Posts In Web Design & Development

How Do You Choose Your Service Provider?

Hi,

One of the most common questions I have to deal with in the web services business is “Why do you charge this much when the other company claims to do it for half the price?”

And my answer is always – You get what you pay!

The cost factor is seldom an indication of the quality of the services rendered. In fact, companies who claim to get you great looking websites at extremely low costs might just get you deliverables that is just worth the money you spend.

Moreover, there are companies that don’t give you adequate knowledge about what needs to be there on the website for it to function smoothly without any hitches. They would get you a website at the promised cost. Yeah they will… But when you need to add on features to make it more usable, that’s when they’ll quote a fat amount which by the way would compensate for the lower figure earlier ;)

An e-commerce website is incomplete without an inventory management tool. A mortgage website is useless without a dynamic tool to fluctuate the interest rates. These are the kind of things that you wouldn’t be given by unscrupulous companies that seek to make business later.

Trust me… if the price sounds too good to be true. It might just be!

When you choose a service provider for your website related needs, choose one who has enough experience of the industry and expertise of the task.

• Look into the portfolios of potential vendors for the kind of work they have done.
• Contact their previous clients to gather more information about their work style and if they guarantee quality services.
• Check their technical and staff capabilities
• In case it is an offshore service provider, make sure there is cultural compatibility between both the parties

Just make sure you make a sane choice and you can be rest assured that you will get great website design services!

Till next time… Bye

Election 2.0 – Is It Really?

Hi,

So after America chose its President and made history… Its India’s turn to turn up out voting fingers.

The election is round the corner and campaigning has reached feverish pitches. But what’s new this time round is that politicians have realized the potential of the World Wide Web and is making full use of it. After all the internet is a platform to reach out to millions of users and who’s ever going to miss an opportunity to influence the net-masses?

Of all the seven political parties, five have their official websites and are making maximum use of it. though there are no complicated interfaces or anything, the basic structure does enough for them to showcase their policies and agendas. What’s more? Some of these website also have interactive tools complete with photo galleries, forums and feedback boxes where visitors can express their free opinion.


Political parties are also releasing videos and releasing them on video sharing websites. in addition social networking websites are abuzz with heated debates and discussions initiated by ardent members of the political parties. Internet campaigns are on full swing.

More is about the social marketing optimization of political parties. Popular websites like Facebook, YouTube and MySpace are witnessing active campaigning efforts from the parties. Blogs and online communities reflect the same fervor.

Political parties are just about making every effort to reach out to netizens and influence their opinion. Year 2008 is really seeing Election 2.0

Bye for now…

Google Does It Again: Video Chat In Gmail!

Hi,

Google never fails to surprise us. Just when you think that the Santa bag has run out of goodies, Google does a double take and comes up with something entirely new!

And this time it Voice/Video Chat in Gmail. The free email service, Gmail that has literally taken over the way people communicate has now got another feather to the cap and has entered the market that was primarily ruled by Skype.

Though it is yet to achieve the sophistication of Skype, Gmail’s voice and video is just about as useful. The only place where it scores low is that its not able to connect to plain phone networks as Skype’s paid service can. But then what’s bad for free? Plus, installation and use is a cakewalk. Even my granny can use it!

Gmail users can now talk to friends on a video screen and at the same time use IM in the chat box.

About the activation??

As I said… A smooth cakewalk!

All you need to do is install a free plug-in and yeah… You need to have a webcam too ;)
Unlike others of the same fray, Gmail voice & video uses a proprietary plug-in and not Flash. And it supports almost all major browsers.

Once you have this set, you can see and hear other users and talk to them like you do in real life without even leaving the mail application.
What’s more? Want to read a mail alongside too? Just move the video screen out of the chat box and place it anywhere on the computer screen. You can also change the size of the screen and bloat it full screen.

What makes Gmail Voice & Video Chat tower above the rest of instant messaging services is that it’s available right inside the mail service. This is like integrating all modes of communication into one. If this is how Google goes… it will revamp the whole way of communication!

Kudos to Google!

Byee
Maneet Puri