Peppercorn Blog
Posts Tagged ‘CODE’
Captcha Code
April 23rd, 2010
With SPAM mail causing such a problem to most email users, web designers can add a small piece of code to web forms they develop that stop form scripts being used to send SPAM mail.
We’ve all seen the small graphics with letters and numbers that we have to read and enter into the form before we can send it. This is called a “CAPTCHA” code and if the letters and numbers entered, do not match the code, the form will not submit.
Computer programmes and robots can not read these images so there is no way to by-pass the code and send out unsolicited emails using scripts from your page.
There are many types of Captcha codes available on the Internet now so web designers have a large variety to choose from. This is a simple and effective way to stop SPAM being sent from your pages.
Font Control With sIFR
November 24th, 2009
sIFR allows web designers to replace short passages of static text with text rendered in your preferred font in a search engine friendly manner. It does not matter whether users have that font installed on their systems. This is achieved by using javascript, CSS, and Flash.
A very short delay can occur while the page is loading but the impact is minimal and offer website designers much more opportunity to work with various fonts within websites they build.
Search engines are still able to spider websites that use this technique and do not have any issues with it. For a live example of this technique, keep your eye on www.peppercorn.co.uk as we have integrated this with our new website design.
Who Owns Your Code?
November 13th, 2009
Choosing web designers is a major decision to make as you will likely have a relationship with them for months, possibly years to come. When website designers pitch for work, they can often show you a great design portfolio and talk about the functionalility of the site and what they can do for you and your business but there can be hidden pitfalls in the small print of any contract that should be looked for.
One of the main problems many people approach Peppercorn Web Design with is the fact that they are unable to gain access to the files of their own website. Many web designers will not allow FTP access or give the website files their clients for various reasons. Even though they have paid for the website in full and perhaps just want to change hosts or have another company perform some seo work, they are unable to do this as they cannot access the files to their site.
This is most frustrating and many times, peoples hands are tied and their only option is to stay with those web designers or start again. This can be a waste of time and money. The lesson to be learned here when choosing a website designer is to ask them upfront, “Who will own the website files and code once final payment has been made?”. Any reply that is not “You”, should leave you to consider whether this company is worth doing business with.
Ensure that you have it in writing, or even better, in the contract that on final payment the website files and code will belong to you and you are free to take the site elsewhere should you need to. This is the only way you can protect yourself from being ransomed by other website designers.
