Arekibo Blog » Web Design and Development conference http://blog.arekibo.com Fresh news on Web Design, Web Developing, SEO, Accessibily and Usability. Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:32:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Your websites performance impacts shopper behavior http://blog.arekibo.com/your-websites-performance-impacts-shopper-behavior/ http://blog.arekibo.com/your-websites-performance-impacts-shopper-behavior/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:59:36 +0000 Arekibo http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1678 I suppose it is common sense that if your website is slow to render that your customers will be dissatisfied.

The following article conducted by Forrester Research on behalf of Akamai provides excellent insight into what customers think and for example 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less and 40% would abandon if it takes more than 3 seconds.

Anyway we would recommend you read the article on the Get Elastic site – Every Second Counts: How Website Performance Impacts Shopper Behavior

]]> http://blog.arekibo.com/your-websites-performance-impacts-shopper-behavior/feed/ 0 Google ignores meta keywords http://blog.arekibo.com/google-ignores-meta-keywords/ http://blog.arekibo.com/google-ignores-meta-keywords/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:22:28 +0000 Martin Casey http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1672

We’ll let Matt Cutts, from Google fill you in.

]]> http://blog.arekibo.com/google-ignores-meta-keywords/feed/ 0 Internet addresses set to recognise non western characters http://blog.arekibo.com/internet-addresses-set-to-recognise-non-western-characters/ http://blog.arekibo.com/internet-addresses-set-to-recognise-non-western-characters/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:33:52 +0000 Helen Nix http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1642 ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the organisation charged with responsibility for  Internet Protocol (IP) address space allocation and country code (ccTLD) amongst other things is meeting in Seoul this week.

Coming out of that meeting it has been agreed to to allow non-Latin-script web addresses, that is set to change the way to make the web more accessible to all users of the world wide web. Making the web truly world wide.
I heard about this while watching a news report from Korea where the reporter was in a class with Korean pensioners who were trying to learn how to use the internet. They were trying to recall their knowledge of western characters from their school days.

I understand that they are trying to iron the technical details of how this would be implemented and the aim is to have it in place by the end of 2010.

According to Rod Beckstrom – CEO of ICANN “This is one of the most exciting developments for the users of the Internet globally in years”

If anyone else knows more about the details of this please feel free to comment.

]]> http://blog.arekibo.com/internet-addresses-set-to-recognise-non-western-characters/feed/ 0 Do you want to know how it feels to be Irish…check this one out http://blog.arekibo.com/do-you-want-to-know-how-it-feels-to-be-irishcheck-this-one-out/ http://blog.arekibo.com/do-you-want-to-know-how-it-feels-to-be-irishcheck-this-one-out/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:44:19 +0000 Martin Casey http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1511 Hey there fella. Pleasure to meet ya….ya pull the other leg…

http://www.colgate.ca/app/IrishSpring/CA/EN/Bodywash/IrishToYourGame.cvsp

Check out the T-Shirts – Lassie how’d you like to put the spring back spring back into me Shillelagh… and the ringtones.

Fair dues to the fella’s

]]> http://blog.arekibo.com/do-you-want-to-know-how-it-feels-to-be-irishcheck-this-one-out/feed/ 2 10 Useful Usability Findings and Guidelines… http://blog.arekibo.com/10-useful-usability-findings-and-guidelines/ http://blog.arekibo.com/10-useful-usability-findings-and-guidelines/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:41:49 +0000 Martin Casey http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1477 Smashing Magazine have an excellent article called 10 Useful Usability Findings and Guidelines.

Lots of very good points and observations.

Check it out

]]> http://blog.arekibo.com/10-useful-usability-findings-and-guidelines/feed/ 1 Arekibo are hiring CSS/HTML developers http://blog.arekibo.com/arekibo-are-hiring-csshtml-developers/ http://blog.arekibo.com/arekibo-are-hiring-csshtml-developers/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:21:43 +0000 Martin Casey http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1291 Arekibo are hiring CSS/HTML designers and developers with 2/3 years experience. W3C and JavaScript skills essential.

Please send you CV with examples of work to jobs@arekibo.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

]]> http://blog.arekibo.com/arekibo-are-hiring-csshtml-developers/feed/ 0 HTML 5 now? http://blog.arekibo.com/html-5-now/ http://blog.arekibo.com/html-5-now/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:23:48 +0000 Andrea http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1259 Among the hot topics covered by the @media conference in London, HTML 5 is one of the most intriguing and remarkable. This is not just because, in all likelihood, it is going to create a new frontier for web design, gradually replacing XHTML, but also because we can already start using it in our work.

The specification is still a work in progress and quite a long way from completion, but despite that, its modular structure allow us to start implementing parts of it.

HTML 5 has been brought to life thanks to the joint effort of different web organizations, such as W3C and WHATWG, and with the active support of all the most prominent browser vendors: Mozilla, Microsoft, Opera and Apple. It goes without saying that the browser vendors involvement in the project is completely necessary, and hopefully will lead to agreement on the specifications and, consequently, to a cross the board support for HTML 5.

html5 contributors

HTML 5 aims to enhance existing features such as forms and multimedia embedding and to introduce some new features such as, for example, the ability to add dynamic scriptable rendering of bitmap images in a web page simply using the new <canvas> tag.

The doctype of the document becomes very easy to remember. Forget about all the different DTDs now available. The doctype of an HTML 5 document is simply  <!doctype html>. It tells the browser that the page is HTML. No versions anymore, or transitional or strict DTDs. Simply HTML.

Among the aims of this project is the goal to allow people to create more semantic documents. When we build a site using XHTML we usually use div elements to indentify the different sections of the page. Every div has a unique ID that describes its content.

This way of structuring the page is largely due to the lack in HTML 4 and XHTML, of the necessary semantics for describing these parts more specifically.

HTML 5 addresses this issue by introducing new elements for representing each of these sections. Tags as <header>, <nav>, <article>, <section>, <aside> and <footer> are now available to give a proper semantic structure to our pages. Both search engines and screen readers will greatly benefit from the use of these appropriate semantic tags, as they’ll be able to easily figure out what’s what in the page. Assistive technologies will also be able to give more options to their users, letting them easily skipping over the navigation section or quickly jump from one section to another or from one article to the next, without the need for the use of hidden links.

Unfortunately the browser support for this new specification is still pretty poor, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot start using some of the new features. Opera and safari are, at the moment, the browsers that best support HTML5 and Firefox is running fast to catch up with them. Enhancements and bug fixing are happening every day and in the case that a browser doesn’t support a given feature, there may be viable JavaScript workarounds to have the functionality work in the interim.

Alternatively, we can consider implementing the new features in those browsers that already support them whilst making sure that the content is still available for older browsers. This is what is often called graceful degradation and progressive enhancement, specially in relation to accessiblity.

If you’re an IE6 user you will see things slightly differently and you might not have the latest and coolest features available, but you’ll still be able to browse the content of the site. Conversely, if you’re an Opera, Safari or Firefox user, you’ll be able to get the most in terms of user experience from the site.

To sum up, let’s start experimenting with it!

If you are keen to take a peek at some well-designed HTML 5 websites, you can visit the first HTML 5 showcase. Even if in beta version, validators are already available to test your new HTML 5 pages: W3C Validator and Validator.nu.

For further information on HTML 5 visit:

For more info about the current browser support visit:

]]> http://blog.arekibo.com/html-5-now/feed/ 0 Requirement for accessible websites set to soar http://blog.arekibo.com/requirement-for-accessible-websites-set-to-soar/ http://blog.arekibo.com/requirement-for-accessible-websites-set-to-soar/#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:23:45 +0000 Helen Nix http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1253 According to the Irish Independent today the number of blind people in Ireland is set to reach 35,000 people in the next 25 years add this to the number of people with low vision or who are using an incorrect spectacle prescription and the number of people who will require an accessible website is going to spike.

You can read the article on the Irish Independent website http://www.independent.ie/national-news/number-of-blind-to-soar-170pc-in-next-25-years-1810713.html

More information available on Arekibo’s approach to web accessibility is available to view on

http://www.arekibo.com/services/web-accessibility.aspx

]]> http://blog.arekibo.com/requirement-for-accessible-websites-set-to-soar/feed/ 0 A taste of @media 2009 – London http://blog.arekibo.com/a-taste-of-media-2009-london/ http://blog.arekibo.com/a-taste-of-media-2009-london/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:43:04 +0000 Arekibo http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1221 @media 2009 has been a great display of what is going on in the web industry at the moment and what is most likely to happen next. A good deal of professionals sharing their passion for the Web, work, concerns and ideas, always in a critical but constructive way.

Here is just a taste of what has come out of the conference:

Does a site have to look the same in every browser? The answer is definitely “no”.
Firstly because that’s impossible. In fact, we need to take in the fact that browsers are simply different and they are not meant to display the information in the exact same way. Secondly because users are not going to compare our sites using different browsers to check out if they look the same. Finally because CSS3 is a reality that has to be embraced to start making the Web more attractive, and, at the same time, give a better reason to IE6 users to move to a new generation of browsers.

Build systems, not web pages. The key is to build “modular” websites with highly flexible layouts in order to improve re-usability, scalability and cut down maintenance costs.

Bring realism into your designs. Use the world around us to get inspiration. Pay attention to every detail, making sure that they are subtle but effective. Providing a familiar environment to the user will better his experience. Realism helps usability. Take a look around you, a natural look and feel is the answer.

Focus on the users. The success of a website or a web application has its roots in how well you know your visitors, requirements and market. Make your decisions according to their needs by choosing a suitable technology. Never forget to invest in your process, usability and accessibility to assure quality and their satisfaction.

And what about HTML5? Well, it is out there and it is happening now! It’s true that it’s a work in progress, but you can start using it. In fact, it is defined in a modular way and some modules are ready to go. But if there is something worth metioning is that all browser vendors are burying the hatchet and collaborating to make it a reality.

We will be posting further details about the conference, speakers and presentations soon. Stay tuned to the Arekibo Blog ;)

]]> http://blog.arekibo.com/a-taste-of-media-2009-london/feed/ 0 A picture says a thousand words http://blog.arekibo.com/a-picture-says-a-thousand-words/ http://blog.arekibo.com/a-picture-says-a-thousand-words/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:57:30 +0000 Emma http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1216 There is a school of thought that would argue that a visitor to a website makes lasting impressions of their visit in a just a few seconds.

With this in mind it is important that when designing a website that the website is designed to be visually appealing without compromising on the overall user experience.

Patrick Lynch has written an interesting post on the ‘A list Apart’ blog which goes into this in more detail. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/visual-decision-making/

The web is more than just a space for information – in any project there is always an opprtunity to create meaningful graphic expression without compromising on usability.

]]> http://blog.arekibo.com/a-picture-says-a-thousand-words/feed/ 0 @media – Web Design and development Conference London http://blog.arekibo.com/media-web-design-and-development-conference-london/ http://blog.arekibo.com/media-web-design-and-development-conference-london/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:44:04 +0000 Arekibo http://blog.arekibo.com/?p=1170 Arekibo will be attending the conference in London June 25th – 26th.

Topics of interest will be

  • HTML5 for the Markup Agnostic
  • New Approaches to a Modern, Accessible Web
  • Font Embedding and Typography
  • The Web Platform Just As It Is

Looking forward to it and being able to put the knowledge gained to good use !

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