There are a few pages that we know need a little attention, but hopefully being live is enough of an incentive to make the actual changes. Hopefully there are not too many problems for anyone browsing around. We’ll spend a bit of time now updating the pictures of projects across the site, so be sure to check back in a week or two.

Don’t forget – let us know what you think too!

POP stands for Post Office Protocol, and IMAP for Internet Message Access Protocol. I won’t even bother in getting into the technicalities of these, but as you might have imagined, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Following is a very quick look at both.

POP advantages

• messages are downloaded and ultimately live on your desktop or laptop computer
• messages load very quickly once they’re downloaded
• messages are stored on your hard drive so they’re not subject to server storage limits and quotas
• widely supported by ISPs and email providers
• all email programs support it
• you can view downloaded email while you are offline or don’t have a connection to the internet

POP disadvantages

• messages are stored on your hard drive so they’re not accessible from other computers
• sent mail and drafts are not accessible from other computers either
• messages are eventually removed from the server
• messages are stored in files that are not compatible between different programs
• it’s usually difficult to migrate from one program to another, sometimes impossible
• it’s cumbersome to copy your email to another computer (office, home, school, laptop, etc.)
• users normally don’t have backups of their email unless you actively make a back-up

IMAP advantages

• messages are stored on the server are accessible from any computer and webmail anywhere in the world
• IMAP mail folders remain synchronized with IMP (webmail)
• sent messages and drafts are also stored on the server
• server-side SPAM filtering is easily implemented with IMAP
• IMAP mail is backed up nightly on the server and can be restored
• ease of migration from a program to a program and from a computer to another computer/location
• ease of setting up additional computers to check your email, no need to copy anything fro one computer to another

IMAP disadvantages

• messages load slower, in particular the first time they’re read
• if you don’t have a connection to the internet, you can not check your email
• sensitive to size and requires periodic archival of email messages
• subject to storage quotas
• very few ISPs and email providers offer IMAP as it is considered a high end option and it’s complex for them to support
• not all email programs support it properly

Trafffic is happy to discuss the advantages and disadvantages for your particular situation. For any more information, please Contact Us to arrange a meeting.

Information in this article was taken from here.

• Content Mangagement System (CMS) – commonly used term around website development circles that describes a system that allows a non-technical person to make changes to a website through a dedicated interface
• Maintenance Contracts – a formal plan where a development company is commissioned to make changes to a website on behalf of the client.

The quick round up of the two options is:

• A CMS website has higher upfront costs to build that system that allows a client to make changes to a website, but then (theoretically) has lower costs over the life of the website. This is because there are no costs involved in making the more routine changes (text corrections or changes, images, an extra page here or there). There are some limitations on the changes that can be made, but these relate to major structural changes of the website.
• A website buit with a maintenance contract in mind will typically have a lower up front cost and then have higher incremental costs as changes are made over time.

That is the basic logic, and while there may be an appeal towards a CMS that allows you to make endless changes to your site with zero additional costs, there are some hidden costs to consider. The most significant factor that I see overlooked in the though process is staff cost. It would be a rare instance in a small business to have a person that is not already operating at capacity. That said, with the roll out of a new website, to add updating and managing content to some one’s job description. To go along with that, does that person have the skills of writing for the web and the target market.

There are many factors to consider, some not always obvious when assessing the alternatives. Trafffic is available to discuss the options with you and help recommend the best solution for you. We cater to both CMS and maintenance based websites, so from that point of view we are happy to help for any of your needs.

For any more information, please Contact Us to arrange a meeting.