Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Features
On the iPad
Okay, we've spent the last several months exploring and developing things on the iPad tablet platform. While we don't want to sound like an Apple commercial, and we don't want to add needless volume to the noisy hype surrounding this new technology, and we don't want to sound like we've totally gone off our rocker, we do want to express our opinion...
izotz!prototype : Prototyping Large Websites
Very often the things that take the longest in any website project are creating pages, filling them with content, and organizing (then reorganizing over and over) the website architecture. Prototype is a tool designed to make that part of the process much quicker and easier, and enable non technical users to work together.
izotz!click - Building Online Marketing Campaigns
Online tools to help you build landing pages and marketing websites, split-test page performance, and create powerful online marketing campaigns.
Building Flash Websites
The Flash Website Builder module lets you create an instant flash website out of the static webpages in your izotz universe.
Wizard Module - Create Multi-step Pages to Display Info or Collect Data
Wizards have long been a powerful tool in guiding viewers through pages of information. If you are collecting info, a wizard can break a long form into user friendly steps. The Wizard Module lets you do all this.
Web Tracker Tools - Get More Out of Your Websites
Let your users tell you how you need to make your website better. The Web Tracker tool gives you real time feedback on how your visitors are using your websites. Use this information to fine tune your pages.
Want To Earn Commissions Selling Websites?
If you want to provide website building services from within your website, add this module and enable people to sign up with izotz, and collect a commission for every sign up.
Making Landing Pages
An important part of having your website work harder for you is making stand alone webpages that support your online marketing efforts. The Stand Alone Static Webpage Module can really help you do this.
Integrating Other Web Stuff Into Your izotz Universe
Most people have some kind of web presence. Some already have online stores, photo galleries, or other online things. It's not hard to integrate other websites into your izotz universe.
Why Would You Need More Than One Website?
It's hard enough to build and maintain one website, who in there right mind wants two? Or three? Or a dozen? If you really want to make the web work hard for you...
Are You Looking For the Competitive Edge in Your Business
The izotz tools are powered by a backend technology called the izotz!IMS Internet Management System. This powerful system can drive a lot of different business models, with the izotz web building tools being just one.
Are You Into Online Games?
There are lots and lots of people out there publishing online games, many of them in the Flash format. This module lets you create pages for those games, and allows you to build your own gaming website.
Make Your Own Online Email Forms
Email forms are a staple of nearly all websites. The Email Forms module lets you easily create custom email forms, collect information from users or send information out to people, and store that information in data files.
Using the Mailing List Module
Combine the Mailing List module with the Broadcast Email tool and you have a very easy way to communicate with people who sign up for one of your mailing lists.
The ISP Webmaster Module
This module will allow you to create multiple independent izotz websites. Whether you are a web designer, and ISP, or someone like the IT guy at a school district, if you need to make a lot of websites, all for different people, this module is for you. Make a BUSINESS doing izotz websites.
Using Stand Alone Webpages
All izotz modules can run as stand alone webpages. Learn how this feature can really help you use your content in ways you might not have thought about.
Create Your Own Social Network
Social networks are a fun and useful way for a varied group of people to connect, share, and interact. The new izotz Social Network module allows you to create your own private social network quickly and easily.
Getting izotz onto Facebook
The izotz app on Facebook allows you to add izotz websites and web projects to your Facebook page.
The Tao of iZotz
At first glance iZotz probably looks like one of the zillion website building tools that flood the internet highways. And on the surface it certainly is. Here's a little bit of the iZotz philosophy.
iZotz as Add-on
You can use iZotz to build a big website. But you can also use it to build add-ons to your current website. You don't need to abandon everything you already have to leverage iZotz modules into your web presence.
Using the Photo Gallery Module for Breaking News
One of the best things about the internet is how it can be so immediate. Say it, see it, post it, and everyone gets to share in it. And the Photo Gallery module can help you do that.
Building Projects Offline
When building a new project, new pages for a website, or performing a major website overhaul, use these strategies to help you make the transition from stage to live.
iZotz For Beginners
Putting things on the web using iZotz can be really easy. As your needs evolve, it can get more complicated. This introduction will give you a foundation which will make things easier for you.
The Disposable Website
Thinking about the web differently. Maybe it doesn't have to be so permanent.
Project Management Website Template
A disposable website that enables a team of people to collaborate on projects. Perfect for contractors, software developers, event planners, lawyers, or any other group of people who might need to communicate while working on a project.
iZotz Mobile iPhone
iZotz Mobile gives you complete access to your iZotz administrator through your iPhone.
WIKI
WIKI is that cool little thing you see at the bottom of many webpages that allows you to post comments about the content on a webpage. You can enable WIKI in many iZotz modules.
When to Get Another iZotz Account
You can build as many websites and pages as you want under your iZotz membership, so why would you need more than one account?
Messaging
The Messaging module allows you to create messaging applications that allow website members to send non-email messages to website adminstrators, a select list of people, or each other.
Quick Prototypes
Whether or not you are building an iZotz project, iZotz can help you shorten development time on any website project. Use iZotz to prototype your projects.
eStore
Designed to be easy to run, the eStore template lets you create online stores to sell either electronic products or hard goods, and includes a shopping cart, online payment processing, order manager, and a "specials" page.
Schedules and Calendars
The new schedule templates let you build personal and shared calendars, work schedulers, appointment managers, and all kinds of other date related projects.
Create an Online Newspaper
The Newspaper template makes it a snap to create and maintain online newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and when used with a little creative thought...highly adaptible standalone websites.
Creating a Custom Administration Page
Use custom administration pages to limit administration options, reduce training, and make administrating projects painless.
Using Friendly URL Names
When you create a new iZotz project, it gets assigned a randomly generated ID number. This ID number is then used in a URL to reach your project on the web. Using the Friendly URL Name tool you can create user friendly URL names and replace those random ID's, making it much easier to remember your project URL's.
Email Article   Print Article    Rank This Page  
Building Projects Offline
When you aren't ready to go live.

he iZotz tools make it easy to update the content in your projects, change website navigation menus, and add new pages even while your projects are live online. In many cases this is very convenient, especially if you need to fix a typo, make a minor alteration in a navigation menu, or simply add a new webpage to a website. However, if whatever you are doing will leave your project in a state of disrepair while you perform the work, you'll probably want to do that work offline without disrupting the online projects. Here are some strategies to help you do that.

Building a Replacement Website

When it comes time to overhaul an existing website, and you plan on making extensive changes to the appearance, architecture, and content...leave the current website alone and start from scratch with a new empty website built from the Empty Website project template. Using this new website, select and customize an appearance skin for it.

Then open the navigation menu that was automatically created for this new website and rebuild the menu as needed. If you need to make only minor changes to the current navigation menu, then duplicate that menu, assign the copy to the new website, and modify that copy as needed. The current navigation menu remains online and unaltered while you work on the new one. If you don't need to change the current navigation menu at all, then simply assign that current menu to the new website project. Remember, navigation menus can be shared between website projects.

When the new website project is complete, how you start using it depends on how the original website was configured. If the existing website serves as your iZotz account default project, then all you have to do is open the Account Settings-->Change the Default Project wizard and reassign the default project to your new website. From then on when people visit your website, they'll go to the new version.

If you link to the old website from any navigation menus or other projects, change those menus to point to the new website project.

If you have created a friendly URL for the old project, then all you have to do is open the Projects-->Create a friendly URL wizard and reset the friendly URL to point to your new project. This is one of the best reasons for creating friendly URL's to your projects. The friendly URL makes it easy to point users to new projects.

Making Major Revisions to a Navigation Menu

Leave the current navigation menu alone, and create a new one using the Navigation Menus-->Create a new Navigation Menu wizard. If you aren't making a lot of changes, you could also duplicate the existing menu and work on the copy.

Build out the navigation menu as needed. When finished, run the Navigation Menus-->Assign a Menu to a Project wizard and assign the new menu to the projects that use the old one.

Making Major Revisions to Content in a Page

If you don't need to share the new content with others prior to publishing it, simply write the new content offline in a word processor, then when finished, copy the new content from the word processor, open the target page and paste in the new content.

If you need to share the new content with others before it goes live, or if you want to store the new content online while you work on it (which allows you to work on it from ANY internet connected computer), then use one of the following options :

  • If you are working on a webpage, simply add a new page to the webpage library, create your content, then when ready either change the navigation menu links to point to the new page, or copy the new content into the old page. Webpages aren't visible to the public until they're placed on a navigation menu.
  • If the content library has a [PUBLISH] option...in other word words allows you to say whether a page is ready to be published...simply leave that option unchecked while you work on the new page. Anyone who has administration privileges can view the unpublished page using the adminstration tools.
  • Add the Word Processor project to your account. The Word Processor module allows you to create HTML documents and share them with others. You can use this module as kind of an ad-hoc development library, holding new content until it's ready to be used. When a document is ready, simply copy the content into the target content page.

Creating a New Website Appearance

If all you want to do is create a completely new website appearance, then create an empty website using the Empty Website template. Assign the current navigation menu to this new website. Then select and customize a new appearance skin. When the new skin is ready, run the Shortcuts-->Change a Project Appearance Skin wizard and assign the new appearance skin to your old project. You can then delete the temporary website you initially created.


Customizing a Project Module

If you want to do some in depth customizations in a module...for example adding datafields, changing the design of the forms, or the way data is processed by the module, you'll probably want to make those changes offline. Here are a couple strategies for making changes to modules:
  • Create a place holder webpage and point the navigation menu item for the module to this page. Put a message on the page telling people that the module is offline for a while. Work on the module, then when it's ready, point the navigation menu item back to the module.
  • Duplicate the module and work on the copy. When the copy is ready, point the navigation menu items at the new module. This method cause you to lose whatever changes where made to the module content while you were working on the copy, so it's probably best to use it only on modules where you can control how the content data is modified.

Conclusion

These are just a few strategies for managing changes to your projects. Sometimes you'll want to make minor changes and have them immediately appear in the live project. iZotz makes it easy to do that. Other times you'll want to work on things offline, and not post the changes until everything is complete and checked. iZotz also makes it easy to do it that way.

Reader Comments
Add Comment


  Subsribe to RSS


powered by iZotz!IMS