Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Excel VLOOKUP and #N/A

#N/A errors in MS Excel using a VLOOKUP formula can be frustrating. It is actually Excel's way of telling you that the value you are searching for isn't in your table of values. To make it look more appealing use the VLOOKUP together with IFERROR function to return a result such as "Not found" or a blank value.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Excel Tips and Tricks

Here are some cool Excel tips that will work in 2003, 2007 or the 2010 version of MS Excel;

Enter Today's Date
Click in the Excel formula bar of an empty cell and type Ctrl+; (semicolon) and it will insert the current date.

Debugging Excel Formulas
In the Excel formula bar highlight part of a formula and press the F9 key. Instead of seeing the calculation you will see the value. It will only evaluate the highlighted portion of the formula. To revert it back to the calculation press ESC.

Auto Filling Week Days
Start with a date typed into a cell. When going to auto fill for sequential dates do a right click mouse drag and when you release the mouse it will pop up a menu to change the date fill to WeekDays.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Troubleshooting Client Computers

How I wish the saying "It works on my machine!" could be used as a valid excuse for technical problems that occur on different computers. You are never really sure how your website will appear everywhere which is why you need a comprehensive testing plan. I came across a cool tool that can help troubleshoot problems without leaving the office. Support details at http://www.supportdetails.com/ will let your clients email their computer configuration which should help narrow down technical problems.

If you need a quote on troubleshooting technical website problems contact us at http://www.webtechconsulting.com.au

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Google Ranking and Site Speed

Google have now released the information that web site speed is now a factor in your google ranking. To get some speed and performance measurements for your website go to www.webpagetest.org. It also lists some optimisation suggestions to improve your web site speed and google rank.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

iPad Peek

The iPad is becoming popular enough for website developers to include it as one of their testing platforms. iPad Peek is a nifty tool that lets you see how any website will be rendered on the iPad. You can switch from landscape to portrait mode but the virtual keyboard and the buttons are just for show. It is not identical to the “real” iPad experience as Flash works and it shouldn’t.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Search Engine Comparison

Have you ever wanted to see how the major search engines compare when performing a search on the internet. Click here for a site that does a Blind Search Engine comparison http://www.blindsearch.fejus.com/

Unfortunately you cannot localise it for Australia but the resulting list will randomly vary and if you can analyse how your own website is ranking. Make sure you add a local Region/State/Town into your search. Once you vote the search engines will be revealed!!!!

Friday, February 5, 2010

The best URL for your website

URL structure is an important SEO factor, so here are some useful guidelines to keep in mind when designing your website.

Homepage (www.mysite.com.au)
When choosing your domain name, try and include your primary keyword somewhere in the name.

Additional Pages
(www.mysite.com.au/[keyword])
On additional pages use another major keyword as the directory and filename for this page.

About Us Page (www.example.com/about-[business name])
The about us page is a chance to make sure your website ranks strongly when customers search for your business name. Using the format /about-[businessname] with the business name in file name will help with this.

Following these guidelines is a good way to build your SEO browser ranking for your website.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Website Navigation

Website Navigation is a very important part of designing your website. The aim is to give your customers and easy to follow consistent look and feel. When designing your navigation think about the following points.

1. Never let visitors lose your home page
2. If you have too many links consider drop down menus
3. Keep the links consistent on every page
4. Keep them clearly visible above the scroll line

Useful navigation will keep your customers happy and make it easier for them to find information in your website.