Best Practice Articles

The articles here are insider knowledge about best practice on how to make your website work harder. All these articles are taken from the netXtra newsletter.

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  • Click to read full article: Responsive Web Design - Building a website for all screen sizes Responsive Web Design - Building a website for all screen sizes
    In the past, the issue of delivering a website that suits all device screens and readers has been relatively straight-forward for web designers and developers. But as smartphones become ever-more popular, and sales of tablets and other such devices increase, developers need to think about how their website will be rendered on each device. netXtra website Developer, Mark Howlett tells us about the challenges now facing web designers and builders.
  • Click to read full article: HOSTED FORMS vs WEB SERVICES? Which way do you go? HOSTED FORMS vs WEB SERVICES? Which way do you go?
    When implementing client online solutions integrated to a multitude of back office systems we often have to explain the pros and cons of the approaches which can be taken, by us on the client’s behalf, to generate the take up in online interaction they require for data collection via online forms. This usually requires discussing the benefits of utilising the CRM vendors “Hosted forms” option or alternatively utilising any available “Web Services”.
  • Click to read full article: EU bans "pre-ticked" boxes in retail websites. EU bans "pre-ticked" boxes in retail websites.
    At last, legislation is starting to level the playing field in online selling by prohibiting "pre-populating" of retail website tick-boxes in order to stop consumers being "tricked" into buying products and services that they either don't need, or were not consciously in agreement with at the time of the sale.
  • Click to read full article: Microformats revisited: structured data comes of age Microformats revisited: structured data comes of age
    Way back in 2006 we discussed microformats and how they might be useful for making website content more readily read by machines (e.g. search engines) and then re-purposed. Does a recent announcement from the big three search engines mean their time has finally come?
  • Click to read full article: Increasing online donations - put yourself in your supporters' shoes! Increasing online donations - put yourself in your supporters' shoes!
    Optimising a charity website to ensure maximum support from online donations and subscriptions has always been a continual, research driven exercise. We take a look at the techniques and processes that should be considered when not-for-profits and charities review their website, looking at it from the potential donor's perspective.
  • Click to read full article: Web Apps vs. Native Apps: Fight... Fight... Fight! Web Apps vs. Native Apps: Fight... Fight... Fight!
    Are you thinking about creating an application that is targeted at mobile users? If so, then should you create a native application for a specific device, or a mobile web application that runs in a web browser? We pit one against the other to see which offers the best alternative!