The format you choose for images on your website affects appearance, file size and page load times. To design an attractive site with smooth functionality, it’s important to use the right format for each application.
JPEG, GIF and PNG are some of the most common image file extensions on the web. Each has advantages and drawbacks, and knowing which to choose can make a big difference in how your website looks to visitors. Continue reading
Google defines bounce rate as the “percentage of visitors” that leave your site from a landing page “without interacting with it.” Watch this funny and educational video by Google’s Digital Marketing Evangelist, Avinash Kaushik, calls bounce rate the “sexiest metric ever” and is a huge fan of it. As Avinash mentions, bounce rate is important for your inside pages also, not just your homepage.
A high bounce rate is often a sign that the user experience needs improvement. If your site isn’t getting the engagement you want, try these tips for lowering your bounce rate: Continue reading
With last month’s release of Google’s new ranking algorithm that lowers non-mobile-friendly websites in a mobile search, people have been running to get their site mobile-friendly. But for those out there who have yet to make the switch, the options for turning a website “mobile-friendly” can be confusing and frustrating, especially for those who aren’t familiar with web design terms. Continue reading
In the wake of Google’s “Mobilegeddon” businesses are looking for ways to make their site mobile-friendly. At Orion Group, we recommend responsive design over mobile sites (see our comparison here). But what does responsive web design mean? What makes a responsive website “mobile-friendly”? Continue reading
Since PHP is a server side scripting language, a lot of development using PHP is done on a live web environment. However, PHP does allow you to install it and run scripts on your local machine with no web access needed.
Running PHP from Windows command line can be especially useful when trying to rapidly develop custom scripts, or to read and modify local files. In the example, we will use a custom PHP iterator. Download it here.
Git is a powerful version control software. If you are unsure of what version control is, you’ve most likely done it before. If you have ever saved a file (ex. file.txt), made some edits, and saved a second copy (ex. file2.txt, filerevised.txt), you have used a basic form of version control. Git is great at automating that process along with having additional tools and functionality. Read on to get started with Git.
There are literally hundreds of Linux distributions out there, and trying to sort through them can be a bit overwhelming. Just take a look at DistroWatch and you will see a running counter of the top 100 distributions. Not only is there a lot to choose from, but many serve specialized purposes, some are built for desktop use, others for servers, embedded systems, firewalls, routers, there is even a Sniper Rifle that runs on Linux. I am going to take a quick look at 5 Linux distributions that are built for use on the desktop. Each of these distributions are quite different from one another, but they shine in their own respective ways. Continue reading
What questions have you had about your web developers before starting a re-develop, re-construct or new construction project for your website? We all know that communication is key to a project as big and as important as developing a company website, but does it happen effectively up front? The purpose of this blog is to give you a heads up on how to easily work with web developers before starting a project. I will give you four tips on how to easily work with web developers.
There is a lot to learn related to web development while surfing the web, but there are a few common mistakes that you should not make while you integrate HTML, CSS, and a dynamic language like PHP. I’m choosing this topic because there are number of famous writers/authors and coders who have tons of knowledge and written about almost everything that they have learnt throughout their professional careers. But Emma Edgar motivated me to write something from my own experience and just to give it few minutes of my time, but as it is going to be my first ever blog post in last five years it took me a day to think about “What should I write?”.
As per my experience, most of the programmers around the world have a sound knowledge of programming fundamentals, HTML and CSS. But still I noticed most make silly mistakes while writing code. There are so many reasons for these silly mistakes, the ones I have noticed are:
Today version 4.0 of WordPress was released. Most of the big changes in “Benny” are changes in how the admin area, or WordPress Dashboard, works and interacts with the user. The biggest changes are:
