Blog

The Perfect Muesli

Posted by admin on August 30, 2009 with 0 Comments

jordansOver the last few months I have been having Jordans Muesli for breakfast as it’s fairly healthy and natural. I started buying Jordans as I got totally fed-up of all the added sugar in Kellogs products such as All Bran and Bran Flakes. Why do they think I want them to choose how much sugar I want in my diet!?!? Anyway, they lost me as a customer because of this when I decided I wanted to try and get rid of nearly all refined sugars from my diet.

Over the last 6 months I have been eating the following Jordans Muesli’s:

1. Natural.
2. Tropical Fruit.
3. Nut and Seed.

What I have found though is that the Natural Muesli starts to taste a bit bland after having the Tropical Fruit for a while, and now that I have stopped eating foods with added sugar in them the Tropical Fruit Muesli tastes really sweet. Also the Nut and Seed tastes a little too nutty.

So, what I’ve just done is this. I bought the large version of the Natural Muesli (1kg box) and one box each of the Tropical Fruit and Nut and Seed Muesli’s. There are no large boxes of the other Jordans’ Muesli’s. I then got a large tuppaware box and tipped all 3 boxes into it and gave it a good shake.

I’ve tried my new Jordans ‘combo muesli’ for the last few days and I am loving it. For me, it gives a much better balance of sweetness, plus it means everyday I am getting the benefits of some nuts and seeds, which are a very healthy addition to the daily diet.

I just wanted to share my muesli adventure as it’s a great way to eat a healthy breakfast, with some natural sugars from the fruit, without the refined sugar sweetness of the consumer cereals which are loaded with added sugar.

Filed Under: Food and Nutrition

DMOZ Submission Form Tip

Posted by admin on June 17, 2009 with 0 Comments

DMOZ LogoI’ve not done a DMOZ Directory submission for some time, but this morning I needed to do one for a client, so headed over to the directory, found the required category and started the submission process.

I’m happily filling in the boxes when I get to the description box which required a 25-30 word description of the website being submitted. I had a 50 word description, so pasted that into the box and started deleting sentences so that I could make sure I didn’t break the submission guidelines.

5 minutes of deleting and re-phrasing and I’m happy with the abbreviated description. So far so good! Completed the rest of the form and doubled checked, then triple checked everything as DMOZ is a pretty tough cookie to crack. Hit the submit button and……what is this…..

Please verify the text in the image

The text in the image and the text you submit in the input field must match.
If you cannot read the text, refresh the submission form.

Please go back in your browser if you need to resubmit the form.

I click the back button and find a nice blank submission form waiting for me! Arghhhhhhhh, all my entries are gone and the nice concise description I created is just a memory hanging on for dear life. So I fill it all in again, but this time copy the important bits to a notepad file just incase the same thing happens again.

The second submission attempt was successful, as expected, but when things like this happen it’s always an annoying waste of time. My little tip is therefore to make sure you take a copy of anything important you might type into a submission form that cannot be found elsewhere if something were to go wrong.

Another little tip for DMOZ is always check the directory first to make sure you are not already listed. They don’t like duplicate submissions.

Filed Under: SEO

Why I Don’t Like Flash

Posted by admin on April 30, 2009 with 0 Comments

I was checking out what’s new at Wight Shopper yesterday when I noticed an offer from a company called CAD Delta. They are an Architectural Services company based in Newport, here on the Isle of Wight. The reason for my attention being brought to this particular company, is because it jogged my memory that a friend who was supposed to be writing their website had suddenly found out a little while ago that CAD Delta had now given the website design job to another company.

Wondering if they had done the website and curious as to who it was and what kind of job they might have made of the site, I popped over to the CAD Delta website to take a look! What I found was some flashy intro graphics which proceeded to complete its animation to reveal a full flash site. Now, Flash technology is great for certain multimedia applications and can create stunning things in the right hands, but full Flash websites for business…I’ve never been fond of that.

So, as content is my favourite topic and for any content to be useful it really needs to be findable by people, I decided to check-out what Google thinks of this Flash website. The image below is a screenshot of what Google can see when it looks at the CAD Delta website:

CAD Delta - Google Search Screenshot

What this screenshot shows is that for the CAD Delta website,  Google sees 5 pages.  Based on the content that is actually ‘contained’ in the Flash site, CAD Delta have between 40-60 potential pages, ranging from information on their services, testimonials, case studies of projects and information about their company. On Google however, ony 2 results are relevant to their business, remaining 3 are complete gobbledegoop from Flash file settings that exist. Those 40-60 potential pages, would have given them a great chance of appearing in results for searches such as ‘Isle of Wight Architects’, ‘Isle of Wight Surveyor’, ‘Isle of Wight Building Plans’, ‘Isle of Wight Extension’, ‘Isle of Wight Building Advice’ etc etc.

Flash sites do look good there is no disputing that, and having one is fine if the client knows what they are getting and that is what they want. Now, I have no idea whether CAD Delta were made aware of this issue before they agreed to having a pure Flash site, but if you are thinking about having a website built and want the information you publish to be found by people who might be searching for relevant topics on the Internet then consider the situation of CAD Delta and ask yourself this question:

Do I want Internet users to find my website when they are typing in searches related to the services and information I will be putting serious effort into putting on my website?

If the answer if yes, then you need to take seriously the technologies that are used to create your website and discuss the pro’s and con’s of each proposal your website developer makes.

Filed Under: SEO

Updated SEO Tool Kit

Posted by admin on April 29, 2009 with 0 Comments

The Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Tool Kit which I use as a base feature for all customers with a WordPress installation has had a new version released today. This is not a feature release, just a maintenance release to fix a few bugs that have been identified.

All customers on Plus or Premium website maintenance packages will have their websites updated with this new release as soon as I have installed it on a test site to make sure it is stable with WordPress 2.7.1.

For those customers not on a website maintenance package, the existing version of the tool kit will continue to do its core job without issue, but if you are interested in having your WordPress installation upgraded anyway, please contact me for pricing.

If you have a WordPress installation without the SEO Tool Kit installed and would like to enjoy the benefits of its features, then feel free to contact me for details.

Filed Under: SEO

Susan Boyle – Britains Got Talent 2009

Posted by admin on April 25, 2009 with 0 Comments

susandoyleNow, I know you are probably wondering how this is relevant to web design and blogging on the Isle of Wight, but I think the story of Susan Boyle is a great example of my favourite subject; content is king!

I’m sure you’ve all read the online or newspaper stories about this. That fateful evening on television when an innocent 47 year old woman stood before Simon Cowell, the other judges and the viewing audience to the sound and sight of giggles and snigger’s. I don’t watch these kinds of TV show, but I can imagine everyone was expecting it to be like a scene out of X-Factor-The Rejects. If you didn’t see it either then please feel free to click the following link which takes you to YouTube and Susan Boyle’s performance. Les Miserables by Susan Doyle.

But instead of needing ear-plugs and a stiff drink, the world was treated to a fine rendition of a beautiful song and history is made. The judges had no hesitation in putting her through to the next round and she became an instant worldwide superstar. The secret to her success was not classical beauty, fantastic make-up or iconic fashion, but the content of her talent which was quality of her voice and the song she chose to showcase it.

I already stated the lesson to be learnt for this story, and I will state it again; content is king. I’m always banging on about this to people, but it’s a message that is too often ignored. Most small businesses, community groups and individuals are never going to have the financial or manpower resources to challenge the big players for visual or technical superiority, but website owners should not use these reasons to surrender their fate or decide that their website is not worth any effort.

Website visitors are of course impressed by great looking websites with hi-tech features, but it’s not normally going to be the primary reason they stay on a website, bookmark it, sign-up to the news-feed and revisit it.

So, if you want to improve your website site today, jump on it now and add some content. Write some news, tell visitors something you found interesting, review a product/service that has been selling well, anything really just to add relevant content that helps build your website and your relationship with site visitors.

And if you can’t do any of these things because you have a static website and no ability to manage content, maybe it’s time you ask what your website has done for you recently!

Filed Under: Always an Angle

Yellow Brick Road Clothing

Posted by admin on April 24, 2009 with 0 Comments

yellowbrickroadLooking through the Isle of Wight County Press this morning, I noticed that a local clothing retailer, Yellow Brick Road Clothing, has just launch an online store (see www.yellowbrickroadclothing.com).

As you might expect from someone who is very pro-blog as a tool for communicating and connecting with clients, my first observation is the notable absence of any kind of blog, news or articles type section to the site to fulfil this function. The site is new and maybe they do have plans for such additions in future, and their web presence would certainly be stronger with such an addition.

Now, I don’t just say this without reason. Being specific for this type of website, I feel it would provide the follow benefits:

  • Allow new products to receive extra exposure and extended content creation.
  • Promote limited edition products as they become available.
  • Highlight the addition of new Brands to the webstore and/or the Newport retail outlet.
  • Preview upcoming season collections to build interest before release.
  • Publicize any events that Yellow Brick Road Clothing might be organising and/or attending.
  • Benefit from additional depth of content the above would provide in search engines.
  • Use RSS technology to build a following and keep customers up-to-date with all such news.

As you can see, even without any deep analysis quite a few good reasons can be envisioned. I wish them all the best with building the online side of their business, and it’s always good news to see more Isle of Wight businesses extending their sales channels and expanding in a way which provides the opportunity to build a national customer base.

Filed Under: Website Reviews

Island Business Expo 2009

Posted by admin on March 25, 2009 with 0 Comments

isle-of-wight-expoThe Isle of Wight’s first Business Expo is coming up soon. From 29th-30th May 2009, the Isle of Wight College will be hosting what is being promoted as the Island’s first complete business event.

I will be attending as a visitor, but I am sure there will be a few of the Island’s bigger website design agencies actually exhibiting.

I’m always warey of these ‘networking’ type events, as I mostly see such activity as very false and insincere, and business people are there just because there is an opportunity to create a few leads and get their faces known to potential clients.

It seems there is going to be a programme of free seminars though, so there might be chance to learn and few things and hopefully they will have some good speakers, who are not just their to market their services. I will report on that after the event!

If you are interested in attending, you can find out more at http://www.businessexpo09.co.uk/. There is also an online facility to register for a ticket and receive more details of the planned programme.

Filed Under: Events

New Site, New CMS

Posted by admin on March 16, 2009 with 0 Comments

wordpressdarkIf you visited my previous website, you will be aware that this site looks somewhat different. It’s a bit more than that though, as I’ve completely started from scratch with it.

It was previously running commercial CMS software to power it, but when I recently decided that I would predominantly use WordPress for future projects that do not specifically require custom software, I decided I should practice what I preach and actually use WordPress on my own site!

It’s going to take some time for the site to mature, but in keeping with my philosophy of ‘content first’, I will not be letting a few template tweaks, missing graphics and low content pages prevent the site from soldiering on.

A nice benefit of the new site is that in exchanging the commercial CMS for WordPress, I have received a £400 refund for the commercial software and not had to pay anything for WordPress as it is free! It will also give me more practise with WordPress, and a place to showcase some nice WordPress plugins if I feel any are necessary for site functionality.

I also know that WordPress are releasing version 2.8 soon (I will be writing about this shortly), and instead of having to pay versions upgrades as with most commercial CMS systems, the WordPress upgrades are also free and so this site will be able to immediately benefit from the new features, security enhancements and improved interface as soon as I am happy that version 2.8 is stable and can be safely deployed.

All in all I’m very happy with the decision to ditch the commercial CMS software. If you did visit my old site I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you think it looks now, so please leave a comment.

Filed Under: News

Welcome To Cyberdots

Posted by admin on March 6, 2009 with 0 Comments

Welcome, and thank you for visiting my website. I am a website designer based on the Isle of Wight, who specialises in simple and honest website solutions for small businesses and community organisations.

I am a big advocate of Content Management Systems(CMS) and feel that traditional static websites are extremely inefficient and completely overlook the potential of the Internet to enable businesses to connect and interact with their clients, visitors and industry.

Filed Under: News