A long, LONG time ago at Kintek, we (naively) used a version control system which basically consisted of storing all code locally and making physical backups nightly. This meant that we always had a copy of each client’s website that was at least within 24 hours of changes. I’m sure many people take this approach as it is relatively quick, easy, and feels like you are in control. Unfortunately, you actually end up doing more work than you should!

The first issue with the naive system is that usually people only keep a small number of versions. For example, at Kintek, we would usually only keep backups within 7 days of the current state of a website. However sometimes we needed to revert back to code older than a week, and sometimes it was necessary to keep the entire history of a project. Obviously this meant we wasted a lot of time re-coding and organising revisions manually.

Another issue we had was that it was hard to know the changes made to files, and in particular, the developer who made the changes. More problems arose when two developers were working on the same project - we found that it was almost impossible to work on the same file at the same time.

Luckily, there is a solution to these issues: version control. Version control (otherwise known as revision control or source control) is used to manage the changes to files such as source code. Users simply obtain the files they need from the system, make changes, then upload the files back to the system. From a user’s point of view, it cannot be simpler - all the hard work is done behind the scenes by the system. The system itself traditionally records the changes made to the file and the author of the changes. Any conflicts within 2 versions of the same file are resolved by merging the contents. This means 2 developers can painlessly work on a single file at the same time without over-writing each others changes!

Another extremely important advantage of version control is that it means developers are always using the current version of the project. Also, an entire history of the project is kept, meaning users have easy access to every version of every file. Furthermore, version control systems can be setup on external servers which in turn minimises the many risks associated with storing data locally.

There are many version control systems available and at Kintek we use Git, which is open source and freely available for download. We have found it has greatly increased our productivity and allowed us to collaborate more effectively. If you aren’t using a version control system you are not only wasting time, but you are also putting your projects at risk.

Make sure you give version control a try and see the improvements for yourself!

1. Display testimonials
   Testimonials are a fantastic way of building trust and credibility. If you’re not already actively solicitng testimonials from your customers, start now! Customers love to know that they are buying from a popular, respected source and they love to feel part of a community. Testimonials add a personal touch to your website and help customers feel comfortable buying from you.
2. Be contactable
   It’s important that customers have easy access to your contact details. They want to know that they are dealing with a legitimate business and that there is someone they can talk to if they have questions. Make sure potential buyers can easily find your contact page and include as much information as possible.
3. Offer satisfaction guarantees
   Another way of making customers feel comfortable is by guaranteeing the products or services you are selling to them. Offering a money back guarantee will help relieve a potential buyer’s anxiety over making an online purchase. Online shoppers don’t have the benefit of meeting you in person or holding products in their hands, so you need to do everything you can to convince them. Satisfaction and money back guarantees let people know that there’s no reason NOT to buy from you. Make sure you specify the terms clearly so that there is no confusion down the track.
4. Give something away for free
   Not practical for everyone, but if you’re able to give customers a demo, preview, video demonstration or free trial that will convince them they should buy from you, then do so. Giving something away for free is a great way of building trust with potential buyers. Don’t stop at the pre-sale point either - you can build tremendous loyalty and repeat business amongst existing customers by giving something away for free every time they purchase from you.
5. Proof read and spell check!
   Make sure you proof read your content for typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. You want your customers to know that you are professional and attentive.
6. Make paying easy
   Use a trusted 3rd party partner website for credit card transactions and make the process as seemless as possible. Customer’s shouldn’t have to leave your website to make a purchase, this can be confusing and customers may abandom the process - unless of course you’re using paypal and then customers would expect to be taken to the paypal website.

PHP is not only a powerful scripting language for web applications, but it can also be used to run command line scripts. This can be useful for running cron jobs, quickly testing a function, or running scripts which don’t need to be accessed via a web interface.

First, we need to set the path to the PHP executable, which we will use to run our script. This is found where PHP is installed. On Windows, we can set the path by opening the command console and typing:

PATH = %PATH%;path-to-php-executable;

This operation appends the path to the executable to the existing PATH variable.

Next we will edit our php.ini file to make use of short tags. Open up your version of PHP’s php.ini file (usually found where PHP is installed), and search for ’short_open_tag’, and ensure it says ’short_open_tag = On’. If it is off, change it to on. This simply allows us to use ‘‹?’ instead of the full PHP open tag ‘‹?php’.

Now we will create a new php file, called ‘myScript.php’. Insert the following code:

‹?
echo ‘Hello World! This is my first command line script’;
?›

Open up your command console in the directory where ‘myScript.php’ resides (tip: on Windows, you can do this by holding ‘Shift’ and right clicking on the directory folder and selecting ‘Open command window here’). We can run the script by typing into the console:

php myScript.php

There are some really handy options with the PHP executable. For example, you can check solely for syntax errors by running ‘php -l myScript.php’. Type ‘php -h’ for a full usage list.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (or IE6 for short), was released in 2001. This is about halfway between the birth of the web, and the current day.

IE7 was released in 2006, and IE8 was released in 2009. Both newer versions contain numerous security, standards and performance upgrades. Microsoft made IE8 a critical update as of May 2009.

This means it has been over 3 years since Microsoft officially stopped all support for IE6. The userbase for IE6 is in decline and according to many reports is below 5%.

As web developers, we’ve had to support IE6 for years due to it’s large market share. Since this is finally down to a minority, and since it has been 3 years since Microsoft has stopped supporting their own product, Kintek too has decided to discontinue support for IE6 as part of our Cross-Browser-Compatibility testing. Other major websites such as Google, Youtube, and Facebook are all officially dropping support for IE6 in the very near future. All previous versions of IE are insecure and pose a security risk to users running them. We can not encourage the use of dangerous software online.

Obviously, we are still dedicated to the best for our client’s sites, and neglecting 10% of potential customers is often not a viable solution. If a client requires IE6 support we can offer it on a case by case basis. We typically offer two solutions for IE6 support.

1. This first option is free. We will redirect IE6 users to a page which explains their browser needs an additional plugin to view the website. This installs Google ChromeFrame. This is an Internet Explorer plugin, which allows some websites (which explicitly request it) to be rendered using Google Chrome’s engine. This installation page will be consistent with the style and layout of your existing website, and will be extremely user-friendly. The Google ChromeFrame installation usually only takes a few seconds (and one or two clicks), after which the website will display perfectly in IE6.

2. The second option, is we can spend time creating manual fixes and “hacks” to correct the site for viewing in IE6. This is charged at our standard hourly rate. It is important to note that even with these fixes, IE6 will remain unsafe and is sometimes simply incapable of delivering “modern” content - such as highly dynamic menus, animations, etc. We aim for a “functional” version of the site in IE6, but often a highly attractive version is simply not possible.

Due to the rapid decline of IE6 we do not recommend this second option as a cost effective solution. The new computer operating system Windows 7 to replace Windows Vista and XP launches at the end of October and comes bundled with IE8 which means hopefully it will only be a matter of months before IE6’s marketshare has reached a negligible amount. Most statistics websites show IE8 out ranks IE6 as a percentage so the tidal shift has already mostly occured.

To provide cost effective solutions to the majority of our clients we cannot support IE6 by default. Thanks for your understanding. We value your business, and are always happy to discuss.