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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Test Everything
 Whoops!
I almost sent out a confirmation email without seeing if I could login to their application or not. Well, I can’t. Good thing I didn’t send that email.
Test Everything
I learned that early in my career. There are so many things you have to check before launching a website, application or a simple web form.
What I learned was:
- Make one change
- Test it
- If it works, move on. If not, test again
If you test each change individually, you’ll always know what did or didn’t work. You’ll never figure out what isn’t working if you make too many changes at one time.
“Test, test and test again”. You can never be too careful.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 4:58 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Computer, Personal, Business
Friday, May 29, 2009
MJS Web Solutions Receives MAC Gold Award from Boys and Girls Club of Alameda
 MJS Web Solutions was awarded the MAC (Marketing and Communications) Gold Award from the Boys and Girls Club of Alameda for contributing their web development skills towards the We Can Build This marketing campaign.
“Please accept our thanks for the wonderful work you’ve done on behalf of the Alameda Boys & Girls Club. You have created a sense of professionalism and competence that reflects favorably on our efforts.” - George Phillips and Kathie Woulfe, Boys and Girls Club of Alameda
The We Can Build This marketing campaign was created to build awareness and encourage supporters to help the Boys and Girls Club of Alameda build a new 25,000 square foot Youth Development Center in Alameda, California.
The campaign also won top honors at the Boys and Girls Club National Convention.
The Boys and Girls Club of Alameda Needs You!
Since the campaign was launched (early this year) we have reached 60% of our goal. Please, consider making a lasting investment in our children and our community. Visit, the We Can Build This website and donate today.
Thank you.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 9:21 am
Comments: 1 Comment | Filed under: News
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
CSS Compatibility Mode Fix for Internet Explorer 8
 My recent post about IE8 has launched it’s ugly head.
A client of ours contacted us to let us know after they downloaded the new Internet Explorer 8 there site looked messed up.
Knowing this was going to be a problem, Microsoft created a button called ‘Compatibility View‘ so users could view websites in the older version of their browser.
But this was not a work around for our client.
Instead of fixing (or hacking) all the code on the website I added the following code recommended by Microsoft:
<html>
<head>
<!-- Mimic Internet Explorer 7 -->
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=EmulateIE7" >
<title>My Web Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>Content goes here.</p>
</body>
</html>
It worked!
This is truly a work around - a Microsoft work around. Microsoft knew full well that their new browser couldn’t view perfectly good standard coded websites, so they had to come up with a way to view websites as if you were using their old browser.
What a joke. It’s no wonder why Microsoft is losing market share to Firefox and Apple.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 6:23 pm
Comments: 6 Comments | Filed under: Web Design, HTML
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Microsoft Releases Internet Explorer 8 Which Equals More Testing
 Microsoft has just released it’s latest browser, Internet Explorer 8 (IE8).
Apparently IE8 is a slimmed down version of IE7, faster and doesn’t crash. I’ll believe when I see it.
Many Web Browsers
Internet Explorer still commands 72.2% of the web browser market, up from 69.7% a year ago. The open-source Firefox browser is No. 2 with 17.2%. Google’s Chrome is third with just under 3% of the market.*
Notice only 3 browsers mentioned. Another browser, Safari for the Mac (and PC) was not listed.
MJS Web Solutions Tests In All Popular Browsers
I’m announcing the release to let everyone know that MJS tests and programs for the most popular web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox & Safari). And not just each web browser, but each web browser version (IE6, IE7, and now IE8) and on each computer platform (i.e. Windows & Mac).
Don’t be fooled. Some web designers/developers may not test on all of the browsers mentioned, but only one. If you want ALL of your customers to view your website without errors, make sure they test on the most popular web browsers.
My personal web browser preference is Firefox. Why? Because it is fast, user friendly and has the capability to add on applications, very similar to the popularity of Apple’s iPhone add-on apps.
*Source: Janco Associates (e-janco.com)
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 2:02 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Web Design, Web General
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Keeping Up With Google
 Google seems to be in the news each day…or many times a day. It can be daunting to keep up.
The latest is “Google preparing to steer more telephone traffic”
Yesterday: “Google software bug shared private online documents”
Here are few ways to keep up with Google:
- Google Blog
- Google Alerts
- Google News
To learn about how they’re helping the SEO community, check out Google’s blog specifically for webmasters.
Mike Swartz says, “Check it out”.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 9:57 am
Comments: None | Filed under: Web General
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Business is All About Problems
 Business is all about problems…hell, life is about problems.
It’s the businesses or individuals to be business or life troubleshooters. We’re choice making machines…us humans.
So successful businesses correct the problems.
In web terms…
Q: What is the problem you want to solve with your website?
Answer this question and you’re half way there.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 8:43 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Business
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Skittles New Website. Who Cares?
Is this the corporate website of the future?
The new Skittles website.
Really…the website is just direct links to social networking sites talking about Skittles. I understand the popularity of sharing, but this seems way over the top.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 10:30 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Web Design, Web General, Web Marketing
Monday, February 23, 2009
MJS Web Solutions Now Offering Pre-Designed Website Templates
MJS Web Solutions is now offering pre-designed website template packages starting at only $499.
MJS Web Solutions continues to provide quality customized website services, yet we’ve recognized a growing number of start-up businesses are looking for a more affordable website solution.
Pre-designed website templates provide a quick, simple and affordable way to get a professional looking website. Choose from thousands of different industry website templates: Auto, Architecture, Business, Sports and many others.
In only 3 simple steps, you can have a completed website.
- Choose a website template that fits your organization.
- Fill out our Quote Request form
- MJS will contact you with a quote to get started.
All you have to do is provide us with copy and images for all pages. We’ll do the rest.
Mike Swartz says, “Check it out”.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 2:40 pm
Comments: 2 Comments | Filed under: Web Design, News, Business
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Fake Parking Ticket Gives a Virus
 Computer hackers are attacking AWAY from the computer.
Parking ticket leads to a virus
In a clever, but devious way, hackers are producing fake parking tickets to lure unsuspecting drivers to a fraudulent website where they download a virus.
I might have to add this to my top 10 virus prevention tips.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 12:01 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Computer
Friday, January 23, 2009
Add Your RSS Feed to Your Email Messages
 Hello.
To promote my blog, I have a link to it from all my email messages. It’s just a generic link to my blog, not to any particular post.
Traffic from this generic link is pretty slim, so I thought if I could dynamically (automatically) include my most recent posts to my email messages, I’d gain some more traffic. Well, I found out how to do it.
If you use Feedburner to distribute your RSS feeds, you will need to setup up Animator.
This is how my signature file looked before:
Michael Swartz
Senior Web Architect
MJS Web Solutions
“Building Websites That Can Actually be Found”
(510) 523-7312
info@mjswebsolutions.com
http://www.mjswebsolutions.com
===================================
MJS Blog: http://www.mjswebsolutions.com/blog
=================================== This is how it looks now:
Michael Swartz
Senior Web Architect
MJS Web Solutions
“Building Websites That Can Actually be Found”
(510) 523-7312
info@mjswebsolutions.com
http://www.mjswebsolutions.com
So now when I add a new post to my blog, my RSS feed updates to my signature file. Very cool.
My next step is to see if traffic to my blog increases.
Mike Swartz says, “Check it out”!
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 12:30 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Blogging, Web Marketing
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