The idea of a truly perpetual machine is something that many scientist, engineers and eco-aware individuals have been dreaming about for years. The greatest challenge is to overcome the basic rules of physics and develop a system in which the output is greater than the input. Imagine Newton's Spheres, once in motion, the constant transference of energy keeps the balls in motion. However, because of things such as heat, radiation, gases in the air causing drag, etc., the balls will eventually lose all energy and stop moving unless placed in a controlled environment.

What's a Content Management System?

Ever wanted visitors to be able to register to your site? How about easily editing the content on your pages without having to call someone or adding a blog to your site? These (and a whole lot more) are features common to any content management system. Even though CMSs have similar basic features, there are still differences in the various ones available. The two main points I'm going to go over deal with getting your website designed for use with a CMS as well as how you will actually use your CMS to manage your site after it has been developed.

The first difference in designing a site on either system is your actual starting point in terms of the website’s design and content layout, this is where your content will appear and what sections of the site have space available and which remain the same from page to page. The other important difference I will talk about is the administrative side of the site that clients will use, this is an important factor that should also be taken into consideration since it has a great deal to do with how well you will be able to maintain your site going forward.

Every large scale system has its own unique set of problems and every system has a different learning curve (largely depending on how well it's documented and the resources available to you). Coming from a background of over four years with php development and several years working with mvc systems, the initial challenge of taking on custom component/module/plugin development for Joomla seemed rather trivial. After all, php is php right?

While a lot of non web designers probably don't know about HTML5 or why it's important, web designers have been discussing this topic for months now. There are plenty of positives that this 'new' (revamped) language gives us for web design and web development.

• Offline Support — There are certain features that come along with HTML5 that allow you to store more offline information (more so than cookies / cache) which is a huge plus for mobile application developers. This will allow useful applications to continue to function even when there is no available internet connection.

Used to be, back when I started out as a young web developer, I would hear words like “flow and pop” used in reference to website design and I would literally cringe. But over the years and multiple projects later I have come to understand the native language of the average netizen and prospective website owner. As a Project Manager, I have to understand that the dreaded "flow and pop" lingo is not going anywhere and that translated properly it can reveal many valuable insights into my clients' expectations. But essentially, understanding and creating pop and flow is the difference between having your uncle that “knows how to make websites” make your site for you and going to an experienced web design and development company. Here are some translations to better explain…

This article stems from a conversation on web site efficiency and the different ways to approach building image buttons. Sprites are combinations of images integrated into one file displayed on your website. New techniques sprout up all the time, but sprites have been around in one fashion or another for a while now and they are proving their usefulness more and more. The use of sprites in web site design gives the same effect we are used to seeing when we mouse over a button on a website. Test it out below. Here are the imanes used in the file for this example.

In the web design world, there are always a handful (if not more) ways that you can accomplish any given task. In terms of web design and using images for buttons, there are even different ways of using multiple images for that mouse rollover effect. It started with having to use extra code and Javascript, a coding language that reacts to users' mouse movements. Another more browser-friendly way is using separate images that get displayed though a stylesheet that does pretty much the same thing without the extra code -- sprites.

Mobile phones have gained widespread popularity since the iPhone came out and since then, other devices running on various different platforms have also sprouted. As more people get phones that are capable of web browsing, more web sites and site owners are adding some emphasis on mobile web design versions of their site.

A mobile version isn't always as simple as making your current website show up on someone’s phone the same as if they were using a normal web browser. Since there is a smaller amount of real estate on a mobile screen, there is more of focus on efficient use of that space as well as taking into account (as always) load time and standards compliant web design.

Most web site design contemplates a form will be integrated into the website. As with all web design considerations you must remember your target audience and design with them in mind. A Five Star Restaurant may have a different approach than an Engineering firm.

Either way, there are important considerations that need to be well thought out when you design your online forms. Here are 9 ways to get a better response rate:

If anything is in sharp focus on Christmas Eve it's that I need to find that last minute gift and I need to "Buy It Now." It's a good lesson for all Ecommerce Web Sites. Keep it simple. Simple means, “Here is how much this is” and, “Here is how you get it.” And maybe, “Here is what else you may want that others looked at.”

We know who the master of this process is - Amazon. And they are a favorite for easy user experience and Web Design friendly Interactive Marketing. If you want another great example, go to Netflix and you'll just feel the difference. Now go back to eBay.

Let's face it. The online auction was a fad and eBay’s monstrous earnings decline seems to suggest as much. The writing was on the wall when they introduced "Buy It Now" way back and under their new CEO in 2008 saw revenue increase only in Buy It Now items. That's not good when you're an auction site.

When you complicate this with the fact that Paypal is no longer a service option for payment it's the mandatory method to the exclusion of all other forms, you can see eBay is itself hedging. They own Paypal. It’s a revenue source they now must depend on.

eBay is a platform for third party sellers. But it is a complex one. Constant changes to rules from feedback limitations to shipping methods have caused all the big sellers to leave. Higher seller fees have played no small role either. And Buy It Now isn’t even simple: eBay’s site says, “The Buy It Now price must be at least 10% higher than the auction starting price. For eBay Motors, this applies to Parts & Accessories, but not to vehicle listings.” Spread sheet anyone? Actually eBay has a spread sheet on their site for the Buy It Now rules which are only part of the rules, sub rules, and exceptions to rules (and sub rules).

Ecommerce Web Sites, even if you are selling a third party’s goods, need to utilize the power of convenience. Billing and shipping should be a breeze and you should have simple policies and rules, especially if your business provides a fulfillment channel for third party sellers. Time is money as they say.

Pricing? We know that in a few clicks the average buyer now has so much pricing information on any product they want that price alone is not going to get you there. The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that even two years ago 81% of web site hunters research products online before buying. We are well past the curve of the morphing of Ecommerce.

One last interesting note: when eBay bought its minority stake in Craigslist, it was understood that Craigslist would not create a classifieds web site. But by the end of 2007, it had launched classified ads internationally and gave us another free classifieds site, Kijiji. EBay and Craigslist then found that there were all sorts of reasons to start suing each other.

User experience, buy now, customer service and keep it simple. Sounds like the old corner store in my neighborhood when I was growing up. Web Usability and Web Design: Think of the Users! That is how your Ecommerce Web Site will stand out from the rest in 2010.

Usability is a hot topic, for good reason. It is so essential for web designers and developers to be conscious of how people will be using a site and this concept ties in with Information Architecture (IA) practices as well. Usability is another one of those “hidden” aspects of any successful website.

Wait, what is usability?

In general, it refers to the relationship a user has with the tools they happen to be working with. For our example, that tool is a web site. For the site to be successful, people need to not only be able to use it, but use it as efficiently as possible. Now that might sound pretty obvious but there is a lot more that goes into it than you think. Things need to be clean and concise and assist the user in accomplishing what they came to the website for in the first place. Things like pop-up ads and extensive (and often unneeded) functionality distract and frustrate users, reducing usability. This can also translate into potentially lower ROI or less-than-satisfactory marketing results.

In my previous article on IA, we introduced the method of planning out what information you want visitors to your site to be able to access. Usability takes the next step and helps web designers plan out how they will access and use that information. In an article from BBC News, Dr. Jakob Nielsen says:

“…users have become accustomed to that interactive environment,” and “Now, when people go online they know what they want and how to do it”

This means that as everyone gets more comfortable with using the Internet and web applications, they are developing certain expectations or assumptions as to how things work. That is not to say that your site has to look like everyone else’s in order for people to use it. What it does mean is that general ideas of layout and relationships between information should be taken into account. This is why you will almost always see top and/or side navigation on sites.

There is an endless amount of information on usability. Navigation placement is a miniscule part of what goes into achieving good usability but it should give a good idea of the kind of stuff I’m talking about. I encourage everyone to dive into this subject further and learn as much as possible!

Just like it sounds, Information Architecture suggests that the content on a site needs to be thought out and taken into consideration over everything else when it comes to a development project. One of the most difficult things to do is design a site that is lacking some ( or sometimes all ) content. It is very important that a site takes into strong consideration the information that is being presented to the user and makes a good effort to help them better understand what they are reading.

Users make a subconcious decision about a site within 1/20th of a second and if you get past the inital 'gatekeeper' you will be helped a lot by having a site that has a well thoughout IA structure. Not only does this help your site to appear more professional and appealing but it most importantly helps users to understand what they are reading. Much like graphic design, if the IA is there and it is done well you will never notice. However, if you go to site that has been poorly thought out in terms of the structure of content you might not pick it out as 'bad IA' but you will feel it and that split second decision will not go in your site's favor.

What does this mean to clients? The same thing every web designer with a blog will tell you, Content is King! It is more true than ever when you have a specific objective in mind for visitors of your site. Good IA allows you to help control the flow of information, how users are presented with the content and ( hopefully ) how they take in that information. Here are some quick points to explain the method for planning out this seemingly daunting task:

1. Understand the information as well as the message that the client is trying to get across. This is a crucial step that cannot be missed.
2. Use information-grouping exercises to help figure out what types of information fit best together and have other people do the same. Compare the results to get the most effective method.
3. Take those results and use it to decide the most common ways that people seem to take in the site's content.
4. Create a 'rough draft' of the overall layout of the information to get the main points nailed down.
5. Make sure this draft reflects the results from your IA excersise in step 2.
6. Figure out the most common things that a user will need to do on the website. You will want to make sure that the site makes these tasks easy to understand and logical for them to navigate ( Usability! ).

After all of that is done, we test it out and revise. It helps having various different people do the same thing and make sure the result makes sense to a broad range of people. There are other things that come along with this process but like the list above, it is up to your web designer to handle. This opens the door for next week's article on another crucial element your web design must have. Check back for my article expanding on usability!

A: Content IS Your Design

Content doesn't just tell us what your website is about, it is central to its design. That's why the correct starting point for web designers is your content. Only with a good appreciation of your message first will your company or firm design truly deliver. The actual website design part of the puzzle is deceptively straight forward. If you look at some of the most popular sites, it's the configuration and stylistic touches to the content, be it text or images, which actually creates the web design.

They say simple is good. I like looking at Apple's site as a great example. Who would not want to be as slick and modern as Apple? Yet if you take away the computer monitor, logo, the four images and the text, you have two empty rectangular bars and four empty boxes. That's their design -- six boxes. Fine...shaded boxes.

The key is to understand that web design layout and background images are only the container. If you have marbles for content, don't use a bookshelf for a container. Treatment of text and stylistic touches to images and incorporated graphics are your real web design. These touches make the difference between a polished professional look and a dull amateur attempt. All the web search engine marketing on the Internet won't make up for this.

This holds true for just about any website unless you're say MTV. They do have a very graphic heavy web page design but then again if you take away their content, you're left essentially with a very cool looking Twitter background. OMG, the Yahoo what's happening in Hollywood gossip site, is plain once you remove the fancy photos, glossy nav buttons and bright orange background (and get over how much Michael Jackson's glove sold for...). In fact, it disappears if you do that.

When you are next ready for a true solutions design for your web pages, start with your content first. Get your message together, tell it quickly on your home page and design your content. From their your professional web design will emerge.

Ready, Set, Go...

So you finally are ready to take the plunge into Social Media. Or you're neck deep with a Facebook account (and maybe even Facebook Page), Twitter account, and who knows, maybe LinkedIn, Youtube, Flickr and on and on.

To help decide which ones you want to focus on, consider that implementing Social Media into your web design will help increase customer engagement with your website. That's a good thing. Decide on which apps and widgets make sense for the Social Media you use.

Here are 5 great ways to make your Social Media part of your website now:

1. Twitter Profile Updates: Put your Twitter updates right on your website. This is a good way to get fresh content on your website since you are Tweeting anyway. Take a look at the Twitter Profile Widget. Twitter does a good job letting you test it out before you even "Grab the Code" to implement it.

2. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter Buttons or Icons: Put them on your site so people can connect with you. I come accross interesting businesses all the time. A simple click on the Twitter button would work great for following them. But for those businesses who don't have it, I have to search for their account. If it's not their business name I may never find them. Make it easy with buttons. You can find them anywhere. Just search Social Media Buttons or Icons.

3. Twitter Lists: Here's one that I can't wait to integrate into our own web design at TG Web Media. To much fan fare, Twitter announced its new list functionality and the people rejoiced. With Twitter Lists, you can now organize all your employees tweets into one list and put that on your website. Or just put industry thought leaders or news gatherers in separate lists and populate your website that way. Content is King and with Twitter lists you can add more of your content to your site -- it's real time and constantly updated to boot.

4. Facebook Fans: There are plenty of Facebook Widgets for your web design considerations. Facebook Pages do have analytics for those measuring ROI, or trying to (see below). Of course, Facebook is huge and you have the ability to tap into hundreds of millions of users, get real feedback on your business and build a community and hopefully, a referral source. Read more here about the Facebook Fan Box widget.