I have been working on a project with a few clients where they are moving all their static content (as well as creating some dynamic content) into a CMS. They have about fifty pages done and wanted to check the links on their site to see what was broken so I directed them to the W3C link checker. I had not thought about that W3C tool in awhile, but I wanted to mention it here because it is a great free way to check the links on your site. When using this tool, make sure to check the check the “Check linked documents recursively, recursion depth” to make sure it follows all your links.

Over the past few months I have been busy working on client web sites and have neglected jappler.com. I have been using WordPress for a few years now with this site and had a number of plugins, CSS styles, and other items that needed to be pruned while I wanted to spruce up and clean up some other layout items.
Summary of the jappler.com tune up:

Went through all my plugins and disabled and removed anything that could be replaced with a template tag
Removed all old and un-used CSS styles
Removed CSS code that I could do better or that was not needed
Re-validated my code
Added the rounded corner/drop shadow boxes around my content
Re-arranged my post meta information (author, date, tagged, comments, etc)
Began organizing my categories better
Removed any duplicative code and either used a WordPress function or an includes file to handle the content/code (links, search, etc)
Created a WordPress 404 page with my old 404 standby
Went through my pages and cleaned up the text and updated any outdated information
Re-organized my sidebars and their content
Removed any un-used images

Every once and awhile it is good to clean up your sites so they do not become overly bloated. Don’t know where … [more]

If you ever are not sure of the path to one of your scripts of files (.htpasswd), you can easily find out by creating a new PHP file, and then copying the following code into the file:

[php][/php] After you save the file, view it in your browser and you will see the location of your file. No more guessing if it is /home/username/public_html/ or some other naming convention that your host might use.

After a long showing - the pin strip tabs are out and the brushed metal - grey gradient is in (just a shade or two darker than the active jappler.com nav). My initial thought: the nav bar is too tall - but as soon as I looked at the way to the right and saw the search box, I realized it had to be that height to accommodate the search box with ample spacing. I looked through the site some more and so far - everything looks pretty good.

I did find a few problem areas with their layout/CSS, but I am sure they will address those soon (PS family member that does not know or understand what I really do - this is the type of thing I get contacted about to fix for companies) - especially since they showed up on Safari at first glance. I am sure their web team worked very hard on the new layout/functionality and it shows. I think for the first time in a few years the site feels very cohesive and not so much “stuck in … [more]

If you are in need of som quick and easy Web 2.0ish looking buttons, check out: My Cool Buttons. Nice work!

After spending a frustrating day yesterday working with a client, their web site overload issues, and the hosting “advanced support” I am worn out. The issue: extremely high traffic database driven web site - when moved into the production environment on a dedicated server - would spike the processors’ load to 100% and would then need to be restarted. I got called to help solve the problem. The “advanced support” blamed it on the CMS and that is where I stepped in. The first thing I wanted to see were the server logs. (Apache and MySQL to start) After a long and frustrating time on the phone with the “advanced support” they were finally convinced I knew what I was talking about and gave me shell access to the server so I could tail (tail -f logname_log) the log in order to see what kind of error messages were generated. Mind you - my client had been dealing with the “advanced support” for two days at this point and not once did they look at the log files. Within a few seconds I was able to see the errors that were causing Apache and … [more]

Picking a color scheme for a web site is one of the most important and possibly the most frustrating part of creating new designs - at least for me. I have been recently using Adobe’s Kuler as well as a handful of other color web sites. I can usually get the first two out of three colors without any issue but the accent color always gets me. I usually end up surfing some sites and “accidentally” find the third color I need. Why bring this up? This is the big reason I have not been very active on my blog this week. I have three “from scratch” designs I am working on for clients and have been busy piecing colors together. Anyone have any color resources they want to share, please leave a comment.