Month: January 2007

How Much For a Website Like That?

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Being a website designer, this is one of the more familiar phrases heard from potential customers. The culture here in Malaysia practices price before value. Even for a rich, high society member sometimes question the high price of a product in regards of its value.

The number of designers or developers asked that same question doesn’t get tiresome by the customer. Reason is that he’s judging the best bargain and perceived value he thinks the website reference is worth. Not the value and results he is aiming.

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RSS Not End-User Friendly

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If you’re a blogger or Internet-savvy user, you might have heard of RSS or better known as Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication. Site summary does give a clue on its own but coupling that with the word Rich in front, it’s a whole new jargon in the IT world.

So what exactly is Rich Site Summary about? Well, if you ask any technical person or blogger, they might mention more jargon like XML and how it’s a technology used to pull headlines and other content on the Internet.

In layman, RSS is the ability to access or keep track of vast amounts of content easily.

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Donald Trump's Advice to Entrepreneurs

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Business and marketing might not be a passion for me but I’d call it an interesting hobby. I don’t know why and can’t understand why business seems like magic. It isn’t like a cycle you see happening in forums or a website that becomes old due to its design or its technology.

In my blood and upbringing I’ve asked the question before, “Why do I like business and marketing?” Is it a genetic thing (though my parents aren’t business people) or is there something intriguing about the whole subject?

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Breaking News: Creative Designers Evolving

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Other than website design, I love reading about how our simple industry of designing and developing websites is advancing. It becomes even more exciting to find out that our progression is almost on the same level as the development of new website programming languages.

Previously while reading UX Magazine, I discovered such an article by David Armano. He shares his view of what’s happening to designers today and what would be happening in future looking at the trend of how designers are required to evolve today.

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Using WordPress 2.1

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At 1100 hours ago, WordPress recently released it’s awaited major update. Such news as usual spread like wild fire and every blogger on the Earth must have been beating each other to the punch. Some Malaysia bloggers were also talking about what were the affects after their WordPress 2.1 update.

Ever since I converted from being a MovableType user, I’ve never looked back because of 2 lovely things about WordPress. Its installation is a breeze and its upgrading is just one-click away (I’m dead serious!). But WordPress also brought many other joys from the user-friendly interface to the various plugins found online – especially anti-spam plugins.

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Find Out the Success Behind Good Keywords

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Previously I mentioned the growing trend of search engine position in Malaysia and how clients in Malaysia have become more aware of this trend.

Following that I also shared things to watch out when joining an online directory and how to make a wise selection of which online directory to join. This round, I’d like to talk about what we do and what you can do too to find the right keywords for your website.

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Search Engine Position and Online Directories

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At the end of 2006, I’ve noticed businesses become more aware of the importance in search engine positioning. Clients have asked me how do their competitors appear on the first page of Google when using certain keywords and phrases. This conversation normally leads to the next question, “do you provide search engine optimization?” or “can you do it for me?”.

Well, we know and understand the basics of search engine optimization however we don’t follow and specialize in this craft. Reason being is that it takes too much time in terms of testing, implementation and patience. Lastly, we don’t make a promise we can’t keep unlike some that say they’d guarantee your website on the first page of Google, Yahoo or MSN because we would ask them, “How long will my website be there?” But as usual, that’s a topic on its own.

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List of Malaysia E-Commerce Payment Methods

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During consultation with clients who aim to setup an online business in particular an online store, one of the most common questions is how do I collect payment and how do customers make payment?

The one and only method recognized by many clients because of its common use is via credit card. They don’t know how it works but they’ve heard from friends or relatives when shopping online, they would pay by just entering their credit card details. Alas online shopping in Malaysia is slightly difficult due to lack of exposure and insecurity of even the shop owner let alone the customer.

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At 4:00PM The Clock Strikes

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And here I am thinking that it was already 5:00pm nearing 6 even. I suppose these shady clouds hovering in the afternoons and evenings does give a different impression of our sunny and humid country.

But most importantly, in weathers like this it’s best to keep healthy. Reason being is that most people would end up sick during this cold and hot season. I remember there was one time even the meteorological department informed the public Chinese New Year is one of the warmer seasons.

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No More Project Petaling Street

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What would happen to you and your blog if Project Petaling Street cease to exist at the end of this month, in the coming months or at the end of the year? Will you be disappointed that now you can’t reach out to the mass Malaysia market or will you feel frustrated because now you don’t have another local avenue to share your blogging thoughts?

When I first knew about Project Petaling Street (PPS) around 3-5 years ago (yes, I’ve been blogging that long) it was but a humble place for new bloggers to gain exposure and add value if not quality blog entries to PPS. Back then, I remember there weren’t any bloggers turn celebrities but mere writers or teenagers who pen they wanted to share with the blogosphere.

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