Blog

Today marks the first anniversary of the disappearance of toddler Madeline McCann from the holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal. Since that the story has never been far from the daily news headlines.

As a farther of a three year old boy, the story is one that I find particularly upsetting. I can only begin to imagine what Madeline’s parents, Kate and Gerry must be going through.

From early on in the investigation into Madeline’s disappearance, Gerry McCann started a blog to help chart the story and keep the campaign at the forefront of the publics attention. This blog, along with the official Find Madeline website which was given a facelift at the beginning of February this year.

Can You Help?

If you were in Praia da Luz or the surrounding area in the two weeks leading up to Madeleine’s disappearance on Thursday May 3, the police may be interested in any photographs you took while there.

In particular they would like any pictures that have people in them who you don’t know as opposed to scenery shots or pictures of just your own family. You can submit them to the police by visiting http://madeleine.ceopupload.com.

If you have any other information that you think may be of some use, then please contact our investigation line on +34 902 300 213 or email investigation@findmadeleine.com

When it comes to tracking the success of your website and the effectiveness of a search engine optimisation campaign then it’s vital that you use a good quality website traffic stats package or web logs analyser.

My personal preference at the moment is Google Analytics which was first introduced a few years ago after Google acquired the web analytics firm Urchin Software. Google Analytics is continually evolving and new and exciting add-ons appearing on a regular basis. Read the rest of this entry »

As a website designer and developer I always make sure that the websites I work on are compliant with the latest web standards. This is why I code using XHTML and use CSS as a means of delivering the page layout. The use of CSS as a layout tool offers many benefits but can also provide a web designer with many headaches especially for those people beginning to learn CSS. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent busy period at work has unfortunately been beset by a catalogue of complications and problems (not my making I may hasten to add). This has highlighted to me the importance of client education and an effective project management strategy.

I have always been of the view that any relationship, be it business or pleasure, is a two way affair and requires a mutual understanding of roles and boundaries. In order for business relationships to develop and grow it is important that a firm foundation of understanding is set out at the beginning so that everyone involved is fully aware of the project boundaries, areas of responsibility, project goals and any timescales/deadlines involved. If this is done correctly, the whole process has a better chance of running in a smooth, professional and cost effective manner. From experience, I have found that where these details are not clearly set out and agreed to in the early stages, then this will often result in a long drawn out and painful affair potentially resulting in bad feeling and wasted time and money. Read the rest of this entry »

The current break on the otherwise gloomy UK weather allowed me the opportunity to get out and about spend some time endulging in one of my many passions, photography. The chosen location for the day was Blackpool Promenade which is currently under going a major facelift. The work to the southern end of the prom has been completed and now features several towering abstract sculptures which offer themselves as interesting subjects for the photographer.

By zooming in this particular sculpture I managed to make use of the evening sun as it cast long shadows and a warm glow over the rusty metal structure which contrasts nicely with clear blue sky in the background.

Sitemaps are an extremely useful but somewhat over looked tool that can help in the search engine optimisation of a website. It’s therefore important that a website owner understands what sitemaps are, what they do and how to make the most of them. Read the rest of this entry »

A while ago I wrote a post entitled ‘how to produce digital black and white photographs‘ and in it I mentioned that I was a big fan of the work by Henri cartier-bresson. He was a master of black and white photography and of capturing that decisive moment. The split second moment when a cyclist flies past a door way or when a distant figure hops across a puddle in the street. Read the rest of this entry »

In my last post, Essential Housekeeping for the New Year, I wrote about how, for me, the dawn of a New Year is a time for reflection on the previous year and how it’s a fresh opportunity to look forward to the coming year and begin to formulate a plan of action that builds on the previous years successes, failures or short comings. Read the rest of this entry »

For me the dawn of a new year is a time to reflect and look forward to making fresh starts, New Year’s resolutions and building on the successes of the previous year. It’s a prime opportunity to look at your website and conduct some essential housekeeping, maintenance and planning in order to give your site some much needed TLC. Read the rest of this entry »