Arbpen Web Site Design Services

What I Do

Small Business Web Sites

Much more information than a business card, or listing in the Yellow Pages. A small business web site should have a description of what the business does, something about the people who run the business, information about how to contact the business, and a list of products and services offered. Get an estimate or contact me for more information.

Database Driven Dynamic Web Sites

Do you have a lot of products or a catalog of products and services? Do you want people to be able to search through your inventory and be able to use a shopping cart? Do you need to enable and administer memberships in your organization? Then you need a database driven site. I can set up:

• Database to hold and retrieve the data
• Shopping Cart
• Integration with Credit Card Gateway if needed

Search Engine Submission

I believe it is important to submit web sites to search engines by hand. There are some search engines that automatically reject automated submissions. It is also important that the web site being submitted will actually be able to be spidered by the search engine bot, and this is something I check for as well.

Search Engine Optimization

Many people do not understand that a web site is not a brochure. Search Engine robots are machines, they cannot see. They do not care about the latest new toy. They only want content, and in a way that they can access it. Oddly enough, making it easy for a robot to read a site also makes it easier for people.

What I Use

HTML/XHTML

Used to mark up the documents. I believe in validating all documents. If you are you doing to do a job, get it right the first time.

CSS

I do not use tables for layout. I do not use WYSIWYG editors to do my work for me. I use CSS for presentation, which is friendlier for people, and search engines.

ASP

Server side scripting for something as simple as including one file in another, or as complex as building an entire site, with Back Office functionality included.

SQL

Structured Query Language - for selecting and updating databases. This includes Access (for small businesses), Microsoft SQL Server, and MySQL.

What I Don't Do

Gratuitous JavaScript

There is nothing wrong with Javascript if it is used in moderation to enhance a user's experience. A web site's navigation or critical functionality should never rely on Javascript alone. An example of a good use of Javascript is one button filling out of redundant information.

Entire Web Site in Flash

Again, there is nothing wrong with Flash if it is used to enhance a user's experience. However, there should always be a text, or graphic based alternative. For sites that are purely visual, for example, cartoons, such as Joe Cartoon and Starfall, a free website to teach children to read using Phonetics, Flash is the best medium.

Pop-Ups

Pop-Ups do have their uses. In an application where additional help is needed, it is nice to see that help in a little window that can easily be closed. The same can be said for larger versions of thumb nails.

Pop-Unders

There is no Earthly reason for Pop-Unders. How would you like it if the checker at the local Seven-Eleven ran out of the store after you screaming about specials? You came in a bought what you wanted, now you just want to get on with your life.

Frames

There are so many alternatives to frames, there is almost no reason to ever have to use them. In addition, they are fraught with danger. Visitors trying to bookmark a page will only be bookmarking the frameset, and have to go all the way through the site to find what they originally thought they had bookmarked. Printing framed sites is also a nightmare. Search engines sometimes will pick up pages that are within a frameset, and a visitor coming from a such a link will hit the page, but the frameset will not be available. That can be very confusing.

That being said, there are valid uses of frames, and a site that uses frames can be optimized for search engines and people if it is done correctly.

It never hurts to network. If I cannot help you, perhaps someone at Glendale, CA Design Firms can.