The traffic pie chart

I'm often asked 'What should the ideal website traffic sources pie chart be?' Overdependence on traffic from just search engines (and that really means Google) leaves a website vulnerable to any changes in the indexing algorithms.

The ideal is a balance, but the key is to monitor the changes to the chart's percentages over time. Referring sites % low? Do a reciprocal links thrust for a while.

Here's an article on what to look for in your Google Analytics.

Why???

I've never understood why web designers use javascript to force a user's browsers into a full window. It's not just annoying for the user, it's arrogant, suggesting the designer cares not about a user but about his own ego.

Anyway, there is an easy fix - at least in FireFox. Just go into your options and disable Javascript from resizing your window. Shame it's taken this long to find, because I continually having my browser window forced to full-screen. Why??? I don't understand it... it's arrogant.... Sorry. I'm calm now...

Jungle Bay blog

Good to see another client getting into blogging with their Adventure & relaxation at Jungle Bay blog.

Real estate blogging

I was pleased to be able to set up a client's blog recently. Real Estate Caribbean will be a good way for them to focus on land & property opportunities in Dominica via the blog-sphere.

A Better Strategy for e-mail

Lifehacker's got some great tips for a better strategy regarding email. I particularly like #8:

"Learn to make suggestions instead of asking questions.

Stop asking for suggestions or solutions and start proposing them. Begin with the small things. Rather than asking when someone would like to meet next week, propose your ideal times and second choices. If someone asks, "Where should we eat?", "What movie should we watch?", "What should we do tonight?", or anything similar, do not reflect it back with "Well, what/when/where do you want to...?" Offer a solution...."

Read more

Backup!

For me it's been something of a Holy Grail: the perfect backup regime. But with high-speed always-on Net access it's never been easier to ensure your data's backed-up and safe. Because let's not forget Someone's First Law of Data: "it doesn't exist if there's only one copy of it."

Anyway, there are several free online backup services available, and my fave is idrive.com. Free for up to 2 Gb, and reasonably priced for 'unlimited' (150gb in reality). Their system tray application is good since it can be used to define scheduled back-up 'sets' - so you could backup automatically any changed files on a daily basis - if not as and when they change.

So at least I know that the next time a hurricane or earthquake hits, my data is safe!

Web Pages That Suck

...is like someone dragging their finger nails down a blackboard. There is some truly excruciating web design on show, and a lesson to be learned - if only 'always get someone to do a real critique of your new look before committing to a design'.

But for a site that's about best practices in web design, I'm amused at their lack of a search feature. What would it take to have a 'search this site' box which I could use to find articles on say navigation? And if there is indeed one, I couldn't find it.

And I did like how the circa 1996 'spinning globe' image is so derided, but they themselves love the 1996 rotating 'New!' button!

Blogging for small businesses

It's still yet to really take off here - which is silly because it's so powerful a tool - but blogging for small businesses is discussed here. Look out for a Delphis workshop on blogging in the near future!