Aldebaran Web Design's Blog

I had a client recently ask me to add some logos from other companies to his website. The logos were from news organizations, and his intention was to use the logos as links to articles that those organizations had on their websites. This raised a question about proper use of trademarked symbols and so, like I usually do when I learn something new, I wrote this article about what I learned. Disclaimer, I’m not an attorney and this isn’t legal advice. It’s just a blog article. 🙂

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Ok, so maybe this is unrelated to web design, but on several occasions clients and friends who are on a mac have received .docx files (2007 Microsoft Word) and have been unable to open them.

Now, don’t even get me started on why Microsoft would release a version of Word that is not backwards compatible…

But they did, and here’s a tool they are offering to help solve the issue:

Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac

Note this requires OS X 10.4

I’ve also tried out that docx-converter.wdgt, the one that adds a widget to your dashboard, but it doesn’t always work. The one above worked just fine for me.

Additionally, I noticed that I could upgrade my version of Word to 11.35 that would enable me to open these docx from Word - but when I tried to use the Microsoft updater, it wouldn’t work for some reason. So I’ll just stick with the XML File Format Converter to convert Word docx.

Enjoy!

The short answer: I don’t know. But here’s what I have learned: The more articles you write, the higher the likelihood that one of them will be a hit.

Did I know which articles would be hits before when I wrote them? Nope. What’s the secret: Keep writing!
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I recently had a good friend ask me to figure out why her friend’s website was not coming up in Google. After a quick review, the answer was obvious: the site had no text content, it was 100% flash. It also had zero backlinks. There was no reason why Google would rank this site, in fact, it wasn’t even in the Google index at all. It had a splash page, and played the same music on all pages. Which leads me to a familiar theme that keeps running in my head: who should you select to design your website: an Artist or an Engineer?

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My partner runs a dog training forum to provide a community space for her clients and others to share information about dog training. This morning, someone posted a fake item that I thought I’d share with you as an example of how NOT to build backlinks to your website and trust in your business.

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Shopping cart abandonment is a visitor behavior and a metric that every online store owner should be aware of and actively tracking. It happens when a potential customer puts an item in their shopping cart, but fails to complete the purchase process. Studies I’ve listed in this article quote shopping cart abandonment rates of 60% - 80%. Knowing what your rate is, and what you can do to improve it is vital to the well-being and success of your online store.

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Is your small business website hosting company backup up your website? If they are, how often are the backup happening and how do you request a backup copy replace what’s currently there (assuming a mistake was made).

I had a client recently ask me whether or not his hosting company was backing up his website files. At first, I thought this was a silly question, because I thought the answer would be “of course!”

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You’re thinking of launching an online store to sell your products or services. You’re wondering if you’ve got what it takes to be successful in this rapidly changing online arena. You’re wondering how much time it will take and what it will cost. You’re wondering if you’re smart enough. This article hopes to help you answer some of these questions before you invest in an online store.

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Here are step by step instructions for setting up PayPal Website Payments Pro with your ECT (ECommerce Templates) online store. “Pro” allows you to accept credit cards directly in your online store without sending your customers through PayPal - it communicates with PayPal in the background. Note, you MUST have PayPal Website Payments Pro fully activated - if you only have Website Payment Standard, this will not work!
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I’ve had several clients ask me how to resize images, and so I’ve compiled this list of free image resizer programs that are available for different platforms. If you have one you like to use, please let me know and I’ll be happy to add it to my list.
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