“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”
— Jeff Bezos

“The best customer service is if the customer doesn’t need to call you, doesn’t need to talk to you. It just works.”
— Jeff Bezos

“If there’s one reason we have done better than of our peers in the Internet space over the last six years, it is because we have focused like a laser on customer experience, and that really does matter, I think, in any business.”
— Jeff Bezos

“If you decide that you’re going to do only the things you know are going to work, you’re going to leave a lot of opportunity on the table.”
— Jeff Bezos

“We are willing to go down a bunch of dark passageways, and occasionally we find something that really works.”
— Jeff Bezos

“The thing about inventing is you have to be both stubborn and flexible, more or less simultaneously. If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.”
— Jeff Bezos

“It’s very important for entrepreneurs to be realistic. So if you believe on that first day while you’re writing the business plan that there’s a 70 percent chance that the whole thing will fail, then that kind of relieves the pressure of self-doubt.”
— Jeff Bezos

“There are two ways to extend a business. Take inventory of what you are good at and extend out from your skills. Or determine what your customers need and work backwards, even if it requires learning new skills.”
— Jeff Bezos

“There’ll always be serendipity involved in discovery.”
— Jeff Bezos

“Mediocre theoretical physicists make no progress. They spend all their time understanding other people’s progress.”
— Jeff Bezos

Also, make sure you check out his graduation speech at Princeton University.

1. Komodo Edit

Cost

Free

Platform

Windows, Mac, Linux

Feature List

Code Folding
Split View Editing
Column/Block Editing
Syntax Highlighting and Checking
Detects multiple languages within a file
Variable Highlighting
Go To Definition
Key Bindings
Vi/Vim, emacs included
Powerful Snippets and Macros

2. Coda 2

Cost

$75

Platform

Mac

Feature List

Code Folding
Autocomplete variables and functions in a document.
Automatic indentation, smarter closing tags, etc.
Streamlined Find & Replace
Code Focus
Git
Full File Browser
FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, and S3, Transmit-style
Multiple Placeholders
Dynamic Placeholders
Keyboard Shortcuts
Import/Export
List view
iCloud Sync for Sites & Clips
Revolutionary New CSS Pops
Live updating
Built-in Web Inspector
Built-In MySQL Editor
Edit Structure and Content
Run Arbitrary Queries
Live Code Hints
Better Validation

3. EditPlus

Cost

Single user lic. is $35

Platform

Windows

Feature List

Syntax Highlighting
Custom Syntax Files
Seamless Web Browser
FTP
Hex Viewer
HTML Toolbar
User Tools
Line Numbering
Ruler
URL Highlighting
Auto Complete
Column Selection
Search and Replace
Multiple Undo/redo
Spell Checker
Customizable Keyboard Shortcuts

4. TopStyle Pro

Cost

Single user lic. $79.95

Platform

Windows

Feature List

Syntax Highlighting
Seamless Web Browser
Line Numbering
URL Highlighting
Search and Replace
Customizable Keyboard Shortcuts
Unicode Support
XRay
Prefixr
HTML Toolbar
CSS Groups
CSS3 Media Queries
CSS Validator

5. StyleMaster

Cost

$59.99

Platform

Windows, Mac

Feature List

Syntax Highlighting
Seamless Web Browser
Line Numbering
URL Highlighting
Search and Replace
Customizable Keyboard Shortcuts
Unicode Support
XRay
HTML Toolbar
CSS Groups
CSS3 Media Queries
CSS Validator
Online Document Templates
Style Master Wizards

6. TextMate

Cost

Single user lic. 39EU (about $53)

Platform

Mac

Feature List

Ability to Search and Replace in a Project
Auto-Indent for Common Actions Like Pasting Text
Auto-Pairing of Brackets and Other Characters
Clipboard History
Column Selections and Column Typing
Completion of Words from Current Document
CSS-like Selectors to Pinpoint the Scope of Actions and Settings
Declarative Language Grammars for Graceful Mixing and Hacking
Dynamic Outline for Working With Multiple Files
Expand Trigger Words to Code Blocks With Tab-able Placeholders
File Tabs when Working With Projects
Foldable Code Blocks
Function Pop-up for Quick Overview and Navigation
Plug-able Through Your Favorite Scripting Language
Recordable Macros With No Programming Required
Regular Expression Search and Replace (grep)
Run Shell Commands from Within a Document
Support for Darcs, Perforce, SVK, and Subversion
Support for More Than 50 Languages
Switch Between Files in Projects With a Minimum of Key Strokes
Themable Syntax Highlight Colors
Visual Bookmarks to Jump Between Places in a File
Works As External Editor for (s)ftp Programs
Works Together With Xcode and Can Build Xcode Projects

7. CoffeeCup HTML Editor (PC) | Web Editor (Mac)

Cost

$69

Platform

Windows (HTML Editor), Mac (Web Editor)

Feature List

Cross-browser compatibility is important, so the HTML Editor gives you the option to add up to 10 different browsers and then open them from inside the program.
Certain characters have to be formatted as HTML entities in order to render properly. The Characters tab lets you insert these entities with a click of your mouse.
Website Projects help keep your website organized, all but eliminating broken links and incorrectly referenced images.
The built-in Validate HTML tool opens the W3C markup validation service in your default web browser.
HTML and CSS code completion virtually eliminates unclosed tags and typos; it even serves up the selectors from every referenced CSS file.
The HTML Editor comes with 10 new, professionally designed themes. Preview them before you apply them to your pages in the snazzy new Theme Chooser.
The Tags tab is a comprehensive reference for (X)HTML, PHP, and CSS tags.
Split-Screen Preview lets you view your webpage in a browser right from inside the Code Editor.
We’ve streamlined the app by removing older features, like the Visual Editor and preview tab.

8. TextWrangler/BBEdit

Cost

Free/$49.99

Platform

Mac

Feature List

Optimized for Intel Macs (requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later)
Multiple Undo
Multiple Clipboards
Splittable editing windows
Extensively configurable key equivalents
Show and hide individual menu items or entire menus
Transparently reads and writes DOS, Unix, and Mac files
Transparently reads and writes gzip (.gz) and BZ2 (.bz2) compressed files
Transparently reads and writes files stored within Zip compressed archives (BBEdit only)
Automatic backup of files when saving (optional)
Periodic auto-save
Complete set of HTML Tools
Built-in Tidy support
Comprehensive HTML Entities palette
Flexible ‘grep’ style pattern-based search
“Live Search” highlights
Built-in file and folder comparison with Find Differences
Open, edit, and save files in a wide variety of character sets (including UTF-8 and UTF-16)
Automatic source-code language guessing
Can be used as an external editor for Xcode
Unix command-line access
Emacs key-binding support
Extensive FTP and SFTP support
Bonjour discovery of local servers
Function-navigation and syntax-coloring support for more than 20 programming languages, including HTML, JavaScript, Java, Perl, C++, Objective-C, and more
Text completion
Code folding
Run Unix scripts and filters (including Perl, Python, Ruby, and shell script) from a built-in menu
Native Mac OS X spelling checker
Spell checking
Integrated support for Subversion and Perforce version control (BBEdit only)
Use BBEdit’s legendary text processing power in any Automator workflow (BBEdit only)
Comprehensive PDF user manual provided

9. Sublime Text

Cost

$70 for user license (across as many computers as you own)

Platform

Mac, Windows, Linux

Feature List

Goto Anything
Command Palette
Split Editing
Instant Project Switch
Customize Anything
Cross Platform

10. Code Lobster

Cost

Free, Lite($39.95), Pro ($119.95)

Platform

Windows

Feature List

PHP, HTML, JavaScript, CSS code highlighting
HTML autocomplete
HTML/CSS code inspector
HTML toolbar
CSS autocomplete
PHP Debugger
HTML
Class View
Lite version also includes HTML, CSS, PHP code validator; SQL manager; support for Version Control Systems: SVN, Git etc.

Unlike hacks that focus on vulnerabilities in software, a Brute Force Attack aims at being the simplest kind of method to gain access to a site: it tries usernames and passwords, over and over again, until it gets in…. They are, in short, an attack on the weakest link in any website’s security: You. ~~ WordPress Codex

1. Some web hosts have been disabling access to the wp-login.php file across all WordPress installs. If that’s the case, you won’t be able to access your WordPress backend; you’ll just have to wait it out. (Or change web hosts because this is really NOT how you cope with this situation.)
2. Follow the advice given on WordPress’s own Codex on Brute Force Attacks article.
3. Use a plugin that limits unsuccessful login attempts; two to consider are Login Lockdown and Limit Login Attempts
4. If your web host is not one who has disabled the wp-login.php file, you can protect it yourself by creating an authenticated user and password and modifying your .htaccess file.
5. Read this article and consider how to strengthen your passwords so that they are virtually hack-proof.
6. Still not convinced about your login credentials? Then read what WordPress’s creator, Matt Mullenweg, has to say about this recent hack attempt.
7. If you are not using a self-hosted WordPress install but are instead blogging at WordPress.com, then enable Two-Step Authentication.
8. Did I forget to mention? Update WordPress, update all your plugins; delete the ones you are not using (don’t just disable them; delete them completely from your server); and update your theme if it needs updating.
9. DIYers, learn how to rebuild your MySQL database after a hack.
10. If the worst happens, you can hire a web developer with experience in threat management to help get your hacked site back on its feet, safe and sound.

1. Be sure WordPress itself is updated to the latest version. There should be no excuse for this since you can update WordPress from within the WP Dashboard (back up your database first of course).
2. Be sure your plugins are updated. Again, this can be done from within the WP Dashboard.
3. Be sure your theme is updated (unless you are using a completely one of a kind, hand-rolled, custom theme).
4. If something prevents you from using the latest version of WordPress, you should disable WP from broadcasting the WP version your site is using. It’s done with a very simple peice of code in your functions.php file (see below).
5. Backup your database regularly (and TEST that backup to be sure it’s functional). You can use one of several plugins — we recommend either BackUpWordPress or WP DB Backup — to backup your databse from within the WP dashboard and have a copy of the SQL dump sent to the email address of your choice or have it downlaoded to your hard drive. You can also schedule periodic backups with either of these plugins.
6. Do not use the default admin account. In all “brute force” hacking attempts, admin is the User ID hackers will target. Don’t let them have it.
7. Set file permissions correctly on key files and folders. You should only allow your .htaccess file to be writeable when you are setting or changing permalinks. Otherwise, that file should be set to 444. Most files should be set to 644. Most folders should be set to 755.
8. Use secure FTP (SFTP) to access your files.
9. Clean out your site’s user base. Delete unused users and review each user’s level to be sure they are not granted any more rights than they need to accomplish their tasks.
10. Delete unused plugins and themes. Just because you aren’t using them, doesn’t mean they can’t be a backdoor in for some hacker.

Removing Version Information From Older WordPress Installs

Here is the code that you should place in your functions.php file to disable version reporting. Use this only if you cannot upgrade to the latest WP version.

function wpvo_remove_version() {
return '';
}
add_filter('the_generator', 'wpvo_remove_version');

Today, years after our first foray into Get Simple, I want to see if it’s still being embraced by web developers as a solution for that basic-needs web design client. And it turns out that it is. From restaurants to financial web sites to artists, and everything in between. Although while I was researching Get Simple powered sites for this article, it seems that Get Simple is very popular among Irish and Polish web designers. I have no idea why. But enjoy the sample that I have collected. And think about using Get Simple when it seems that all the other CMSs out there may be overkill for your client’s needs.

Leitberg Financial Advisors

Impressions:

This is a business site based on Get Simple. It’s well done and keeps true to the color palette. The only misfire, IMHO, is the styling of the Contact page. I find the dark blue input boxes a bit jarring. Other than that it’s perfect. The site designers submitted the site to the Get Simple forum and indicated that the site is using the following plugins: Zegnat’s multi-level navigation, P01-contact form, and multi-user management; along with jQuery Sooperfish menu and Cufon font replacement.

Design Firm:

Design: Marco Martins

Development: Martin Terber

Otto’s GartenBahn

Impressions:

This is a very well done small business web site. It has a lot of visual interest, not only in the lovely design, but the sidebar photo gallery. Flash headers class it up even further. GetSimple can power a business web site, depending on the needs of the business. Otto’s is a very informative site and I came away wanting to know more about this fascinating venue.

Design Firm:

Bad Cat

Mala Prana Cafe and Restaurant

Impressions:

This is a Cafe and Restaurant in Kosice, Slovakia, with a very elegant site design. The site is using the P01-Contact and I18n Gallery plugins. The restaurant has a rich history and care is taken to share photos of yesteryear, along with a photo gallery showing what today’s diner can expect. There is much attention to detail, from the well chosen typographical elements (check out the knife, fork and spoon dividers on the inner pages), to the understated color palette. Very well done indeed!

Design Firm:

PixelOfficer

Koncar Catering Equipment

Impressions:

This is a catering equipment company based in Croatia. It is content-rich. The web developer submitted the site to the Get Simple show case and mentioned the site contained over 100 pages. Now, you might say to yourself, that’s way beyond a simple site that Get Simple should be required to handle. But the pages are simple ones, so it can rise to this task easily. Nice blue, “trust me” color palette, a jQuery slider showcases their equipment and adds visual interest. Get Simple plugins used include News Manager, Simple Cache, i18N Search, i18N Navigation, and Client Files.

Design Firm:

Arboretum

Cracow Metro Band

Impressions:

This is the web site for a Polish jazz ensemble. Nice site, dark background on white text. Very clever use of the piano keyboard in the design.

Design Firm:

Raffee

Cultural Design Group

Impressions:

Very well done web site for a design and personal coaching consultancy. I am a bit vague on what exactly this company offers. Nonetheless, it’s a great example of a small business web site based on Get Simple CMS. Just poke around on the site’s pages and you can see just how much content is there. Just like with the Koncar site above, just because the site has a lot of pages doesn’t mean it’s too big for Get Simple to handle.

Design Firm:

Jonathan Ross

Wasabi Asheville

Impressions:

Another site from designer Jonathan Ross. This one is a Japanese restaurant. What I love about it is the suite of icons at the lower right where you can read reviews about this restaurant from various sources (Yelp, Urban Spoon, etc.). Brilliant marketing, I think. And of course, the beautiful food photography seals the deal.

Design Firm:

Jonathan Ross

Adrian Ensemble

Impressions:

This is the web site of a musical ensemble. Other than the splash page and media links, the site is almost minimalist in its design, letting the striking logo speak. Very well done Get Simple site.

Design Firm:

Luca Musolesi

Domaine La Garance

Impressions:

This is the site for a wine label and the design cleverly picks up its cue from a wine bottle label, from the stamp in the lower right to the parchment paper background and the judicious use of typography. Everything about the site is well organized and easy to find.

Design Firm:

Unknown

Stone Baking

Impressions:

This is a Polish web site specializing in pizza making stones and other accessories. They are sold via an online auction site called Allegro (which I imagine operates similarly to eBay here). Just as any good restaurant or cooking or cooking accessories site would do, it places mouthwatering photographs front and center. I am salivating as I write this. A gorgeous site, very well laid out.

Design Firm:

Unknown

Would you like a web site based on Get Simple CMS? No problem! Just contact us. A Pixelita Design is more affordable than you think!

1. Free Wood Social Icons Vol1

2. 18 Free Ribbon Social Media Icons PNG

3. Social Truck Icon Set

4. The Little (Free) Sketchy Monster Social Icon Pack

5. The Leaves Fall

6. Yammy Social Media Icons Set

7. Social Sketches

8. WEB 2.0RIGAMI

9. Latte Art Social Icons

10. Bulb Social Media Icons

Wellington Financial

Platform:

Drupal

Impressions:

This is a great corporate design, with the blue (trust me) color scheme. Puzzling to me is the fact that the corporate blog is based on WordPress while the primary site is Drupal-based. Seems like a case could ahve been made to port the entire site to WordPress and I think more thought could have been given to more fully integrating the blog with the main site’s design. Right now, it just looks like an afterthought.

Design Firm:

AcroMedia, Inc.

Copeland Group

Platform:

Drupal

Impressions:

A gorgeous site, very well laid out. The site has a lot of information to serve up and the layout and design keep this information from overwhelming the visitor. Visual cues and a fat footer allow the visitor to hone in on important details immediately, while taking time to explore the other site offerings later.

Design Firm:

Lightflows

Hambleton Construction

Platform:

Expression Engine

Impressions:

This is an example of how beautiful, well chosen photography can make or break a site. These are stunning photographs and the designers made sure they took center stage. The top third of the viewport is devoted to clinching the sale with an offer to signup for the site newsletter and an “elevator pitch” to the left. The eye is immediately taken to the photo gallery showcasing the home builder’s latest projects. Below that, more details about their services. Because once you see those photos, you will want to grab your checkbook and hire them.

Design Firm:

[Unable to determine]

Armstrong Ambulance

Platform:

Expression Engine

Impressions:

This business has a long history and this site showcases that along with testimonials from satisfied clients and customers. It offers convenient downloadable forms, and a complex online Employment Application form. Well done!

Design Firm:

[Unable to determine]

RTTrans

Platform:

WordPress

Impressions:

This site is devoted to showcasing a worldwide mobile crane business. Based in Serbia, the site caters to its worldwide audience by offering not only a Serbian but an English version of the site. Highlights include the equipment at work, all certificates and licenses prominently displayed. The design is understated and businesslike, with the colorful slider adding visual interest on the front page.

Design Firm:

Big Cat Designs

Weiser Law Firm

Platform:

WordPress

Impressions:

This is a well executed example of a “one page” design. The site has a lot of content and that is a bit difficult to pull off well in a one-page design, but they nailed it. Beautiful, rich graphics and a muted color palette combine to create a classic, tsteful site that whispers “Trust me.”

Design Firm:

[Unable to determine]

Curapractic

Platform:

TextPattern

Impressions:

I love the color palette of this web site. Sunny yellow. The information is laid out in an easy to navigate manner, with the right side containing all the critical information, keeping the mandatory legalese in the footer. Note also that this site is a dual language site, in both Dutch and English. The power of TextPattern.

Design Firm:

[Unable to determine]

Medifit

Platform:

Concrete 5

Impressions:

This is a site that web designers could take a lesson from. This firm specializes in building offices for the dental industry and they have a great “Our Process” section along with customer testimonials and case studies. The site is content-rich and ver well laid out so that all the information you want is easy to locate. Professional, high quality photographs add to the site’s appeal.

Design Firm:

[Unable to determine]

De Jonge Read

Platform:

CMS Made Simple

Impressions:

Blue seems to be the “go-to” color choice for sites that need to invoke your trust. (They’ve done their color research!) This is another site with a lot of content, including client testimonials, and it’s well organized. Nice use of Google Map module for Contact page office locations. Very clever use of blue glyph as bullet point for unordered list (taken from their logo).

Design Firm:

Alinga

Leon Software

Platform:

Joomla!

Impressions:

LEON is a web-based software for aviation, supporting aircraft operations by aiding in scheduling, aircraft and crew rostering, airplane dispatch, on-line flight watch, aircraft charter sales software, crew administration, aircraft documents management, statistic data storage, preparation of reports and many more. It has a lot riding on it. The single best feature about this site is that it is responsive. And it takes a lot of data and technical information and organizes it very well.

Design Firm:

[Unable to determine]

Would you like a CMS-based web site for your business? Contact us today. A Pixelita design may be more affordable than you think!