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Website Security: Tips for Securing Your Website

Doug Williams @ 5:40 am

This blog entry was posted on July 12, 2009.

Securing your website means defending your web business against threats. Hackers concentrate their efforts on web-based applications such as shopping carts, forms, login pages, dynamic content, etc. Website security not only protects your data, your client’s information, but also your SEO rankings.

If your site is hacked, your website can be quickly dropped from the search engine results. Even a temporary loss of traffic can be painful. There is no way to know how long it can take to recover lost SEO rankings. Your website security policies should be considered as part of your website traffic strategies.

Tips for securing your website:

  1. Passwords: Use strong passwords with 8 or more characters and include a mix of capital letters, lower case, numeric and special characters. You can still make them memorable such as this secure version of the word password: Pa55W0rd!
  2. Upgrade: If you use third party web applications such as WordPress, pay attention to new releases. When they include patches for security vulnerabilities, upgrade as soon as possible. By the time a security problem is fixed, there are hackers already exploiting it.
  3. Vulnerability Scanning: There are services and tools available that will scan your website for known vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This feedback can give website owners and administrators the knowledge they need to tighten up web applications, firewalls and other areas.
  4. Backup: Keep backups of your website and databases. If your website is hacked, you will need a recent copy to restore your website from. Better website hosting services maintain daily, weekly and monthly copies of websites on file.

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Filed under: PHP Database Development,Web Usability



Which is better PHP, ASP Dot NET or Cold Fusion?

Doug Williams @ 4:50 am

This blog entry was posted on July 6, 2009.

All three are server side technologies that allow you to add database applications and interactivity to your website. All three are used in web development. All three will have strong supporters  from the database programmers that settle on one of these programming languages to specialize in. PHP and ASP.NET are the two dominant technologies in use today.

PHP is the open source scripting language making it generally the lower cost solution. It is the most popular programming language in use today making it easier to find replacement programmers. PHP can be run on either a Linux or a Windows hosting environment, but runs faster on a Linux server because of the lower overhead. PHP is very powerful and makes use of C++ in its backend. It is very compact and well organized and works very well with MySQL. One major advantage is that all memory used by the script is managed automatically closing database links, freeing memory assigned to images, etc.

ASP.NET is the proprietary web application framework by Microsoft. Dot Net (ASP.NET) is the successor to the older ASP (Active Server Pages). It is based on the Visual Basic syntax. It is also very popular but tends to be a more expensive solution than PHP. ASP and ASP.NET work better on Microsoft windows servers. ASP works better with SQL Server and Access. ASP.NET is also fully object oriented (like PHP) and is a very easy way to make very powerful and scalable applications.

ColdFusion is the Macromedia scripting language. ColdFusion is not nearly as popular as PHP or ASP.NET making it  more difficult to move your website from one developer to another. Perhaps ColdFusion’s biggest problem is it’s high price tag. ColdFusion can be installed on Windows or Linux servers, but requires ColdFusion Server to be installed making your selection of hosting companies more limited. One of the biggest advantages of ColdFusion is the ease of producing dynamic websites.

All three technologies for creating dynamic websites have their strong supporters and all three can produce high quality database driven websites. We have settled on PHP database programming as our recommended solution.

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Filed under: PHP Database Development



Make Your Website Interactive

Doug Williams @ 5:23 am

This blog entry was posted on June 1, 2009.

The ability to interact with every visitor is powerful in web marketing. Unlike traditional media like radio, TV or newspapers, websites can customize responses to each visitor.

Databases can store text, photos, links, formulas or most any type of information. You can sort, select, calculate and display information the way your visitor needs the information. These are a few examples of what is possible. Also see more on custom php database applications.

  1. Use a pricing wizard to create customized pricing for custom products or services. We have one custom glass manufacturer that takes the glass type, shape, dimensions and thickness wanted and then calculates the price instantly online.
  2. Take Online Applications for loans, new customer sign-ups, etc. Have people submit an application online for just about anything.
  3. Searchable databases are an excellent way to market anything that you keep in inventory. Create a database of products you want to sell. This could be boats, cars, used equipment, repair parts or anything else you would like to market.
  4. Create a directory of area businesses or a member directory if you are an association. Each member can have their own unique page complete with descriptions, photos and links to other websites.
  5. Qualify leads using online tests, assessments and surveys. Getting a visitor to answer questions about a particular area of their business will help show a need that they may not have realized existed.
  6. Collect testimonials from satisfied customers and place excerpts in a database. Design an area on your home page that will rotate through these excerpts every 4-5 seconds.
  7. Provide a marketing tip or an inspirational to a box on your home page. Allow visitors to register and then email the tip of the day directly to their inbox. This is a great way to build up an email list.
  8. Display a portfolio of your designs, photos of products in a searchable photo gallery. Potential customers can see examples of your work.

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Filed under: PHP Database Development



New Web 2.0 Application Hybrids (Mashups)

Doug Williams @ 4:29 am

This blog entry was posted on November 10, 2007.

A new age of business web applications has arrived. These are kinds of web application hybrids that use information from multiple sources to form a whole new application with a different use. This kind of web application hybrid is called a Mashup.

Mash-up is a term that originally came from the music world where music from completely different styles is combined to form a new song. This became popular in the mid 90’s was most notable in hip-hop music.

By using existing web applications through an API (Application Programming Interface), a web developer can combine the mapping data from Google Maps, Yahoo Maps or AOL MapQuest along with address data to visually show maps with homes for sale, store locations for chains, competitor locations or even delivery maps for drivers. Combine weather data with a mapping API and you have national weather maps with temperature highs and lows.

Videos and photo sites such as Flickr and YouTube have API’s that can be used to add photos and videos into a mashup. Combine Google Earth and YouTube and you have a World Map with video segments from around the world. Combine photos with output from a news site and automatically bring in relevant photos.

Combine search and shopping API’s to not only find the cheapest prices, but now combine with mapping API’s to show store locations and get driving directions.

There are a tremendous range of data sources and API’s available. Web applications can now integrate real time up to date information from multiple sources.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing,PHP Database Development



Kravas Equipment: Surplus Industrial Equipment

Doug Williams @ 6:10 am

This blog entry was posted on July 29, 2007.

Let’s say you are looking for an Allis Chalmers 1000 HP, 2300 Volt motor because the one on your centrifugal blower just died. Or maybe you need a second Parkson, Model 32FT2 Gravity Settler because you need to expand your industrial plant’s waste treatment system. Well you have to look no further than Kravas Equipment in Amboy Washington. They actually have many thousands of pieces of surplus equipment. Chances are if you need a key piece of process equipment, they have it.

This is actually one of my favorite stories. They have over 150 acres of land in Amboy, Washington. The president, Bill Kravas, has been buying surplus equipment since 1985 and he is very good at it. The problem is that they are one of the best kept secrets around. They are now the largest surplus equipment dealer west of the Mississippi. Bill Kravas has pretty much filled up all the existing buildings he has and is adding more storage space so he can continue buying more equipment.

Their new website is part of their new marketing effort being headed up by Demetri Kravas and Dawn Lingle. Their job is to reduce their extensive inventory so Bill Kravas can continue purchasing more surplus equipment.

We produced their new website design and development to integrate with their in house database that they use to track their inventory. Their new website allows you to search or browse thru their equipment listings. With a single click, add equipment to a shopping cart and you will get a quote back within 24 hours. If your need is urgent… then give them a call at (360) 247-5151 and ask for Dawn or Demetri.

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Filed under: PHP Database Development,Success Stories,Website Design



Why Add a Database to Your Website?

Doug Williams @ 6:33 am

This blog entry was posted on July 13, 2007.

Custom PHP MySQL databases are used to add interactive functionality to websites. By adding online tools, searchable databases of your work, pricing wizards and complex sign-up applications you can automate your business website.

Databases allow you to structure data on your website so that it can be searched, sorted, retrieved and displayed. Data can mean names, part numbers, photos or blocks of text. Databases allow visitors to interact with your website and make it much more than just a static electronic brochure.

For websites, the most popular database management system is MySQL, because it is free, works well, and most web hosts have it installed. This can be used in conjunction with a language such as PHP to create a website which interacts with the database.

PHP is probably the most popular of languages for interacting with MySQL databases. It can be easily used to create web pages for a site dynamically. Creating a web site in a language such as PHP and using a database to store the information, or some of it, has many advantages over a normal static site.

A database driven website involves the separation of a site’s content (words and pictures) from its design (the look, feel, and navigation). Databases are behind what makes Content Management Systems and Blogs work. PHP and MySQL are essential components for running the popular WordPress blogging platform. Some examples of online database applications are an online DISC personalty test or an online business systems analysis tool. Another common use is for vacation rental advertising websites.

Searchable databases are an excellent way to market anything that you keep in inventory. Structured correctly, these databases are regularly spidered by the search engines. So if you include specifics such as manufacturer and model number, these will come up in online searches. Databases of specialty used equipment and equipment parts do remarkably well with these online equipment databases.

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Filed under: PHP Database Development



Web 2.0 Internet, the Next Generation

Doug Williams @ 5:29 am

This blog entry was posted on June 4, 2007.

Web 2.0 an umbrella term first coined in 2003 by O’Reilly Media that meant the second generation of the web. This second generation is defined by a new more powerful interactive web. The first is the interactive use of social networking, blogs and wikis. The second is new technologies such as Ajax which allows web applications to work more like desktop software. Web 2.0 presents new challenges and opportunities for Internet marketing strategies.

Web 2.0 includes the change from individual isolated websites to blogging with RSS feeds to quickly broadcast and allow responses. Content management systems were prominent in web 1.0 and then Wikis came into being allowing web users to update content. Web 2.0 has been made more powerful with Ajax which allows web applications such as Google maps to function.

The Participatory Web
Web 2.0 is marked by a social interaction. Weblogs, or “blogs,” as they are called are easily created and updated by those with even a minimum of technology know-how. Blogs make use of RSS (Real Simple Syndication). This allows blogs to use XML feeds to broadcast postings across the Internet in a very short time. RSS (Real Simple Syndication) allow blogs to use XML feeds broadcast postings across the Internet in a very short time. Blogging has moved from 3 million in 2004 to 84.5 million blogs that Technorati is currently tracking .

A Wiki is a website that allows visitors to add, remove, and edit content. The word wiki is a Hawaiian word meaning “quick.” Wikis are generally designed with the philosophy of making it easy to correct mistakes, rather than making it difficult to make them. The English-language Wikipedia has the largest user base among all wikis.

Ajax
Ajax is a newer technology allows web applications to work in real time without the continual need for refreshing content. Ajax is short for Asynchronous Java-Script + XML. This works by introducing an intermediary Ajax engine between the user and the server. Instead of loading a web-page, at the start of the session, the browser loads an Ajax engine written in Java-Script and usually tucked away in a hidden frame. So the user is never staring at a blank browser window and an hourglass icon, waiting around for the server to do something.

Web 2.0 may have started out as more marketing hype, but it has evolved into a real way to describe the evolution of the web. The web continues to evolve and change. Businesses need to evaluate their web design and SEO strategies to make use of Web 2.0. So when will Web 3.0 be here?

Doug Williams, Internet Marketing Consultant

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Filed under: Blog Marketing,PHP Database Development



Custom PHP Database Applications

Doug Williams @ 9:03 am

This blog entry was posted on May 27, 2007.

Custom PHP MySQL databases are used to add interactive functionality to websites. By adding online tools, searchable databases of your work, pricing wizards and complex sign-up applications you can automate your business website. This can effectively lower your operating costs and improve your level of customer service.

By combining the server side technology of PHP database programming with your specific business functions, you can allow 24/7 access to applications designed to sell or service your customers.

The difference between a web designer and a web developer is that a developer usually has more back-end programming skills for building shopping carts and member databases. At Doug Williams and Associates we have both teams of high end graphic designers and high end PHP web developers.

These are some examples of our web development portfolio

  1. Online DISC personality profile Free team building tool
  2. Online business analysis tool Determine the strengths and weaknesses in your business management.
  3. Searchable web design portfolio Ability to browse or search photos and descriptions
  4. Futon furniture and beds Searchable database of products carried at their retail store
  5. Plastic injection molded parts Photo gallery of products they have produced
  6. Portland Oregon luxury condos Site map graphically showing available and sold units
  7. Lead referral groups Online membership application
  8. Commercial equipment loan application Secure online loan application
  9. Custom tempered glass pricing wizard Calculates price based on size, thickness and material and then processes order.
  10. Searchable stolen property database Designed for use by insurance companies and consumers to report stolen property.

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Filed under: PHP Database Development



Add a Searchable Database to Your Website

Doug Williams @ 6:55 am

This blog entry was posted on May 12, 2007.

Adding a searchable database to your website is a great way to improve sales and advertise online. The database can be for almost anything from used farm equipment, surplus factory equipment, estate sale items, vacation rentals, your portfolio or animals that need a home.

Adding photos, categories and text descriptions allow visitors to search and find exactly what they need as part of the “pre-sale” step for your website. Marketing your inventory online is a great Internet marketing strategy and can frequently be added to a current website.

Structured correctly, these databases are regularly spidered by the search engines. So if you include specifics such as manufacturer and model number, these will come up in online searches. Databases of specialty used equipment and equipment parts do remarkably well with these online equipment databases.

Many pieces of older factory equipment are impossible to find replacement parts for. We have clients that buy used factory equipment at auctions. They then list the individual parts and then add photos and detailed descriptions to their online databases. They then receive a steady stream of inquires from inquires for the exact part they have in stock and are able to quickly complete a sale.

Searchable databases are an excellent way to market anything that you keep in inventory.

Doug Williams, PHP Database Programming

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Filed under: Internet Marketing,PHP Database Development