For security reasons (to prevent “PHP include” hacker attacks),  some servers set the allow_url_fopen and allow_url_include PHP directives to off. If you see errors similar to the following on your website, then your website (or software you have installed on your website) uses insecure PHP calls.

Common Errors

Warning: fopen() [function.fopen]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /……../ on line (..)

Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in in /……../ on line (..)

Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /……../ on line (..)

Warning: getimagesize() [function.getimagesize]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in in /……../ on line (..)

Warning: readfile() [function.readfile]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in in /……../ on line (..)

Solution

WordPress / Joomla / Drupal Software: These applications do not use functions that require allow_url_fopen or allow_url_include to be turned on. However, certain third party plugins may require changes. If you see any of the errors above, try to isolate which plugin is causing the issue and replace it with an alternative plugin. You should also consider reporting the issue to the plugin developer so that they may fix it in an upcoming release. Alternatively, you can check out some of the examples below and attempt to fix the errors yourself.

Note: Do not attempt to fix issues yourself if you do not have prior software development experience. If the below does not make sense, you should consult with your web professional.

The errors above manifest themselves when your website is attempting to retrieve outside web URLs. The solution is to use the PHP Curl library to do so instead, which is more secure. How you use PHP ‘s Curl library to circumvent this issue depends on which warning you’ve received.

Example 1: Warning: fopen() [function.fopen]:

$file = “http://news.google.com/news?ned=us&topic=h&output=rss”;

$xml_parser = xml_parser_create();
xml_set_element_handler($xml_parser, “startElement”, “endElement”);
xml_set_character_data_handler($xml_parser, “characterData”);

if (!($fp = fopen($file, “r”))) {
die(“could not open XML input”);
}

while ($data = fread($fp, 4096)) {
if (!xml_parse($xml_parser, $data, feof($fp))) {
die(sprintf(“XML error: %s at line %d”,
xml_error_string(xml_get_error_code($xml_parser)),
xml_get_current_line_number($xml_parser)));
}
}

In the above example, an attempt to open a Google RSS feed is being made. The fopen() call will fail because $file is an outside web site, and the rest of the code will not be executed. To properly load the RSS feed and parse, this snipit of code would need to be rewritten as follows:

$xml_parser = xml_parser_create();
xml_set_element_handler($xml_parser, “startElement”, “endElement”);
xml_set_character_data_handler($xml_parser, “characterData”);

$file = “http://news.google.com/news?ned=us&topic=h&output=rss”;

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $file);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
$xmldata = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$xmldata = split(“\n”,$xmldata);

foreach ($xmldata as $data) {
if (!xml_parse($xml_parser, $data)) {
die(sprintf(“XML error: %s at line %d”,
xml_error_string(xml_get_error_code($xml_parser)),
xml_get_current_line_number($xml_parser)));
}
}

Example 2: Warning: file_get_contents() [function.file-get-contents]:

<?php

$contents = file_get_contents(‘http://www.cnn.com/’);

echo $contents;

?>

In the above example, the file_get_contents function is used to retrieve the content of the CNN website. You can accomplish the same thing safely using CURL as follows:

<?php

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_URL, ‘http://www.cnn.com’);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
$contents = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

// display file
echo $contents;
?>

Example 3: Warning: include() [function.include]:

Including files from web hosts is not allowed.

<? php include(“http://www.example.com/new.php”); ?>

If the file that you are trying to include is local, use relative paths instead , not the web URL. Otherwise, use the following:

<?php

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_URL, ‘http://www.example.com/mew.php’);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
$contents = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

// display file
echo $file_contents;
?>

Example 4: Warning: getimagesize() [function.getimagesize]:

getimagesize() allows you to get the height, width and size of an image file. To use getimagesize() safely, CURL can be used to get the remote file, the data can be saved to a local temporary image file and getimagesize() can be used on the local version.

<php

$filename = “http://www.example.com/example.jpg”;

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $filename);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);

$contents = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

$new_image = ImageCreateFromString($contents);
imagejpeg($new_image, “temp.jpg”,100);

$size = getimagesize(“temp.jpg”);

// width and height

$width = $size[0];
$height = $size[1];

Example 5: Warning: readfile() [function.readfile]:

<?php

$contents = readfile(‘http://www.example.com/some.txt’);

echo $contents;

?>

In the above example, the readfile function is used to retrieve the content of a remote text file. You can accomplish the same thing safely using CURL as follows:

<?php

$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_URL, ‘http://www.example.com/some.txt’);
curl_setopt ($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
$contents = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

// display file
echo $contents;
?>

The above examples are not guaranteed to run without changes, they are strictly guidance to illustrate how to safely retrieve off-site content.

1. FUNCTION
The first step to developing a web site is to figure out exactly what the function of that web site is going to be. By function, I mean what do you want your website to do for you, and how effortlessly or intuitively will it do it. You need to have thought out what role you want your web site to play in your business in order to have a good design developed.

For example: Is it to sell a product? Is it an on-line catalog? Does it tell a story? Is it an educational tool? Are you using it to support a cause? Is it entertainment? Do you just want it to answer a bunch of those questions that people are calling and pestering you with: hours you’re open, contact info etc.

A web site can have more than one function, however it’s critical to have a clear idea of what those are before you meet with your web designer.

2. WHO IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE?
It is important to start researching who your target audience is, how they are going to find your site, what will make them stay on your site, and what you want them to do when they arrive at your site. The answers to these questions effect every step of the web design process.

3. SEO and INFRASTRUCTURE
Search engine optimization plays a critical role in how the website will be designed and programmed. The names of files, the type of coding, the directory structure all add to that mysterious algorithm of how well your site will be indexed by the search engines.

Before programming a website, some research needs to be done on the keywords you would optimize with to attract your target audience.

I always design my content management systems so that my clients can update their content and meta tags, but beyond this, I can name the very files and directories that make up the site with keywords.

There are different options in how to code a website, and these will need to be discussed in relationship to search engine traffic (css, flash, html). Even if you opt to use a blog platform for your website,  the research you do on keywords will help you when you create your categories, tags and name your posts.

4. USABILITY
Marketing and usability should play a role in the website design and structure.

The graphic design isn’t just pretty, it’s usability. It is important to be clear about what you want visitors to do when they get to your site. There is lots of research on what parts of a web page people look at the most, how colors effect behavior, how to write effective content for your target audience. The graphic design and layout of content is a balance between visual branding and persuasion. Here are some good resources on usability.

If you plan on working with an SEO specialist and/or marketing specialist, my advise is to have them meet with you and the website programmer/development team so that everyone is on the same page.

The last thing you want to do is build a website and after it is built, have an SEO person or marketing person tell you it needs to be redone in order to attract and keep visitors.

Everybody is tightening their budgets right now, and where to place your online advertising dollars is a big question. Not only does google analytics let you see which websites are sending traffic to your website, it lets you search those statistics.

Today one of my online advertising links was up for renewal. I thought to myself, before I spend this money, I want to see if this site is actually directing visitors to me. I logged into google analytics. I clicked on the date range and set it from January 1st, 2008 until the present. I clicked on “Traffic Source” then clicked on “Referring Sites”, and it pulled up a graph with the site usage starting with the sites that refer the most traffic – but here is the secret weapon – at the bottom of that graph is a search field.

I typed in the name of the website that was selling me the link to see exactly how much traffic they had sent me last year. I found out the exact number of visits to my website in one year resulted from that advertising. What a powerful tool this is! Now, with the help of google analytics, I can make really informed decisions, very easily, about what sites are sending me clients and which aren’t. Being able to search the data for the specific website address is an incredible feature. It saved me so much time. With just two clicks, I could see exactly how much traffic a given site was sending me within a specific date range.

If you don’t have a google analytics account, and you run a blog or website, I encourage you to sign up for one today. Being able to view referring sites is the tiniest fraction of the useful information that it will supply to you concerning the visitors to your website, where they come from, how they navigate your site, which pages they land on and how long they stay. Even if you’re not going to look at the data right now – sign up and start compiling the data. Just go to http://google.com/analytics

• Adobe Photoshop Elements for Windows – My image editing tutorial use adobe photoshop elements. This is a relatively inexpensive software that allows you to prepare images for the web. It is a paired down version of Adobe Photoshop (which costs over $600) adobe photoshop elements runs around $80 depending where you purchase it.
• Adobe Photoshop Elements for Mac – My image editing tutorial use adobe photoshop elements. This is a relatively inexpensive software that allows you to prepare images for the web. It is a paired down version of Adobe Photoshop (which costs over $600) adobe photoshop elements runs arounc $80 depending where you purchase it, and is cross platform.
• Resizing and Cropping Images – This tutorial walks you through how to resize and crop images in adobe photoshop elements – to prepare them for your content management interface.
  Click here to view the embedded video.
• Selecting and changing line images – This tutorial shows you how to remove a line image from its background in Photoshop Elements. This is useful if you have a line drawing or signature that you want to upload to your website and have it match your website’s color.
  Click here to view the embedded video.
• Preparing Graphics for the web – An article with tips on preparing your graphics for the web. It addresses the issue of why photographs uploaded to the web might appear less vibrant than on your computer, how to compose portraits and tips on taking product shots.
• Quick color correction using levels – Do your photos need a little color enhancement before you post them to the web? Here is a quick tutorial on how to easily polish up those images, bringing up or down the lights, the darks and adjusting colors.
  Click here to view the embedded video.
• Cutting the background away from an image – This Tutorial takes you through removing the background from an image in photoshop elements, leaving you with the object in the image surrounded by a transparent field.
  Click here to view the embedded video.

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I am always fired up when I learn about a new tool, and slideshowpro is really exciting. I immediately purchased it so that I could play with it.

I purchased the slideshowpro for flash ($39), and the CMS slideshowpro director ($39). My server will work with slideshowpro director, if any of my clients are interested, however, if you are going to be making tons of video slide shows, I recommend the slideshowpro hosting for the CMS, because you won’t have to worry about bandwidth, and it is really reasonable.

1. Step one in getting slideshowpro up and running on my wordpress blog was to install the director on my website server. This was pretty straight forward.  You ftp the files to the server, and then browse to them. The installation process through the web browser walks  you through any permissions that you need to update. It will prompt you to manually create a .xml file called crossdomain.xml, it will tell you exactly what to copy and paste into that file,  and upload that to your root directory, which I did with bbedit.
2. Step two was to create an album in the director and upload photos to it. I uploaded pictures from a walk I took on a landbank trail in Chilmark, just two days ago. I then copied the path generated to that albums .xml file to paste into the flash file parameters.
3. Step three was to install the slideshowpro extension into my flash cs3 and then create a new flash file.
4. Step four was to plug in the path to the album’s .xml file generated by the album, and also to choose that the .xml file is a director generated file, publish the .swf file and ftp it to my server.
5. Step five was to install the plug-in Kimili flash embed tag generator into my wordpress blog, and click on its icon to add the new .swf files path, size etc.   I made sure to add the base=”.” parameter to the embed tag. I found the instructions here.
6. The results of my efforts are at the top of the page.

I am pretty excited to learn more about the slideshowpro customization and parameters.

Time, Money, Sex (and Salvation): How to Turbo Charge Your Blog Posts, Podcasts and Sales Copy for Maximum Traffic & Greater Impact with Andy Wibbels

(On a side note, Andy Wibbels is a very entertaining speaker, so if you ever have a change to listen to him – to a podcast, or to attend a teleseminar that he is participating in – I encourage you to do so.)

Andy Wibbels has a background in theater, and because of this he sees the world from a narrative perspective. He sees the act of shopping as a giant screen play, and has spent years studying the characters involved and analyzing what motivates them.

Wibbels started by saying that we tend to focus on “why should people buy from me” from the perspective of ourselves – because they like me, because I’m credible, because of my reputation. That may be true, but in order to successfully market, he says that we need to understand the underlying motivation behind their purchases – we need to see into the DNA of their psyche. Shoppers won’t buy from us only because they like us, they will buy from us because something in their emotional psyche is urging them to buy our product, and that that underlying urge is wrapped up in self preservation.

Andy Wibbels pointed out that we buy things (and he is not talking about essentials, like eggs and milk and toilet paper, he is talking about the extras) – we buy based on emotions and then justify it.

Andy asks us to look at the stories around us, and at how things come out in a narrative structure. In every a story, movie, play or poem, he points out that characters act when their self preservation is threatened. “Every movie, play, story or product is about the end of the world. ”

According to Wibbels, you can translate that to the marketing world. If we have a perceived threat to the trajectory of our lives or our livelihood, if we, as consumers, feel threatened, then we act – AND to do so we must see the product or the service that we a compelled to buy as the savior, the grail, the salvation. The product must be perceived as the life raft.

To better illustrate his philosophy, Andy Wibbels had us draw a Venn diagram.

Andy specifies that these are the main reasons why we buy things beyond our daily needs – (not toilet paper, oatmeal, cat litter).

TIME
We want to save time – to use our time more wisely. Everybody is so busy, no one has time to do anything.

How does your product or service help people use their time more wisely? Does it free up time for them to do what they would rather do?

MONEY
Everybody is broke.

How can your product, service, ebook, teleseminar, phone call, magazine help people make money, make more money, or have them use their money more wisely

SEX
Wibbels points out that our advertising is “soaked in sex, wreathed in sensuality and bathed in lust”. He said that (and I paraphrase some of this) “Sex is one of the main reasons why we buy things … not talking about getting on – rather how does your product or service make people more attractive so that they can have more sex? How does it help people have more sex, better sex, more partners, better performance, more offers for sex. The idea not just of sex as ‘get it on’, ‘get it together’, but performance and yourself as an attractive person”…
“to a business this translates to: search engine ranking, brand, visibility, how your business is perceived – your means, your products, – the best description of social software is software that gets you laid.”

Andy Wibbels’s VENN diagram maps out an easy way to talk about your products and services. This is a quick way to cook down what you do, and put your job description to 3 points.

1. How do your products/services save time
2. How do your products/services save money
3. How do your products/services increase sex appeal, the attractiveness of your brand and visibility

According to Wibbels, people are driven by emotional needs which are tied to our self preservation – “our need to spread our genes and our means.” You can answer their emotional reaction, justifying this NEED to buy with data: (your products saves time, money and increase a business’s sex appeal).

CONTROL
At the center of Wibbels diagram is control.

“Who wants to be out of control?”, he asks, ” Nobody! We all want control … every theme in every movie, song or play is about control”.

Ask yourself, how do your products and services help people take that control.
YOUR MARKETING SCRIPT

We must write our marketing material as if we were writing a screen play, (or a one act skit). We have analyzed why our hero is in pain and in need of help. We have scripted how our products and services can save the day!

In writing this marketing script, Wibbels advises us to make sure we illustrate tangible benefits of the product or service that we are selling. We need to be direct and exacting, to point out specific benefits that people (our hero) can latch on to. Do not talk generalities, he says, we are talking about the pain/discomfort that people are experiencing in their lives, and how our services can help.

SALVATION

Wibbels has an addition to his diagram. Off to the side, there is another reason why people do things – a dotted line not connected to the main circles. And that reason is salvation – some people do do what they do for salvation, divinity, to connect with a divine inside themselves…
Salvation, he said, is less about control and more about connection.

TO SUM IT UP
That is why we buy: time, money, sex, control, salvation

Putting a video on your website is a great way to form a personal connection with your website’s visitors and with your clients. And so, to practice what I preach, I have decided to experiment with different media so that I can teach you what I learn. With the content management systems that I have programmed for you all, adding a video to your website can be very easy and inexpensive – even free, if you already have a webcam.

For my first adventure into video recording, I purchased an inexpensive webcam from <a href=”http://logitech.com” title=”Logitech.com” target=”_blank”>http://logitech.com</a>. This is a devise that plugs into the USB port of my computer. Now, when I launch my ichat program (I am on a mac), there is a little camera icon as opposed to a phone icon, and if I click on that camera icon,  on my computer screen, I can view what the camera is pointing to. You can use a webcam with skype and <a href=”http://dashboard.aim.com/aim”>aim</a> as well. This logitech cam does not integrate with my iMovie software, however, it probably would integrate with movie editing software on a windows machine.

My webcam is perched on the top of my computer and is pointing at me. This was a bit of a shock at first, to tell you the truth. Working from a home office, I had become accustomed to being hidden, reclusive. How many of us who work at home, stumble from bed to our computers and check our email before even brushing our teeth in the morning? and before you know it, you are busy working away in your pajamas.  Using a webcam invites people into your private space. Now, all of you can see through this window on my computer, that my home office  is  cluttered, and that I work in an environment of creative chaos.

If you want a more formal and professional video presentation for your webpage, I suggest that you put some sort of screen or blank wall behind yourself.  However, a webcam is an informal tool at best.

I purchased a software from <a href=”http://ecamm.com” target=”_blank”>http://ecamm.com</a> that records video conferencing, and I used that to record myself talking. I also experimented with using <a href=”http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/” target=”_blank”>SnapZ Pro X software</a> which can record my desktop. On a windows machine, I could use <a href=”http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp” target=”_blank”>Camtasia Studio</a> to record the video conference.

I did some quick editing of the recording in iMovie HD, and then uploaded it to google. If you are on a windows machine, you can edit with windows movie maker, a free software. Once uploaded, google generated the code that I needed to embed the video into my website.

This is a really easy way to make an informal video to put on your website.

Keep in mind that any video that you upload to google or youtube.com is going to be distributed throughout the internet – so use that to your advantage. Put your website address on your video. Introduce yourself and your services. Having your videos in the public domain can be a form of grass roots marketing, if done correctly.

Social Media is a great tool for promoting your brand, products and services. However, there is such a barrage of options available, and sometimes learning the ins and outs of how to utilize all the different tools to your advantage, (or even which social media tools are best for your business) seems an incredible amount of work and time. THEN finding the time to write those blogs and create and post those videos and podcasts – it could appear an insurmountable challenge.

That is why I have signed up for the THE 2008 SOCIAL MEDIA TELESUMMIT where I will be listening to and asking questions of Leesa Barnes and over 2 dozen other guest speakers for the first 2008 Social Media Telesummit.

I am really looking forward to learning Cutting Edge Social Media Tactics From Bestselling Authors, Millionaire Coaches, World Class Speakers, Success Gurus and Social Media Experts
I will bring what I learn back to my clients and my blog, however, if you would like to attend as well, sign up today!

1. Who is going to be designing and programming my site?
   If you are approaching a large design firm, you may very well be paying top dollar for an entry level designer, or, if it is a small company that you are researching, they may outsource parts of the site. You have a right to know exactly who is going to be working on your project, and what their credentials are.
2. Ask to see examples of work done by current staff.
   A web design company may have a very impressive portfolio to show you, but are the designers who contributed to that portfolio still working for that company? Sometimes they aren’t. Ask to see examples of work done by the current staff, so that you can make an informed decision about who will be designing your site.

When you work with goffgrafix.com, you are hiring Heather Goff to program and design your site. Heather brings years of experience in programming and visual design to your project. If there is a piece of the site that needs to be outsourced, Heather will put you in direct contact with a selection of qualified professionals, and you will choose the best fit for your company and work directly with them. Plus, Heather specializes in sites with content management systems. What does that mean? It means that once the site is built, you can manage all of the content on it through an easy browser interface. See examples of web sites designed by Heather Goff.

Here are a list of important resources for before you start designing your web site. These resources answer many initial questions.