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Internet Marketing Strategies and Drupal Tips

Apr 19 2011

How to Improve your Drupal Admin Interface

Posted by Katy | Categories:
These 3 modules are 3 of my most favourite modules for Drupal 6. They do a lot to improve the look and feel and functionality of your Drupal admin panel.
 
1. Better Messages http://drupal.org/project/better_messages
This handy little module is amazing and makes your error messages look great. Instead of having Drupal admin messages showing up in your page and breaking your theme, you can view your messages in a beautiful graphical style with the Better Messages module. This module displays admin messages in an overlay and you can customize the location and even make it draggable. Just install the jQuery UI module and choose “Make Better Messages draggable” at the bottom of module configuration page.
 
Apr 18 2011

The Best Way to Update Contributed Modules in Drupal

Posted by Katy | Categories:
Here is the best way to update contributed modules on your Drupal 6 website:
 
1. Put your site into Site Maintenance mode. Go to Site Configuration>Site Maintenance and set your Site status to offline.
2. Flush the cache. Go to Site Configuration>Performance. Scroll down towards the bottom of the page and click on “Clear cached data” button. I recommend installing the module called "Admin menu". (http://drupal.org/project/admin_menu) It places all the Drupal Admin functions in a menu bar at the top of your screen. You can easily clear the cache by clicking on the favicon on the upper left side of the menu and select "Flush all caches". As a Drupal developer, I end up clearing the cache a lot so having this shortcut is really helpful.
Apr 13 2011

Surrey Drupal Meetup: April 14, 2011: How to Use Template.php to Power your Drupal Themes

Posted by Katy | Categories:
I'm looking forward to our meetup tomorrow evening. Colin Calnan, Drupal Developer at Raised Eyebrow Studio, will be presenting on How to use Template.php to Power your Drupal Themes.

Colin says:
We'll explore the purpose of the template.php file in theming as well as the relevant Drupal API functions. We'll then delve deeper into creating the most basic functions needed in the file. Finally we'll explore the process of reading the code of other modules to help you find the places where you can change their output via template.php
Come and join us at 6:30 pm for our meetup at the ABC Restaurant in Fleetwood. Please RSVP here: http://www.meetup.com/surrey-drupal/events/16607568/
Mar 31 2011

New Website for Wagging Tales Pet Food & Supplies

Posted by Katy | Categories:
Wagging Tales Pet Food and SuppliesWe are proud to announce a new website project. We are in the process of building a new website for Wagging Tales Pet Food & Supplies. Even though their website is under construction, they are open for business. Erminio has the best dog treats and the dog grooming services are extra special. My dog actually likes going there. Visit their website here: www.waggingtalespetfood.com
Mar 31 2011

Mar 2011: Get Higher Google Rankings with Article Marketing

Posted by Katy | Categories:

Article marketing is becoming increasingly popular on the Internet. Instead of reading ads that pushy or in your face, consumers are more likely to read informational how-to articles. Instead of writing why you’re the best real estate person in all of Vancouver, you can write an article on “How to Buy a House in Vancouver” and discuss the general process while giving good tips and free advice.

At the end of every article you get to add your information about you and your business to close the article. This personal closing encourages readers to click on the link to visit your website to learn more about you and your business.

Have you Planned your Online Marketing Strategy for 2011? Contact Katy for free 30 minute Skype consultation. Only 5 slots available.

Read How to Get Higher Google Rankings with Article Marketing

Mar 31 2011

Best Free Online Tool of the Month - Free Article Submission

Posted by Katy | Categories:
Here are 2 free websites where you can submit your best articles and increase your Google ranking today!

Ezinearticles.com has a free membership where all new members can submit 10 articles to prove the quality of your articles. After your first 10 article submissions meet the posted editorial guidelines, you can be upgraded to Platinum level. This allows unlimited article submissions and priority approval speed in getting your articles posted on their high-traffic website. Every article that you submit is reviewed by a person on their in-house editorial team.

PubArticles.com is a free article submission service which allows you to submit your free high quality articles instantly! Once you submit an article to PubArticles.com, you would have literally thousands of readers worldwide as your article is published around the globe. Also, you can discuss with anyone who has the same interests as you!

Mar 22 2011

How to Small Biz Owners can Save Money at Tax Time

Posted by Katy | Categories:
Valley Women's Network is having its monthly luncheon on March 23, 2011 at Coyote Creek Golf Course. Lina Douglas, a Certified Management Accountant, will be presenting on How to Save Money at Tax Time. Lina says:
My passion has always been to help other entrepreneurs understand taxes; hence I specialize in Small Business and Home-based Businesses.I have been able to help thousands of entrepreneurs and look forward to helping many more.  What I like to cover in my presentations are tax strategies that you may be able to use to reduce the amount of income tax you pay if you operate a small business in Canada. 
For more information, go to http://www.valleywomensnetwork.com/node/1048
Mar 22 2011

Socializing your Way to More Clients and More Cash Flow

Posted by Katy | Categories:
I listened to an excellent teleseminar today by Sue Clement of SuccessCoaching.com. Sue gave some great tips on how to Socialize your way to More Clients and Cash Flow. When I first read the topic, I thought the seminar was about Social Media. But I was thrilled to be reminded of the good reasons to attend local networking events.

This teleseminar was broadcast on the web so I didn't get any long distance charges. I also had the option of listening via Skype. Sue talked about these topics: How to make connections to bring in more prospects, How not selling at networking events will get more clients and How to evaluate which networking events to attend.
Mar 15 2011

My Favourite Videos of Drupalcon Chicago for Design and Theming

Posted by Katy | Categories:
How to Make Awesomesauce
Intermediate Theming
By Morten from Denmark
http://chicago2011.drupal.org/sessions/how-make-awesomesauce
http://www.archive.org/details/drupalconchi_day3_how_to_make_awsomesauce

Avoiding Frankenstein Website Design: Collaborating with Clients
Samantha Warren
http://chicago2011.drupal.org/sessions/avoiding-frankenstein-website-des...

Design in the Browser: Use CSS to Stop Lying to Ourselves and Our Clients
Mason Wendell
http://chicago2011.drupal.org/sessions/design-browser-use-css-stop-lying...
Mar 14 2011

Using HTML5 and CSS3 to Build a Blog Design

Posted by Katy | Categories:
1. I found a really good tutorial by Net Tuts on using HTML5 to build a CSS layout for a blog. It also uses some new CSS3 techniques. You can find it here:
http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/html-css-techniques/html-5-and-css-3-t...

2. This tutorial was written in 2009, so some of the HTML5 specs have changed since then.
  • The element header must not appear as a descendant of the footer element.
  • The section element should not be used to wrap articles just to demarcate content as described here http://html5doctor.com/the-section-element/