ComBlog is a Blog about Website Design and Computer Networks

ComBlog

Technology Information about Information Technology

Professional Email for Your Business

Why get an email with a custom domain instead of Gmail or Yahoo? When you get an email from a Gmail account, does it look professional to you? What does your email say about your company, and does it promote your website?

Continue Reading . . .

Microinteractions

Microinteractions are the little details that make or break your website. Their purpose is to accomplish one task, whether it is to adjust volume, click submit on a form, change your password, etc. They are in your website, your apps, and even your appliances.

So, if this sounds mundane and so simple, why the fuss? Better implementation of microinteractions can determine whether a user of your product/website will give their loyalty to you or to your competitor. Continue Reading . . .

Are Website Templates Dangerous?

We have already visited several reasons for choosing a professionally, custom-designed website over a generic website created using templates. Uniqueness and optimization for eReaders and Google spiders being primary reasons.
Now, let's consider another reason: VIRUSES!
Continue Reading . . .

ComNaD is One-Stop Shop

ComNaD recently got a call from a potential client who found us on Google. They were starting a new office in Shreveport, soon to be opening offices in Ruston and Natchitoches, and needed a computer network, email addresses, productivity software, and virus protection. Additionally, they needed a functional website that was mobile optimized, a logo for their website, letterhead, and business cards, and they were interested in marketing their business via social media. We were able to provide them all of the above and get their business setup and running within a few weeks . . . Continue Reading . . .

Is Your Computer Network Secure?

Is your business safe from computer viruses, malware attacks and intrusion protection? Do you have policies in place for data recovery if computers on your network get a virus or crash? If not, your business is not secure, and your company data has most likely already been compromised. If your company network users are able to download data to flash drives or writable CD's or DVDs, your business data is at risk . . . Continue Reading . . .

Office in the Cloud

There is a growing trend for businesses now to utilize Cloud based applications in order to lower cost on infrastructure and support personnel. This option is particularly attractive to small businesses and startup companies; however, there are several things to consider in order to provide applications for employees to use that does not hinder workflow, or create security risks . . . Continue Reading . . .

Windows 10 Upgrade Advice

Microsoft is offering Windows 10 for free! The old saying "you get what you pay for" actually does not apply here. This free offering is, in part, Microsoft’s way of competing with their rivals at Apple, who do not charge for operating system (OS) upgrades. It’s also seen by many as a way to get people to use the new platform . . . Continue Reading . . .

Is Your Site GOOGLE Friendly?

Like them or not, Google dominates Internet search. The numbers tend to hover between 85 and 90 percent of searches on the web are done using Google. And why not? Google has been at it a long time, and their indexes and algorithms are unparalleled. They are the best in the game, but what does that have to do with your business?

The ComNaD Internet Marketing page leads off with a question which asks: “What good is it to build a website if no one can find it?” Perhaps it’s more appropriate to ask what good is a site if no new customers can find it. Continue Reading . . .

Avoid Template Look

Templates used to seem like a good idea to me. You’d open a program like Microsoft PowerPoint, choose a template, fill in the text, add a graphic or two and you had your presentation slide done. A recent trend in web design is template site builders. Some are good for a quick blog site or a personal page to share with friends; however, for a business, there are several issues to consider.

First is the message you send about your business. Continue Reading . . .

Responsive Web Design

Mobile screens mean small screens. Be it a tablet, such as iPad, Surface, Kindle Fire or a smart phone, such as iPhone, Android or Windows Phone, small screen sizes can make for big problems for web developers. One solution, and an option offered by ComNad, is to have a main website designed for larger, desktop-sized screens, and a mobile site designed for smaller mobile screens. Another solution is a Responsive Web Design. Continue Reading . . .

Which Browser is the Best?

Is one browser better than another? Which one is best? Much the same as with most products, “best” is a relative term. To some degree browser choice is a matter of preference, but there are a few things to consider. Web developers often prefer Mozilla’s Firefox because most all new web design techniques display well when viewed through Firefox. For the most part, the same can be said of Google Chrome and Opera. The “odd one out” also happens to be the most popular, Internet Explorer. But does it get a bad rap? Continue Reading . . .

To DIV or Not to DIV—That is the Question

HTML5 is more than an update to the HTML4 programming language. It is more than additional HTML tags and functionality. In fact, it is many things. For one it does add exciting new technologies to HTML, and, yes, it does add many new tags. But it is also a new way of thinking when one thinks of web page design. HTML5 is a methodology with specifications that coders are encouraged to adhere to in order to bring order to the web, and maximize functionality, readability and expandability. Continue Reading . . .

Browser Wars

Wouldn’t it be nice if all the browser’s got along and played nice? Wouldn’t it be great if all the browser companies felt delivering the best possible user experience to Internet surfers was a goal worth striving for, and worth working together to achieve? Well, unfortunately, that is not the case.

Web developers must be aware of the sometimes subtle, and sometimes blatant differences in the way disparate browsers display HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Perl, Ruby on Rails, etc. Knowing these differences, and designing a website to be prepared to handle them is one of the key things that separates professional web designers from hobbyist. Continue Reading . . .