Include Comments

Comment your code. Your coworkers don’t want to read every line of your code to figure out what’s going on, and chances are neither do you. Comments should be concise, but need to explain how various parts of your code function. A lack of proper comments can turn a 10-minute task into a 30-minute task, so invest the time to document your work the first time around.

Omit Needless Code

If you find yourself using the same repeating piece of code throughout your project then you should consider consolidating. Write a function that you can call as many times as you need or create an “include” that you can embed in your templates.

Be Descriptive

Don’t be vague with your naming conventions when it comes to declaring variables or assigning classes and ID’s. For example, assigning a DIV with the class name of “div1” (<div class=”div1”>) will work exactly the same as assigning it with the class name of “search-form” (<div class=”search-form”>). However at first glance it’s clear that a DIV named “search-form” probably houses some type of search-related content – it’s far more descriptive and increases the readability of your code.

1. Scalability – Nothing’s better than working with a system that has a wide variety of plugins and extensions to handle all the functionality you’re looking to achieve. Many CMSs like Joomla!, Expression Engine, Drupal and WordPress offer these useful add-ons, most of which are freely available for download.
2. Solid Documentation & Community – Add-ons are great unless you don’t know how to install and configure them. That’s why it’s crucial that your CMS choice offers substantial documentation detailing all the ins and outs of the system – everything from installing to customizing. My experiences with forums and various developer communities have proved to be helpful, too, not just for help answering questions, but for getting the inside scoop on other’s opinions about future functionality and development.
3. Member Management – It’s important that a CMS has the ability to manage multiple members. This allows for better flexibility when trying to manage who can access what on the front end (the visible, public part) of your site and who can edit or publish within the CMS.
4. Content Migration – Chances are that you already have pieces of content that simply need to be moved over into your new CMS. Migrating this content, though, can be much more difficult than one would imagine. A solid CMS should give you multiple options for importing and exporting content seamlessly and it shouldn’t require hours of work to do so.
5. Clean URLs – Simply put, clean URLs are prettier and easier to read. The real advantages of clean URLs are far greater – they increase search engine optimization, are much easier for users to remember and they help give users a better understanding of the hierarchy of a site. Although many CMS’s offer some type of ability to control URL structures, some are more clear than others (which is why proper documentation is essential).
6. Versioning – Something often overlooked in a CMS is its ability (or inability) to restore previously edited entries or templates. When you have multiple people working on a site and editing entries it becomes easier for mistakes to be made. Built-in versioning provides a good solution by allowing administrators or users with the proper rights the option of reverting content back to a previously saved version.
7. Security – There are a slew of security features available to help meet your safety measures when managing a Web site. Most popular CMSs offer solutions or add-ons that can ensure a secure site. These include the use of CAPTCHA in forms, throttling, IP and email banning, or word censoring.
8. Multiple Languages – There are many sites that require content to be displayed in multiple languages and this can be cumbersome to manage, which is why it’s important to find a CMS that can help you take control of the translated content without having to do repetitive steps for each language.
9. Entry Status – A small feature that I’ve found extremely useful over the years is the ability to flag content as “Published” or “Unpublished” (the terminology varies, but the functionality is the same). Flagging allows you to temporarily remove or unpublish content from the front end of the Web site without having to actually delete it. Then, when you’re ready to have the content reappear, it’s as simple as removing or changing the flag to “Published”.
10. Price – Although there are a handful of CMSs that are free to use, there are others that have a required license fee. Budget will always be a factor, but many times the fees turn out to be just a nominal price to pay for the quality, functionality and support you get in return. As important as price is, it’s vital that it doesn’t become the driving force when choosing which CMS to use.

What’s a Protocol?

Simply put, email protocols are ways to access your emails from the server. You can easily change which protocol you use by updating account settings in your email client (like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird).

All Access, Any Location

The IMAP protocol, which stands for Internet Message Access Protocol, is my personal preference since I can access and manage my emails from multiple computers without anything getting out of sync. Like other protocols, IMAP mail starts off by getting delivered to the main server, but the key difference is that it doesn’t need to be downloaded to your local computer to be viewed. Instead, you login through a mail client like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird and access what you need from the server, flag messages accordingly and filter them into different folders. In essence, you’re interacting with the server to view your messages, – so later on, if you check your email from another computer, everything will remain just as you left it.

The downside to this is that checking email is dependent on your internet connectivity. If you’re on a slow connection you may notice a little lag while your email client connects to the server and tries to synchronize everything. In my opinion, though, this is only a small inconvenience when compared to everything else IMAP can offer.

I’m Sold, Configure Me!

Setting up this configuration can be done in your email client. If you run into any problems you should contact your provider since all clients are a little different and mail server settings vary. This setup is based on what we here at TradeMark Media do so be sure to replace our domain with yours:

• Server Account Type: IMAP
• Incoming Mail Server: pop.trademarkmedia.com
• Outgoing Mail Server: smtp.trademarkmedia.com
• Username: manoj@trademarkmedia.com
• Password: **********

Our outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication so I’ll check this option and opt to use the same settings as my incoming mail server.

Keep It Simple

Only check email from 9-5? Or maybe you check it solely from your laptop? The POP protocol, short for Post Office Protocol, may then be the best route. POP email differs from IMAP in that messages are downloaded from the server to your local machine before being viewed and sorted. Once downloaded, these messages are deleted from the server and are only accessible locally (from your laptop, for example).

POP was designed to support this type of “offline” mail processing and works just fine if you’re sure you’ll be managing your emails from one machine. It’s not well-suited if there’s a chance you’ll be accessing messages from different machines at different times because you’ll quickly find out that some messages will only be available from the specific computer you initially used to view them!

That’s All I Need, Set Me Up!

Setup for a POP account is very similar to IMAP. In fact, the only item you’ll probably have to change is the Server Account Type:

• Server Account Type: POP3
• Incoming Mail Server: pop.trademarkmedia.com
• Outgoing Mail Server: smtp.trademarkmedia.com
• Username: manoj@trademarkmedia.com
• Password: **********

Again, our outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication so I’ll check this option and use the same settings as my incoming mail server.

Throw Your iPhone in the Mix

I recently was lucky enough to win an iPhone courtesy of OnRamp Access and their High-Tech Happy Hour. It’s my new best friend and I’ve run into a couple of times where people have asked me how I’ve configured it to check my email. Setup has been a little quirky, but here are the IMAP settings that work for me and Jean, our director of business development:

Incoming Mail Server

• Host Name: pop.trademarkmedia.com
• User Name: manoj@trademarkmedia.com
• Password: **********

Outgoing Mail Server

• Host Name: smtp.trademarkmedia.com
• User Name: manoj@trademarkmedia.com
• Password: **********

Advanced Incoming Settings

• Use SSL: OFF
• Authentication: Password
• Server Port: 143

Advanced Outgoing Settings

• Use SSL: ON
• Authentication: Password
• Server Port: 465

Managing emails can be a hefty chore, but choosing the right route to access them can save you plenty of time and anguish. A few changes to your settings can really make a difference in keeping track of all your messages all of the time.

When TradeMark Media opened its doors 8 years ago, the first working version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0) was just being released. It provided useful strategies for Web developers about ways to structure and style information, which in turn could provide the most accessible content for all users.

Since then, the Web has become more robust and we’ve found ourselves consistently working with richer, user-generated content and multimedia, which far surpass the scope that drafters of the guidelines originally had in mind. So what does the future hold for accessibility?

Newer technologies will continue to drive the market

Technologies such as Flash and AJAX are here to stay. WCAG 1.0 didn’t provide any resourceful information as to how we can use these tools and even suggested that these types of features be avoided to achieve better accessibility. WCAG 2.0, currently in a working draft and regarded as technology-neutral, skirts away from this issue. What exactly does this mean? There will be fewer constraints for developers on the types of technologies they use and more support for assistive technologies, which will help deliver content to audiences.

For example, assistive technologies used collectively, such as the screen reader, JAWS, and captioning tool, MAGpie, provide excellent ways to separate content from media. MAGpie can add full captions to any standard video based on a text transcript, and this can be seamlessly read by JAWS. Even Flash, which has been praised for its interactive possibilities but frowned upon for its inaccessibility, now incorporates meaningful, accessible practices.

Accessibility evangelists will play a larger role in the development cycle

Many of the basic guidelines laid out in WCAG 1.0 are now overshadowed by advanced issues that need to be addressed – it’s not as straightforward as it seemed five years ago. Now more than ever we’re in need of experts who understand the importance and value of accessibility and can communicate cutting-edge methods to clients and developers.

It’s a bit naïve to think that a completely accessible Web site can be easily created and maintained, especially since user-generated content is quickly becoming the norm. More often than ever we have to be prepared to offer secondary solutions, such as alternative versions of content that can be accessible and just as useful.

It’s still all about the user

The checkpoints provided by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) are a great starting point to establish whether your site meets the basic requirements of accessibility, but it can’t be the only determining factor. Derek Featherstone, principal of Further Ahead, led a very informative session at this year’s Webmaster Jam and explained how vital it is not to overlook the unique user/situation at hand for each project. The best accessible user experience can’t be created by following general guidelines – instead it takes a creative team of developers and accessibility experts to produce a usable site.