Archive for July, 2009

Run Multiple Operating Systems using Virtualization

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Ever have the need to support more than one web browser version, specifically IE versions, or different version of Windows for end users?  Many years ago this required multiple computers.  Then came virtualization, basically the ability to run a virtual computer inside of your running operating system just like you would run Microsoft Word or Mozilla Firefox.  It offers great flexibility for support people, e.g. website developers and help desk personnel.

There are quite a few virtualization solutions out there, both paid for and free.  One of the leaders is VMware, which has a slew of solutions, ranging from the desktop based VMware Workstation to vSphere for data center solutions.  They also offer a couple of free products, ESXi and VMware Server.  ESXi is a product that is installed on a server and used strictly for running virtual machines.  You install the product as you would an OS, from a CD, and manage the server from a remote workstation.  VMware Server on the other hand can be installed  on your currently installed Windows or Linux OS and essentially can be used as a free replacement of VMware Workstation.  It is managed through a web based interface and is missing some of the enhancements of VMware Workstation, but it works very well.

Another product that is making headlines recently is a called Virtualbox.  It is a direct competitor with the VMware Workstation product and can be installed on Linux, OS X or Windows computers.  It included the ability to use VMware VMs or to convert VMware VMs to a native Virtualbox format.   It is also free and could possibly be easier to manage and run VMs more quickly than VMware Server, depending on your needs and how you use it.  I’ve been using it more frequently and have found it to be a very adequate replacement for the VMware Workstation and Server products that I run on my laptop.  There are other solutions as well, but for this article, I’m sticking with VMware and Virtualbox.

In the end, your mileage will vary, depending on your use of the solution.  Regardless, it will most certainly reduce the hardware required run multiple servers and workstations on your network.  It will also give you the ability to test different operating systems without have to install them directly on your computer.  You will be limited on how many you can have running at one time due to RAM limitations, but you can have as many virtual machines installed on your computer as your hard drive storage will allow.  There are countless VMs available for download.  Some perform very specific functions, like spam filtering while many are just basic installations of free operating systems like Ubuntu, openSUSE and CentOS.

Using VMs to optimize your workplace and work habits could help you in the long run.  Give some of them a try and see how they work for you.  You may even have some fun testing a new OS or two.

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

There’s no doubt that search engine optimization –the art of designing websites to show up higher in the results listings of search engines –is important. Most new traffic to websites comes via search engines, and placing high in the results generally plays a determining role in whether people will choose to visit your site –or even see it.

There’s also no doubt that there’s a lot of contradictory information about SEO out there –and a lot of shady companies promising incredible placements through SEO voodoo.

In general, the most important distinction to remember in SEO is “white hat” versus “black hat” SEO. White hat SEO operates in cooperation with the search engines, and chiefly focuses around techniques that make a website better designed and easier to navigate. These include optimizing the overall site structure, embracing standards compliance, and making full use of auxiliary methods of providing information, such as “alt” attributes, meta descriptions, and the increasingly important xml search engine sitemap.

Black hat SEO, conversely, is designed in opposition to the search engine, with the overall goal being to defeat or confuse the search algorithms through techniques such as hidden text, abuse of keywords, link sales and phantom website networks.

The summary of the differences is that White Hat SEO seeks to present the actual content of your site to its best advantage, whereas the goal of Black Hat SEO is to mislead the search engines and ultimate the end user.

Before you hire an SEO expert, take some time to research their methods. No legitimate firm uses Black Hat SEO. If you do employ Black Hat SEO, you not only run the risk of having your site permanently banned by all the major search engines, you will almost certainly anger and alienate your potential customers when they discover that your site as presented to them on the search engine does not have the same content as the site they actually find when they follow the link.

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Web Design Principles

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Here at NMP Consulting, we’ve seen first hand the difference a good website can make. After we redesigned our own website’s look and structure, we saw a jump in the number of inquiries we received.

Here are a few of the principles I use when designing a site.

1. Contact Info – The number one thing people come to a website for is contact info, yet I’ve been to far too many sites –some for big companies –where you search fruitlessly through page after page for that all important info. I try to make sure the contact info is present on each page in a small, unobtrusive, but easily findable form.

2. Personality – A lot of sites are superficially impressive but generic, usually because they were “readymade” and bought off the shelf. There’s nothing wrong with building a site around a template, but it’s important to make it your own. Some professionally taken photos of your actual staff, building and products can go a long way towards making your site look personal. Or, even if you use stock photos, take some time to put some thought into them.

3. Personality Part 2 – Your site should be a reflection of what you do and how you do it. Are you high tech? Does your corporate culture have a sense of humor? Are you national or local? If you are a technology company you might want a glossy, cutting-edge site with some flashy technological tricks on display. On the other hand, a local arts-and-crafts store should probably go with a simpler interface with a folksy, retro feel. It’s not that one kind of site is better than the other, it’s that each business needs a site that reflects what their customers can expect. Too many businesses have website that reflect only the web designer, and not the business.

4. Watch Out For Info Overload.
Unfortunately, people on the internet have short attention spans. It can be a temptation to put every single fact about your company on the home page, but no one will read it. The most important thing you can do is structure your site well so that people can find what they need fast. In general, a limited selection of best pithy sound bites and big ideas should be on the front page. The detailed info can be a level or two down into the site structure, where it will be easily accessible to someone who wants it and invisible to everyone else.

There are other principles of course, but these few will go a long way to making your site more compelling and successful.

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