BlueWave Media » Web Dev

Getting Feedback

Kimberly — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:14:15 +0000

Having a website that appeals, woos and involves your clients and visitors is the main goal really. By finding out what they think about your current sites layout, language, usability and focus you gain priceless information about why you are or are not growing as a company. Your site must take the visitors and your target market in mind. If it is pretty but not functional or jammed with too much, hard-to-find information, you are practically slamming the doors on their heels. Time to fix that.

Also want to say a special Happy Birthday to Adelle Charles and MichelleOxman. Say to them on Twitter!

Here is something you might like to read, hint, hint

User Experience Best Practices

Kimberly — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:32:52 +0000

User Experience Best Practices

View more documents from Nick Finck.

Here is something you might like to read, hint, hint

The Ultimate Blogging Ping List URL’s

Kimberly — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:32:35 +0000

Expanding the global awareness of your blog is very important – Here is the ultimate Ping List URL’s to add to your -”Settings” – “Writing” – “Update Services” (if using WordPress).

Please make sure you use a wise method of pinging so you do not get listed on the spammer side of things a good way to do this is to use the MBP Ping Optimizer located here so that you only ping when you write something new not when you make every change and it helps to limit how often in a short period of time you ping.

Here is the list:

http://api.moreover.com/RPC2

http://api.my.yahoo.co.jp/RPC2

http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2

http://audiorpc.weblogs.com/RPC2

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/XMLRPC

http://blogpeople.net/ping

http://blogsearch.google.ae/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.at/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.be/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.bg/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.ca/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.ch/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.cl/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.cr/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.hu/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.id/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.il/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.in/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.it/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.jp/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.ma/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.nz/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.th/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.uk/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.ve/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.co.za/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.ar/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.au/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.br/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.co/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.do/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.mx/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.my/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.pe/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.sa/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.sg/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.tr/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.tw/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.ua/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.uy/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com.vn/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.de/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.es/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.fi/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.fr/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.gr/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.hr/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.ie/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.in/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.it/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.jp/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.lt/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.nl/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.pl/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.pt/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.ro/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.ru/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.se/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.sk/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.tw/ping/RPC2

http://blogsearch.google.us/ping/RPC2

http://feedsky.com/api/RPC2

http://hamo-search.com/ping.php

http://holycowdude.com/rpc/ping/

http://ping.blogoon.net/

http://ping.blogs.yandex.ru/RPC2

http://ping.fc2.com/

http://ping.feedburner.com/

http://ping.kutsulog.net/

http://ping.myblog.jp/

http://ping.namaan.net/rpc

http://ping.snap.com/ping/RPC2

http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php

http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php

http://ping.wordblog.de/

http://r.hatena.ne.jp/rpc

http://rpc.bloggerei.de/ping/

http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger/

http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080/

http://rpc.pingomatic.com

http://rpc.reader.livedoor.com/ping

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

http://rpc.technorati.jp/rpc/ping

http://rpc.twingly.com/

http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2

http://wasalive.com/ping/

http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates

http://xmlrpc.blogg.de

http://xping.pubsub.com/ping/

http://zhuaxia.com/rpc/server.php

http://pingoat.com/goat/RPC2

http://api.feedster.com/ping

http://api.moreover.com/ping

http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping

http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2

http://www.blogshares.com/rpc.php

http://www.blogsnow.com/ping

http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi

http://bulkfeeds.net/rpc

http://www.newsisfree.com/xmlrpctest.php

http://ping.blo.gs/

http://www.azfeeds.com/

http://www.blogsearchengine.com/

http://www.blogtopsites.com/

http://www.feedbase.net/

http://www.feedsubmitter.com/

http://www.fybersearch.com/

http://www.plazoo.com/

http://www.readablog.com/

http://www.rssfeeds.com/

http://www.rssmad.com/

http://www.rss-spider.com/

http://blo.gs/ping.php

http://www.pingerati.net/

http://feedshark.brainbliss.com/

http://www.pingmyblog.com/

http://geourl.org/ping

http://ipings.com/

http://www.icerocket.com/

http://www.weblogalot.com/ping

http://rpc.wpkeys.com

http://rpc.britblog.com

http://cullect.com/feed/ping

http://ping.bitacoras.com

http://topicexchange.com/RPC2

http://www.blogoole.com/ping/

http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php

http://www.wasalive.com/ping/

http://www.weblogues.com/RPC/

http://blogping.unidatum.com/RPC2/

http://rpc.pingomatic.com/

http://1470.net/api/ping

http://bblog.com/ping.php

http://bitacoras.net/ping

http://blogdb.jp/xmlrpc

http://blogmatcher.com/u.php

http://coreblog.org/ping/

http://mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatt

http://www.lasermemory.com/lsrpc/

http://ping.amagle.com/

http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc/

http://ping.cocolog-nifty.com/xmlrpc

http://ping.blogmura.jp/rpc/

http://ping.exblog.jp/xmlrpc

http://ping.feedburner.com

http://ping.myblog.jp

http://ping.rootblog.com/rpc.php

http://ping.weblogs.se/

http://rcs.datashed.net/RPC2/

http://rpc.blogbuzzmachine.com/RPC2

http://rpc.newsgator.com/

http://trackback.bakeinu.jp/bakeping.php

http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b

http://www.bitacoles.net/ping.php

http://www.blogoon.net/ping/

http://www.blogroots.com/tb_populi.blog?id=1

http://www.mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatter/ping.php

http://www.newsisfree.com/RPCCloud

http://www.snipsnap.org/RPC2

Topical Related Posts:

What is htaccess and what does it do?

Kimberly — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:28:19 +0000

What are .htaccess files? They are “invisible”" plain text files that can be found or placed in the root folder of your server or in the subfolders that can be altered to control how your visitors/robots interact with your site, or if they can at all.

For instance you could enable a web robot to index (log and quantify) your entire site or keep them from “seeing” the contents of certain folders. You might have a more private area that you want password protected so no one, not even the robots can get there. As well, you might want to enter code that allows the images in a certain folder to only be viewable on that domain and no where else. You have to be wary of what you do in the little-big file as one change can alter your entire site.

Although you could add “gobs” of code in this file, you might not really want to as it may cause a delay in loading sections or your entire site. Think of it this way: “Do I really need to do that or is it just a bell and whistle?” or “Will this benefit me more than the cost of the delay in loading time?” Sometimes the delay is negligible, sometimes not, depending on what you’ve added there.

Wikipedia answers the question, “When .htaccess files should be used?” by stating “.htaccess files are read on every request, therefore changes made in these files take immediate effect as opposed to the main configuration file which requires the server to be restarted for the new settings to take effect.

For servers with multiple users, as is common in shared web hosting plans, it is often desirable to allow individual users the ability to alter their site configuration. In general, .htaccess files should be used by users who do not have access to the main server configuration files.” see more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Htaccess

Okay, actually before we continue, I need to state: please backup all of your files and your existing .htaccess file BEFORE following, adjusting or testing anything I have included in this post. Okay, there, I said it. The world of web access now rests on your shoulders.

To find out if .htaccess is enabled on your server, put a test php file in the root and then attempt to view it in the browser of your choice. If you get a 500 error (the “I have a boo-boo page”), then it is not enabled for your server and you should contact your host company. This error will also occur if you put some funky thing in your .htaccess file that the server does not understand.

Put the following in the test php file:

php_value default_charset utf-8

* used so it is not functional code, but please remember to remove them.

(Note: only if PHP is loaded, will this directive have any effect (switch the 4 for a 5 if using php5)

Now, I am on a MAC and I use Tramsmit as my ftp client. I love the app because I can set in my preferences for it to view hidden files and then I can edit the .htaccess files via a textedit, BBEdit, TextMate, Coda or whatever I like. The simpler, the better. Please note that .htaccess files must be uploaded as ASCII mode, not BINARY.

You may need to CHMOD the htaccess file to 644 or (RW-R–R–). This makes the file usable by the server, but prevents it from being read by a browser, which can seriously compromise your security. (For example, if you have password protected directories, if a browser can read the htaccess file, then they can get the location of the authentication file and then reverse engineer the list to get full access to any portion that you previously had protected. There are different ways to prevent this, one being to place all your authentication files above the root directory so that they are not www accessible, and the other is through an htaccess series of commands that prevents itself from being accessed by a browser.

Ever wanted a specific directory in your site to be available only to people who you want it to be available to? Ever got frustrated with the seeming holes in client-side options for this that allowed virtually anyone with enough skill to mess around in your source to get in? .htaccess is the answer!

The first thing you will need to do is create a file called .htpasswd. It is the same idea behind naming the htaccess file itself. In the htpasswd file, you place the username and password (which is encrypted) for those whom you want to have access:

somebody:something

(user is somebody, something is password) – DO NOT use the same name for user and password, please!

Then in your .htaccess file put:

* AuthUserFile /usr/local/you/safedir/.htpasswd
AuthGroupFile /dev/null
AuthName EnterPassword
AuthType Basic

require user someone *

* used so it is not functional code, but please remember to remove them.

This will force the username and password to enter anything in the same folder as that .htaccess file.

Now there is so much more I will be adding over the next few blog posts about .htaccess files but in closing to this one, I need to put a specific instruction for wordpress users. When you develop a wordpress site, wordpress generally creates a .htaccess file with the information specific to WP sites. As well, many are using WP-Cache or WP-Super Cache as plugins to speed up the loading and caching (and ability of your site to take the hits so to speak).

The WP .htaccess file generally looks like this to start:

*# BEGIN WordPress

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]

# END WordPress *

* used so it is not functional code, but please remember to remove them.

Now let’s up the anty with the doamain name url:
*1. # If subdomain www exists, remove it first
2. RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.([^.]+.[^.]+)$ [NC]
3. RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://%1/$1 [R=301,L]

This way you do not have to add uls manually if you reuse this.

Then let’s add some other refinements for wordpress:

1. # If requested resource does not exist as a file
2. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
3. # and does not end with a period followed by a filetype
4. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !..+$
5. # and does not end with a slash
6. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !/$
7. # then add a trailing slash and redirect
8. RewriteRule (.*) $1/ [R=301,L]
9.

*

Then the final .htaccess for WP would be:

1.
2. RewriteEngine On
3. # If subdomain www exists, remove it first
4. RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.([^.]+.[^.]+)$ [NC]
5. RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://%1/$1 [R=301,L]
6. # If requested resource does not exist as a file
7. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
8. # and does not end with a period followed by a filetype
9.
10. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !..+$
11. # and does not end with a slash
12. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !/$
13. # then add a trailing slash and redirect
14. RewriteRule (.*) $1/ [R=301,L]
15.
16.
17. # BEGIN WordPress
18.
19. RewriteEngine On
20. RewriteBase /
21. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
22. RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
23. RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
24.
25.
26. # END WordPress

Then from there is you use the WP-Cache or WP-Supercache, it will add its own commands at the top of your .htaccess file itself (do not mess with what they add as they are required for the cache rules to work properly)

So, there you have it. Part 1 of the .htaccess informational post. Stay tuned for Part 2.