The number of mobile internet users is growing in leaps and bounds. These users have the necessary knowledge and skill regarding computers and the web. They do not think twice before making a purchase on the internet using their cell phones. Hence, Joomla website design, if done cleverly, can cater to mobile internet users quite efficiently.

Though all mobile devices come with certain challenges regarding the bandwidth, the browser size, etc., a good idea is to create a mobile version of your website. That way, you could be assured of what you offer to your customers. But unfortunately, this idea presents some other problems regarding customized web development -

• Having to maintain 2 different versions of the same website.
• Having to update the same content twice – once on the website for computers and once on the website’s mobile version.
• Having to keep a record of what is being updated, where.
• Having to ensure that the change that takes place in the PC/laptop version, also takes place in the mobile version.

There are 2 ways you can create Joomla websites for mobiles.

Use mobile-friendly templates of Joomla

You can get your hands on several Joomla templates such as CloudBase. These templates are designed to run on PC/laptop, as well as smartphones, tablets and netbooks. CloudBase is a flexible template that comes with many module positions. Whenever a user browses a website using his smartphone or tablet computer, he will see the mobile template of the site and if he prefers the regular layout of the site, he can switch to that as well.

Use Joomla CMS Mobile Extensions

You can find some extensions with which you can create mobile-friendly versions of a website that’s based on Joomla CMS.

• Mobilebot 1.0 – This extension can change a Joomla  website  template whenever a user visits a website through mobile devices, including iPhone or Blackberry. It can also identify Opera Mini browser and Android OS and create a suitable template for them. It gives you the liberty to add the mobile devices of your choice and fine-tune the final HTML of your site and that too separately for different mobile devices.

If there are no variations in your mobile website template, or if no particular device is detected by Mobilebot, you can still detect a mobile device with the plug-in and create a general template for all those devices.

•Mobile Joomla! – This extension makes Joomla website design for mobiles a lot easier. You can actually make your website a mobile-friendly one for Blackberry, iPhone, WAP, Android, Nokia and last but not the least,  iMode.

If you want to include all modules of the web page, you will need to put a little more effort. Don’t worry, you can get help from the extension documentation.

Code frameworks are basically a series of classes and functions formatted beforehand. These frameworks exist for almost all the languages and if you want to use them, you have to devote some time to learn the code and accordingly modify your website.

 Creating products for the world wide web can be challenging. There are no hard and fast rules like those that have to be followed by the programmers of Windows or Mac OSX.  Professionals of web development services have to work on server architecture and write in PHP or other  programming languages.

PHP is the commonest dynamic web development language with which one can create smart applications. The advantage of using this frame is that you do not have to start from scratch. The latest version of PHP has brought forth a bunch of added functionalities. A number of other PHP libraries are there which can help you do a lot of things such as developing a blog, a social network, a CMS and numerous templates as well.

Model-View-Controller Hierarchy – While you are working on frameworks, it is extremely important to understand MVC. Though on a regular web page, MVC does not seem very meaningful but when you bring in database connection, you start realizing the functionalities of framework.

The frameworks that act in accordance with  MVC coding usually make debugging easy and are quite faster . These frameworks let you know where to find errors and also keep your back-end web programming separated from the front-end design. It will also allow you to use on your website, most of the codes that you come across on the web. Recycling of codes also  becomes easy, saving you considerable time and effort.

You Can Concentrate on The  Custom Functionalities – When you create codes on a framework, it lets you directly go to the intricate programming functions. Since most of the code sources are scrutinized several times for bugs, you get to develop models the way you want.

You can also create a custom module with these frameworks. The most number of techniques to create your plug-in are offered by jQuery. But if you are new to the world of web programming with frameworks, it is advisable that you choose what’s easy-to-use and dependable, such as CodeIgniter.

Following are some PHP framework ideas that can be of help if you are a new PHP web development company:

• CakePHP
• Adroit
• Yii Framework
• Recess
• Flourish

Coding with CSS – CSS has revolutionized the coding process for web developers. There is so much you can do in CSS without even going near to the HTML. Here, you will find a list of  CSS frameworks that can come handy when time is a constraint in your project. Most of these can be downloaded easily.

• Golden Grid System
• Skeleton
• Fluid Baseline Grid
• YAML
• 320 and up
• Elements
• CSS Grid
• Foundation
• inuit.css

Hope this article was able to inspire web development services professionals to use frameworks. It is advisable that you experiment these frameworks to see which one suits your requirements best. You will also find some open-source code databases that you can make use of. As you use these things, you will realize that these will ease your effort a great deal in future.

In recent times, web applications are earning great popularity. This in turn, has facilitated web developers who can impress clients by creating various types of applications. To fulfill their goals, they can specialize in various types of niches, such as mobile design, front-end development, or mobile apps.

Apart from these conventional niches, people associated with the web development industry can specialize in a unique and fast growing niche-completing back-end work and creating website applications. Today, we will discuss few skill-sets that developers should possess for developing web applications.

Awareness about Server-Side Scripting Language

If you want to join a web development company and specialize in web applications, acquiring information about server-side scripting language is essential. Server-side scripting language refers to a language that operates on a server and thus, possesses powerful programming capabilities. It is compatible with database and can work with it.

Popular languages for web apps can include PHP, ASP, and Ruby.

Knowledge of Coding and Object Oriented Programming is Essential

Your ability to code can determine the quality of your web development services. For best results, opt for object-oriented practices. The reason is that such a strategy will allow you to re-use codes and keep them in order. You can avail resources related to object oriented programming online.

Additionally, avail information about programming architecture. This will help you to maintain consistency of your codes.

Avail Information about Database Design

Awareness about database design and ways to structure it is critical. Similar to learning programming languages, using database design may take months.

For acquiring an in-depth understanding of database design, availing information about its basic aspects is critical. Remember that a poorly design database can result in several problems. It can cause errors, slow down the web app, and even interfere with your coding activities.

Know the Use of AJAX

AJAX refers to a web development technique that comes with various benefits. It simplifies Javascript’s interaction with the server and even contributes in better user experience. If you learn about AJAX, you can create web applications in a hassle-free manner.

Learn about API

Most web apps in recent times possess the ability to integrate with Google, Facebook or other service. They allow users to login through any social networking profile or perform any other act so that they do not need to offer information separately.

Creating such web app requires good knowledge of API (application Programming Interface). More specifically, as a developer, you should be aware of the concept of SOAP and using API’s in general.

Acquire Information about Versioning System

If you are planning to create apps for public use, start acquiring information about the versioning system. This will also help you to stay in touch with updates, while collaborating with other developers during any web application project.

If you are interested in web applications, joining the web development industry can be a great idea.  Even if you possess only basic skills, it is fine. You can learn more about web applications by taking help of various resources that are available free. If you are dedicated, you can learn how to create web apps within a short time.

The main purpose of a blog is to attract readers and encourage them to offer feedback. For fulfilling this goal, you need to present the content in a systematic way. And herein lies the importance of coding.

 Many people will be surprised to know that in-depth or even basic knowledge of coding can enhance blogging skills and help one in blog customization. Learn more.

Teaches you the Art of Balancing

Coding is a complex job. Of course, some people start the work in a relaxed manner. However, with time, most coders become tensed to complete the task so that users can enjoy an intriguing product.

Similar to coding, your blogs should maintain the delicate balance between tension and offering information. This element of suspense will intrigue your visitors and encourage them to read on, until they reach end of the post. With this strategy, you can spice up your posts, without taking help of desperate marketing tricks.

Offers you a Fresh Perspective

Coding is closely associated with software and customized web development. Blogging, on the other hand, involves understanding minds of the readers. You are already aware of the art of blogging. If you learn about coding, you can merge the science and art of software narrative and enjoy the advantages.

Art teaches you to develop content that offers interesting information. Science, on the other hand, teaches you to design your site and present information in a way that attracts attention of visitors.

Move On from the Fear of Committing Mistakes

The job of a coding expert involves writing the codes and submitting them. This is where bloggers can learn few lessons.

Some bloggers avoid publishing posts because they believe that the content is not perfect. They improvise posts repeatedly. Even when they are tired at end of the day, they avoid clicking at the ‘publish’ button.

In most cases, these bloggers suffer from the fear of making mistakes. They cannot handle criticisms and thus, try to publish perfect posts. Unfortunately, this is an unrealistic strategy. A post can never be so-called ‘perfect’.

As a blogger, one will face criticisms, even if he/she possesses excellent writing skills. We think that committing mistakes is a good way to understand things and polish your skills.

As a blogger, you may not initially understand the relationship between coding and blogging. However, with experience and knowledge, you can utilize coding for improving quality of your blog posts.  Develop an open mind so that you can avail useful information anytime.

When it comes to custom web programming, there are basically 3 kinds of clients who consume an exorbitant amount of time and energy of a customer support team. These teams should understand the fact that such queries are essentially, opportunities to serve the clients better.

Below is a classification of such clients and some guidelines on how to deal with them. If shown the right direction, these clients can turn out to be loyal spokespersons of your web programming services.

Type 1 – Stupid

Some clients will continue to  ask the same questions regarding database programming again and again and most of the questions would be about obvious things. It indicates that you are not being able to clarify the information to the clients and are not able to assess what questions may come from the clients.
Check out what kind of questions are being asked frequently. Find out a way within the interface to answer these queries so that these do not arise in the first place. It probably wouldn’t provide answers to all possible queries but it would answer most of them.

Type 2 – Tantrum-throwing

There are some clients who become impatient and start arguing very quickly. This is because they sometimes expect things which are just beyond the capability of you or any other good web development company to offer. These people are usually the ones who care most about your products/services.

If you are thinking there’s no way to help them, you are wrong. You have to tap into their psyche and find out why they’re behaving that way. A very common reason behind such behavior is that they feel they are not being paid enough attention. Provide them a platform where they can speak their mind. But don’t give them forums. Instead, have a one-to-one conversation with them. But of course, this can’t be possible always.

You can also ask such clients to join you in project modifications and keep them posted about the changes being made. This will be a good experience for them as well as a nice way to develop your products.

Type 3 – Frauds/Swindlers

These clients are the most difficult yet easiest to spot. But once you have been able to spot one, all you need to do is slam the door shut on their faces. But the downside is, since they are difficult to spot, you can misidentify a potential client as a swindler and that could be disastrous for your company.

Even socially, such clients can create a very bad impression about your business in the market because frauds always like to fabricate stories about how they were cheated.

There’s really no way to turn them into positive thinkers. But you can include things into your website like comments and flagging and enlist moderators who will be in regular touch with the swindlers to let you know beforehand about anything fishy. You can also provide tools to your client support team to keep track of these clients’ behavior so that any issue in the progress of your work can be addressed fast and properly.

The aforementioned 3 types are not the only types of clients you will come across in your career. There will also be clients who have no problems at all and clients with little problems that can be solved easily. If you work in an web development company, there will be clients who will like your service so much that they’ll only want to work with you.

Remember, being nice is the key to win people’s hearts. Help your clients to report their complaints at a time convenient for them. Give them the right information when they need it and don’t beat around the bush. That should let you provide better services to your clients.

You love your job. You are a great team leader, a visionary professional who enjoys few things more than his work. That’s absolutely fine but spending a lot of time at your workstation can be detrimental to your health. Generating great results with your superior quality work may feel nice but your talent is not the only asset you’ve got. Your health is an important asset that you must take care of in order to provide better customized web development to your clients.

Working for long hours may result in an illness and you don’t want to fall ill because you want to keep on working. Workaholic web development professionals, such as yourself, tend to skip meals and stay awake for long hours, which is extremely harmful for health. There will always be deadlines to meet and new projects coming up, but if you are not physically fit to take up work, what’s the point of having a challenging job?

Remember, you are the only one in the world who can take care of your health. No one else can or will do this on your behalf. So, below are some tips that will be very useful if you can incorporate them into your tight schedule.

• Pay attention to your life – You were not born only to work. Of course, work is a very important part of life, but life outside your web development company is also quite interesting. See if you can take some time off from your workplace and concentrate on the beautiful things that life has to offer.
• Sleep more – Ideally, an adult should sleep for 8 hours a day. Sleeping less may help you work for a little longer, but it is not an option to consider on a regular basis. You may feel dizzy, nauseous and can also start hallucinating. Try sleeping 8 hours on one night and the next morning, you will wake up with a fresh mind, ready to face the day and provide better website development services.
• Eat healthy – Don’t skip your meals. Cut down on snacks and fast food. Include more protein in your daily food intake. Eat more fruits and vegetables. You will see the positive results in your boosted energy level and increased productivity.
• Exercise – Workaholic web programming professionals have to work in a seated position in an enclosed environment for long hours. This is common for salaried employees as well as freelancers. Give your body some activity. Walk up the stairs, go outside to get some fresh air every once in a while and try to stretch your muscles. This will help you concentrate on your work better and also give wings to your creativity.
• Create a schedule that’s physically possible to complete -  Multitasking is fine but not all the time. It can reduce your outputs after a while. Create a schedule for yourself where all your ‘things to do’ and short breaks will be included.
• Have a quiet time – Move your mind away from the hustle and bustle of work and meditate for a few minutes.
• Spend quality time with your family – If you can do it, you will see visible results in your performance. Spending time with your family will make you more energetic and enthusiastic about both your job and life.
• Socialize – The more you socialize, the better it is for your health. It would help you eliminate stress and be happy. This will also enrich you as a person.

Remember to take regular care of your health. It will help you become a better web programming and  development professional.

Every website has a call-to-action button. The  purpose for this button is to compel the visitors to take some action and to take them to another page when they click on it. The action could be anything from buying a product or obtain a service, download a file or opt for a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter. A call-to-action button is essential in the web development process. Effective call-to-action buttons can boost your success tremendously.

 In this article, you will find how to make your call-to-action button effective.

• Find out why you need this button in the first place – The foremost thing to do is to decide what you want your clients to do when they finish roaming around in your website. Then find out what they can be in need of and whether you can provide that.

• Be aware of the process after clicking– You have to know how the process will go when you’ve decided on creating a call-to-action in your website. It should be such that visitors enjoy it and be comfortable with it.

• Let the visitors know what they should expect from the call-to-action – State it through the button itself. Bear in mind that people are always inquisitive about what is on the other side.

• Ease of use is the key – The easier it is to take the call-to-action, the better it is for your business. Tell visitors that taking the action would be easy as pie. This will help them take the action faster and before you know it, your conversion rate will be automatically boosted.

• Create a sense of urgency – If you can include a feel of urgency in your call-to-action, visitors will feel an urge to do it right there and then.

• Use  present tense – This would create a feeling of immediacy. Using active language like ‘you can try it now’ will create a feeling in your visitors to take an action at once.

• Convince visitors that taking the call-to-action is safe – There are some people who do not take any call-to-action on the net because they feel it’ll ask for their private information or will make them pay for something they don’t need. Your aim should be to eliminate this fear by stressing on the fact that your call-to-action is safe to take.

• Size matters – Find out the perfect size for your call-to-action based on its importance. Remember, large call-to-action buttons can grab visitors’ attention better but they can also be a turn-off. So make sure the web development company you’ve hired, keeps that in mind.

• Position it right – Positioning has an important role to play. To ensure your call-to-action button is noticed, put it at a prominent place like the top of all the web pages or in the middle of the screen.
• Offer something extra – Give weight to your deal by offering some freebies. You can also offer an incentive instead of a freebie if you want.

• Do not use more than 2 calls-to-actions – Otherwise you will be confusing your visitors and they will leave your website.

• The call-to-action has to be on all the pages – Because it is meant to direct your visitors to another page. Your web programming should be done such that the call-to-action button is present on every page of your website. In case of inner pages, create the button in a different font and a smaller size.
• Include white space – If you use it near or around the call-to-action button, your call-to-action will be easily noticed and read by visitors.

• Incorporate colors that are contrasting– Using contrasting colors to the background would ensure that visitors pay attention to your call-to-action.

• Alternative shades – If you are using a particular color to theme your website, add various shades of that color. Refrain from using colors that would blend in.

Now that you’ve found out all the ingredients of a successful call-to-action button, make an effort to contact your web development company to do the job.

Don’t forget to share your experience with us!

Deliverables are nothing new in the website development sector. Almost every web programming company offers a bunch of deliverables at a price. But the fact is, web development can do just as well without them.

Below you will find some points that will help you find out how you can avoid deliverables and still create fascinating designs:

•  Create a document of strategies – You don’t have to conduct an elaborate research on the business and consumers. You can sum it up in a short description about how you want the user experience to be.

Also, include some guidelines for the design along with the success evaluation. Contain all these within a few pages and keep it simple so that everyone can read it.

•  Functional requirements – Make a list of activities that users can do and some tasks that the system should carry out to help the users. Pay more attention to the functions that would appear on screen.

• Sketch your ideas – In order to properly apply the design criteria and fulfill the requirements, create sketches of some ideas on whiteboards or paper and take photos of them. Make sure to sketch the most difficult and intricate ideas first as they will help you decide the interaction model for the website design.

• The Code and Comp – If you yourself are not creating the visual design, work together with graphic designers to work out the subtle points of highly representative screens and the screens on which graphics are needed.

Also, work together with designers to find out issues to address and the areas that can be improved. Write concise summaries which would contain all the points, comps and sketches. Skating over the ‘deliverable’ can save you plenty of time.

• Exclude the deliverable from the project fee – Having to work with a shorter list and omitting your charges from the project fee calls for a change in the designing process. To cut the long story short, you need to transfer your focus from creating documents to collaborating.

Let your clients know from the commencement of the project that you will collaborate with the stakeholders at your company. They will help you analyze the design in every step of the process. If your clients are reluctant or incapable of spending time and effort to the design you are developing, it’s better to look for other clients.

To come up with ground-breaking designs, collaboration is extremely important. It’s beyond the capability of a single person to look after every aspect of the design and always have the brightest ideas for a product.  It may sometimes require you to urge the client into a discussion where both parties can talk about the ongoing web designing process and share their ideas. The outcome of such discussions will be extremely good for both you and the client and help you focus more on the design. You can translate the raw ideas into prototypes, comps and even pages.

Practically, what it means is working hand-in-hand with developers and designers, reviewing the finished work regularly and inculcating the useful points from the discussions for improvements. It means discussing the finer points and ensuring that there’s always someone who always questions the ideas and decisions to take the design to the next level.

If you concentrate on these points, the deliverable will seem less important. If you are a designer, you must know that concentrating on the product you are creating is far more satisfying than focusing on the deliverables. When you take up the next project, consider refraining from deliverables. Move from the idea to the coding process as fast as possible. It will help you do what you do best – creating ground-breaking web design.

All of us are aware of the situation when information overload occurs. Our brain refuses to absorb information any further, leaving us confused and dizzy. Surprisingly, most people are unaware of the factors that cause information overload. This in turn, adds to the confusion even more.

The benefit of knowing the reasons of information overload lies in the fact that you can deal with it more effectively. Today, in this article, we will discuss about these factors in details.

Unending Quest for Answers – As human beings, all of us aim to search answers for various questions. Even if we receive answer for a question, we may not be satisfied with it. Such a situation forces us to look for alternative answers. This unending search for answers can lead to information overload.

Coming Across Unwanted Information – Usually, we look for relevant information during most part of the day. However, occasionally we also come across unwanted information.

For example, you may have subscribed to the newsletter of a site. Apart from sending you relevant information, they may also send you mails, requesting you to try out their new products/services. This may cause information overload.

Need for Valuable Information – If you are associated with the web development or database development industry, you may want to update yourself about latest trends. For this reason, you may read blogs or explore the Internet to acquire relevant information.

Speed of Data Delivery - Internet has simplified the process of availing information. Now, with the help of a single click, you can receive flood of new information. However, sometimes, our brain refuses to process the data and this leads to information overload.

Bad Memory – People with poor memory find it difficult to remember information. Therefore, they may be looking for  the same information several times. This interferes with ability of the mind to grasp information further.

Searching for Explanation – As stated earlier, we may not be always satisfied with answers we receive. If we do not understand a concept, most of us will again search for information that explains the concept in a simpler manner. Doing this repeatedly have a drastic impact on our ability to process information.

Doubts about Information Sources – If you come across a particular site and feel unsure about authenticity of its information, chances are high that you will move on to another site. Moving from one site to the other can discourage your mind from absorbing any new information.

Redundant Information – In many situations, we come across different sites that state the same information in various ways. This can also affect power of your mind to absorb and retain data.

Poor Planning – Many people do not look for information in an organized manner. They click at sites randomly, causing  information overload.

We understand the fact that some of the factors stated in this article may sound surprising to you (may be because most of us ignore them). However, remember that each of these factors play a critical role in causing information overload. Therefore, prepare your search in an organized way. Additionally, stick to relevant information. Remember that anything in excess can have a drastic impact on your life.

If you look at the business proposals offered by various website development companies, you will find a common factor -  ‘deliverable’. It’s basically an array of promises a web programming company makes, a host of things that it promises to give its clients at a certain price which is generally specified somewhere down in the proposal.

As a developer, did you expect your web development skills to be evaluated like this – “You pay me this amount of money and in return, you’ll get these things from me”? The truth is, deliverables are not really what a client wants, it’s the end result they care about. Most website owners/clients understand this in theory, but in practice, not really.

The work of a website developer

First of all, take into account the work responsibility of web developers versus what they do most of the time at the studio. Developers are essentially hired to come up with strategies and solutions regarding the website’s design in order to attract more visitors. But since website owners have a compulsive desire to get quantifiable results, developers have to give in to the practice of handing over deliverables to them in exchange for money.

They are judged on the basis of the time taken for delivery and how the design looks.

What is a website design deliverable by the way?

The purpose of the design deliverable is to create a pictorial image of the consumers’ thought process. Whether it’s a sketch, a wireframe or a prototype, some say it helps them get back to on a later date in case of any need for tweaks. But the fact is, someone barely goes back to these documents once the design is complete. Even if there are tweaks needed, people prefer to create new  wireframes and  coded screens.

In most cases, design artifacts are meant to be discarded. Web designs undergo a million changes before they are completed. If you look at  design artifacts in terms of money and time, they can be total waste for both. Plus, they can hinder the website designing process. The bottomline – we can be fine with lesser deliverables. But it definitely depends a lot on the way you work.

Maybe it’s time to say no the practice of ‘deliverable’

The crucial factors of web design are the conception of the end result, the design, its requirements and a way to evaluate how successful it will be. The interesting thing is, only one of the aforementioned factors comprise of intricate design artifacts.

Conception is nothing but an idea describing the objective and desired result of the design, requirements are just a list of guidelines, and so is the evaluation process. But the design is what involves a much deeper description. The use of prototypes, wireframes and comps are not really required in the process of designing.

However, comps are used when there are graphics involved. Apart from being the primary source of graphic files that would be used in the design, the comps are what defines visual language and the particulars of spacing, layout and typography. To create wireframes may take a lot of time to transit from sketch to code. Therefore, it is best to cut it down to the most important and effective factor – interaction model.

In simpler terms, a website developer does not need to create comps and wireframes for every screen but except for the most difficult screens.  Just use those to work out the model.

Deliverable is quite unnecessary. But clients expect it from the company they hire. It just shrinks the art of designing involved in a web development project down to a selling agreement of products and services. Any hardworking and talented web developer should take care of the fact that he does not give into this practice.