Resources
I highly recommend PLS Creative Solutions as they take the time to assist their clients in selecting promotional products that suit both their needs and their budget.
Stephanie Johnson Central Missouri March of Dimes
Our Tools
For the curious, here's a little rundown of what we use to do what we do with the web. This is aimed primarily at the non-techy demographic, so nerds take heed: this is old hat to you.
XHTML & CSS
Let's start with the basics. This stuff is like water to us. These two things are part of every web project we touch. At PLS, we code our XHTML and CSS to standards with an eye for semantics and accessibility. In non-geek terms: we create web sites that adhere to important rules that govern how sites are displayed in a visitor's browser (which ensures that our sites look the same on every computer), that work well with popular search engines, and that can be easily used by individuals with disabilities that might impair their interaction with computers.
The bottom line is: we don't just make pretty web sites, we make sites that are meant to be used.
Adobe Coldfusion®
This our development backbone. All of our from-the-ground-up custom application development is founded on Coldfusion's server-side technology, and our own Conductor CMS is powered by the same. It's important to have a specialty, and Coldfusion is ours. It does all of the heavy lifting we ask of it, and gives us a firm starting point for developing web solutions to meet our clients' varied needs.
PHP
While it's not our first choice for server-side development, we're old hands at PHP and recognize that its compatibility, flexibility and open-source nature affirm its place in our development toolbox. We put it to use on small-scale, odds-n-ends projects, or to help bring pre-existing applications into the PLS fold. Sometimes it's even handy for accommodating clients with specific technology needs.
Javascript & AJAX
We think of Javascript as a seasoning for web
sites. Without it, things can feel a bit bland, but too much will make
for an unpleasant experience.
Recently,
Javascript has grown immensely in popularity because it's a prime tool
for making web sites do neat tricks. The other side of that coin is
that not every browser and web access device can handle it. So, if you make web
sites intended for use by lots of regular people (like we do), you
can't rely on Javascript to work for 100% of those sites' visitors,
and you must use it with that in mind.
At PLS, we prefer only to
use Javascript when it's actually needed. When we do, we're sure to adhere to the principle of "graceful degradation,"
which ensures that even if Javascript isn't working for a particular
site visitor, the site's true functionality won't be compromised.
AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript And XML) is, quite simply, a specific Javascript technique that gives web sites an extra layer of interactivity. However, since it's just Javascript with a fancy acronym, the same cautious approach is required.
Adobe Flash®
Flash is a word that our clients love to throw
around project meetings. It's a technology that's associated with all
manner of wonderful singing, dancing interactivity. And that's what
everybody needs, right? At PLS, our educated opinion tells us that
things are not so simple.
While it's a significant part of our
development toolbox, and it has its place on the web, Flash possesses
its own set of important problems, as any web development veteran will
tell you. Without going into snooze-worthy detail, Flash has issues in
the following important areas: compatibility, flexibility, search
engine interaction, and accessibility. All of these subjects are near
to our collective heart at PLS, and are top-priority considerations (for
us and our clients) to weigh while planning and designing any web
project.
That said, it can do some pretty cool stuff.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
In a perfect world, your web site's existence
alone would be enough to warrant its acknowledgement by popular search
engines. However, in reality, there is a multitude of factors that
effect how your site interacts with search engines, and how it will rank
on a search results page. These factors are gaining recognition in this
era of rampant Googling, but are still often overlooked. At PLS, we
feel very strongly that part of our responsibility as a web development firm is
making sure that every site we create is optimized for search engine
performance. After all, why bother creating a web site if nobody can
find it?
This list is by no means exhaustive, but hopefully you
now have an idea of what tools we work with on a day-to-day basis, and
a feel for our approach to web development. There will be a quiz.
