My journey into the world of databases began, like many others in my generation, with the humble dBase III+. Back then, it felt like pure magic. I was a wide-eyed programmer, marveling at how this seemingly simple software could store and retrieve information so efficiently. I didn’t understand the intricacies behind the scenes – indexes, file structures, query optimization – it was simply a black box that worked. Storage and quick retrieval were all I needed.

Following dBase, my journey took me through a landscape of evolving database technologies. I navigated the Fox family, from FoxBase to FoxPro and then Visual FoxPro, each iteration bringing new capabilities. Then came the enterprise-grade power of Oracle, followed by forays into Microsoft’s ecosystem with Access and SQL Server. And of course, I spent considerable time with MySQL, the open-source powerhouse that remains a cornerstone of web development even today.

Little did I know that those early days with dBase were just the tip of the iceberg. Databases were poised for an evolution that would reshape the world, much like the personal computer revolution before it. We’ve journeyed far beyond simple storage. Today, we live in the era of Big Data and data analytics, made possible only by groundbreaking advancements in how we store, retrieve, optimize, cleanse, distribute, and share massive datasets. Consider that the global data sphere is projected to grow from 64.2 zettabytes in 2020 to over 180 zettabytes by 2025!

While my personal hands-on database experience might be capped at SQL Server and MySQL, my fascination with the field has only grown. I’m captivated by the sheer power and scale of modern database technologies, from NoSQL databases like MongoDB handling unstructured data to cloud-based solutions like Amazon DynamoDB and Google Cloud Spanner offering unprecedented scalability.

What’s truly remarkable is how deeply intertwined databases are with our everyday lives, often without us even realizing it. Most people carry powerful databases in their pockets – their smartphones. Every time they search the internet, they’re essentially querying vast, distributed databases. Every interaction with AI, from voice assistants to recommendation engines, is fueled by complex database systems. It’s estimated that the average person interacts with databases, directly or indirectly, dozens of times a day!

At one point, fuelled by my passion for performance tuning and writing stored procedures, I dreamt of transitioning from a programmer to a Database Manager. I even poured my knowledge into a detailed article on stored procedures – back in the day, it got quite a bit of traction, read by hundreds! While that specific career shift didn’t materialize, the core of my fascination remains: the sheer elegance and power of well-designed databases. An early example of this, and a testament to the power of optimized databases is, SABRE, developed in the 1960’s by IBM for American Airlines. It was one of the first large-scale database systems and revolutionized the airline industry by automating ticket reservations.

And here’s a thought that often blows my mind: the Library of Congress, with all its physical books, is estimated to hold around 10-15 terabytes of data if digitized. A single, well-optimized database today can easily handle many times that volume!

For those aspiring database enthusiasts out there, here’s my advice:

1. Embrace the Fundamentals: Start with relational database theory (SQL is your friend!). Understand normalization, indexing, and query optimization.
2. Explore Beyond SQL: The world of NoSQL is vast and exciting. Learn about different database models (document, graph, key-value) and when to use them.
3. Cloud is King: Familiarize yourself with cloud-based database services. They are the future (and present) of data management.
4. Data is More Than Storage: Dive into data warehousing, data lakes, and data analytics. Learn how data is transformed into insights.
5. Never Stop Learning: The database field is constantly evolving. Stay curious, read, experiment, and connect with the community.
6. Practical Experience: Build personal projects, contribute to open-source databases, or seek internships to gain hands-on experience. Working with real-world data is invaluable.

The journey of databases is far from over. As we move towards an increasingly data-driven world, the importance of skilled database professionals will only grow. Whether you become a database administrator, a data engineer, or simply a data-savvy individual, understanding databases is a crucial skill in the 21st century. And who knows, you might even write the next chapter in the ever-evolving story of the database!

The post dBase to Modern Databases: A Personal Journey Through Database Evolution first appeared on Macronimous Blog.

Magento is a popular e-commerce platform used by businesses of all sizes around the world. Magento is now renamed by Adobe as Adobe commerce, But still the name Magento is widely in use due to its popularity. Magento is still available as Open source, which was Originally released as an open source software, Magento was acquired by Adobe in 2018, and is now a proprietary software.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the impact of Adobe’s ownership on Magento, and whether it’s still a viable option for ecommerce development in 2023. So, hat are the Pros and Cons of Using Magento?

The impact of Adobe’s ownership

Adobe’s acquisition of Magento has had both positive and negative impacts on the platform. One major positive impact is that Adobe has increased investment in development, leading to improvements in performance and stability, as well as better integration with other Adobe products. Additionally, Adobe’s ownership has increased the visibility of Magento as a viable ecommerce platform, leading to more interest from businesses.

However, there are also potential negative impacts to consider. One of the biggest concerns is that Adobe’s ownership has changed Magento’s status from open source to proprietary software. This means that the codebase is no longer freely available to developers, which can limit customization options and make it more difficult for businesses to modify the platform to suit their specific needs. Additionally, Adobe’s ownership has led to increased pricing for Magento, which may be a concern for smaller businesses.

It’s important to consider these factors when deciding whether Magento is the right choice for your ecommerce development needs. While Adobe’s ownership has had some positive impacts on the platform, there are potential limitations to consider.

Advantages of using Magento in 2023

Despite the concerns about Adobe’s ownership, Magento is still a popular choice for ecommerce development in 2023. One of the main advantages of using Magento is its scalability – it can handle large volumes of traffic and transactions, making it a good choice for businesses with high traffic or large inventories.

Magento is also known for its flexibility. The platform is highly customizable, and allows developers to create unique features and functionality that may not be available on other ecommerce platforms. Additionally, Magento has a large community of developers and users who are constantly creating new plugins and extensions, making it easier to add new functionality to your site.

Finally, there are many successful ecommerce sites built with Magento that demonstrate its capabilities. Some notable examples include Nike, Ford, and Coca-Cola.

Potential drawbacks of using Magento in 2023

While Magento has many advantages, there are also potential drawbacks to consider. One of the biggest challenges is the steep learning curve for developers. Magento is a complex platform with a lot of features and functionality, and it can take some time to become proficient in working with it. Additionally, Magento’s customization options can be complex, which can make it difficult to modify the platform to suit specific business needs.

Comparing Magento to other ecommerce platforms, such as Shopify or WooCommerce, there are also differences in their respective strengths and weaknesses. For example, Shopify is known for its ease of use, while WooCommerce is popular due to its integration with WordPress. Depending on your business needs and technical expertise, one platform may be a better choice than another.

Magento is still great!

Magento is still a popular choice for ecommerce development in 2023, but there are considerations to be made due to its proprietary status after Adobe’s acquisition. While Adobe’s ownership has led to some positive impacts on the platform, such as increased investment in development, it has also introduced potential limitations related to customization and increased pricing.

However, Magento’s scalability, flexibility, and large community of developers and users still make it a compelling option for ecommerce development. Ultimately, the decision whether to use Magento should be based on your business needs and technical expertise, and it’s important to carefully consider the potential advantages

The post Is Magento Still a Viable Ecommerce Platform in 2023? A Look at Adobe’s Ownership and the Pros and Cons of Using Magento first appeared on Macronimous Blog.

Delays from clients are inevitable in web project management. In the rapidly evolving world of offshore web development, sticking to deadlines is crucial to the success of any project. As the operator of Macronimous, an Indian offshore web development firm, since 2002, I have navigated the unique set of challenges that come with managing clients worldwide. No matter how realistic the schedule, unexpected delays on the client’s side can disrupt workflow and influence project timelines. Today, I want to share how we proficiently handle such delays, fostering a win-win scenario that not only maintains a positive rapport with our clients but also ensures on-time project completion.

• Implement Robust Communication Channels:

In my experience, transparent and open communication is at the heart of managing client expectations. I always make it a point to set clear project timelines, which include clients’ responsibilities such as providing content, feedback, and project assets. Emphasizing the importance of prompt collaboration and discussing possible delay-inducing bottlenecks right from the start paves the way for mutual understanding.

• Educate Clients About the Domino Effect of Timely Deliverables:

Over the years, I’ve found that many clients aren’t aware of the ripple effect that delayed deliverables can cause. We make sure to explain how any delays in providing content or feedback can disrupt the development cycle, leading to prolonged project timelines and escalating costs. This approach often instills a greater sense of responsibility and encourages collaboration.

• Divide Projects into Manageable Milestones:

To help our clients understand their role in the project’s progress, we divide the project into smaller, achievable milestones, clearly conveying the deliverables and deadlines for each phase. This focus on manageable milestones has consistently allowed us to maintain a steady workflow and lessen the impact of potential delays.

• Include Buffer Time in Project Timelines:

I’ve learned that incorporating buffer time in our project schedules from the outset helps us present a more realistic timeline to our clients. This buffer, while not always necessary, provides flexibility and helps us manage the impact of unforeseen delays from our clients. This will also help to cover minor scope creep in projects.

• Regularly Reiterate Clients’ Responsibilities:

A gentle reminder can often be the nudge that keeps clients on track. We send friendly email reminders or arrange brief check-ins to reemphasize the importance of adhering to agreed timelines. The key here is to avoid becoming demanding; instead, we always underscore the collaborative nature of the project and our shared goal of timely project completion.

• Extend a Helping Hand:

We understand that our clients may encounter challenges that contribute to delays. Over the years, we’ve extended assistance in areas they might be struggling with, such as content creation or gathering project assets. Offering such support has often helped our clients overcome obstacles and reduced the chances of delays.

• Adopt Agile Development and Flexible Workflows:

We’ve adopted agile development practices, which allow for flexibility and adaptability. Agile methodologies enable iterative development, allowing us to accommodate changes and delays more effectively. In my experience, embracing agile principles has been invaluable in adjusting project timelines and priorities based on evolving client needs and deliverables.

• Convey Impact of Delays and Reset Expectations:

When delays occur despite our best efforts, I believe in maintaining open communication with the client about the repercussions and adjusted timelines. We explain how the delay affects subsequent tasks, resource allocation, and project dependencies, always involving our clients in the decision-making process. This collaborative approach helps us find solutions and adjust expectations while preserving a positive working relationship.

Navigating client delays in offshore web development projects is a delicate balancing act between client satisfaction and project deadlines. Drawing from my experience at Macronimous, I can affirm that clear communication, client education, project segmentation into manageable milestones, and buffer time inclusion are critical to tackling these challenges.

A cooperative approach, combined with offering support when required, paves the way for a win-win situation, one that not only fosters client satisfaction but also ensures successful project completion. Through our journey since 2002, we have faced and overcome many instances of client-side delays, each one a learning opportunity. As we move forward, we remain committed to adapting, learning, and continually refining our approach to ensure our client’s satisfaction and the success of our projects.

The post Maneuvering Through Client Delays in web project management: A Mutual Benefit Strategy From My Experience in Offshore Web Development first appeared on Macronimous Blog.

Once upon a time, in the land of the internet, a cunning economic slowdown crept up on unsuspecting businesses. As entrepreneurs hunkered down and tightened their belts, they glanced nervously at their websites. “Should we cut back on website spending?” they wondered. But little did they know, their websites held the key to their survival. Gather around, dear readers, as we share the tale of how websites can save the day during an economic downturn in 2023, with a sprinkle of technical wisdom. Let us explain how essential website maintenance during a recession is, and how can your efforts continue to help as it was.

Chapter 1: The Dark Shadows of 2023

As we stand on the precipice of an economic slowdown in 2023, businesses are starting to feel the pinch. Predictions and stats paint a grim picture, with the global economy taking a hit. But fear not, brave entrepreneurs! This is not the time to abandon your trusty websites. Instead, focus on optimizing your site’s user experience (UX) and mobile responsiveness, ensuring your site remains accessible and engaging to all visitors.

Chapter 2: The Loyal Website – A Tale of Long-Term Revenue

Your website is like a trusty steed, carrying you through the treacherous terrain of the business world. In times of economic strife, it’s essential to remember the long-term value of a well-SEOed website. Abandoning your site’s maintenance and enhancements now could leave you stranded when the tides turn. Keep your content fresh and relevant, and regularly monitor your site’s technical SEO aspects, such as crawlability and site structure.

Chapter 3: The Great Siege of Cyber Threats

Imagine your website as a fortress, protecting your business from malicious attacks and security threats. Even in times of economic downturn, the cybercriminals are not taking a break. Cutting costs on website security might save you a few coins today, but it could leave your digital empire exposed to ruin. Invest in robust security measures like SSL certificates, strong passwords, and regular software updates to keep your website safe and secure.

Chapter 4: The Silver Lining for ECommerce

ECommerce websites, too, must heed the call to stay vigilant. It may be tempting to cut corners, but now is the perfect time to take care of website overhauls, page speed improvements, and other enhancements. Streamline your checkout process, optimize product images for faster loading, and leverage email marketing and retargeting strategies to keep your customers engaged.

Chapter 5: The Hero’s Journey to Success

We, the web development experts, have seen it all before. Back in 2008, we helped clients across the globe weather the storm of the Great Recession. We know that even in the darkest of times, your website can be your guiding light. Invest wisely in maintenance and enhancements, such as A/B testing, heatmaps, and data-driven design updates, and your online presence will carry you through the toughest of times.

Chapter 6: Macronimous – Your Expert Guide Through the Storm

As expert web developers with 20+ years of experience, Macronimous has seen it all. We have weathered countless storms, and we’re here to offer our support, guidance, and expertise to help your business thrive, even during an economic slowdown.

We understand that cost-saving is paramount in uncertain times, which is why we’re committed to providing cost-effective solutions without compromising on quality. With our free guidance, we can help you prioritize the most critical website enhancements and maintenance tasks, ensuring your website remains robust, secure, and primed for growth.

Our team of experienced developers, designers, and digital marketing professionals can offer tailored solutions for your unique business needs. From optimizing your website’s performance and SEO to fortifying its security and boosting its user experience, Macronimous is here to be your trusted companion on this journey.

We take pride in offering personalized service and support, so you can feel confident knowing that we have your back every step of the way. Together, we will navigate the tumultuous waters of the 2023 economic slowdown, ensuring your website emerges stronger than ever before.

Conclusion: The Happily Ever After

As our tale comes to an end, we hope you now understand the importance of standing by your website, even in the face of an economic slowdown. With the expert guidance and support of Macronimous, your website will not only survive but thrive during these challenging times.

Remember, your website is your loyal companion, your mighty fortress, and your key to future prosperity. So, dear business owners, keep your website well-tended and strong, and together with Macronimous, you shall weather the storm and emerge victorious.

And so, they lived happily ever after, in the land of thriving websites and successful businesses. The end.

The post Don’t Let Your Website Hibernate During an Economic Slowdown: Essential Website Maintenance guide for 2023 first appeared on Macronimous Blog.

Macronimous is in the web development business and has been, since its inception, in the remote working space. By default, as with most businesses like ours, client-centric communication is our key strength – the ability to communicate well and transform client visions into Internet reality.

A collection of solid social collaboration solutions takes advantage of an organization’s network by bringing together the people, data, and processes needed for improved engagement and informed decision making.

Our clients often introduce us to new tools that we, mostly, adopt to go further up our learning curve as an organization. One example was Zoom which a client introduced to us in 2013 that we had some early reservations about, at the time. The rest is history.

We use an eclectic mix of communication tools for web teams:

• E-mails – Probably seen as the snail mail of today, e-mails continue to serve an important purpose among which are correspondence regarding initial requirements and pre-sales questions. This also helps keep records of client communication at all stages of the project which eliminates confusion and increases transparency. 

• Zoom, Google Meet – are quite similar in operation. Both have collaboration tools, share screen, breakout rooms, and support call-ins. The difference is with the overall price and the maximum number of participants that can join a meeting. These two conferencing tools are what our clients presently prefer, and they are, thus, the tools we work with. Like everyone, we at Macronimous started using them extensively, after the pandemic.

• Skype – This is seen as among the first VOIP systems to break traditional communication barriers. We use this to make quick calls before and during the project start. Skype also helps in the traditional area of phone calls; investing in a VOIP device with call recording is worthwhile. We have set up a Skype phone number in the USA; our local clients reach us while incurring no additional charges for international calls.

• Basecamp.com and Teamwork.com – We use web-based project management software as part of our box of remote team communication tools. They help ensure that everything is organized and our team continues to work seamlessly on multiple projects. They make both simple and complex projects easier to manage.

Basecamp is relatively old compared to Teamwork yet clients like it because of its simplicity. Teamwork is extensive, it has a bit of a learning curve.

• Trello – For our clients who like Kanban boards, Trello works well. Trello is simple and good for smaller web projects. Trello’s boards, lists, and cards enable teams to organize and prioritize projects in a flexible way. It is easier to track – all on its dashboard – with easy-to-move cards-based navigation.

• Adobe XD – is a screen-based design tool that helps our developers effortlessly share interactive prototypes with team members and our clients. Our developers create all the screens in a web app flow letting our clients get a feel of the entire product.

The chances of client frustration are low as this process of visualizing the proposed product would reduce any scope creep or deviation. It saves us hundreds of hours per project by lessening the number of e-mail exchanges.

• Bugzilla – is a robust bug-tracking system that allows our teams of developers to keep track of outstanding bugs, enhancements, and other change requests in their products.

We are open, however, to adopting our client’s preference of any other web-based or locally installed equivalent bug tracking tool.

• Slack – is a collaboration hub that brings people, information, and tools together to get work done. It ranks among the most popular communication tools for remote web teams. We use Slack within our development team. However, not all our clients are ready to get onto Slack, so we adapt to their software of choice, where necessary.
• FreshBooks – is the application we use to invoice, record expenses, and track time. This is a simple but relatively expensive tool. Apart from Freshbooks, we are use Hiveage, which has many payment integrations other than PayPal.

There are many similar applications for payment receivables and payables operations. However, we work with FreshBooks as it is a standard for most of our clients.

Loom – this is a new and easy-to-use video messaging business tool that is gathering traction in this space. You can send a one-way video message the way you would send a text message using Loom. The video can include a recording of the screen for more technical/ visual topics along with voiceovers. It is free! We send our clients explainer videos, project flows, etc. via Loom and they provide feedback, similarly, thus saving hours of inputting text. For instance: to explain how to delete an image in a post in the WordPress block editor, we would create a video and send it to the client and then deal with the client’s feedback. When our communication with our clients has to be asynchronous without their presence for a screen share, Loom videos become visual documents.

When we work remotely on multiple projects that involve different stakeholders who are allocated their separate tasks, staying organized can be a challenge. However, we have created our effective working environment using a wide range of software that we optimize for our operations.

The post Communication tools that we use in Macronimous throughout the web development lifecycle first appeared on Macronimous Blog.

Google My Business, also mentioned as GMB, is an excellent platform made available by Google for Business Owners. In fact, it is more or less designed to help local businesses promote their business. With its one-click route map, Phone calls etc, it is a very useful one, especially for the prospects. Not only that, but we have also seen almost all our clients have something or other cooked up in GMB and Only that!

They seem to be very content and happy having put the business’ basic information into Google My Business. We asked a question on this.

“Why are they feeling content?”.

Our discovery was a no-brainer. GMB gives a plethora of KPIs and the client is happy with seeing those figures. But, let’s ask this question.

“Is a sole dependence in GMB good and wise enough?”

To help you analyze the risks involved in such an approach, I have mentioned 3 points to mull over.

Reason 1 : Google My Business & Loss of potential audience

So far Google seems to be the prime choice for the general public when it comes to searching. But, what happens as and when the crowd shifts interest and when your prospects don’t use Google much. Wondering if such a time will come?

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”

Yes. This is a piece of typical advice given while doing financial investments. But, this is very much applicable on what we are discussing here too.

Let us looks at a few cases.

Bing & Yahoo Users :

The users for Bing are growing and along with Yahoo they do hold, though little, good numbers of searchers. Among them, there are quite a few are non-Googlers or only-Bing & only-Yahoo users.

Duck Duck Go :

For a privacy-concerned crowd, Duck Duck Go would be their choice for a search engine. Though not quite a replacement for Google, this crowd can be viewed as an anti-Google group.

Facebook :

When Facebook was launched many entrepreneurs laughed at it. They were heard saying “Is this even a business model? What value does a bunch of chit-chats hold?”. Turns out to be – Everything. At least for marketing it holds value. And interestingly enough, people have started doing searches in Facebook, kinda replacing Google!

Hence, by relying only upon Google’s GMB for Business view-ability poses a disadvantage. Yes, You are losing out on the non-Google crowd.

Reason 2 : Content Duplication

The assets of your business need to stay under your control. This includes marketing assets too. As business owners, many don’t realise that, each and every form of content that you put out there is your asset. Yes, this includes your original photos, and not a bunch of clip arts which you got from a 35$ life time access or something. The value of such content is amazingly precious. So the question that we need to ask is

“Why do you put it completely in the Google platform?”

Augmenting and sharing is good, but not putting it out there and only in GMB.

At this, you may say, “but, I have a Website which has these same content. Hence what you said – solely put in Google / GMB – is not truth”.

Well, there lies the problem. This could qualify something called content duplication. This is a serious mistake in the eyes of Google. Yes, there are ways to work around, but would require an expert SEO team, especially, if there are lots of content.

Reason 3 : Customer Feedback in Google My Business

The reviews and ratings from customers that get filled in the GMB stay in the GMB. And LOST in GMB.

Why is this bad?

Let me begin by saying this. The reviews and ratings are usually seen as good for Ranking, right? If supported by a digital marketing team, this would be their advice too that you would have received.

But, take a minute and think.

Doesn’t it carry more value than from an SEO perspective? Why do I say so?

Just look at what you have. The reviews and ratings for your product or service. These reviews are the most treasured Feedback points for your product/service. This is the one thing that helps you to stay relevant in the future.

As a business owner, how you respond and pick up the cues from among the reviews is of extreme importance. The response that you give in GMB based on the customer reviews, today, is the stepping stone for a successful future.

If so, why in the world would you want to lock it down to one platform? Move it to your own Website!

Talk to your web development agency today itself to capture the review & ratings in your website too.

In conclusion, I’m not suggesting that you quit GMB. Nor is the suggestion that GMB is bad. Such a piece of advice would be the award winner for the 2019’s worst advises!

Instead, use GMB as One of the many options that you can exploit.

Write and let us know if this article was useful. Also, feel free to get in touch with us if you have any further questions. In case of any requirements in Digital Marketing or Local SEO, we are more than happy to help.

Does your business require Google My Business support?

We at Macronimous can help you with our expert SEO team support.

Feel free to inquire us today for a no-obligation GMB Consulting. contact now

The post 3 Reasons not to rely on Google My Business alone. first appeared on Macronimous Blog.

Agile process

For any old-time conventional software developer, “Agile” is a term which never finds a place in their dictionary of software development. However, it was quite shocking to know that the meeting in 2001 would result in a tremendous change in software development around the word “agile”. Software Development, owing to the robustness that it has to provide, could never be thought of being developed in an ‘agile’ fashion. This is something that never enters into the mind of software developers and the teams.

But, yes, this happened, and we have seen the benefits in our company.

In case, you are new to Web Development and especially ‘Agile web development’ here are some basics, before we move on to explaining how we do it. The definition as mentioned in the Agile Alliance is “Agile web Development or Agile software development is an umbrella term for a set of methods and practices based on the values and principles expressed in the Agile Manifesto.

We at Macronimous were swift to figure out the key advantages of Agile web Development and began to implement the same.

To begin with, our Agile Development Team follows the 12 principles as mentioned in the Agile Manifesto. The outworking of the 12 Agile principles by the Agile Team in Macronimous are as follows:

1. Customer Satisfaction: Customers are important for us and there is nothing that gets a higher priority than Customer Satisfaction. We believe and have experienced that continuous delivery of software keeps our customers highly satisfied. This does not begin after months of Sign Up, but asap, as short as a week and sometimes even lesser than that.

2. Software Modification: The pace at which the changes occur in the software industry is mind-boggling, which is not a reality for this industry alone. Hence, our customers from different industries have swiftly changing specifications and end up requesting changes in the software that we tailor-make. The agile development gives the customer a welcome note at the mention of requirement changes, even during later stages of development, unlike the traditional methodology. The highlight is the customer gets a software which is at par with their industry need.

3. Continuous Delivery: We have observed through the years that most businesses are an amalgamation of different processes. If there is a way to develop a couple of processes and then release it to the customer, they get to see the foretaste of what the entire software will look like. The advantage is an immediate and quick feedback. Not only this, this would give a method for tracking the progress.

4. Continuous Client Involvement: Collaboration of client and developers in a continuous manner is very much in the spirit of Agile. The immediate response to such a thought from the developers are, “they(the clients) are a disruption”. Quite not so! In fact, the reverse is true. The absence of continuous involvement from the client is quite disruptive as we have seen over the years that once the entire application is developed, the client comes in and expresses their expectation as a little different. No amounts of the requirements document and sign-ups have quite fixed this gap. This can be completely excluded by way of having a constant feedback through client involvement in the project continuously.

5. Optimized Use of Resources: Who builds the software matters the most. Who is your architect? Who is your coder? How well is the project implemented? These are all the questions that need a serious consideration. Not always experienced people are effective people. One of the blunders that we have observed in the outsource business is companies approaching us for resources having ‘n’ years of experience. Though we try to convey that we have a more efficient person with less than ‘n’ years of experience, too often they turn a deaf ear, and we end up providing what they ask. Since Agile uses flat hierarchy (no hierarchy) it is quite easy to handpick the right person to do the right job.

We haven’t finished yet! There are 7 more advantages that we know of which we will blog in the upcoming months.

In conclusion, our experience is that embracing the agile methodology helps us to deliver outstanding software applications swiftly.

Why not try implementing a couple of the above-mentioned in your team or company. We would be happy to share more details. Else, if you have already implemented, why not share your experience in the below comments section. We would love to hear from you.

The post 5 Proven Advantages of Agile web Development first appeared on Macronimous Blog.

What happens when your trusted web designer, who had the sole access to servers leaves all of a sudden without giving you any details! Have you thought about the implications? 

The most frustrating moment to a website owner could be losing access to the website completely, especially the domain name ownership. One of our clients faced a situation recently when one of their local designers quit or rather absconded without passing on the Website credentials. While digging further, it was found that it was not a mere WordPress website’s password or anything that they lost with the employee. It was the server’s access details.

That included the Domain Name, Hosting Account details, the registered email access, past payment details!!!!

Even more worse is that the designer was paying with a credit card which was not the company’s (It seems, this expense was covered in the salary package, and it was much more of a trust based work relationship that existed).

Wow! Is there anything worse that can happen!?

For newbies, let me explain why it is so, so bad.

Case 1: WordPress Site password is Lost

If WordPress login password is lost:  The usual procedure is to click on the “Lost your password?” as shown below

At this, you will be asked to enter the username or email address as shown below.

As long as you have the email address access, you can get a new password and continue accessing the website.

This is far more simple.

Case 2: No access to Email Address for a WP site

In case you know only the username and the registered email address for the website is not yours, still you can access the database and change the email address, by accessing the server. Once done, use this new email address and voilà! You get the new password and the website is back in your control.

Case 3: No Username & Email Address for a WP site

Well let’s assume an even worse scenario. Yes, you have access to neither email address nor username. But still, we can ape this website offline. Once done, we can put this newly created site along with new database and scrap the entire old ones.

Well, this is one of the ways and am sure there are multiple ways to bring the site back to your control.

Case 4: Lost Domain name and/or the Server Access Credentials

This is the most pathetic scenario. Why I was mentioning losing the server credentials as very bad is because, at that point we are cut off from the access to the actual files. Also, when it comes to renewing the domain name, we cannot further do it and your site will exist no more. In case we try to access it back, the server service provider will require the credentials. Unless you have that, they are not going to give you access.

To prove to them, that we are the genuine owners, lets say, who lost the username password, there would be a registered email ID or a phone number etc. When these are also not present, maybe you can prove that the bank account from which the previous payments came needs to be proved as yours. Even then your case is not very strong for them to give you the access for the server.

Hence, I mentioned that they are in very bad position. Of course one can say create a new website and buy a new domain. We all know how bad this idea is, especially if you have an e-commerce portal running and the brand has been built for years together. There is no other way, but to gain the control back.

The Solution:

Before I spurt out the solution, let me give you a quick note. Depending upon the country you are from and the server service providing company there may be minor changes from what is mentioned below. But, given that you are dealing with a standard company, the following should work.

1. Submit a complaint form on ICANN website https://forms.icann.org/en/contact. ICANN manages and authorizes all domain register around the globe.

2. Call local support center of your Server service provider and explain the issue, and they will provide you mail ID to which you have to send the details.

3. They will require your ID and some evidences of company registration. I hope that your country law allows you to raise complaint with police which can be provided to Server Service provide as proof, in case if they needed.

Now, receiving response from Server service provider and ICANN will take some time and process may go beyond a month.

Hope this helps you, in case, you are stuck! All the best

Please do write back to us in comments in case you feel there are other ways to do this. I will include it with full credits.

The post Lost your Website Access Credentials? Here is how to retrieve them. first appeared on Macronimous Blog.

In this Presentation, Chris Coyier is trying to arrive at a decent answer. We would like it to be shared on our blog too.
You can see Chris shared some useful links at the end, unfortunately, they aren’t clickable. But Don’t worry, we have given them below as links that you can enjoy.

CSS, HTML, and Web programming resources: 

CSS-Tricks
http://www.css-tricks.com

CSS Wizardry
http://www.csswizardry.com

Smashing Magazine
http://www.smashingmagazine.com

BRICSS
http://www.bricss.net

Cognition
http://cognition.happycog.com

24 Ways
http://www.24ways.org

NetTuts+
http://net.tutsplus.com

Codrops
http://www.tympanus.com/codrops

Web Platform
http://blog.webplatform.org

Individual who share their thoughts and learning:  

Paul Irish
http://www.paulirish.com

Zoe Gillenwater
http://www.zomigi.com

Jeremy Keith
http://www.adactio.com

Estelle Weyl
http://estelle.github.com

Nicolas Zakas
http://www.nczonline.net

Ryan Seddon
http://www.thecssninja.com

Nicole Sullivan
http://www.stubbornella.org/

Dave Rupert
http://www.daverupert.com

Tab Atkins
http://www.xanthir.com

Christian Heilman
http://www.christianheilmann.com

ShopTalk
http://www.shoptalkshow.com

Rails Casts
http://www.railscasts.com

The Web Ahead
https://thewebahead.net/topic/css

Non-Breaking Space
http://www.nonbreakingspace.tv

This Developer’s Life
http://www.thisdeveloperslife.com

The East Wing
http://www.theeastwing.net

Build Podcast
http://www.build-podcast.com

BizCraft
http://www.unmatchedstyle.com/bizcraft

Tech Twitters: 

Elijah Manor
@elijahmanor

Lea Verou
@leaverou

Mike Taylor
@miketaylr

Divya Manian
@divya

Ethan Marcotte
@rwd

Ben Alman
@cowboy

David Walsh
@davidwalshblog

Scott Jehl
@scottjehl

Jeff Starr
@perishable

Mat Marquis
@wilto

Simon
@simurai

Hakim El Hattab
@hakimel

What  we recommend:

Cat The code

@catswhocode 

Not but not least:

@macronimous

Weekly doses: 

Web Design Weekly
http://www.web-design-weekly.com

CSS Weekly
http://www.css-weekly.com

JavaScript Weekly
http://www.javascriptweekly.com

HTML5 Weekly
http://www.html5weekly.com

RWD Weekly
http://www.responsivedesignweekly.com

The post How to keep up with Web technology? Overcoming the challenges with learning first appeared on Macronimous Blog.

Leave your feedback if your process deviates or if you have better flow or even a piece of improvement which might help the users.

Web project development life cycle

Some of you might have a different approach, and I look forward to hearing from you.

The post Web Development life cycle – Process flow diagram first appeared on Macronimous Blog.