New domain names for Australians
If you are in Australia, you have until the 20th of September to reserve a new style of domain name, which may, in the future, become the dominant URL address style for websites in Australia. The new domain name does away with the .com, .org, .net, .gov and just has yoursitename.au. More details about this […]
Quick review of The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
The Future of Another Timeline occurs on an alternative Earth. In this universe, some artifacts can be used for time travel. In a few locations throughout Earth, there are six mounds of rock that, when hit in the right combination, allow time travel throughout Earth’s history. Time geologists use them not only to view history […]
Novels I read last year.
It has been a while since I posted anything. I was too busy last year to post regularly (I started a web design business on March 19 –Wangaratta Website Design Services – and before that, I did a six-week intensive NEIS course on starting and running a business). I had many long weeks of work, working […]
What to Include on an Author Website.
In the lead-up to starting Wangaratta Website Design Services, I did an online survey of writers/authors asking what they wanted in an author’s website. Twenty-three people responded, which isn’t a lot, but I still found their responses informative. Advantages of Having an Author Website When asked about the advantages of having an author website, they […]
Online spammers, scammers and rip-offs.
Since starting my business, I have been surprised by the amount of spam and attempted scams I have received. Domain Registration Rip-off The rip-offs and scams started straight after I registered my business when I received a letter from www.registry.com.au offering me a domain name for my business at the bargain price of $99. This […]
How to get to the top of Google search results
Google is the most popular search engine. According to Statscounter, nearly 95% of web searches are conducted using it. When a search is conducted on Google, the results page (SERP) includes different types of results. For the search “Website Design Wangaratta” (shown below), the top two positions are taken up by paid ads. The two […]
Can customers easily find your business?
I enjoy walking around Wangaratta: clean air, exercise, time to let my mind wander. But often, my thoughts are interrupted when a car pulls up and one of its occupants asks for directions to a particular business, service, or event. Sometimes, I know where the business is and send the driver in its general direction. […]
Questions a web designer might ask you.
Hi all, When a potential client contacts me, these are some of the preliminary questions I am likely to ask. 1. What does your business do? 2. How long has it been operating? 3. Do you currently have a Website? If yes: What is or isn’t working for you on it? Do you want a […]
Converting an existing website so it can be viewed on a mobile.
Hi all, I finally bit the bullet and decided to convert a website that had not been built with mobile phones in mind to one that could be easily viewed on a mobile. This means that the pages are now responsive and resize when viewed on a mobile. It was one of the first websites […]
Review of Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments
Unless you only get your news from a Donald Trump-authorised news source, you would know that The Testaments is Margaret Atwood’s recently released sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. I loved The Handmaid’s Tale when I first read it a few decades ago. It had great world-building and created a believable brutal vision of a right-wing theocracy in […]