Some of my favourite tools.

Honestly, I was struggling to find a topic for this post but then it occurred to me that maybe I should let you lovely people know some of my favourite tools and websites that I use to develop and design. It might give you some useful places to go or some fun things to use in your own projects.

http://www.dafont.com/

This website is fantastic. It’s just a massive archive of different fonts all organised nicely for you. All you do is download the cool looking font you want, install it, then use it to your heart’s desire!

http://www.fontconverter.org/

This website converts the font you just downloaded into a bunch of different formats just so everyone who ever looks at your website will be looking at it in the same way. You obviously need the right CSS to go along with this but I linked you to that in a previous post.

http://www.css3maker.com/

This website is pretty magical to be honest. It gives you a nice interface to tweak some parameters while giving you a visual example of what is happening and outputs the actual CSS to use on your own website.

http://www.w3schools.com/

Any web designer or developer that says they don’t use this website is not telling you the truth. Or they should start using this website! Nice, simple and clean interface with easy to understand example of most functions within HTML and CSS. Very good website for a quick refresher.

http://ietester.en.softonic.com/

This is a little program called IE Tester that simply loads a website in all of the different versions of Internet Explorer. Nice way for you to test the compatibility of your website.

http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Notepad++ is in my opinion, simply amazing. It has syntax highlighting, support for a load of different languages, is fast and very simple to use. The higher end of functions in Notepadd++ include thing like macros, launching the file to different programs and even saving via FTP.

I do have and use a lot of other tools for website development but those are some my favourite and definitely the ones I use the most often.

If you have any tools, utilities or websites you use a lot then let us know in the comments!

Till next time.

Alec

Is developing for Internet Explorer necessary?

Everyone knows what Internet Explorer is. It’s that browser you use to download a different browser. There are a lot of different options, each with their pros and cons. Google Chrome is by far the most popular but may not suit some people because of the fact it chews up a lot of RAM. Safari is rarely found on anything other than an Apple product and the other main option is Firefox which had a brief period of being really, really bad.

When you look at the current browser usage statistics (http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp) Chrome is sitting at just over 60% whereas Internet Explorer is under 10%. So the question comes up, is it really necessary to develop a website for Internet Explorer considering the fact that it is used so little?

Most people reading this would remember the dreaded Internet Explorer 6. At the time it was the most popular browser by far but to make sure a website would display properly on it a developer would have to include lots of weird, contradicting things that somehow combined into a working piece in IE6. Since then (thankfully) Internet Explorer has gotten a lot better. The interface is now quite clean and the actual browser is very fast, usually only just behind Chrome with most tasks.

Another point to consider is this, Internet Explorer is now very standards compliant. There are a few little things here and there, but the majority of the time the website will display exactly the same in the latest version of IE as it does in Chrome. Actually, in my experience, nowadays, it’s Firefox that requires the most ‘tending to’.

I know what you’re thinking. “Why hasn’t he given us an answer yet? Is developing for Internet Explorer necessary?” Well you could always do a quick check, in CSS or JS, for any versions of Internet Explorer and display a message to the user ordering them to download a better browser in order to view your amazing website but the simple fact is, yes, you do still need to cater for any weird little problems that Internet Explorer has, just like you need to cater for any weird little problems that any browser has. Even though only 10% of people use that browser, if your website gets 1000 visitors a day, that’s 100 people who are missing out on your content. Which is 3000 people a month (approximately, I did some serious rounding up with those figures) but the point is that you can see how quickly it adds up.

Besides, the only major issue I’ve come across lately is embedding different fonts on your website and with a simple little conversion tool and the code from this post http://css-tricks.com/snippets/css/using-font-face/ you should be fine.

If you want to check out how we have catered for Internet Explorer just head over to our portfolio on www.asit-group.com

Till next time

Alec

Question and Answer Time: Ask ASIT Group.

1. How much does a website cost?

A website can cost a little or a lot - that is, things like its appearance, complexity and purpose all have an effect. Web developers (like us!) will work with clients to understand their needs and wants, and following that, can put forward a proposal for pricing.  To get you started, we have an excellent guide to pricing on our website http://www.asit-group.com/ and if what you're searching for isn't listed or you feel you require something special, drop us an email and you will hear from us as fast as humanly possible!


2. How do i get people to visit my website?

One of the biggest questions we get asked, and the answer is complicated.  Driving traffic to your website can come in a variety of ways, the nature of your business also has a huge impact and can massively change how you get your visitors. Typically though, people that see your site have a chance to visit it, this is nice and easy, flyers, paper / billboard advertising, listed advertisements, all of these will help people see your site.  Additionally, connecting with sites of similar interests and having them link to you is also an excellent way to do it.  There are so many other ways too, but I feel these are my favorite!


3. Why aren't I at the top of Google?

Let's first start with how Google ranks sites, and why some are higher than others.
Google likes sites that have HUGE daily traffic, a site with a million daily visits will just about always be higher up than a site with a thousand daily visits (as long as they are both relevant to the search criteria).  Secondly, a site that has a lot of other sites linking to it will be very likely to be at the top of a search, see, a site with a lot of other 'backlinks' is more likely to be relevant and provide the searcher with valuable information pertaining to their search.
Finally, Google loves compliant, updated sites, and that is where we can come in, building your site in certain ways and using certain tools will allow Google to search and index your site easier, also, making sure you have a skilled web developer that doesn't have any errors in his code is very important.


4. How long does a website take to make?

This is again, a difficult question to answer, simple websites can be deployed in a few days to a week, whereas large, complex websites can take weeks or even months to finish, it is all relative to the needs of the client and the project that is undertaken. Getting in contact with us early allows us to establish a deadline and milestones early on so you are always in the loop. When
you choose ASIT Group, you are assigned your own consultant that is with you throughout the entire development process, our commitment to customer satisfaction and transparency is second to none.


5. How can I add things to my website - I'm not great with computers?

When your website is completed you will always have your own customer interface just for your (or your employees) to use to update, administer, and manage your site.  We create an easy to use interface that is well structured and labeled. If you can Google, e Mail, and Facebook (or any of the three) we can create a portal that you can use easily and without frustration.

Well, that't it from us, catch you next time!

Definitely and absolutely necessary

I'm going to do something a little different today. Normally we discuss a lot of different things related to web design and development. At ASIT Group we also do a lot of computer repairs and custom installations and obviously there are a bunch of different things we need for the various jobs. So for anyone in the same sort of situation or for those of you who are attempting a fix on your own computer (hardware or software) these are the absolute necessities.

A lot of people forget that computers are an actual physical thing and need to be maintained in order to function correctly.

• Screwdrivers, for unscrewing those tiny little screws that seem to be everywhere, a magnetic one would be best and a little tray is always nice to store the screws while you're working so you don't lose anything.
• Cloths, dust in a major issue and apart from being ugly and making you sneeze it also increases heat inside the computer and hinders working on the machine so cleaning it may be a necessity.
• Blank CDs/DVDs, these can always come in handy.
• Blank Flash Drive, again, always handy, you will really want a minimum of 8Gb.
• Ethernet Cables, for network problems, you'll want a minimum of two and make sure the cables you have do actually work.
• Hiren's Boot CD, this is honestly the most useful tool ever created, it's basically a bootable CD with a load of different tools on it ranging from anti-viruses/anti-spyware/anti-malware to optimisers such as defragmentation and cleaning software to disk image makers and everything in-between. I prefer to have it on a bootable USB purely for the durability and portability factors but I honestly can not praise Hiren's Boot CD enough.
• Install CDs, if we're doing a fresh install of an Operating System it's handy to have that operating system lying around because chances are the client won't have the discs. I like to keep Windows 7, Windows 8 and a Linux distro around. Don't forget that you will need any extra drivers as well to make all of the peripherals work properly.
• Live CDs, these are extremely useful because it boots to an almost fully fledged operating system while keeping the actual operating system completely off which mean you can do those deep scans and proper diagnostics.
• Mobile Internet Connection, just in case the client doesn't have an Internet connection or they think theirs is broken, it's useful to have a backup. Most people have a decent amount of data usage on their mobile phones nowadays so that is actually my go-to thing.
• Various Cables, just to be sure everything is actually working as it should and in case the client doesn't have the right one. I would recommend at least a micro USB and a mini USB to USB cables as well as a printer cable and lately, possibly even a proper USB 3.0 cable.

Obviously the list goes on but those are the absolute necessities. If you think of any others just leave a comment!

Till next time,

Alec

Template or Custom Solution when having a system designed

When our clients approach us, usually they have an idea in there head of what they want, and how they want the product to operate / look, whether this be a website, CMS package or anything else.  The biggest problem we then face is having the client decide if they want to go down the prefabricated ‘template’ path, or have us custom design them a solution, both have their advantages and disadvantages and these will be discussed below.

Custom Designed:

Having a solution custom designed for you is usually the best option, it allows complete control over the design and development of the solution and allows you to alter and change anything during the design phase before it goes to a finished product.  Clients opting for this type of approach usually are buying for a long term solution, so having a perfect ‘fit’ is a must for them.  Additionally, scalability / expandability can be built into the initial system allowing for future proofing and quicker deployment if additional features are needed down the road.   Custom designed solutions do have drawbacks though – universal maintainability cross business is not guaranteed as a custom solution may be very complex and abstract from pre-fabricated alternatives, furthermore, some plugins (small addons) to sites may not work correctly in a custom solution depending on the requirements of the initial project.

Template Based:

These type of solutions are typically the cheapest and easiest to build, maintain, and replace.  There is not a large investment of time / money in a template based system and therefore can be swapped out and replaced if needed.
Template Based solutions are typically best for small scale operations or projects where unique specifications are not required; a big limitation of Template Based solutions is that they are just… template based, there is limited customizability.
Limited customizability alone is the biggest drawback to Template Based Solutions.  These types of solutions will typically only let you update certain aspects of the template.  In the case of a website, you may only be able to update the color of a button, not now it looks, or the font of a text area, not how big it is or swap out the text for a picture of movie.

So which is best?

Well, that depends on the situation, and the situation depends on your needs, and your needs depend on your goals.  We will work with you to understand what you are trying to achieve and how you imagine the solution that achieves that.  We are experts when it comes to Systems Analysis and Design, so why not give us an email and see what ASIT Group can do for you.

Multimedia Elements on the Web

This week we’re going to cover something that everyone loves but not too many people think enough about. When thinking about having their own website, people immediately just want to put as much content on as possible without considering the consequences. “I want pictures and videos and sound and games and moving things and…and…” That is a sentence web developers hear far too often. In this topic we’ll have a quick look at some of the different media types possible on the Internet and why you probably shouldn't use them on your website.

First up is graphics, pictures, images, whatever you want to call it. Graphics are a basic necessity in most websites and frankly the Internet just wouldn't be the same without the 14 million pictures of cute cats. Websites can be made to look extremely appealing with the appropriate use of graphics, but sometimes…well people just go over the top. Layering a hundred different images is not a good idea. Having a huge image as a background is not a good idea. Although the speed of the Internet around the world is slowly improving having a website that takes longer than a couple of seconds to load will mean that visitors will abandon it before they see your first “amazing ocean view”.

The second media type we’ll touch on is animated graphics. The primary type of animated graphic on the Internet is the trusty “gif” (with varying pronunciations) but now there is a newer type that goes hand in hand with modern browsers called a “webm” (although it still has a few issues). These file types are, in my opinion, very over used. Moving things on a website is usually a distraction and honestly if there were lots of moving things on a website I would leave the site quite quickly. Obviously you can use them if you wish however, please, for the sake of all Internet users, use them sparingly and tastefully.

Something that is pretty close to animated graphics is animated text. Text flying in from the side belongs in a music lyric video and not on your professional website. If you feel the need to have scrolling text or make it look like your words are burning then you seriously need to reconsider that idea. I’ll admit, when this sort of thing was all new and exciting it was awesome to have words that dissolved in front of you but after about five minutes it got boring. Really boring. In terms of the Internet animated text is extremely old fashioned and there are a lot more opportunities available with modern technologies to make your website look clean, classy and professional.

Videos are a bit of a hit and miss. On one hand they can add some wonderful content to a website and do not add to the loading time at all if you allow the user to choose when to play the video because all modern standards mean that the video is streamed piece by piece and not all at once. On the other hand you have videos like those on Facebook. You know those annoying things you see because one of your so called “friends” liked something? It automatically plays in your news feed unless you choose to turn the feature off (which the option for is buried deep in account settings). If you are on a mobile device this chews up your data allowance faster than anything else and a lot of the time the video is not something you actually want to see.

The final media type I’ll look at here is sound and the answer is no.

Never. Just don’t do it. The fact is that sound or music on a website is horrible. The majority of the time the user is already listening to music and/or doesn't want it to be interrupted by your “soothing whale noises” that you have automatically playing in your website and of course you didn't include a button to turn it off because “why would anyone want to turn it off?”. If a user specifically went to your website to hear noises or sounds or music then they will not be bothered by one more button that says “Play” on it and that is the end of the discussion right there.

Till next time

Alec :)

Online Stores and why YOU need one

The nature of business has changed so much in the last decade, it seems that the days of visiting every retailer to find the best deal, or the newest car are long gone – we now just jump on our smart devices or computers and 'google' it. It is so common to shop online now that we even buy our groceries online, we bank online and find a new TV online, see a trend here? We are looking for convenience and ease of access, buying online seems to be the best way to buy right? Today we will discuss.

Ease of access & information-

Your customer wants to know what they want to know, whether that be who is the cheapest, who has the item in stock, who ships free, who has the most detailed specs, who has the color they want, who has …..... and the list goes on. Having an online store gives your customers ease of access to your product, and allows you to tell the customer everything you would in person, but from the comfort of their device.

Cost effective selling-

Having an online store adds little cost to your daily operations but allows for a huge increase in sales. You won't need numerous new staff members, you won't need a new shop floor, you won't need a lot to get an online store up and running.

Extra revenue-

Customers that buy online are easy – they won't take large amounts of employee time, or ask to look at your 20 circular saws out of the box, they have everything in front of them that they need to make the purchase, additionally your customer doesn't usually have the provision to 'bargain' with you from your website, if your pricing is competitive, the customer will buy then and there.

Simple to Set Up-

Setting up an online store is so much easier than setting up a physical one, you hire a web developer to build you the store, you pay for a domain name (www.mystore.com.au), you add in your products, organise freight and you are done.

Increased traffic to your website-

Customers shopping with you online are likely to browse just like regular shoppers, this leads to more traffic through your site and more prominent presence in the digital space.

Having an online site is not a one day project though, it takes a skilled web developer with an adequate understanding of your goals, a well thought out plan in place for the management of your business in the digital marketplace, a properly developed marketing strategy and most of all a wide range of product at a competitive price.

If you have any questions or comments please leave the below or contact us via our website.

Designing an Effective User Interface - Part 2

So last week we looked at some examples of past User Interfaces and found out that in order for a UI to be remotely useable it needs to be simplistic, it's ok to push the boundaries and images work well. Everything lately is moving towards the metro styling with bigger and more easily understandable 'tiles'. Text based instructions and labels are becoming less and less important with interfaces becoming more visual. So the question becomes, what can you do to take advantage of this in your UIs?

The answer is that you need to use things that are familiar to your audience. Smart phones are so prominent in today's society that within the few short years since their introduction there has been some very standard ways of showing different things within the interface. One example of this is the menu button. 

The menu button to the right is the basis for a lot of menus in mobile applications and websites. The three horizontal, parallel lines have become synonymous with "more options" and as such if your interface needs a menu then you should definitely use this. Don't get me wrong, you can change the colours and the size and style it however you like, but if you want people to know that this button means "menu" then don't stray too far.

The next example we'll look at is the "settings" icon. The cog, or two interlocking cogs has been used time and time again. It's used in Android, it's used in iOS, it's used to Google Chrome, it's used in Internet Explorer. Anywhere that has a visual interface to interact with its settings uses an icon similar to this one.

Obviously there are a lot more examples than the two I mentioned but they are the two most prominent and the ones that sprang to mind first. Obviously you don't have to use these when designing an interface, but I would highly recommend it. 

The next point is this, you have to know who your audience is. You have to know how they will react to the interface. You have to know how they will read the interface. Western cultures read from the top left going across and down the page. If your target audience is primarily Western then you should probably put your name/company/logo in the top left where they will see it first. Some cultures read from the centre out. This obviously means you should have a more circular design with the primary information in the centre of the design with the least important stuff on the outside. Other cultures again read from the right, or the bottom. You have to do a little bit of leg work and a little bit of research in order to understand how your intended audience will want to use your UI.

Other than those two things, your UI is completely up to you. Colours, styling, sizes, art style, placement all lends a hand to the understandability and usability of the design. Just remember to get other people to look at it and do tests with lots of different people because it is possible and very likely that you will become too 'involved' with your project and not be able to see its faults.

Designing an Effective User Interface - Part 1

The User Interface (which I will refer to as UI from here on in because I'm a lazy typer) is the way that a user interacts with a system, whether it be a terminal, an Operating System, an application or a website. It is the level of interaction between the human and the machine. There have been numerous success stories of amazingly good user interface designs, and there have been the downright awful...  This week we are going to have a quick look at some past UIs and what we can learn from them. Next week we'll look more at the actual design side.

First off let's take a look at some old school stuff.

This is a terminal interface, every computer in existence has one, Windows users might know it as "Command Prompt", it's a very simple text based interface that can actually do quite a lot when you learn how to use it properly. The thing is, nowadays, this is not used too often. It's main use is debugging and the average user will never ever see it. The main thing to take away from early terminal designs is the method in which users invoke the programs or functions they want to run. All of the commands are very simplistic and obvious (in the well designed ones at least) and it makes things a little bit easier on the user. That's it. That's the key. The user needs things to be easy.

The average user is not going to be the person who wrote the program, they are not going to be computer experts and are not going to know what you meant by your acronym. In order for your UI to be effective and appeal to the widest range of people it needs to be simple and effective, now this is actually pretty obvious isn't it? We're not discovering anything new here so let's look at a few more modern examples.

For years Microsoft had used the exact same UI in every iteration of its flagship software Windows. Then, out of nowhere, came this thing. Windows 8. Initially, everyone hated Windows 8. Admittedly a lot of people still do. But, to be honest the new look is quite capable and functional even with the huge change. Everything functions well together and I haven't had any major dramas with it thus far… But. (As always, there is a "but")The thing is, Windows 8 uses what is called the "Metro style" of UI. Those big pastel coloured buttons and tile like interface all make for what is honestly a very confusing user experience. From Windows XP, Vista and 7, upgrading to Windows 8 promises quite a steep learning curve. When you get it though, It is extremely easy to use, everything is literally "right there". Just type it in from the start menu and chances are it will appear. If not just change your wording slightly.

So what did we learn from Windows? Don't be afraid to break out of the norm. Try something new. If it looks like it will work then do some tests and go for it. There are a million and one ways interact with a machine, you can use the old mouse and keyboard, you can use touch, voice or on newer things you can even use your eyes. The possibilities are limitless.

The last example we'll look at is iOS. The primary thing coming out of Apple lately is its iPhone. In all honesty, I personally am not a fan, the settings and customisation is horrible and the one I had (for a very brief period) was slower than a rock. I will admit however, that's its interface is almost flawless. It is simplistic, easy to navigate and it is obvious what you need to do to progress through its features. As long as you don't want to do much more than read your messages and browse the Internet then the UI is amazing. The whole thing is image based and that is actually the thing to take away from Apples offering. The modern person does not like to read. We are a very visual society now and any information that can't be processed in less than five seconds generally isn't taken in at all. Images make something in the brain click as soon as the user sees them. Which means if you have well designed images then the user will know exactly how to traverse your UI.

That's it for this week. Stay tuned because next week we'll look more into how you can actually make sure your UI will be effective.

In the meantime hit us up on any of the following social medias portals and stay in touch. We'd love to hear your input so swing us a message or just leave a comment below!

facebook.com/asit-group

instagram.com/asitgroupau

twitter.com/asitgroup

SEO On The Modern Web

Why does any business have a website? To try and increase profits. Drive people to their products or services and increase the businesses potential client base.

The next question is this. How does a website do that if it can’t be found? It’s all well and good to give people the link to your website and get direct traffic that way but that only works with people you have already met and that means that you already have the potential to turn these people into clients. You don’t necessarily need the website (unless of course it is the only front for your business). In order for your business to grow online it needs to be found on Search Engines such as Google.

This is where SEO comes in. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process which your website is augmented in the best way for Search Engines to find it. If your website is higher up the list on Google then it is far more likely that potential customers will go to your website. Obviously being first is ideal and nowadays if you aren’t on the first page then you don’t really have a hope of being “the chosen one” by potential customers.

SEO used to be a game. Web Developers would use meta tags to give the site the best keywords that seem to be trending at the time, they would hide different headings and give pictures sneaky ‘alt’ tags, all in the hope that it would increase the all important page ranking. However, as with everything related to the internet, SEO changed very rapidly.

There are a few ways to get your website to first position in Google, the first and easiest? Pay for it. There are companies that will guarantee your place on Search Engines for the small price of a few thousand dollars per month. That being said, as soon as you stop paying? Your site drops back into the depths of page 2 and beyond. Without paying extortionate amounts there are a few things that can increase your page ranking and therefore your website traffic.

Firstly, you need to find out what people would search for. What are people looking for when you want your site to pop up? If you have a plumping business and you just put your website online then you don’t want it appearing when people are looking for electricians. This is where some market research comes in handy. After you know your main keywords you can start with that. Use the keywords within the site, make sure they are part of headings, put them in the alt tags of images. Spam those words (reasonably) throughout your site. But that’s all old techniques, you knew that bit right?

Modern search engines use reliability as a major factor for page rankings. The main thing that determines reliability on the internet is back-links. The amount of other websites that link to your website shows that your site is trustworthy and well established.

The next point (that actually goes hand in hand with the one above) is social media. Make a Facebook page for your business, make an Instagram, make a Twitter account, put your business in all of the local business directories online. Make sure your website link is on each of these pages. This provides some back-links that you desperately need but it also makes your website look more legitimate. Just don’t forget to keep these social medias active. Which brings us to the next point.

You have to keep your website updated. Most search engines analyse how often a website is updated and this has a major influence on your sites ranking. If a website is regularly active it will appear to be more trustworthy and maintained. It will also make sure that the content on the website is up to date and consistent with current trends, which is extremely important and this has a lot of weight in your websites ranking.

The last point is the most difficult. Traffic. You need people to visit your website in order to get higher up on the page listing. If your traffic comes from different sources then it helps more. Try to make sure that the entry points are from a variety of search keywords. It is a bit conflicting but you do need to drive traffic to your website before your website and its page ranking will generate traffic for you.

The main thing is time, you can choose to pay thousands of dollars and get your number one rank straight away or you can use some simple techniques and a little bit of patience to achieve the same result.

Till next time

Alec.

Dedicated Website vs Facebook

Dedicated Website vs Facebook

Social Media in modern society has taken over a lot. It has worked its way into our lives and embedded itself. Facebook has got over 1.3 billion users and is still growing. Twitter is a hub of social activity and even the neglected Google+ has now got its fair share of active users. Social media has become so prominent that it is being used as a platform for marketing and selling, turning everyone into an entrepreneur. The fact that it is so easy to get followers and likes and build up an audience has raised the question for businesses, "Is it worth having a dedicated website?". Although it has to be noted that this question does not only apply to businesses but to everyone who thinks a Facebook page is useful. Is getting a dedicated website and investing time and money into that going to be fruitful when the other option is to just have a Facebook page and direct traffic towards that? Of course it is possible and advisable to have both and link them to ensure and promote traffic to your business or service but many people are deciding to forgo the idea of a dedicated website purely because of the simplicity of social media.

For example, ASIT-Group are currently developing a website for a local band (the link will be supplied when it is completed). Almost all of the members of this band were very hesitant about the idea of a website at first because Facebook is the most prominent form of advertising online. After doing a bit of research and looking around at other bands they finally decided to launch their very own dedicated website for a few different reasons.

1) Professionalism

                Having a Facebook page, a Twitter profile, a Google+ account (and for the more daring of you) a Linked In account is all well and good, but easy. Being able to set up an account on any social media requires little to no knowledge and an email address. As such, every social media platform is slowly, but surely, becoming flooded by spam and people vainly attempting to make a quick dollar. Having an account is a good and effective way of reaching your intended audience quickly, however, having a dedicated website, custom designed for your brand, is a whole new level. It oozes professionalism. It speaks volumes about the seriousness of your endeavor without needing to say anything. If you can hand over a business card that has a "www.thisismywebsite.com" on it, then people will immediately trust you a little bit more and they have that incentive to actually go to the site and become engaged. On the other hand, if you meet a potential client and at the end of the meeting say "Look us up on Facebook"...well...what do you think?

2) Possibilities

                The possibilities of a dedicated website far outweigh anything generic social media platforms can offer. Yes, you can have band profiles and merchandise pages and a myriad of different things with social media. However, a dedicated website offers you that and more. You can have a custom designed space in the cyber world completely dedicated to you and your business. Look up "beautiful websites" on Google and tell me that those websites are not incredible. It is literally a form of art nowadays and having a website that stands out from the crowd will definitely attract a bit of attention.

3) Business

                Selling stuff. That's what you want right? Whether it is physical goods, content, music or something else. The whole point in the end is to either make a name for yourself or to make a bit of cash. Honestly, if you have a well set up store on a dedicated website that people trust then they will buy things. It's as simple as that. Many people try and sell things through the platform that Facebook offer but every social media ever has had security issues and lots of people don't trust it. To be able to tell people that they can buy your goods on your website means they will at least check it out and in the end traffic is traffic.

Don't get the wrong idea. Social Media is amazing. It has opened up the door to incredible possibilities and has almost limitless potential, but don't underestimate the power of a dedicated website. In the end, a combination of the two will prove to be the most effective solution and guarantee the maximum possible audience.

Till next time.

Alec

Part 2 - Improving your network

Welcome to part 2 of our Home Networking blog series, sit back, sip a warm cup of tea, and learn about your network.

We are covering Maximization of networks today, and will be discussing wireless signal strengths, improving network coverage and speeds, prioritizing traffic, and basic tools for parental controls.

Once you have built your network with the appropriate hardware, sometimes our needs will change, or our infrastructure won’t perform how we intend, this is the time to re-evaluate the network.

When trying to improve wireless signal strength around the house, you can take two different approaches, running Ethernet cables or EoP (Ethernet over Power) devices, or wireless repeating / boosting.  The latter of the two will be the easiest to implement but is not without its own disadvantages.
Wireless repeaters will take a wireless signal they are given (from something like your modem/router) and rebroadcast it, already we can see that the wireless repeater will have to be placed somewhere in your house that has decent Wi-Fi coverage, this will be fine for most applications, however if we were trying to cover an adjacent property or another floor in the house, getting a good Wi-Fi signal to repeat may become a bit of a problem, and that is usually when you will start looking at running Ethernet cables, or a EoP solution.
Ethernet cables and EoP allow internet and network traffic to travel through physical cable, thus giving flexibility of placement and greater range than a traditional wireless signal, at the termination point of the Ethernet cables or EoP module, a wireless access point or Router will need to be installed, these could give you more Ethernet ports for things like TV’s, Computers, Game Consoles etc., as well as extending the wireless coverage of your home.

BREAKDOWN

Wi-Fi Range Extenders:

Pros:
                Inexpensive and quick to set up
                Simple solution to boost coverage
                Unobtrusive and applicable to rental properties
                Easy to reposition / remove
                No permanent modifications necessary.


Cons:
                Gaming traffic will have higher latency / ping
                Limited usability due to architecture of the devices
                Reduced network speed when using multiple devices
                Limited range
                Placement is very particular, getting this right is key

Ethernet / EoP + Router / Access Point:

Pros:
                Durable hidden infrastructure, requires little to no maintenance
                Up to Gigabit speeds (depending on cables and hardware used)
                No real increase in latency for gaming applications
                Can be used up to 100m away with standard Ethernet cabling
                Coverage of multiple levels
                Many Ethernet cables can be run for a comprehensive solution

Cons:
                More expensive than range extenders as you are buying multiple devices
                Costly to install
                Not easy to move / reposition
                Setup and configuration is more complicated than range extenders

Now we move on to prioritizing network traffic.  Yes this can be done and should be set up at the time of installation and configuration.  We won’t be going into depth here on Quality of Service rules, or what ports to use, as there are numerous tutorials online for the exact modem / router you will be using.  In short, Quality of Service will prioritize network traffic you specify, for example, I could make sure my emails and attachments always get priority for my work computer, or give priority to a gaming console for that extra boost in reaction time and to reduce lag, how you implement this is up to you and is very much hardware specific.

Limiting what can be viewed at home on your network can be a daunting task when presented with the plethora of hardware and software solutions available on the internet, I will be covering the basics of a software solution provided by openDNS.com. With a solution like openDNS you configure a ‘midway station’ or sorts for your internet traffic, instead of going straight from a website to your computer, you are routing it through a filter.  The great thing about this is that everything is filtered, not just one or two computers.  Phones, tables, laptops, it is all managed externally.
OpenDNS is simple to set up and is designed so a basic computer user can get the ball rolling, setup is immediate and even suggests new sites that you may want to exclude from your family’s browser history.  When openDNS you can even create a custom splash screen, not a generic NOT ALLOWED response, and if your family thinks the filter has a page blocked in error, they can email it to you quickly and easily.  Read more here: http://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/parental-controls/

Ok, so that’s it from ASIT-Group this week, keep your eyes peeled for our next blog post coming from Alec, another one of our directors.

Till next time,
Alex

Home Networking: Getting the most from your home network

Getting the most from your home network.

Welcome to this weeks "Weekly I.T." brought to you by ASIT Group Australia.
This post is the first of a 2 part series on home networking.

Home networking can be a complicated thing, many questions arise when building one for the first time or upgrading an existing network, things such as:

(Part 1: The infrastructure)
Do I need a modem or a router, and what are these?
What is a switch / hub?
Should I use wireless or wires?
How do I choose the right cable for my network?

(Part 2: Maximization)
Can I improve my wireless signal around the house?
How can I improve my network performance?
Can I give certain activities (like email or facebook) priority on my network?
How can I limit what my family can see on the internet?

The Infrastructure

Understanding what you need from your network is the first step in getting off the ground.

Modem: A modem is a MOdulator DEModulator, it is the part of your network that connects to a standard PSTN Phone line, like the one you may have in your home.  One of these is required for operation of a ADSL (2/2+) service.  The modem turns your phone line signal into a signal that devices in your home network can understand.

Router: This piece of a network acts like a traffic controller for all the devices trying to reach each other and the internet via your modem.  The router does this via a number of networking tools, things such as QoS and UPNP, these can allow a network to create tunnels for important information to travel down, and QoS (Quality of Service) can insure things like Skype will always be clear and fast even when other people are accessing the network.

Switches and Hubs: These act as splitters for your network, they would allow you to connect multiple devices to themselves, and then have a single cable run back to your router.  Switches are 'smart', meaning they can direct traffic where it needs to go quickly, whereas a hub will not route traffic.  These two pieces of home networking must be used with care, as your router will need to keep track of everything on your network, including devices connected to a switch or hub, having an inadequate router can lead to further problems when you introduce a switch or hub.

Wireless or Wired:  When building a home, many owners opt for Local Area Network cables to be routed through their walls, wired networks are not prone to interference and will usually give you faster speeds than wireless will throughout your home.  The downside of this however, is that your networked devices are not easily moved.  Wired networks are ideal for things like televisions and home theater, gaming consoles, smart appliances, and desktop computers.

Wireless networks offer fast internet access around your home without the hassle of running LAN cables all over the place. Keep in mind though that wireless will suffer in areas that have high interference, a concrete floor between levels, and interior walls.

There are two types of wireless networks available; 2.4gHz and 5gHz, 2.4gHz being the most common and widespread, and 5ghz being optimized for mobile devices and high speed connections where maximum range is not important.

Building your network:  Choosing the right type of cabling around your home can be a daunting task, with so many types of cables and routing options, hopefully we can help.  There are 3 main types of cables for in wall / LAN applications, and all can be used up to around 60-100m without too much of an issue.

CAT-5   (Category 5):

This is the cheapest option, offering speeds of up to 100mbit/s, 100mbit/s is plenty for most home networking needs, but keep in mind, if you are going to have a home server, or network storage device, choosing one of the options below would be much better.

CAT-5e (Category 5e):
Category 5e is next on the list, 5e supports speeds of up to 1000mbit/s (1gb/s), 1gbps is VERY fast, installing content over your network or streaming HD movies is a breeze, and you wont need to worry about your home network speed for many years to come.

CAT-6   (Category 6):

Best of the best, Category 6 cabling supports speeds of 1gb/s and uses a higher twist rate than standard CAT5/e, if you're investing in a new home or network infrastructure, this should be your choice.  Keep in mind though, cat6 is a thicker cable that is not as happy with sharp bends due to its higher twist rate.

That is it for this week, keep your eye out for next week's blog post; part 2 of "Home Networking".

Till next time,
Alex