I like my calendar to be neat and easy to read. I really like the ability to color code appointments. Whenever I look at my schedule on my iPhone (or iPad), I immediately know if it’s Personal, for Work or a Holiday/Special Event. It’s quick & easy to add appointments, set repeating/recurring appointments and set alarms/reminders.

Other great features:

• Event location mapping – add address to appointment, when it’s time to go, click on the map pin and it’ll show me how to get there.

There is a hidden nightmare to all of this. Syncing all of these devices so that everything is neat and orderly – no duplicates and no missed appointments.

I’ve found Google Calendar to be the best solution for a “central storage unit”, a place to keep all of my appointments, holidays and birthdays. Here’s the combination of programs/apps that work for me:

• Google Calendar
• Spanning Sync on Mac computers to sync desktop calendars (iCal) with Google Calendar automatically
• Pocket Informant for iPhone & iPad makes everything neat and orderly which syncs with Google Calendar too

Once I have everything set up, no matter where I enter an appointment, it will automatically be sent to Google calendar and then synced with all my other devices. Sweet!

The post Keeping Up appeared first on Web Design by Jan.

When it comes to open source, free to download and use CMS tools, there are several great choices available: Drupal, Joomla! & WordPress. Of those three, WordPress is my favorite by far.

Why is WordPress my favorite Content Management tool? It has the best support, hundreds of free themes & plugins. This gives you just about all the tools you need to create a fully-functioning website that you can start posting to right away.

Customizing WordPress is a little trickier as not all of the free themes are conducive to customizing or adding widgets which allow you to position content & plugins on a page. What I prefer to do is stick with a premium-you-pay-for-it template and select the layout (position & number of columns) and style (colors & fonts) that best suits my customer. I then take that template and modify the style sheet to conform with the design my client has chosen.

The website design is created in Photoshop. Up to 3 different design concepts/variations go to the client, who then selects the design they like. Once approved, I start working on the style sheet. Elements such as background image, banner head, colors & font family are pulled from the layered Photoshop file are then added to the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS).

JA Web Design is a custom version of StudioPress’ Sleek Theme.  StudioPress themes are well-designed and based on the Genesis Framework.  I highly recommend that any time you want a great theme for your WordPress site, go to StudioPress and select from one of their great designs. Then, when you’re ready to have your WordPress site customized,  contact me.

The post Customizing WordPress appeared first on Web Design by Jan.

Apart for protecting my iPhone against the elements and accidents, here are the features I like the most about this great iPhone case:

• Very slim (not bulky like the Otterbox cases) it adds only 1/16” (1.5mm) to the depth of your iPhone and weighs less than an ounce (28g).
• Unique combination of materials that will not stick to material. No more struggling to get the phone out of my pocket.
• You can swim with it (up to 6.6 feet/2 meters). That means no more worrying about protecting my phone when I’m caught in the rain!
• Shock and impact protection (6.6 feet/2 meters drop on all surfaces and edges). I don’t know about you, but some days my iPhone just “flies” out of my hand!
• The headphone jack cover screws in at the top of the case preventing dust and water from getting inside.
• Ingenious waterproof headphone adapter for

The only issues I have with the LifeProof™ iPhone case is the volume & mute buttons are somewhat difficult to manipulate, but I can certainly live with that. There is also a “pillow” issue where the screen cover gets some air trapped between it and the phone when you first seal it, but this settles in after a few days.

All-in-all, the LifeProof™ case offers the absolutely best protection for my iPhone in the smallest possible package.

Note: Even though the case by itself can withstand temperatures from -40°F (-40°C) to 140°F (60°C), Apple recommends that your iPhone should stay between 32°F (or 0°C) and 95°F (or 35°C).

The post LifeProof™ iPhone 4 Case appeared first on Web Design by Jan.

Square has the solution for you. It’s like a mobile version of PayPal only better.

Here are some of the features:

• Easy to account set up
• 2.75% per swipe for all credit cards (no hidden monthly fees)
• 3.5% + 15¢ per transaction (if your enter credit card numbers manually)
• Free card reader
• Free app for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android devices
• Next day automatic deposit toyour bank account
• Safe and secure
• Customers can sign directly on the device screen
• Can send receipt via email to text message
• Receive full report of each day’s transactions

Square is a great way to expand your business, no matter where you are. Visit their website and set your account up today!

The post Square – Accept Credit Cards Anywhere! appeared first on Web Design by Jan.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with RDP or “Remote Desktop Protocol”, it provides the user with access to a remote Windows computer and the ability to run programs from that computer as if you were sitting in front of it. This is especially nice for system administrators and individuals who need to access a program on their computer at work. For instance, I have used RDP to set up new users/email addresses on our Exchange server when I’m away from my desk at the office. Or I can create an invoice or look up a client’s balance in QuickBooks remotely. This is a tremendous time-saver for me.

I find the RDP Lite’s tools easy to use. I’m able to get in, run the program/s I need to run, make changes and log off.

Features:

• Provides access to a PC running Windows XP Professional or Vista/Windows 7 (HOME edition or Windows 200x Servers cannot be used)
• WOL (Wake on LAN)
• Printing
• QWERTY keyboard

I highly recommend Remote Desktop Lite from MochaSoft to any of you who routinely use Remote Desktop.

The post MochaSoft Remote Desktop Lite appeared first on Web Design by Jan.

Blogs (Web Log) and Content Management System (CMS) are types of websites. A blog is a form of CMS. What differentiates the blogs and CMS sites from your typical HTML-only website is that the information is stored within a database, typically MySQL (Unix/Linux) instead of contained within the HTML code.

Where a WordPress or CMS site excels is that the site owner has the ability to publish & maintain content such as posts (articles), pictures, video and audio online within minutes, unlike traditional static websites which can take hours to update and cost you each time/money – unless you’re familiar with building or editing HTML sites.

WordPress

WordPress is the most popular of the blog & CMS tools. It is an Open Source (free) website publishing platform. The beauty of WordPress is that it doesn’t have to “look” like a blog. It can look and function like a traditional website. WordPress has at last count, 1,351 free themes (design styles) to choose from. There are companies that sell professional themes as well. For most individuals, selecting on of the free themes may be just what you need. Professionals and businesses will make a big impression with a professional theme which can be customized to conform with an existing website or corporate branding.

WordPress Plugins

If you’re not sold on a WordPress based website yet, then let me give you over 14,000 reasons to reconsider. The PLUGINS available for WordPress (some free, some fee-based) are what make this platform so powerful. For instance, say I want to add a photo gallery to a website, all I need to do is go to the WordPress site and search for “gallery” and I’d see there are over 900 plugins to choose from. This would be a daunting task if it weren’t for Customer Ratings system and the number of downloads. Sort the selection by “Most Popular” or “Highest Rated” and you’ll simplify your job of finding a suitable gallery plugin.

Mobile Versions Made Easy

It’s important that all web browsers can view your site. You cannot ignore the rapidly growing number of visitors to your site that are viewing it from some sort of smart/mobile device. As a website developer, I know I have a couple of choices, design two different sites: one for traditional desktop browsing and another for mobile users. A better choice today is to use code that recognizes the browser and selects the appropriate style sheet (CSS) which will define how that site should look.

WordPress has a couple of great plugins that make this very easy. (WPtouch and WPtap News Press) Instead of taking hours/weeks to set up a separate website or create a new style sheet, it only takes minutes to provide a basic, no frills version of your website.

So the next time your webmaster suggests adding a blog to your website, or creating a CMS version of your website, listen to him/her.

Please contact JA Web Design is you would like her to create a custom WordPress site for you or your business.

The post Websites, CMS and Blogs, Oh My! appeared first on Web Design by Jan.

What are my options for updating the JA Web Design WordPress blog while I’m away from my desktop or laptop? There are a couple of choices, use your browser, login to wp-admin section as you would on your desktop only to realize most of the editing features don’t work on an iPad or use the WordPress app.

The WordPress app is similar to Gusto in that it gives you the ability to edit your web pages via a simple text editor. You don’t really need to know HTML to create/edit a post or page, but it does help if you understand the basics of HTML.

The Good

Some of the nice features of the WordPress app are:

• Ability to create edit posts or pages
• Add photos or videos
• Can rotate between landscape and portrait mode
• Moderate, edit, or reply to comments
• Geotagging (limited to either on/off for entire site)

Requirements for WordPress app:

• WordPress 2.92 or higher
• Have XML-RPC enabled in WordPress (Settings>Writing>Remote Publish)
• .htaccess file

If you get a failed error message when trying to upload photos or videos, make sure you have the following lines within your .htaccess file that’s located in the main WordPress directory.

php_value memory_limit 128M
php_value upload_max_filesize 128M
php_value post_max_size 128M
php_value max_execution_time 120

The Not So Good

Here are some of the features missing that I’d like to see:

• Fully functional editor like FCKeditor
• Ability to highlight/select text and create a link
• When creating link, have ability to choose from existing posts or pages or enter URL
• Ability to refresh site & load newly added posts & pages
• Ability to turn on/off geo-tagging at post level vs. site level
• Need option to be able “undo” or “revert”

While I do not use this app as often as I do Gusto because it lacks essential features, I find the WordPress app to be an nice addition to my Productivity apps on the iPad and well suited for a quick update to posts. Best of all, like WordPress, it’s free!

Download WordPress on the Go

The post WordPress on the Go appeared first on Web Design by Jan.

Features:

• Tabbed Editing
• Built-in FTP/SFTP Client
• Local & Remote Preview

I have entered the FTP login information for most of the sites I maintain on a regular basis into Gusto. That way, when I’m on the road, I don’t have to search for a website’s username and password, I just click on the customers site icon and grab the file/s I want to make changes to via FTP. Once I’ve finished editing the page/s in the text editor, I upload the changed document to the site and I’m done. Quick and easy.

Gusto is not a WYSIWYG. If you are not familiar working with source code like HTML or PHP, then this app is may not be the right for you.

At $6.99, this app is priced about right for all the features it provides. I highly recommend this incredible all-in-one tool/app for webmasters. Download Gusto and give it a try.

For those of you who would like to edit a WordPress page or post, read my review of the WordPress app.

Download Gusto

The post Gusto – Web Maintenance on the Go appeared first on Web Design by Jan.

Let’s take the color RED. Red can take on many meanings with a lot depending upon which country you live in as well as beliefs. In the United States & Europe, red can signify danger, love, power and excitement. While in South Africa it is often associated with mourning. Therefore, great care should be taken when using various colors based upon where and what your website is promoting.

GREEN is often associated with money & wealth as well as life, spring, birth, safety, environmental awareness.

BLUE means stability, patience, peace, tranquility, trustworthiness, love, and honor. It is one of the most beloved colors, especially by men.

YELLOW is the color that mostly associated with the feeling of happiness and energy. It is also associated with curiosity, amusement, joy, and intelligence.

ORANGE is associated with cheerfulness, creativity and confidence. It can be associated with friendliness, playfulness, and courage.

PURPLE is traditionally associates with power, nobility and wealth as well as wisdom, royalty, independence, nobility, luxury, ambition, dignity, magic and mystery.

BROWN is the color of relaxation, confidence and nature. Brown means earthiness, durability, comfort, and reliability.

GREY is associated with seriousness, conservatism, professionalism & maturity. It is also associated with security, reliability, intelligence, modesty, and dignity.

PINK expresses softness, sweetness, innocence, youthfulness, and tenderness.

BLACK is the presence of all colors, it is often associated with style and elegance. It is also associated with power, sophistication, formality and technology.

WHITE is associated with purity, simplicity, and innocence. It is also associated with freshness and cleanliness.
Colors of the site and those of the company logo must complement each other and work together…

The color palette you choose should match the content of the site and the “atmosphere” you want to create for your visitors.

The post The Importance of Color in a Website appeared first on Web Design by Jan.

• iPhone – Phone calls, email, calendar/meetings, contacts/groups, weather & news, quick photos/videos, file transfer/sharing, music/iPod plus a few games when stuck waiting in an office
• iPad – Email, calendar/meetings, contacts/groups, weather & news, quick website updates/changes, FTP, Remote Desktop Connection, SSH and a few games
• MacBook Pro – My home “office”. Incredible software tools. While I use the iPad at home for quick edits, the MacBook Pro is my choice for photo/video editing and extensive website design work. My iTunes is connected to my stereo system wirelessly through AirPort Express – so I can listen to my music while I work.
• iMac with dual monitors – The real workhorse where the majority of websites are designed and maintained. Incredible software tools. I use this for everything: graphic design, website design & maintenance, SSH, and image & video editing. I’m on the iMac close to 40 hours a week. For music at the office, I have an iPod Nano docked in a JBL On Stage Micro II.

The post iPad 2 – Not Just Another Sexy Toy appeared first on Web Design by Jan.