Website Programming

September 4, 2021

WORDPRESS THEMES: WHAT IT SHOULD AND SHOULDN’T DO

WordPress is a powerful CMS (Content Management System) whose popularity is only increasing. Multimedia Designs, uses it for many of our client’s websites that we develop. We love it for its flexibility, robust features and that many clients can add blogs, photos, videos and other content themselves. That is worth a lot to a small business, who can not afford to hire a website manager. We also love the fact that we can quote a price that is lower than our competitors.

And we are not alone.

As of 2021 there are 455 million websites that use Wordpress in a pool of 1.3 billion
37% Wordpress Market share as a percentage of all sites.
62% Wordperss Market Share of CMS systems
WordPress is Free
WordPress is supported by the WordPress organization with frequent security upgrades.
WordPress development is 1/4 of the time and significantly lower budget than a custom develop site. Read Custom-Built Site vs. WordPress +theme. Which is better? For a comparison.
WordPress has the #1 Ecommerce solution in the world: Woocomerce.

With the ease at which WordPress presents, that frequently results in the growing trend of beginner web designers or business owners, to develop the site themselves. OR, they hire a developer, whose talented in the PHP realm, but have no understand of how the CMS system works.

We want to help warn you of emending fiscal danger. Dramatic statement, well not really. An uneducated implementation today, can lead to big buck down the road.

THE WORKPRESS HACK

Many developers, of PHP specialty, still think of WordPress as an annoyance or jumping off point. Often the reason is that they use the CMS system as if it was a operating system rather than a API with rules and regulations the guide safeguard performance. The most common error, is the idea of designing their own theme, and packing that theme with lots of features, including controlling the viewers visual, flow and media. Worse, all if this is unknown to the business owners footing the bill.

Nothing could be more unnecessary. Any business owner has to ask their developer one question: What am I selling that is SO unique from similar products on the market that I can’t use a ready-made theme?

What am I selling that is SO unique from similar products on the market, that I can’t use a ready-made theme?

To answer that question, let’s review what ANY Wordpress theme should and should not do.

WHAT YOUR WORDPRESS THEME SHOULD NOT DO

Some developers will try to lure you into developing a custom theme by indicating that they can add all sorts of features and functions to the theme. They might have sliders, custom post types, short codes, photo galleries, built in templates, audience monitoring or any other numbers of eye candy that looks really good.

It looks good on the surface, but in reality it is bad idea. Why? Because a themes’ ONLY purpose is to give the web designer, not the developer, the ability to layout the visual appearance of your website. That appearance is going to change, constantly, sometimes as fast as a business quarter and driven by marketing trends.

….a themes ONLY purpose is to give the web designer, not the developer, the ability to layout the visual appearance of your website

Programming fonts, colors, images and 3rd party code, into a theme, will remove the ability of the Web Designer to do their job. That job is to change the look and feel of how the site is presented to the user at any time.

SO WHY DO WEB DEVELOPERS RECOMMEND IT?

It is a classic mistake of the inexperience or bias web developers.

Let’s face it, some developers simply do not like a CMS system. The prefer the open possibility of coding from scratch and the great payday they will get for doing it. They feel they want control of the code and the only way, they feel, they can do that, is code it themselves. Depend upon no one especially a free piece of code that dictates how a website shall be presented. In essence, they prefer re-inventing what others have already done. Be dammed to the budget, marketing department, creative producer or business owner’s long term budget, customers and schedule.

The hick-up comes when the business owner wants to use a CMS system, for all the reasons we listed previously. The developer then takes the next best thing…develop the theme from scratch and the business owner naively complies, because his/her product or service is truly unique! They need special features! Do it right!

Everyone likes to think that what they are doing is very unique. Yet, while the product or service, may truly be special, the presentation of that product or service, on the web, is usually not.

….Everyone likes to think that what they are doing is very unique. Yet, while the product or service, may truly be special, the presentation of that product or service, on the web, is usually not.

The honest truth is, with hundreds of off the shelf themes already available, unless you are doing something extremely cutting edge, that no theme can handle, there is no reason to develop your own theme. Further it violates the premise of what a theme is suppose to do within WordPress. Including how a theme’s features is are expanded ….. cutting edge included.

That feature is a WordPress tool called a “Plugin”. (More on that later). Any developer that says otherwise…run. Danger danger to your pocket book and customer support.

The honest truth is there is no reason to develop your own theme

WHAT ARE WORDPRESS THEMES & WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSE TO DO?

Google the words: “WordPress theme” and you will see hundreds of hits talking about design, drag and drop, looks and colors. Not one of them have have sliders, galleries or other eye candy”. As it should.
WordPress themes are only a tool. They “present a page to the viewer” in terms of adjustable color, select-able fonts and varied layouts. It is a tool, for a Web Designer to use. Nothing else. They do not determine user flow.

WordPress themes are only a tool. They “present a page to the viewer” in terms of adjustable color, select-able fonts and varied layouts. Nothing else.

Themes can contain local code in order to control how a site looks. They also work with Plugins to modify that presentation, should the Web Designer choose to do so.

Your theme should only contain an interface to the design tools via plugins, settings to turn off defaults and suggested layout of your websites via pre-designed pages. It should be “responsive”. A quality where the theme adjusts the display of a webpage based on the hundreds of different display devices available. Desktop, tablets and mobile. Each device having a different size of displayable real estate.

What a theme should NEVER included is embedded linked references to 3rd party domain images, css, fonts, JavaScript, Jquery as a part of the visual presentation.

Doing so, keeps the website code as clean and flexible as possible, which in turn, helps your website to run smoothly and load quickly. Why this is true, will be for another article, but suffice to say, ANY code you put in your theme, regardless of whether it is used by a page, will be loaded by every single page on your site. That slows down any site’s performance.

In essence, you are trusting your website reliability and performance to the stability and speed of a 3rd party server and the code and/or images, to an unknown person. That server may go down. That person who may change the code and images, at any time. All without your permission.

ANY code you put in your theme, regardless of whether it is used by a page, will be loaded by every single page on your site

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEMES AND PLUGINS TO WORDPRES?

In extremely simplistic terms: WordPress->Theme->Plugins

WordPress runs on the server, the theme runs inside WordPress and the plugins run inside the theme. Although a plugin can frequently communicates with WordPress core code and the associated database.

This is how a website should be organized. All the power goes to the plugins, which can expand the capabilities of the theme, while keeping the code isolated within WordPress. On rare occasions, a plugin may have to communicate via the internet to another domain, however, it should be noted, that this communications does not change how a web page shall be displayed! Rather, it communicates to gain permission or verification only, such as if a plugin is licensed.

WEBSITE DEVELOPER

WEBSITE DESIGNER

WEB DESIGNER = WEB DEVELOPER. ARE THEY NOT THE SAME?

So why all the difference of opinion? These are two different types of individuals who develop websites.

Web Designer
Is someone who lays out the user interface flow of a site as well as the appearance. They use the tools of the theme, blend in artwork, that will be presented to the viewer. A Web Designer, rarely, if ever, does programming (PHP, Javascript, JQuery, MySql).
Web Developer
The more technical arm of web implementation. They are the folks, who know how to “program”. They know how to make the server perform a task. They build “tools”. Tools are what the Web Designer uses to create the site. A theme is a type of “tool”.

On rare occasions, a web designer, may have the technical skill to also be a web developer. But that is am extremely rare individual. If you find one…hold on to them tight. They are a special individuals who can perform two different roles.

WHAT DO WORDPRESS PLUGINS DO?

Glad you asked! This is the power of WordPress. The ability to add all sorts of tools to a website, that a Web Designer can use in their creation process.

The main goal of WordPress plugins are to add functionality. There are thousands of free plugins in the WordPress Plugin Repository, and there are many paid plugins that we use and recommend. Woocommerce being the #1 eCommerce tool, to add workable ability to sell products or services. It is a known and comfortable purchase experience, by thousands of users on the web.

There are thousand of plugin instantly available, and growing.

But a word of warning, don’t find plugins by simply “Googling” a search term. Not all plugins are built by reputable plugin developers. Some can even have malicious code set upon stealing your data. So what do you do? When in doubt, stick to the WordPress Plugin Repository. They test all the plugins that are listed there and re-test on every WordPress update.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: THEMES

Themes Should:

Provide a interface between the WordPress Core (Engine) and the Web Designer
Themes can provide pre-built pages and posts
Themes provide a way to adjust the color, fonts, sizing and general layout of the website
Themes should be easy to use via a page builder plugin
Themes should never require any programming
Themes should be as small and clean as possible
Themes should leave all features to a plugins.
Themes should have settings, giving access to all features of the theme, that a Web Designer can turn on and off at will.
Themes should provide an interface, per page, to allow custom Javascript programming and CSS modifications.
Themes should allow the over-riding of any default template.
Themes should use a bootstrap within a plugin, for reference to 3rd party styling and interactive control.
Be “responsive”. Responsive is a self-adjusting webpage that adapts it’s display based on the hundreds of different display devices available. Desktop, tablets and mobile.

Themes Should NOT:

Themes should not force a design on any Web Designer
Themes should not build in pages that are not adjustable by a Web Designer
Themes should not “hard code” pages, aka non-adjustable
Themes should not “hard code” templates, aka change which template is used
Themes should not build 3rd party links into it’s code
Themes should not limit what fonts are available
Themes should not reference or load source code from other domains
Themes should not directly code features into the theme. (Sliders, galleries and other eye candy)
Themes should not be dependent on any plugin in order to operate.
Themes should not be bloated with inbuilt features.

So why so many themes on the market? Mostly because most themes are not unique. Instead they ready-built websites, supplying pre-built web pages, rather than a tool set to create a site. Each of the major pages have been pre-designed, layout and fonts chosen. With minor modifications, they are easy to install, modify and launch. Each theme is typically based on an industry, giving a Web Designer a head start on getting a site from design to launch. Find a design you like, tweek and launch. It is quite a time saver.

….most themes are ready-built websites, supplying pre-built web pages, rather than a tool set to create a site…..

Then there are the themes that are less about pre-designed and more about features and eye candy. These features are not removable and that creates a huge website. Developers have different ideas about what is essential and what is not. This goes back to our previous discussion on why developers do what they do. Tools and features within a themes are not bad, as long as they are built as plugins to the theme, rather than embedded. Supplied as plugins, gives the option to the web designer to install or uninstall any extension and not break the website. It is the concept of need, rather than enforcement. Trusting the designer to make the decisions, rather than pre-determining.

CONCLUSION

That is the high level basics. Of course there are more details and technical information that could be discussed, but that is more information than any one article can handle. We don’t want to overload you!

If you are in doubt about your own site or just want a second opinion on a recommendation you received, contact us. We will be happy to give you our honest opinion….and the good news, we are that group of rare Web Designers and Web Developers in one package. We see both sides of the issue including your budget.

MultiMedia Designs, LLC
Digital Design & Technology Company
Office: +1.818.272.0819
Email: multimediadesignsllc@gmail.com

HONEST ANSWERS – GREAT PRICES

August 27, 2021

Functions.php : Heart of WordPress Theme Development

Website Programming

Functions.php is the “brain” of a WordPress theme and the interface between how WordPress uses the theme to present a page to the viewer. It is a power and yet dangerous tool in that the PHP functions there control how things display using local definitions, rather than the site’s underlying data.

What functions.php Is

In a WordPress theme, functions.php exists to provide the theme with useful visual PHP functions: small bits of work that change how the site displays in defined ways.

Presentational changes don’t alter the site’s underlying data: things like post content, registered users, custom post types, taxonomies such as tags and categories, or sitewide data like “site title” or “customer discount codes.”

To know whether a function qualifies, ask yourself: “If I changed themes, would I lose data, or would things just display differently?” If you’d lose data (a post type would disappear, you’d lose your customer discount codes, etc.), then you’ve strayed from the presentational role of themes.

Thus references such as 3rd party links, are not a suitable location for implemenation in functions.php from a theme level and a NEVER to be modified by a WordPress site developer. Why? the minute you update that theme, all your changes, links, images and references are removed.

functions.php Autoloads, Before the Rest of the Theme

Functions.php is the gateway between WordPress and the theme display elements. Thus after Wordpress loads, functions.php follows in the hierarchy, and has the potential of over-riding default WordPress presentational elements.

This can be seen in the chart below, where the theme functions.php is loaded in step 6.

Uses of functions.php

Theme support for featured images

add_theme_support( 'post-thumbnails' );

Theme support for custom image sizes

add_image_size( 'featured-image-large', 640, 294, true );
add_image_size( 'featured-image-small', 200, 129, true );
add_image_size( 'featured-image-tiny', 124, 80, true );

Enqueue theme Javascript and CSS style

function wpshout_scripts( ) {
    // Enqueue JS that gives the search box a default value
    wp_enqueue_script( 
        'search-box-value',
        get_stylesheet_directory_uri() . '/js/search-box-value.js',
        array( 'jquery' )
    );

Theme navigation menu.

// Register main navigation menu
function wpshout_register_menu( ) {
    register_nav_menu( 'main-nav', 'Main Nav' );
}
add_action( 'init', 'wpshout_register_menu' );

This block looks complicated if you don’t understand WordPress hooks and the wp_enqueue_() functions, but it boils down to the following statement: “On every page, we want to load the files search-box-value.js, page-min-height.js, and the theme’s own style.css,” plus instructions for how to find those files.

An important design rule to follow, is while it may be simple to quickly just modify functions.php to enable some function that just does not seem to run in a custom plugin, the reality is, it endangers the portability and upgrade-ability to any theme. Thus keep the links local, rather than referencing any 3rd party scripts and code. A better design strategy is to port the code to a local reference.

Key Takeaways:

Functions.php is a specially named PHP file that can be located inside any WordPress theme. WordPress knows to execute the code in functions.php during its normal PHP processing.
functions.php ‘s job is to add custom functionality to the theme and site. It is composed of PHP functions—small bits of PHP code that add or change functionality across the site.
As functions.php is inside the theme, its functionality additions should all be presentational in nature. Examples include: enqueueing LOCAL CSS stylesheets and LOCAL presentational JavaScript files, enabling featured images, registering custom image sizes, and registering navigation menus and widget areas.

August 17, 2021

How to Pick a Good Web Developer

Website Programming

A web developer can be one of your most critical hires for your equestrian or small business. After all, that’s the person who will create the online face of your company and enable you to interact virtually with your potential customers. THUS it’s especially important that you hire the right talent the first time out. Otherwise, you risk hurting your business, as well as wasting time and money seeking a replacement.

Here are nine tips that can help in the selection process:

1. HIRE FOR THEIR DNA FIRST.
When hiring a web developer, their personal DNA is the most important consideration. While experience is important, combining experience with someone understanding and compatibility of your company, is the bigger predictor of success.

Are drive, determination, persistence, curiosity, important to you culture?
Are you more low-key and relaxed about time management and deadlines?

Whatever characteristics make up your culture, you want to ensure that the web developer will fit in.

For example, a brilliant web developer who has worked at a large financial institution may not do well at a startup or even understand an equestrian business. Why? A startup typically requires traits like versatility, adaptability, risk-taking and a self-starter personality. A small to medium size established business will already have a image to follow. An equestrian business requires the understanding of horses, the people, what showing is and even the names of equipment. All of these issues may be less important at a large company with it’s corporate setting.

Step one, make a list of your company’s DNA requirements. Do you foster an environment of relentless drive? Do you want great team players? Do you want the developer to have participated in your activities. If you come up with five requirements, make sure the interviewee matches at least three. Hiring for DNA also can help you to start to define a company culture and ensure that your team will work well together.

Of course, it’s easy for some people to fake it in an interview, so you may need to evaluate them in other ways to ensure they’re a good fit.

2. HIRE FOR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
There is nothing like finding someone who has done the work for companies similar as yourself. Every project has a learning process and every market is remarkably different from another. A website is not just a website. It is a unique representation of your service or product. It needs to operate and reflect those kind of clients. To “think” like a viewer. Thus having done some project similar is essential to understanding your world.

3. HIRE FOR HONESTY
Let’s face it, the world is made up of a lot of people who think they know what they are doing. But no one, can know everything. No one can understand your clients as you do. So if a developer says you need this, without asking a single question about your business, your desires, even your favorite colors…walk away.

At the interview stage, is when they are their best in front of you. Will they then be honest when there is something they don’t know or understand if they don’t ask questions now? A excellent software developer, whether for the web or app, will figure it out and tell you that honestly, but first they have to understand your world.

4. HIRE FOR EDUCATION
There is something to be said for hiring someone who has done the work of getting an education. It proves that they can complete something difficult, without compensation. It also shows that they have a well developed background in both theory and the practical. That will become essential when there is a problem that is difficult to solve.

5. HIRE FOR COMMUNICATION
There is a big wave of hiring overseas because the costs are so remarkably lower than locally. However, it will end up costing you time and ultimately, money to redo a site, when you can not communicate with the developer you are hiring to represent your company. They have to speak and understand clearing what is important to YOU. Not what they can do, but what you want them to achieve. Without a common language and ability to communicate, this is impossible.

6. HIRE FOR STYLE
Web developers are also frequently Web Designers. Combining the two can be a great time and money saver. However is their “style” of design in alignment with yours. Some designer/developers can shift, according to the clients desires. While other are very ridge in their presentation. Look at the portolo and see if there is a wide shift in look, feel and color. The diversity of style from one developer, can be a massive plus, as they can adjust to you.

If the portfolio all look the same, that will only be a positive if you like the look.

7. HIRE FOR PERFORMANCE
Hiring a developer, whose sites have user issues, can do more harm than good. So make sure that you look at the sample site provided on a variety of devices, PC, Mac, iPhone, tablets and similar. While no site is perfect on every single browser and size of device, the majority need to “just work”.

8. THE INTERVIEW GOES BOTH WAYS
An important note is that while you are interviewing the developer, the developer is also interviewing you! Being ridged and micro managing a process, insisting on excessively small budgets, may have a perfect developer passing on the opportunity. So be flexible and understand that they know their craft.

9. AFTER THE HIRE : TRUST THEM
This is also where the honesty comes into play. Either you believe they do their job or you don’t. If you have any doubt that they do not understand your business or are not capable of doing the work, don’t hire them, no matter how much you may “like them”.

After you have pulled the contract signatures, TRUST THEM, to represent you well. If you have done your job in the previous tips, just get out of their way!

MultiMedia Designs, LLC
Digital Design & Technology Company
Office: +1.818.272.0819
Email: multimediadesignsllc@gmail.com

HONEST ANSWERS – GREAT PRICES

August 13, 2021

CHEAP SEO?

Website Programming

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS CHEAP SEO?

It has been said that there is no such thing as quality “Cheap” SEO work. The statement is probably true, if all things are equal in the market place. Same buildings. Same management. Same location. But does paying a lower price for SEO work mean you are getting an inferior results? That is the deception. The word “cheap” can frequently be misused in the internet market place.

Who are you really hiring? Does the monthly or hourly cost determine worth? Or is the amount charged more indicative of how a company is being managed?

“Cheap” is not how much you pay. “Cheap” is “who” are you getting for the services that you hire. Small does not equal poor as large does not equal quality. The entire process is about the individual who is assigned to do the work. Who are they? Do they care about your business. What is their experience base. Do they understand the inner workings of the technology or are they route manual followers. Is this individual willing to use all their knowledge to make the results productive. If they don’t know how to achieve a goal, will they go out, at no extra cost, figure it out, on your behalf and make it happen – within the technical and legal limitations. After all, this is all about YOU and YOUR business. Who are you hiring? “Cheap”, could also be known as costs-effective or good deal.

Cheap is not how much you pay. Cheap” is “who” are you getting for the services that you hire.

What determines SEO pricing?

Several factors determine SEO pricing, including:

Agency, contractor, or consultant’s experience
Agency, contractor, or consultant’s location
SEO pricing model, like monthly or hourly
Business size, like startup or enterprise
Scale of SEO strategy
Status of existing SEO strategy, like your backlink profile’s strength
SEO goals

The Multimedia Designs Factor

At Multimedia Designs, LLC, we focus our resources on staff and experience, rather than buildings, cleaning services and expense accounts. In short, our overhead is not the usual 35% factor, rather we run at a low 15% and give our staff the best possible worlds of life quality and work choice! This provides the opportunity to under cut our competitors, like the well known and high rated company Web FX*,. Multimedia Designs, can provide equivalent qualified staff members, but at massively lower rates. That is your bottom line.

Below is a head to head comparison of Industry prices vs the Multimedia Designs, factor. Giving you the same top quality experience when the company is just manged differently. When it comes to SEO pricing, most agencies follow one of these payment models.

INDUSTRY MONTHLY RETAINER

$750-$5,000
per month

MMD MONTHLY RETAINER

$210-$1,200
per month
(includes Maintenance)

INDUSTRY FIXED PRICE CONTRACT

SEO Copywriting
$0.15 – $0.50 per word

Site content audit
$500 – $7,500

Link profile audit
$500-$7,500

Social Media Site Setup:
$500-$3,000

MMD FIXED PRICE CONTRACT

SEO Copywriting:
Included in Maintenance

Site content audit:
$800 – $1500

Link profile audit:
$800 – $1500

Social Media Site Setup:
$500
(Facebook | Twitter | Instagram)

INDUSTRY PROJECT BASED PRICING

$1,000 – $30,000

MMD PROJECT BASED PRICING

$500 – $15,000

INDUSTRY HOURLY CONSULTING

$100 – $300
per hour

MMD HOURLY CONSULTING

$75 – $200
per hour

*Reference site Web FX

Monthly retainer

For the monthly retainer, clients will pay a monthly fee for selected SEO services. Industry average for SEO costs monthly retainer plan range from $750 to $5000 per month. The average, however, is $750 to $2000 per month.

Multimedia Designs, LLC Monthly retainer fees are based on the services your company expects and assigns a lower hourly rate on those projects that are beyond the maintenance/seo scope retainer level. Our fees are blended within monthly maintenance retainer fees and run between $210-$1200 in the Los Angeles area. Since we are virtual, the rate applies nation wide.

Fixed-price

A fixed price contract is one where the developer agrees to do the work for a fixed amount and does not increase even if the work goes beyond the expected hourly. Most Internet Industry companies define fixed price as “per piece”, Multimedia Designs, LLC defined fixed price as per project.

Most Internet Industry companies define fixed price as “per piece”, Multimedia Designs, LLC defined fixed price as per project.

Project-based

Project-based pricing is similar to contract-based services, but it allows clients to pay a determined fee for custom SEO projects. Industry wide Project-based SEO services can cost anywhere from $1000 to $30,000. The average cost for project-based SEO services, however, is $5000 to $30,000.

Multimedia Designs, lowers that based, for the same exact experience, because the company overhead is extremely low.

Hourly

Hourly consulting refers to a contract in which clients pay agencies an hourly fee in exchange for SEO services. Industry norms for Hourly SEO consulting fees can range from $100 to $300 per hour. Multimedia Designs, can lower that norm to $50 – $150 per hour, given the lower overhead of the company.

How much should you spend on SEO services?

The amount you pay for SEO services will depend on the size of your business and the extent of services you require. While SEO costs vary from agency to agency, it’s important to remember WHO you get is more important, that WHAT you pay.

April 28, 2021

PROGRAMMING: Force Your Page to Always Load From the Server

Website Programming

Make a website that is fast and reliable, where reliable is often at odds with browser caches. Small changes in the page are frequently not reflected to the viewer, until the user decides to clear the ever cache. Cache is a great idea, when a page is static and operates more like a bulletin board. This is a day gone by. Today website are more dynamic combining the power server languages of PHP or ASPI with the browser based JavaScript or JQuery.

So how can you produce a page that leans more on reliability than speed, especially when the data is dynamically generated from the database.

Forcing a Page to Load from the Server

You can control the browser cache with a meta tag:

<meta http-equiv=“Pragma” content=”no-cache”>
<meta http-equiv=“Expires” content=”-1″>
<meta http-equiv=“CACHE-CONTROL” content=”NO-CACHE”>

Setting the Expires to -1 tells the browser to always load the page from the web server. You also can tell the browser how long to leave a page in cache. Instead of -1, enter the date, including the time, that you would like the page to be reloaded from the server. Note that the time should be in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and written in the format, dd Mon yyyy hh:mm:ss.

BUT CACHE IS GOOD! SPEED

Yes, it is true. Cache can be a great thing. Displaying a page based on it’s own memory and giving the appearance of fast. But fast, without accuracy is questionable. Understanding how the technology works is key:

When a webpage first loads from a server, all the resources of that page must be retrieved and sent to the browser. This means that an HTTP request must be sent to the server. The more requests a page makes for resources such as CSS files, images, and other media, the slower that page will load. If a page has been visited before, the files are stored in the browser’s cache. If someone visits the site again later, the browser can use the files in the cache instead of returning to the server. This speeds up and improves site performance. In an age of mobile devices and unreliable data connections, fast loading is imperative. After all, no one has ever complained that a site loads too fast.

The bottom line is to decide what works best for your site. If the site is highly data centrist with dynamic changes, then speed may be your enemy..complaints from viewers that the information is not what they uploaded is common. But if you site is more static in it’s operation..such as a store front, then caching is awesome and a practical solution.

BUT WHAT ABOUT WORDPRESS?

When you are designing and writing a website via direct coding, customizing the meta tags for each page, can be relativity simple. Add the meta tags to the header of each page. BUT WordPress bring a whole new dynamic. Many recommend that you change the theme header with the Meta tags above. The problem with that, is this…the whole site now is does not grant speed, even when loading from the server is not necessary.

So HOW do you select a choice which pages load via cache and which do not?

WORDPRESS PLUGIN SOLUTION

We did not make this plugin, but found it’s functionally highly useful, as it allows you to add to the header meta tags based on the page, rather than the entire site.

Meta Tag Manager By Marcus Sykes

Easy to use, it allows you to put the suggested no-cache meta tag in the pages that you want the browser to not use the browser storage.

April 3, 2020

WEB DESIGNER NEEDED ASAP …. THE SCAM

Website Programming

Amiss the requirements of social distancing, virus fears and desperation, there is another virus plaguing the internet world. One that attempts to steal those small business that are still working via the internet. It comes in the form of someone needing website work.

Recently , we have received a number of different request for website design or redesign. It was written oddly enough to invoke caution but yet in the event a judgement was made wrongly, we answer politely.

It starts with a simple, seemingly honest email. An inquiry for work.

What started out as a new client inquiry, quickly turned into a series of explanation and excuses. This was a scam. A scam aimed at designers and creative professionals. But it can also be aimed at those of an industry, the online equestrian industry, an ecommerce industry or anyone who does business online.

HERE IS HOW THE SCAMS WORK

They’re called:

Third Party Payout Scam
Payment Reversal Scam
Advanced Fee Scam
Overpayment Scam.

The Fraud Prevention department at credit card payment processor Stripe put it like this:

I can see that you work in web design. Designers such as yourself are common targets for a type of scam known as a Third Party Payout. Essentially, the scammer makes a payment (generally in the thousands) for a project, and pays more than they need so you can then transfer money direct to a third party (e.g. a consultant, graphic designer, etc). I imagine your correspondence with your ‘client’ has been along these line. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, the fix is that the card used is stolen and the third party is actually the scammer. So when the legitimate cardholder disputes the payment the business is left holding the bag on the money retrieved from their account and what they transferred to the scammer.

Our initial correspondence went like this:

WHAT IS AMAZING ABOUT THESE SCAMS

What is truly amazing about these scams, is just how involved they are.

How much time: by the time any money would have actually made it back to the scammers, a lot of work is devoted in email communication to each scam.
How long these scams keep going. One vendor after another
The scammers will email you, text you and sometime even talk on the phone with you! It is amazing just how easily a scammer can be totally anonymously hiding behind a throw away webmail account and a google voice phone number.

HERE IS HOW THE ATTEMPTED SCAN WENT DOWN

The first scam came from Shawn C Skaggs and seemed strange because it mentioned a budget right off the bat. Without knowing who were and the full measure of what we do. I don’t know a customer to date, that talks about how much money they have to spend, nor inquire as to whether I am the owner of the business. They are most interested in how their website will work, look and how it will increase their business.

From: Shawn C Skaggs <k258arri@gmail.com>

Thanks for getting back to me my business name is DharmaTJ Indian Restaurant I want the site exactly like this example link site: https://n-naka.com/ or much more better than that, The site should be ready by next 3 month, I don’t have a domain name I prefer: HARMATJINDIANRESTAURANT.COM you will be updating the site for me I already have a project consultant that is taking care of the text content, logos for the site with the image artworkyMy budget for this is between $5,000-$15,000 are you the Owner of the company also I need you to get back to me with Estimate proposal including a year hosting for the web design, Thank you

SEE ATTACHMENT ON HOW I WANT MY SITE TO LOOK AND I DON’T WANT A RESERVATION
PAGE YET ON MY WEBSITE I MIGHT INCLUDE THAT IN THE FUTURE

THE SCAMMER CLUE:

This person is the scammer: “I already have a project consultatn that is taking care of the text conent, logos for the site with the image artwork. My budge for this is between $5,000-$15,000”

Mis-spelled words, statement of budget too early, not interested in eCommerce for the business. Someone else is doing the content.

“Shawn” even sent a site map drawing of the website he wanted to make. One look at it and your realize that he wanted to remove the key elements that a resturant would want and need to have to be viable.

Out of respect and the outside chance, that “Shawn” was real customer, but extremely naive about website design, we went back and forth a few times and I gave him a UNDER HIS BUDGET estimate. This is what came back:

From: Shawn C Skaggs <k258arri@gmail.com>

Perfect I’m fine with the cost everything looks good I would have loved to meet with you on this project to have a round table meeting but I’m presently out of states I’m in Germany taking care of my Wife, She’s recuperating from surgery confined to a wheel chair which makes her case a bit difficult so I have to be there for her I want the job done before I’m back to the states with my wife by end of July I will be paying for the deposit before you start what type of Credits card do you accept also the Name of Machine you used in charging Credits Cards and its % is it quickbook, pastripe, clovergo or Firstdata?

THE HOOK - THE MONEY

The key element of the scam, the money. They want to pay with a credit card. Meanwhile they have a stated residence outside the country. In this case Germany. More interesting, there is no mention of the viral attack the world is going through.

HOW TO HANDLE IT

Unless any money has been stolen from you, the best thing you can do is respond politely and test the waters.

Our response was as follow:

From: Multimedia Designs, <office@mmd-ca.com>

Hi Shawn,
That would be excellent. There is quite a bit of information we would need, including your Los Angeles based address, domain name information, sign-in credentials and a signed contract of agreement. We also do not accept deposits from new clients via credit card. It would need to be USA based check. After the signed contract and the clearance of the check, we can move to the next step.

Look forward to working with you.

We call him on his business and methods. Always remaining polite. Always giving the opportunity for a real customer be work within the parameters of proof. Some would say, why bother responding at all…. in the 1% chance that they are real, but naive.

The result of this polite but clearly defined parameters for business was frustration for the scammer.

I can’t be able to send you a check from here I can only make payment with my credit card.

Of course not.

He was not a restaurant owner in Los Angeles. He did not even live in Los Angeles, like his first email claimed. The game was done. We wished him well, but indicated that is our firm policy for new and unknown clients. We called him on his statements & actions.

The lesson….do not accept any payments with credit cards for large amounts of money, unless it is a known person or company. All initial business should be done with cash and a local check.

BUSINESS WITH MULTIMEDIA DESIGNS, LLC = SAFE

That is Multimedia Designs, LLC’s way of doing business. It is firmly rooted in our core values. Be polite but firmly will not accept anything but the full truth and honor. This is how we protect our clients too. To the best of our ability, keep the situation truthful, honorable and direct. We protect the client, but the buyer as well. A “Designed & Supported by Multimedia Designs, LLC” means “safe”. We will not even host a company that does not agree with the core values. Too big of a risk to ourselves or our customers. Our customers protection is the priority.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN A VICTIM : THE MONEY

If you have been a victim of the scam, money has been stolen from you. Don’t blame yourself about it. These are crafty persons, who specialize in playing on the good will of others. It is an innocent, yet painful mistake.

The lesson is: always be on the look out for products, services that do not tell the full truth. Especially on the internet. Investigate the full message. Check the facts. Verify the studies. Cross reference the statements. It is something to be diligent about by never assuming that “appearances” are real. You can use this situation to help stop it from happening to others. Unfortunately, the money, if taken, is probably gone.

You can reach out to:

The Secret Service – we were referred to them by Stripe even though no money had changed hands. The Secret Service is responsible for counterfeiting law violations as well as financial fraud including banking, access device, advance fee fraud and computer fraud, financial document counterfeiting, and money laundering. They agency has confirmed just how widespread these web design scams are, but unless money had changed hands, they can’t help.
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) – complaints filed via this website are processed and may be referred to federal, state, local or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for possible investigation
Federal Trade Commission Complaint Assistant

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debbie Kurth is the founder and CEO of Multimedia Designs, LLC. She is a computer engineer, designer, technical producer and a former Walt Disney Imagineer. She can be reached at office@mmd-ca.com

January 8, 2020

WEBSITE MYTHS: 8 MOST COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS

Website Programming

WEBSITES ARE CHEAP!

WEBSITES ARE EASY!

WEBSITES DO NOTHING!

You hear the cry from far and wide, especially among small business.

Meanwhile just this last month, December 2019, over 9300 stores have been announced to be closed in favor of online shopping. Sears, Kmart, Gymboree, Nostrums, Walgreen, Barney’s and Payless Shoes. Click Here is read the full list.

While big companies grow online, small business and individuals are dismissing the effectiveness of a online presence. Why?

In this article we are going to debunk the 8 most commonly believed views on ownership, design and costs. The myths of the web.

Myth 1: Webs are build and forget

One of the biggest myths Multimedia Designs, LLC encounters in our web design business ,is the idea that once a website is built and published, it’s good forever.

In reality, websites need to be updated twice a month with new content, to rank well in google and to keep your visitors coming back.

Think of your website as a magazine, not as a book. Books are written and published. Nothing more is done. The reader discovers the book, reads the story and immediately moves on to the next latest and greatest.

Magazines come out with new material much more frequently. Typically, on a weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly basis. The mission of these owners is to stay brand current. Every edition has completely new set of stories and images. The goal: keep readers coming back for more.

Think of your website as a magazine, not as a book. Updating the content, gives a reader a reason to come back.

By treating your website like a magazine instead of a book, you ensure that it’s always up to date with current, helpful information. Your visitors stay interested because there’s always something new, and they keep coming back for more updated content.

VS

Myth 2: Appearance is all there are to good design

A beautiful looking website, does not mean the site is usable or interesting.

It is comparable to using a photo. You look at the stunning design, but what does the photo make you “do” other than admire it. Of course pretty fonts and soothing colors do matter, but the primary function of your website is to get visitors to buy your products or services. To engage. To do something. If they can’t even find the purchase button, there’s a huge problem.

A beautiful looking website, does not mean the site is usable or interesting.

A good website design creates a friendly user experience. A friendly user experience is a representation of you. What is a “User experience”? It is what a reader feels while using your site. With no manual and no-one helping them, do they know what to do. It is intuitive. The site is easy to understand and keeps them clicking.

A good design creates a friendly user experience.

A lot goes into making a site “usable”. From the technology used to the culture of the market you are trying to reach. A professional web developer knows the balance between these.

Myth 3: The homepage is all that matters

A beautiful home page is definitely important. It is your introduction to your potential clients. Pictures are definitely more important that words. The Nielsen Norman Group, the word leader on Research-based User experiences, has found that most users only read 20% of what is on a page! Readers “scan“, looking for what interests them.

Most viewers of a website scan the page and don’t read

Every website page must be a balance in simplicity and information. Following a flow of increasing motivation that culminates into a purchase. Above your home page being a nice billboard sign, what exactly does your site promote the reader to “do”.

Myth 4: Visitors only look at the desktop version

Gone are the days when you could build a website that looked good on your desktop and be done with it. Last year more than 80% of internet users visited websites from their smartphones at some point, and in 2016 through 2019, more than 51% of all website visits came from smartphones. An increase of 10%.

In the course of one year, desktop internet usage dropped from 54.86% to 46.5% while mobile users share marked an increase from 37.38% to 48.33% in November 2019. (TechJury)

If you haven’t put any thought into how the mobile version of your website looks, you could be alienating a huge percentage of your visitors.

Myth 5: Mobile sites are simpler

One misconception about web design we often hear is that mobile websites need fewer features than desktop sites. In reality, if a feature is important to the user experience for your desktop visitors, it’s just as important for your mobile audience. Not providing such features will have your visitors feeling frustrated.

Myth 6: More cool features means a better site

There’s a fine line between not enough important features on your website and too many elements that simply get in the way. Or worse annoy your reader. They may look cool and occasionally serve a purpose, but they rarely help your visitors become customers.

Some features to question include:

QR codes
Special fonts
Intrusive pop-ups
Animated titles and headings
Carousel banners
Preloaders

Myth 7: DIY (aka Do It Yourself) websites are just as good as professionally designed ones

This is one of the biggest myths we encounter in our business. When it comes to a well-designed, user-friendly website that functions flawlessly, there’s really no substitute for a professional design team.

DIY services, such as Wix and Square Space can spell disaster for your business.

While it is true, they are fast to build and beautiful, they also look exactly like your competitors sites! How are you suppose to get noticed and remembered, looking like the next site on the search engine? Or compete with a company in a foreign country who can offer your same service “cheaper”?

While it is true, they are fast to build and beautiful, they also look exactly like your competitors sites

How Do DIY services offer such cheap rates?
Most DIY services, such as WIX, SquareSpace, work by offering a few templates to choose from with a minimum of pre-defined services. Services that do not necessarily align with what you need to attract customers.

After those initial amazing rates, your site can disappear into a sea of add-ons with no guarantee of compatibility within the ever growing mobile market. But now they gotcha. Your domain named transferred and agreement signed. You are stuck.

DYI services make money by add-on’s

How do DYI services work?
Technology wise, DIY websites are notorious for using Flash, which is incompatible with smartphones (and therefore more than half of your visitors). Or they use pre-defined, non-responsive templates, that do not display correctly on all devices. At the very least, they are structured to have limits.

If anything goes wrong with their system, you’re stuck figuring it out on your own.

If anything goes wrong with their system, from a latest browser update, to a new EU requirement, you’re stuck figuring it out on your own. That translates to a lot of lost hours for your company and a huge headache for you. If you are small business, there is no one to turn to, except hire an expert to fix the problem.

Myth 8: Web Developers have no costs.

A huge myth heard in our business is that “your don’t need that many hours” or “but everything you do is profit”. Unknowing of the massive amount of time it takes to create a site (and maintain it). There are literally hundreds of different variations and growing. Every browser update. Every new phone. Every OS change, must be checked and corrected without destroying the other variations.

This is a massive myth is generated by the nature of the internet it’s self and skill professionals. If we do our job right, it looks easy.

If we do our job right, it looks easy…..

Skill and knowledge is just the starting point of any professional team. It also requires the right tools. Photo editors, Photoshop, computer systems, cameras, hard drive space and internet services are expensive, yet necessary to keep current.

When a developer gives you a quote, consider that inside the actual hours, they must also factor in a portion of all the tools they have already paid for. Before making any profit on the work. Most costs occur on a monthly basis.

OMG No!!!! I can't afford this!

Now before you say OMG, go onto the next page, have no fear…YOU are not going to come close to pay these costs. Most website developers do not recover all the costs on a single project, especially with small business projects. Instead, they are spread out among many over a long period of time. How do we stay in business? It is a technique called Lost leader. The goal is to develop a long term relationship with you and your business. To make a profit over time.

Most website developers do not come close to recovering the expenses on a small business project. How do we stay in business? Lost leader business practice.

Below are some of the classic costs for a small development company

Tools, Services and Equipment
High End Media Computers: $2,200-$5,000
Photo Software: $1500
Photo Subscriptions: $500-$1500 a year
High End Internet Connection: $500 a month
Web Server Lease: $250-$1500 per month
Website Theme: $49-$150 per site
Individual Plugins $29-$500 a year per site
Automatic Testing Services: $199 a month

Required Insurances
Liability Insurance: $1200 a year
Workman’s Compensation Insurance : $1200

Staff Rates
PHP Developers: $100 an hour
Graphic Artists: $80 an hour
HTML Programmers: $50 an hour
SEO Specialists: $40 an hour

Time Commitment
Simple site: 250+ hours plus extensions.

These do not even address the standard office space and business costs or taxes.

Some standard typical costs of web developers

A developers will take a loss on the development of a site, and make up costs through the maintenance of a site. This serves three purposes:

Keeping the site current and effective for your business.
Keeping our resume of sites performing and gaining more clients.
Creating a long term relationship in the hopes of building future reoccurring revenue.

Ultimately, it is about making you happy.

We, at Multimedia Designs, care about you and your business. We make every attempt to keep your costs as low as possible while still giving you the highest quality. Your success is our success. To be here for you!

Do it right the first time!
Let a professional team take the wheel from the beginning.

Are you confused? Understandable. Are you having trouble getting results? The problem may be your website itself. But it doesn’t have to be. You are brilliant at what you do, but you are not expected to navigate the trenches of the internet technology.

At Multimedia Designs, we take pride in our ability to turn lackluster pages into highly functioning, easy to use, intuitive websites that convert casual visitors into lifelong customers. Want to know how we can revamp your website? Tell us about your project to get started.

Contact Multimedia Designs, LLC

July 10, 2018

PART 10: EXPLAIN THIS INTERNET THING TO ME … IN ENGLISH

Equestrian Web Technology, Website Programming

The Internet. In it’s simplest explanation is Internet is the biggest world-wide communication network of computers, where each computer can talk to each other making a huge NET. But since you are asking the question, in English, that may not be what you are really looking for. I suspect the real question is, why do I need the internet?

WHY YOU NEED THE INTERNET

In the history of the world, communication was the core of civilization growth. Starting from hand written messages that were transported over wide distances via boat, horseback or walking, the ability to exchange information, as fast as possible has always been the key to business and government management.

You have to be known, be found, be interesting, for a customer / client to exchange money with you for a service or product. In days past, that advertising method was a pamphlet handed out. Or a bill board on the street, as you were driving by. It presented it’s self in magazines and newspapers. When the electronic age began, advertising communication expanded with it, in the form of Radio, where an announcer would tell you about a business in exchange for who was footing the bill for your free entertainment. That expanded to Television, were the communication became more visual and entertaining. The point of all of it, was to be known of. For listeners or viewers to find your business, your product, your service.

All of this communication is called advertising….the key to your success.

The internet is the next step in that evolution of “getting known”. It is also became the great equalizer among business. In the past, the cost of advertising was expensive and exclusive. A sufficient amount of money donated to an entertainment organization provided a focused audience, who was forced to hear the message. Repeat that message enough, your name became the first business to pop into people’s heads when they need or want a product or service. For example:

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU SEE THIS PICTURE?

Based on years and years of exposure, most people are going to recognized that picture as representing this:

That is advertising at it’s best. Immediate association of image to a product. The goal is same. Your business has to get noticed and found, from people that are not in your immediate circle of influence. This is where the internet comes to life.

Unlike Radio and Television, the internet presents information to people based on a interest rather than entertainment qualities or local news agencies. People search for a service or product that they need.

Unlike Radio and Television, the internet presents information to people based on a interest rather than entertainment qualities or local news agencies.

Based exclusively on what they see and what appeals to them, is the difference between an opportunity to sell and them moving on to another product. Or in the case of equestrian business…another trainer, tack store, vet or boarding facility.

THE INTERNET | THE GREAT EQUALIZER

The beauty of the internet, is that you don’t have to be a huge business with massive advertising budgets to be perceived as a prestigious and viable business. All that really matters is how your present your information. Those steps to presenting a great commercial aka Website is for a different article

There you have it, the Internet, In English… Is Advertising. A method to getting known and found, by a world bigger than just your immediate clients.

The Internet, an Advertising method to getting known and found, by a world bigger than just your immediate clients.

How can Multimedia Designs, help you?

OTHER ARTICLES IN THE SERIES

PART 1: DON’T LET THE INTERNET BUCK YOU OFF
PART 2: MOAN, i NEED A WEBSITE! NOW WHAT?
PART 3: GREAT! MY STUDENT OR WIX CAN DO THIS. (OR NOT)
PART 4: BUT I DON’T WANT TO DEAL WITH GEEKS!!
PART 5: BE HONEST, WHAT IS THIS GOING TO COSTS ME?
PART 6: WALK ME THROUGH THIS
PART 7: STRAIGHT DOWN THE CENTER LINE AND HALT. (aka HOW NOT TO GET CHEATED)
PART 8: ENTER THE COMPETITION. LAUNCHING A SUCCESSFUL WEBSITE
PART 9: WEBSITE LAUNCHED! NOW WHAT?
PART 10: EXPLAIN THIS INTERNET THING TO ME … IN ENGLISH
PART 11: I AM A VET, FARRIER, BARN MANAGER. WEBSITES? COME ON, THEY NEED ME!

MultiMedia Designs, LLC
Digital Design & Technology Company
Office: +1.818.272.0819
Email: multimediadesignsllc@gmail.com

HONEST ANSWERS – GREAT PRICES

Website Programming

THE WORKPRESS HACK

WHAT YOUR WORDPRESS THEME SHOULD NOT DO

SO WHY DO WEB DEVELOPERS RECOMMEND IT?

WHAT ARE WORDPRESS THEMES & WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSE TO DO?

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEMES AND PLUGINS TO WORDPRES?

WEBSITE DEVELOPER

WEBSITE DESIGNER

WEB DESIGNER = WEB DEVELOPER. ARE THEY NOT THE SAME?

WHAT DO WORDPRESS PLUGINS DO?

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: THEMES

CONCLUSION

What functions.php Is

functions.php Autoloads, Before the Rest of the Theme

Uses of functions.php

Key Takeaways:

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS CHEAP SEO?

What determines SEO pricing?

The Multimedia Designs Factor

INDUSTRY MONTHLY RETAINER

MMD MONTHLY RETAINER

INDUSTRY FIXED PRICE CONTRACT

MMD FIXED PRICE CONTRACT

INDUSTRY PROJECT BASED PRICING

MMD PROJECT BASED PRICING

INDUSTRY HOURLY CONSULTING

MMD HOURLY CONSULTING

Monthly retainer

Fixed-price

Project-based

Hourly

How much should you spend on SEO services?

Forcing a Page to Load from the Server

BUT CACHE IS GOOD! SPEED

BUT WHAT ABOUT WORDPRESS?

WORDPRESS PLUGIN SOLUTION

HERE IS HOW THE SCAMS WORK

Our initial correspondence went like this:

WHAT IS AMAZING ABOUT THESE SCAMS

HERE IS HOW THE ATTEMPTED SCAN WENT DOWN

THE SCAMMER CLUE:

THE HOOK - THE MONEY

HOW TO HANDLE IT

BUSINESS WITH MULTIMEDIA DESIGNS, LLC = SAFE

IF YOU HAVE BEEN A VICTIM : THE MONEY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Myth 1: Webs are build and forget

Think of your website as a magazine, not as a book. Updating the content, gives a reader a reason to come back.

VS

Myth 2: Appearance is all there are to good design

Myth 3: The homepage is all that matters

Myth 4: Visitors only look at the desktop version

Myth 5: Mobile sites are simpler

Myth 6: More cool features means a better site

Myth 7: DIY (aka Do It Yourself) websites are just as good as professionally designed ones

Myth 8: Web Developers have no costs.

OMG No!!!! I can't afford this!

Do it right the first time!Let a professional team take the wheel from the beginning.

WHY YOU NEED THE INTERNET

THE INTERNET | THE GREAT EQUALIZER

Do it right the first time!
Let a professional team take the wheel from the beginning.