Announcing the launch of UA Mobile Web (beta version)

As part of an ongoing strategic process to optimize our web presence for all users, the Office of Web Communications has completed the initial development and rollout of a UA Mobile Web site for The University of Alabama.  This site is a custom web site and suite of applications which deliver top-level content, services, and [...]

Commenting on Code in Code

Ever wonder how web designers keep everything in such neat order when they’re typing out their code? Well, commenting helps a lot in organizing.

New UA Web Templates are now available

Web templates based on the design and functionality of the current UA Home Page are available for usage by any official unit of The University of Alabama. There are three basic versions of the templates available, each of which offers numerous options for customization and arrangement of content. The template packages are organized into three [...]

Strategic iPhone/Mobile development for key UA web sites

I’d like to share the outcome of a project we’ve been working on that positively impacts our top-level strategic web sites.  Below is a high-level summary of the project.  If you have any questions about this, please ask them in the comments section and we’ll be glad to answer.
Background/Challenge
We have recently been working to optimize [...]

How to Test Websites for Mobile Devices

Developing for the mobile web is a mixed bag and with new phone technologies coming out frequently, it’s hard to stay ahead of the game.  Unless you have an eclectic group of cell phones lying around, it’s hard to test your site against their browsers.
This is where emulators come into play.
By installing a few pieces [...]

Update to LDAP entry

If you downloaded the authenticate() class from my post “Using LDAP Authentication for Website Logins“, you may wish to download it again, the documentation at the top of the original file posted didn’t reflect changes recently made to the script. The info on how to use a config file for a different server had [...]

Using LDAP Authentication for Website Logins

What’s so great about using the LDAP?
Ever try creating your own login and authentication system for a Web Application?  There are lots of things to ponder in such an undertaking.  From security to data storage to user management,  it can be a real hassle.  Once you do get your custom authentication scheme in place, your [...]

Web Standards self-study curriculum

In Web Communications, we are big proponents of adhering to Web Standards as we develop and manage web sites.  This is an important area to be well-versed in for web designers, because web standards have evolved from being a grassroots effort into being a pretty commonly-accepted platform on which to build web sites.  But what [...]

New Virtual Campus Tour launches on UA.edu

Today we are excited to announce the official launch of UA’s new virtual campus tour on UA.edu. Certainly 360-degree tours have been around a while, but we feel this tour differentiates itself from traditional smaller Quicktime-based 360-degree movies in a number of ways, and injects new life into the format by creating a pretty impressive [...]

Interactive Campus Map v2.0

So, here we are:  nearly a year later and yet another Google Maps post.
This new version is the next level of progression for the map, which includes some of these new features:

Use of Google Maps’ default map tiles which shows all streets and other landmarks
Overlay of all buildings that sits on top of the default [...]