ThemePartner has created an easy to understand flow-chart to help you decide. Work your way down by answering a series of questions, and you will have your answer!

- click on image to access larger image -

Thanks to ThemePartner for this great flow-chart!

Don’t hesitate to contact JenTekk Web Solutions if you are thinking about upgrading your existing Joomla website, or have any questions.

While the details were different, the story was sadly TOO familiar… people who claim to be professional website developers fall unimpressively and sometimes horribly short.

You get what you pay for.

Out of respect to this gentleman as a friend and local businessman I took some time to share some thoughts on this prevalent experience.

As I concluded the message I stated that professional website development companies need to educate consumers… thus the reason for this blog post.

Note: while I’ve not included all the details of my response, this is the crux of the message…

/* ================== start ==================== */

Hello (name),

It’s always a pleasure to hear from you.

Thanks for all of this, the referrals, the rant and your honesty!

Re: Rant… sadly I hear this quite often.

The ‘web design/development’ market is unfortunately saturated with people who – because they’ve dabbled in website design – claim to be a web developer. They hook their clients by offering a website for a quarter of the price of the professional web companies. Many of these ‘developers’ are unprofessional, deliver a horrible product (website elements today are complex ) and move on.

These unprofessionals do the professional developers a huge injustice, creating hurdles (trust issues, anger, confusion) that we need to overcome after a client has initially been burned.

Coincidentally I am currently drafting up a proposal to completely redo a [type of] website which initially cost a client [peanuts]. The ‘developer’ ran into problems which [he/she] didn’t know how to address. The client then sent the site to a company in [another country] (far cheaper than hiring Canadians) who also attempted to identify the initial issues. Communication proved to be very challenging.

Last week I was finally asked to step in and ‘fix it’. I declined because – after thorough site analysis – determined this site is a house of cards and will fall apart sooner… or later. Now the client will need to pay what they should have paid in the first place, in addition to the original [price]. – it’s very sad. Even in the website development industry, there are flakes, impostors and nonprofessionals.

As you know, JenTekk is a professional and successful website sign/development company. 95% of my projects are referrals, some of my clients are high profile – which are great indicators and confirm that I’m on the right track.

In closing I’m sorry for your experience with web developers. Professional web developers need to protect consumers by educating them, and let them know that even in website design… you get what you pay for.

[ more more personal stuff here... ]

Warm regards,

Jen

/* ================== end ==================== */

Back in 2007 I wrote an article titled “Choosing a website designer” – encouraging people to do their homework.

In closing, I’d like to stress the following:

1) Do not hire a ‘web developer’ because the price is cheap.

2) Alternatively, just because another web development company is charging a lot doesn’t mean you’re hiring a company that is able to give you the kind of attention and personal touch that you may require.

DO: Ask around for referrals. Do your homework – research a couple web designers and choose them NOT on price but on the things that matter…

• integrity
• professionalism
• reputation
• experience
• client list
• testimonials
• quality of product and services

Remember, you’ll be entering into a (business) relationship with them – choose them as carefully as you would your friends.

~

With so much buzz around town about Anahita, its no wonder the whole city is suspended in anticipation of her arrival.

Photographers are checking the batteries of their cameras, businesses shutting down early, fans already lining the carpet to get a glimpse of this new up-and-coming star… the one who has already begun to capture the hearts of the Joomla and Open Source Communities.

So Ladies and Gentlemen, without any further adieu, I introduce to you Anahita…

Her Creators

For the past 18 months rmd Studio (Rastin Mehr – Lead Web Application Architect) and Peerglobe technology (Ash Sanieyan – Lead Web Application Architect) have been working around the clock in collaboration with Johan Janssens and Mathias Verraes (participating as Nooku MVC Framework consultants) from Joomlatools, to develop the ideal Open Source Social Web platform: Anahita Social Engine ™.

What is Anahita Social Engine ™?

Anahita Social Engine ™ is a light and scalable open source solution for building Social Networks, Intranets, and so many other types of social web experiences! Anahita is developed as Joomla 1.5 extensions, using the Nooku Framework.

Feature List

• Rich and Elegant User Profiles
• Flexible Social Graphing
• Intelligent Activity Updates
• Organic Privacy Manager
• Public Messaging
• Notifications and Requests
• Customizable look and feel
• Anahita Social™ Photos
• so much more »

F.A.Q.

One of the most frequently asked questions Rastin and Ash (creators) receive is if Anahita is yet another facebook cloner, to which they respond:

“Heaven no! facebook is one of the many types of social web species out there. Anahita Social Engine ™ is for developing social web projects of ALL kinds. If a facebook clone is what you want, you can have that too!”

View Anahita screen captures and see for yourself!

Anahita PowerPoint Presentation

Anahita Social ™ Partner’s Program

Are you a developer or do you operate a development company?

Would you like to have an early start in becoming familiar with the Anahita framework and API so that you can start developing your social web projects right away?

If so, I have great news for you!

Rastin and Ash have developed a partnership program which will enable you to experiment with the code, ask questions, and influence the future of project by providing feedback and suggestions for new features.

Benefits include Partner’s Privileges, Training, Support and Marketing, read more »

This is also an excellent opportunity for you to fund one of the most promising open source social engine projects existing today to all of us, which is brought to you by people who have years of experience in developing web applications and roots in the Open Source world and communities.

More Information

For more information on Anahita Social Engine ™, and the Anahita Social ™ Partner’s Program, visit Anahita ‘s official website at www.anahitapolis.com

I wish you a long, successful and beautiful career Anahita!

All the best to my friends and business associates Rastin and Ash as they take this amazing project to the Open Source community.

You’ve certainly offered us an invaluable resource, and more power to the people!

Thank you!

~

Technorati Tags: anahita social engine, anahita, social engine, social web, rastin mehr, rmdStudio, ash sanieyan, peerglobe

It is a lightweight, flexible and easy-to-use document manager that lets Joomla users to easily upload, manage and embed documents within their articles.

»» DOWNLOAD RUBBERDOC

RubberDoc summary

• Effortless document management. It’s very easy to create documents. Simply click on the new button and fill out the document details and then attach the document file and save.
• Categorize documents by assigning them to different Joomla categories.
• Protect the documents by assigning different access levels such as public, registered and special.
• Embed documents anywhere within the articles using the special tags {docs} doc-name-1,doc-name-2 {/docs} or embed all the documents belonging to one category by typing {docs category=”category-alias”}
• Create many documents at once by using the multiple file upload features.
• info on the latest release: RubberDoc v.0.9.5

RubberDoc

• Learn more about RubberDoc
• View RubberDoc screen shots
• Download RubberDoc
• Questions or feedback: please post at rmdStudio’s blog or PeerGlobe Technology
• Read previous support page

~

Technorati Tags: rubberdoc, joomla, extension, document, asset management, content management, cms

OLD DESIGN

NEW DESIGN

WordPress 2.5 is not a required upgrade like the recent 2.3.3 urgent security release.

It is a newly designed, newly functioning WordPress CMS – redesigned from the ground-up. Features include a cool new admin interface, multi-file uploading, one-click plugin upgrades, built-in galleries, customizable dashboard, media library.

SNEAK PEAK

If you are curious to see what all the fuss is about, view screenshots of the new Admin Interface, new features, and watch a 4 minute screencast.

2.5 DOWNLOAD & UPGRADE

So, like the eager beaver that I am, I quickly downloaded WordPress 2.5 and upgraded my blog.

The upgrade process was as slick as its always been. I deleted the old files, uploaded the new ones, ran the upgrade.php and voila, I’m doing the happy dance!

2.5 PLUGIN COMPATIBILITY

WordPress 2.5 Plugin Compatibility List

Next I began testing the site for anything suspicious. Low and behold I discovered that one of my plugins is no longer working.

No suprise here. You can’t go and redesign a site from the ground up and expect all the previous versions of plugins to be compatible.

I’d been using Gregarious a social bookmarking plugin (DIGG etc.), but it is not compatible with 2.5, and support for it is limited if non-existant according to its developer: “Due to time constraints, I cannot guarantee support for this plugin. Not compatible with WP 2.5.”

The Dagon Design people (PHP Form Mailer) are also currently in the process of testing all of their scripts and plugins for 2.5 compatibility.

SimpleTags (Technorati) and Askimet (Spam Catcher) are both working fine.

2.5 THEME COMPATIBILITY

WordPress 2.5 Theme Compatibility List

Persons using the very popular K2 WordPress Theme will want to make note that older versions of K2 are not compatible with WordPress 2.5, although they are busy at work and made this K2 support announcement just over a week ago:

The revision currently in subversion should support WordPress 2.5, so if you’re in need of a new K2 for the latest WordPress release, go grab the latest nightly. Meanwhile, Steve is hard at work at putting together a new release, which is right around the corner.

The new Admin GUI is nice, and the new features are cool, but because there are still some compatibility issues (no fault of their own) I’d hold off upgrading your website if you have lots of vital plugins installed.

If you’re developing a new site or blog, go ahead and install WordPress 2.5 – just remember that some themes and plugins are not yet available.

Overall, for looks & functionality, JenTekk gives WordPress 2.5 a great big 2.5 thumbs up!

~

Technorati Tags: wordpress 2.5, wordpress, wordpress plugin compatibility, jentekk

A while back, I was hired by a company to assist them with their website. We sat down over a great cuppa java and hashed out a game plan for what was to be a relatively small job.

As per usual, I outlined all the project’s details in a Proposed Scope of Work, along with a quote and payment time-line. Company approved the details, appreciated the timely manner in which I would submit the deliverables, and cut me a cheque for the deposit.

As the project neared completion, the client began submitting requests to also “just add this” and “quickly do that”… all of which were not ‘quick/simple’ tasks, nor included in the agreed upon Scope of Work.

This scenario – commonly known as Scope Creep – is absolutely frustrating for all, and can be the death of a potentially great business relationship if not addressed early on.

Avoiding the Creep – is it possible?

Two of the major causes for Scope Creep are insufficient planning and communication.

Rushing into a project almost always leads to an oversight of website requirements, which then invariably creep up during the development phase.

As a Client and Web Developer, you want to do all you can to avoid Scope Creep. With that being said, and even after thorough planning, it can still rear its ugly head. So, with avoidance being somewhat beyond control what is one to do?

The solution is actually quite simple: expect the unexpected.

Prepare for the Creep!

Upon entering into any web development agreement, both the Client and Web Development company need to take a long hard look at the website’s needs: its objectives, functionality requirements, and future growth. No stone should be left unturned.

Before moving forward into a binding agreement, both Client and Web Company should discuss the Scope of Work to confirm a mutual understanding of the details, and that it addresses all the website’s needs as they understand them to be.

Finally, the Web Company needs to ensure the Client that while the project is under way, they are free to request additional work be done, but that there will be additional charges for any work rendered which is over and above the Scope of Work.

A Web Developer may wish to include the following terms in their web development agreement:

“…should the Client choose to make changes which are not covered by the Scope of Work, additional charges will apply at the Company’s labor rate of $XXX.XX/hour.”

Taming the Creep.

Sometimes even the best laid plans can give way to surprises. Trying to tackle scope creep without a game plan will lead to resentment and frustration for both the Web Developer and Client alike. Be prepared. If you are controlling it, it is not controlling you.

With the Web Developer and Client both understanding and respecting the terms set out to manage scope creep, a business relationship can begin to flourish where a website’s emerging and evolving needs are not a hindrance, but considered a natural part of the development process.

Technorati Tags: web development, website development process, scope of work, scope creep, jentekk

So… what did you do this weekend? Take a walk by the ocean? Eat at Pajo’s Fish and Chips? Maybe catch some rays at the top of your favorite ski hill? Before I tell you what I did, let me tell you why I did it…

Last week, I’d been notified that this very blog (running on WordPress Version 2.2.2) was being exploited, and that I needed to upgrade to the latest version.

Now you can guess what I did this weekend. I not only upgraded JenTekk Blog, but also 5 other WordPress websites to the newly released WordPress v. 2.3.3 ! Oh yeah, and then I made a bee-line to my favorite tanning salon!

That I can upgrade a WordPress website delights me. I am more the creative spirit. Sure, I occassionaly dabble with the more technical stuff, but usually leave that to my awesome business partner and friend Rastin Mehr of rmd Studio.

Hmmm… with that being said, I’m not so sure that upgrading a WordPress website really can be passed off as ‘technical’, but run with me on this will ya!

So, for those of you who are somewhat adventerous, and would also like to give it a whirl, here ya go!

How to upgrade your WordPress Website

• Download and Extract the latest version of WordPress files.
• Back-up your WordPress Database and WordPress Website Files. Verify that your back-ups are useable.
• Deactivate your WordPress Plugins, simply by clicking on the ‘Deactivate’ buttons in the Admin Panel – so easy!!
• Delete the Old WordPress Files
  You may want to be careful here! There are a half dozen files you definitely don’t want to delete, and doing so may lead you to hair pulling, that is until you realize you’ve backed them up and have no reason to see a shrink!
• Upload the New Files. This is where it starts to get really exciting. You’re coming down the home stretch at this point.
• Run the WordPress Upgrade Program.
  Okay, this is the good stuff. You’ve followed the instructions like a pro right?? Now its time to see what you’re made of.
  • first you type in the url to run upgrade.php and click “Go” on your browser
  • if all goes well you get a page that tells you your Database needs upgrading
  • click “Continue”, and you arrive at a page that says your Database is up to date,
  • finally click “Continue” to view your wordpress site. Its at this point, (with every upgrade), that I subconciously hold my breath, cross my fingers… and… bingo… just one more reason to go shopping!

I did it! 6 for 6 successful WordPress Website upgrades. And not because I am a technical wizard, but all because WordPress is simply that amazing.

After dancing around and kissing my 2 cats, I completed my installation by updating Permalinks and .htaccess, reactivating my plugins and checking to see if anything ‘broke’ in my WordPress sites, and there was nothing that I could see at this point. Will keep you in the loop!

While I sing the praises of Joomla quite openly, I must admit again that WordPress definitely has its place out there as a quality CMS for either blogs or basic websites.

Thank you to all the people at WordPress who keep on top of security updates, new features, and make it easy for gals like me to play the upgrade game!

Technorati Tags: WordPress Upgrade, WordPress, WordPress 2.3.3, CMS, blog, website, jentekk