So you have some dropdown menus on your website, but you would like to make them a little fancier.  With just a little effort in your stylesheet, you can add a nice transparency effect to the background of the dropdown list.

The css is usually applied to the style id created for the drop down div.  Perhaps it is something like #subnav or #subnav li (which is the list item inside the div).  Just remember if you start making list items transparent, they may look a bit fuzzy.  So you might need to use darker text like black to remain legible.

Opacity is recognized as part of the whole number 1. 1 stands for 100% solid color.  You can really choose any color as the base background, but you made need to experiment with it as you change the opacity.  So if you decide to create a 70% opaque menu, just add this as your line in the css style:

opacity: 0.7;

But wait, it looks lovely in Firefox yet nothing seems to have happened in Internet Explorer.  Still another bit to add:

filter: alpha(opacity=70);

With these 2 lines you have covered most of the commonly used modern browsers, your menu still works, and you have added a little something nifty to the design.

Sometimes a little bit of javascript is necessary to control certain features in a website, such as a simple slideshow element on a page, which was a better choice over the heavy Flash animation.  But as organic SEO becomes more prominent, we must learn to minimize the presence of javascript among our web page code, and strive for “clean” search-engine-friendly code.

Instead of including your javascript directly on the web page, link to it as a source.

In the head of the page, create the script tag, but instead of including the script code within the container of the script tags, link to an external javascript file.  For best organization, store your javascript file in a /js folder (or /scripts or something similar).  Your linked tag will appear in this format:

<script language=”javascript” src=”js/filename.js” /></script>

Now, as your page code is read, this is referenced on one line and the search engines (or other resources) do not need to wade through a long javascript to get to the important meat of your website – the content.

It used to be the case that websites were simple text documents that you downloaded to view on your Prodigy or AOL browser. Then again, you also used to be able to have dinner and watch Saved By The Bell by the time it actually downloaded, but the World Wide Web has come a long way since then. Websites are no longer restricted to being online versions of pamphlets. In fact, they run the gamut from expansive social networking services like Facebook, which has many millions of users, to small personal websites that receive maybe 5 visitors a month.

Websites used to be as simple as HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) code embedded in a single file per page. While this was great for simplicity, it didn’t do much in the way of functionality. The pages could only display one static set of information per page. In today’s current version of the internet, one web page can display a variety of different information depending on what the user inputs. These types of websites are known as dynamic websites because they dynamically generate the web pages each time a visitor visits a page, using a set of data that is retrieved from a database.

Here is an example of the way a static HTML page works:

1) You type “www.example.com” in the address bar of your web browser, and your web browser sends a request to the server of “www.example.com” for the contents of the web page.

2) Your web browser downloads the content of the home page at “www.example.com” in the format of an HTML document.

3) Your browser reads this document, and then displays it in your web browser as a web page.

The way a dynamically generated page works is a little different. Let’s take this blog as an example. This blog runs on a popular blogging platform called Wordpress. The Wordpress software uses a combination of PHP code and a mySQL database in order to dynamically generate web pages. PHP is a server-side scripting language, which means that all the processing is done on the web server, as opposed to a client-side script like Javascript that runs on your local machine. The short explanation of mySQL is that it stores data on a database server, which can be retrieved through a series of “queries”. If you would like to know more, you can read about it here: mySQL

Here is an example of the way a dynamically generated web page works:

1) You type “www.webii.net/blog” in the address bar of your web browser, and your web browser sends a request for the contents of the web page.

2) The page “index.php” runs its PHP code on the web server, which includes mySQL queries for information from the database. This includes a query of the “latest posts” which Wordpress stores in the mySQL database. The “index.php” file finishes running its code, and it outputs the result in HTML.

3) Your web browser reads the HTML output of the PHP file, and then displays it in your web browser.

Either way, your browser still receives and displays HTML information, but the manner in which it is retrieved is very different. The “index.php” file can put out different results depending on the user input. When you click on the “about” link in our blog’s navigation bar, you are actually calling the exact same “index.php” file, but this time the page is dynamically generated to display the “About” information that is stored in the mySQL database. Neat, huh?

Dynamic websites are not for every one. If you simply need to display a couple of pages of text and images, then sometimes bare bones HTML pages can suffice. If you need something better for your organization or business (or even just your personal website), dynamically generated web pages can be designed to give multi-tiered security access, allow you to update your web page from anywhere on the web, and many other powerful features that can turn an otherwise uninspired website into a full blown online presence, a tool to help you get things done.

…Drupal

My favorite feature about Drupal content management software is how easy it is to edit a content page.

With the top toolbar administration setup, you can simply stay logged in and browse the web site as if you were a visitor.  When you find a page that needs revising, there is a handy Edit link right there on the page for you.  This takes you straight to a comprehensive edit screen; after saving your changes, you are taken back to the published page to review.

Authorize.net.

In our years of e-commerce development we have worked with a variety of payment gateways to integrate a business’s credit card processing service with a web site.  Authorize.net is currently one of the most popular gateway services available, making it very easy to install for almost any shopping cart.  Most software already has a module available to integrate with this service, which saves both your development team and you time and money.

…Zen Cart

This shopping cart software can be a web designer’s dream.  The software was well thought-out by it’s developers and is managed mostly with stylesheets, making custom layouts within close reach; opposed to a less flexible shopping cart that requires heavy programming to modify the look and feel.  Furthermore, developers will be pleased to see the impressively organized code for this program, complete with a smart override system.

…Joomla

With a long established history and a stable, growing community of supporters, this content management software is still a popular favorite.  The software has a large database of existing modules and other add-ons that extend its functionality quite easily.  There are several dedicated developers and software firms who actively provide support services, commercially licensed modules, and customization options.

A lot of folks crave the ability to self-manage their web site. But, no two content management system applications are equal. When researching software with your web developer, these are some factors to consider:

• You need a CMS software that runs efficiently and won’t bog down the server & site speed.
• You want an administrative interface that is easy for you to use.
• A lot of the nicely coded efficient software have awful looking interfaces.
• A lot of attractively designed systems are incredibly slow and arduous.
• Some software is too new or poorly supported, lacking community resources.
• Some software is widely popular with vast free online resources or paid support options.
• More popular programs often have easy growth options like add-on modules.

When WEBii proposes web site development with a CMS, we take all of these factors into consideration and choose a software or a ground-up custom solution option that best meets the needs of that client.