August 24th, 2011
Gomez, a division of Compuware, has named Google’s Chrome browser as the fastest of its kind, beating out such competitors as Firefox, Internet Explore and Safari. Gomez opted against structured tests and based its findings on “real world” usage, utilizing broadband connections.
As cited by TechCrunch, reports illustrated data that was compiled over one month, across 200 websites. The reports found that Chrome’s page-load time, at 3.43 seconds, was one-half second faster than Firefox. Chrome’s time beat out IE and Safari by a full second.
Firefox, however, narrowly beat out Chrome in the “perceived render time” category, with both Firefox and Chrome scoring far ahead of IE and Safari. That being said, the entire range of results for all browsers was approximately one second.
Some have questioned Gomez’s test and its results, noting that broadband connections vary greatly, thereby compromising the validity of any results. Since so many factors can come into play, some critics say that no definitive winner can be named in this battle.
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June 30th, 2011
The World Wide Web Consortium, also known as W3C, opted to advance HTML5 forward, to Last Call status. This is a significant move for the draft specification after more than three years of testing and development.
While advocates of HTML5 are undoubtedly excited over this move forward, they shouldn’t be jumping up and down just yet. It’ll still be quite a while – even several years – before HTML5 is officially recommended by W3C. The W3C’s Last Call status signifies that there will be 10 more weeks of further testing and reports.
After that period has passed, the HTML Working Group of the W3C will have until January of 2012 to correct all outstanding issues. If all issues are corrected satisfactorily, HTML5 will then advance to Candidate Recommendation status. If it passes that phase, it will reach the final status as an official W3C Recommendation, and likely venture into widespread use.
While most developers are eager to see HTML5 move forward through the vetting process – in fact, many developers are already utilizing aspects of it online – there are those who are opposed to its advancement. Among them is Daniel Glazman, W3C’s Working Group co-chairman. Glazman voted against HTML5’s Last Call status, voicing his concern about the lack of longdesc in HTML 5. Since HTML5 is intended to be compatible with earlier versions of HTML, the longdesc deficiency could lead to problems with those using HTML4.
Others in W3C aren’t concerned about the descents against HTML5, since it’s rare that any status change garners unanimous support amongst all members. Regardless of opposition, it seems inevitable that HTML5 will continue to move forward.
Here at DBurns Design, we remain on the cutting-edge of the latest developments in the programming world, utilizing the latest developments in our professional Los Anglees website design services. Our expert designers and programmers ensure our clients’ websites feature the very best technology and creativity, so their sites not only looks amazing but functions amazingly as well. Contact us today for more information on our Los Angeles website design services; we’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.
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June 30th, 2011
Joining a long list of sites that no longer offer support to Internet Explorer 6, WordPress can no longer be used on the dated web browser. The blog publishing platform is very popular with the general public as a primary tool for blog sites. WordPress announced this change as it rolled out its latest version, which features a simplified admin interface and a bevy of new user-friendly features.
If a user attempts to load up WordPress on IE6, they won’t be able to and will instead get a message prompting them to upgrade their browser. Other sites, like YouTube and Gmail, have abandoned their support of IE6 recently as well. Like these other sites, WordPress found it was taking too much backend work to get the tool to work with IE6, a browser that was initiated over a decade ago. Few professional website design companies want to keep supporting IE6, simply because it’s a clunky browser that doesn’t offer the user the best experience.
Even Microsoft, the founder and distributor of IE6, is eager for users to move on and use its newer versions. The technology conglomerate, however, is likely motivated by its desire for users to upgrade to Windows 7, its latest software offering, rather than an outright disdain for its older browser.
Here at DBurns Design, we encourage our clients to utilize newer browsers, like IE 9, Firefox or Chrome. These browsers give users a much more robust experience than IE6. They operate more in line with current web standards, easily showcasing all aspects of professional website design, and they are much more secure than IE6.
That being said, if you engage our professional website design services, we’ll make it so your site functions across all web browsers – even IE6, if you so desire.
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June 7th, 2011
LinkedIn has proved to be a valuable networking site for professionals across the spectrum of industries. Like a Facebook for professionals, LinkedIn can help you connect with others in your field – people you know and people you can get to know – through the site’s various features. Apart from individual benefits for the professional, LinkedIn’s newest features can really help you maximize the platform of your small business.
Create a Page for Your Company
With LinkedIn’s new Company Pages feature, you can create a dedicated page for your business. Just like an individual social networking page, you can use this page to update others on your company’s latest offerings and news. It’s an easy way to keep the public updated on the happenings of your business, ensuring you stay at the forefront of their minds.
Stay Apprised of Marketplace Buzz on Your Reputation and Your Competitors
With LinkedIn’s beta LinkedIn Signal product, you can search public status updates for specific keywords. It allows a simple method for keeping an eye on your competitors – just search for status updates that feature competitors’ names to see what others are saying about them. It’s also a good way to keep your finger on the pulse of what others are saying about your company.
Learn About Industry Trends
LinkedIn Skills is another way you can be made aware of trends and news in your industry. The tool is straightforward – it simply tracks and measures the rate at which certain skillsets are entered into the site. For example, if you see a rise in professionals in your field entering a particular skill, you’ll know that the industry is starting to trend that way.
Stay on Top of Your Accounts
As LinkedIn is constantly updating their site with new and exciting tools, it can be a valuable resource for your business. You just have to be diligent and stay on top of your accounts. It doesn’t look good to prospective clients and colleagues if your company’s page isn’t updated for weeks on end. It only takes a few minutes a day so make it a priority to put your company’s best face forward on LinkedIn.
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June 7th, 2011
With the advent of new mobile point-of-sale (POS) applications – that can be used on any smartphone – merchants can process sales transactions from anywhere. Most of these apps feature a separate card swiper that can be connected to most smartphones, though some of the apps simply require the merchant to enter the customer’s credit card information into the smartphone, using the phone’s keypad.
There are undoubtedly various benefits to these apps as they offer a whole new level of freedom in payment processing. The current mobile POS solutions are not truly mobile in that they operate wirelessly over dedicated connections. So while you can walk to a customer to process their payment, you have to stay within the realm of the wireless connection’s reach. The new, mobile POS solutions allow merchants to process payment virtually anywhere. This level of freedom could potentially revolutionize the POS industry – allowing anyone with a smartphone to sell their goods or services and process payment easily, without the added expense of a standalone POS solution.
While the increase in mobility is impressive, some experts are concerned about the security of these new POS apps. Since these apps download just like any other application on a smartphone, you’ll be processing payments without firewall protection. Since the apps are fairly new in the marketplace, it’s wise to proceed with caution until they’ve been thoroughly vetted.
In the interim, only choose apps from established and well-respected POS companies. If you opt to use a POS app, consider getting a separate set of smartphones for your employees – this way they won’t be processing customer payments on their personal devices. While it won’t provide complete security, it will add an extra layer of protection.
And whether you start using a POS app now or decide to wait until they’ve been tried and tested a while longer, keep your ears open for news from the PCI Security Standards Council. When they’ve determined that certain apps are trustworthy, they’ll release information on them.
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June 5th, 2011
As a professional website design company, our biggest source of new customers are referrals. And to track the “referral health” of our business we started recording and analyzing our Net Promoter Score (NPS). Developed by Fred Reichheld, of Bain & Company, NPS depends on one simple question for customers; How likely are you, on a scale from 0 (Not Likely) to 10 (Extremely Likely), to recommend our services to a colleague or friend? 0 to 6 are the “detractors”, 7 or 8 the “passives”, and 9 or 10 are the “promoters”. Your company’s NPS is the percentage of promoters less the percentage of detractors.
Every website that we build, we will recommend the implementation of a post experience survey. This will give you the data to track your NPS, and by asking the right questions the ability to modify your services/products and increase your NPR Score. Customer feedback in the correct format is fundamental for this model to work.
Please contact me if you are interested. We will help you create a custom survey and have it implemented as part of your website worfklow, so you can also start benefiting from your Net Promoter Score.
Daniel Burns
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April 30th, 2011
How many times have you sat in front of a loading screen, while it slowly came to life, wondering how long this process will take and how many clients you might be loosing along the way? Clients hate it! And as a professional website design company, that is the last think we want our sites to do.
But after a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, maybe that wait is not as bad as we think. Customers find waiting more tolerable when they can see the work that is being done for them. This also holds true if the progress that we see is only the “appearance of progress”, also known as “labor illusion”
One of the studies conducted by the Harvard Business Review compared user satisfaction after purchasing tickets from 2 different travel websites. Both offered the same tickets, and the same prices. The first website was lightning fast, displaying results immediately and efficiently. The second website, showed a little animation while the websites “searched” different airlines for the “best rates”. The second website took anywhere form 20 to 40 seconds to display the exact same results as website 1. The majority of users preferred the transparency of the slower website!
The second question was, can labor illusion trump poor results? To find out another study was conducted with the creation of a fictitious dating website. Some users were presented with immediate results, and others were presented with a slower, transparent search. And for both groups some results were very appealing (Very attractive “soul mates”, and some were very disappointing. (Less appealing prospects). Users that had the long search time with appealing results, gave the site very high reviews. Users that had the long wait with the disappointing results, gave the website very bad results. This illustrated that labor illusion only has positive feedback when the outcome are great results.
Several examples of labor illusion are successfully being used on our day to day life. Apple’s automated response hotline, plays a typing sound between prompts to give users the illusion that the virtual operator is “keeing” in your request. ATM’s will show the animation of bills being counted, or a check being scanned when they are processing your deposit. Starbucks required Baristas to steam the milk individually for each customer. This slows down the process but allows customers to see what is going on.
Websites can definitely profit from transparency as part of the loading process. Just something to think about!
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April 21st, 2011
Since TuneTree offers an extremely specialized service, it required an extremely specialized website. The company provides music licensing rights to film and TV producers, and it needed a “one stop shop” for its current and potential clients.
DBurns Design implemented a neat solution to help users find what they need in TuneTree’s huge catalog – a set of modifiers that can be selected to narrow a search down to exactly the type and style of music required. Searchers can even whittle down their search by key and tempo.
Another convenient and powerful feature we designed was a user-customizable radio player. The company’s music can be sampled and saved without limit on the player, and arranged in any order desired. Lastly, as with the catalog modifiers, we built a set of selections allowing users to customize and download a contract perfectly suited to their licensing needs.
Traditionally, music licensing has been a long and arduous process. TuneTree’s website makes that process much more efficient and painless, allowing movie and TV producers to concentrate on what they do best – producing the entertainment we love to watch!
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January 4th, 2010
Mark Steines has been the host of Entertainment Tonight for almost 14 years. When he first approached DBurns Design for his first official website, he wanted to tell the story of his career, it’s longevity, but also use the website as a platform to showcase his new book about the medical volunteer mission to Sierra Leone that he documented and made into a book called “See the Light: A Passage to Sierra Leone”.
In our first meeting, Mark explained that this website needed to show all sides of him, his photography, his volunteer mission, his family life, his beginnings as a young broadcaster, as well as his career as it stands today.
Through the use of interactive videos on the homepage, multiple photo galleries, and a video blog, along with great design aesthetics, DBurns Design created a new web presence that encompassed all of his goals and then some!
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September 10th, 2009
When DBurns Design was first approached to build Queen Latifah’s new website, we knew it had to be special and enduring. There were several areas of her lengthy career with a unique story to depict…the actress, the singer, dancer, spokesperson and model. Not to mention, the need to maintain and continue to build upon the Queen Latifah worldwide brand online.
Immediately the DBD team created a new placeholder page for the website with an audio player of her latest hit that premiered on American Idol, a link to itunes to download that song, and a fan page sign up while we were building the overall new presence. As it turned out, the Queen Latifah team loved the essence of the placeholder page and asked us to expand that very design into the five dimensional career and brand of Queen Latifah that we all know and love! DBurns Design nailed the perfect design carriage on the first try and we have been thrilled to be a part of fostering and maintaining the Queen Latifah brand online!
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