Peter Thottam - AD53 New Economy and Web 2.0/3.0

for MS IE browser only (.wmv file)


Peter Thottam (JD MBA)

CANDIDATE - AD53 STATE ASSEMBLY

Attorney-at-Law & Community Activist

"Your Voice for Progress & Reform, Now."

Call for details and a free consultation. Please see Resume Tab for Background.

E: peterthottam@gmail.com; M: (310) 497-7255.

Ok, so you're ready to build (or re-invent) your website. You may know how to generate traffic to your website, but... what happens next? How do you convert website “hits” to leads?

I can help you figure out what you can do to make your website “sticky.”

A QUICK SUMMARY:

Why is SEO (search engine optimization) not enough?

How to get visitors to go beyond your home page and remain on your site?

How to keep your audience coming back for more?

How to make sure your website has a “conversion ratio” (hits to leads) that keeps you smiling?

Many individuals and business owners have identified that obtaining website hits is just a fraction of the battle. In today’s world of multi-tasking and organized chaos, users are pressed for time and lack the patience for poorly planned websites. Furthermore, with the rapid changes in web technology, your target audience expects more than just some text and some graphics on a home page. Instead, the web users of today are looking for a web experience in which they are captivated, guided, and motivated to action.

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER:

Plan carefully — don’t rush into building your site. Strategize, analyze, and research your website project with the same effort that you would put into building your dream home.

Don’t ignore your content — the copy on your website IS your voice.

Utilize technology to assist in capturing your audience; but don’t let it “get in the way.”

Build the website to captivate your end user instead of yourself. We can’t say this enough — know your target audience.

Web 2.0 and related concepts - further discussed:

NOTE: I designed this site using Adobe's Creative Suite 3.

Web 2.0 - A short overview:

Below I have posted an on-point description of Web 2.0 technoglogies that I found by Andi Gutmans, co-founder of Zend Corporation. Click on the start button on lower left corner to watch Andi Gutmans. After the video is finished you can watch the left YouTube clip (5 min) and you will also get an option to watch related YouTube videos shown as a menu strip at the bottom.   Note: My goal in custom web design is to help you leverage the Web 2.0 platforms that exist to best suit your needs. I want you to be completely satisfied with it because I know what it takes to create a functional and well designed web site, cost-effectively. My designs are high quality custom works that are highly prized by my clients. My web design rates are reasonable and very competitive with rates charged by others.

Legal, Consulting & Business Advisory Services. -   My fees are very reasonable.   I have experience in specific performance/breach of contract litigation, securities financing, general transactional legal work, and real estate related legal services (lease preparation [commercial shopping centers], loan modification, and more). See my Resume for professional work experience details.

Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames.

FREE WEB DESIGN RESOURCES (APRIL 2009):

The World Wide Web Consortium's HTML/XHTML Home Page
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/

This page within the W3C's Web site keeps you abreast of everything happening in the HTML Working Group's never-ending quest to promote, improve, and expand HTML and XHTML.

The World Wide Web Consortium's CSS Home Page
http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/

This page within the W3C's Web site keeps you abreast of everything happening in the CSS Working Group's never-ending quest to promote, improve, and expand CSS.

Web Standards Guide to CSS

This site offers a fast, fun, and free CSS tutorial.

Google Maps
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Here's that taste of Ajax programming I mentioned in Chapter 4. Enjoy!

Google Earth
http://earth.google.com

Here's another example of Ajax.

CSS Zen Garden
http://www.csszengarden.com/

Visit this site for a demonstration of what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design.

The WestCiv Guide to CSS

Check out this site for everything you ever wanted to know about style.

The Cascade, Inheritance, and Specificity

This article will give you a little insight into just why we work from the outside in.

Sliding Doors of CSS
http://alistapart.com/articles/slidingdoors/

A rarely discussed advantage of CSS is the ability to layer background images, allowing them to slide over each other to create certain effects.

The One True Layout
http://www.positioniseverything.net/articles/onetruelayout/

Pure CSS-based layouts have come a long way, but they still have shortcomings that fail to address certain design goals without compromising the true separation of content and presentation. This article shows how to overcome many of them.

CSS Articles at "A List Apart"
http://www.alistapart.com/topics/code/css/

Here are 83 excellent articles concerning CSS.

CSS Edge
http://meyerweb.com/eric/css/edge/

Check out this site for cutting-edge CSS techniques.

Guidance on When to Use Templates, Library Items, and SSIs

There are several techniques that will help you save a lot of work when developing Web sites, especially when your sites' Web pages reuse the same content over and over again. These techniques allow you to make an update in one place and have that change update many pages.

Site Planning and Publishing: Using Templates
http://www.adobe.com/support/dreamweaver/templates.html

This site provides template support, courtesy of the Dreamweaver Support Center.

Pocket-Sized Design: Taking Your Web Site to the Small Screen
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/pocket/

Visit this site for insights on styling for handheld devices.

Print Different
http://meyerweb.com/eric/articles/webrev/200001.html

Here you'll read about the advantages of using CSS for print.

Five Simple Steps to Typesetting on the Web
Just like the title says ...

The Section 508 Web Site
http://www.section508.gov/

This is where all Section 508 information can be found.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/

These guidelines explain how to make Web content accessible to people with disabilities.

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
http://www.w3.org/WAI/

Here you'll find strategies, guidelines, and resources for making the Web accessible to people with disabilities.

QuickTime Parameters
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/embed.html

Here, you'll find parameter listings for the QuickTime Media Player.

Windows Media Player Parameters
http://www.w3schools.com/media/media_playerref.asp

On this site, you'll see the parameters listings for Windows Media Player.

RealMedia Parameters

And here are the parameter listings for RealMedia object files.

Using a Behavior in Dreamweaver to Launch a New Browser Window in a Specified Size
http://www.digitalfamily.com/dreamweaver/advanced-tutorials/behaviors-new-browser.html

Learn how to use behaviors in Dreamweaver to create many interactive features, like opening a small browser window when someone clicks an image. This is a great way to make supplemental information available without closing the page a visitor is already viewing.

Spry Collapsing Panel
panel.html

Dreamweaver's Spry Framework presents another type of JavaScript interaction. Here's a little taste.

Enhancing Dreamweaver With New Extensions
new-extensions.html

You can find extensions that do everything from add Flash buttons to fly-out menus to full-featured shopping cart systems. As you consider the many extensions available, remember many of them are great, but they don't all enjoy the same quality control as Dreamweaver. When you visit the Dreamweaver Exchange site, you'll find reviews and rankings to help you sort through the best options. Do keep in mind that not all of the extensions out there are well supported. They're not all free either.

A Guide to HTML and CGI Scripts
http://snowwhite.it.brighton.ac.uk/~mas/mas/courses/html/html.html

This British site offers a good introduction to understanding the relationship between HTML and CGI scripting.

The CGI Resource Index
http://www.cgi-resources.com

This site is a great resource for finding CGI sample scripts, documents, articles, books, jobs, and software programs for CGI programmers.

The NMS Project
http://nms-cgi.sourceforge.net/

You'll find Web programs written by experts on this useful site.

The XML Home Page
http://www.w3.org/XML/

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple, very flexible text format derived from SGML (ISO 8879). Originally designed to meet the challenges of large-scale electronic publishing, XML is also playing an increasingly important role in the exchange of a wide variety of data on the Web and elsewhere. Here, you'll find everything you need to know about XML.

XML at Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML

Learn about the history of XML and what it does.

The XML FAQ
http://xml.silmaril.ie/

This is a list of frequently asked questions about the Extensible Markup Language (XML).

The Principles of Beautiful Web Design

This SitePoint article by Jason Baird expands upon many of the concepts discussed in today's lesson.

White Space
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/whitespace

White space, or "negative space," is part of the contrast concept of Emptiness and Fullness. This article discusses white space in detail.

PowerPoint Is Evil
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html

I have a thing against PowerPoint. So does Edward R. Tufte, one of the modern era's greatest voices in information design, and his article tells you why.