you register your device. Just export your contacts from your current contact management system and import them into your gmail account. For iPhone users These instructions will help you do it cleanly.

Flash
I didn’t think having Flash player on the phone would be a big deal, but now that I have it I really do appreciate it. I was starting to think Steve Jobs actually had a point about excluding it from the iPhone. It’s all too clear now that this issue never had anything to do with pure intentions. Flash runs beautifully on Android. The fact that my kids can play free Flash games on my phone should save me a couple bucks vs. letting them authorize another iTunes purchase.

Real Keys
I used the iPhone screen based keyboard for over a year. While I think they did a fine job of making it the most elegant and usable onscreen keyboard possible, the ability to slide out a QWERTY keyboard mid-message is a relief.

Camera
Other reviews I have read are critical of the camera. I haven’t had the phone long enough to judge for myself. The camera on a phone was never a high priority to me, although I do like the convenience of using it for web uploads and a keeping a visual journal of sorts. The iPhone camera is impressive, but if it’s quality I am after I will reach for a dedicated camera. The camera on this phone should be more than sufficient for my needs.

Signal
Something I read in the Engadget article that I found troubling was the mention of having signal issues with this phone. Signal strength was one of the main factors in deciding to convert from AT&T to Verizon. My house just happens to be in a very difficult dead zone. It’s almost impossible to get a signal on any network from inside my house. Taking a call on any cell phone here will involve walking around the house in circles before running out the back door to find the sweet spot before the call drops. Hopefully The Verizon Network can help alleviate my ongoing signal issues. I can already tell it’s not going to solve my signal probems entirely but one thing is for certain it can’t be any worse than AT&T.

Resources
For more information on Android visit android.com…
Information about syncing your iPhone contacts to Android…
Transferrring files to and from your Android phone…
More reviews…

Database Driven Websites

Ross — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:34:29 +0000

There are 2 ways a website can be developed: either as static web pages or as dynamic (database driven) web pages. Let’s discuss both varieties:

Static Web Pages
All web pages are displayed using HTML code. Static web pages are essentially a series of linked HTML documents. To make a change to a static website one must edit the HTML code directly on each page. While this may work for a simple web site that has 3 or 4 pages, it quickly becomes inefficient as your web site grows in depth and complexity.

Dynamic, Database Driven Web Pages
Database driven websites are fast becoming the standard for website development. The content on a dynamic website is maintained in a database. When a visitor requests information for a page, product, article or photo, that request is processed and returned by a database.

Web Site Maintenance
Typically the information in the database is maintained through a secure administrator log-in area. A well designed administrator log-in area makes it easy for anyone to update the website content without having to learn HTML or sophisticated website design software.

If you are interested in developing a dynamic, database driven website, have static web pages that need to be converted or want help with an existing dynamic website please contact us for a free consultation. We will be happy to discuss the various benefits and options available to you.

You can also use the comments form below for additional discussion and questions.