AJAX is an acronym for "asynchronous JavaScript and XML".  It is one of the latest fads in "state of the art" high performance websites.  It basically means using javascript programming running on the users computer to process inputs from the user.  The result is generally displayed without having to reload the page.  If information is required from the server, it is requested using an XML exchange with the server, and again, the results are displayed on the page without reloading the entire page.

There are many ways to display documents on a website.  If you want to allow users to view and download documents, but don't want them edited or modified, the most obvious choice is Adode Acrobat's PDF format.  Almost everyone has the reader and it integrates right into the user's webbrowser, making viewing and downloading very easy.

In this article, we show some examples of how Adobe Flash can enhance your website.  Below are a few examples of what can be done using Flash animation.

This is a simple messageboard.  It contains a message which changes over time.  There can be as many different lines of text as we want, and the timing can be set to whatever we like:

Below is a demo of a simple online store implimented within the Joomla Content Management System using an on-line store extension called Simple Caddy.  This store uses Pay Pal for secure payment.  It is fairly low-cost and simple to impliment compared to a full-blown online store.  It is probably not the right choice if you are selling hundreds of products, but might work fine for you, if you only have 10 or 20 items for sale.   

Below are a slide show and two picture galleries.   These are easy to impliment because they are created using public domain (free) packages designed specifically for this purpose.  The 3 displays below are designed specifically to integrate into the Joomla Content Management System, but there are other similar packages that can be incorporated into a conventional HTML website.   Enjoy these sample pictures of Arizona:

If you are considering opening up an online store, here is some basic information about how they work and what your options are.

Web sites can be more interesting, and hold your visitors interest longer, if they are interactive and contain animation. Over 90% of personal computers support Macromedia Flash, the standard for website animation and enhanced interactivity. We can create a simple animated logo or complex interactivity, depending on specific needs. An example of Flash animation can be see on one of our websites: OceanReeflections.com. While extensive use of Flash may be a little more expensive than conventional HTML, it can open up unlimited possibility on your website.

If you need “streaming video” on your website, we can do it.  Any video source, e.g. video file, live TV, DVD, etc.  can now be converted to “streaming video” for display on your website.  Here are a couple of examples we did for Julie Murphree’s “Fresh Air” blog: http://juliemurphree.org/?page_id=6 Videos can be made to auto-start, or to start only when selected, as they are on the “Fresh Air” blog.

You can have a great website, but people need to be able to find it.

There are many different strategies for bringing traffic to your website. No one strategy can guarantee results. Conventional advertising is certainly one option, and it should be considered as a part of your overall strategy. However, the purpose of this page is to tell you a little bit about getting more traffic using on-line techniques as a part of your overall strategy.

Search engines are the primary way most people find something on the Internet.

The conventional idea of a blog was that it be a specific type of website for the purpose of publishing ideas and letting others comment. But recently, blog software has become sufficiently powerful and flexible that the use of blog software is starting to change.  We can now easily design a business website which has all the normal functionality of a business website, while including the capabilities of a blog.